Embedded Files
Observation & Documentation
↓
Interpreting Thinking
↓
Planning
↓
Facilitating Play
↓
Reflective Evaluation
Observation & Documentation
Observation & Documentation
As you carefully observe children's play, first notice what the children are saying and doing, ask questions about their play when appropriate, and then document their words and actions. All of this information can give you information about what each child's process is to then determine/interpret what they might be thinking and the purpose of their play, which is the next step in the COI process.
Notice
Why should we notice?
Noticing is a key step to supporting teacher-child interactions. If we don't notice, we cannot be appropriately responsive.
Planning emergent curriculum. We can't plan until we have made sense of our documentations, and we can't document until we have noticed what is happening.
It's how we find out what children are interested in, the skills that they are developing and applying.
To communicate value to families and other stakeholders that through play, children learn and develop skills.
What are we looking for?
Skills and knowledge that children are applying or developing in ALL developmental domains.
What are they able to do or what skills are they applying?
What new skills are they developing? What is a struggle in this moment?
THINK ABOUT TS GOLD OBJECTIVES.
What children are doing.
What is their body language?
What is their positioning of their body to people and objects in the world?
What are the patterns in their play?
What actions are they constantly repeating?
What materials are they using in this process?
What children are saying.
What stories are they telling?
What observations are they making?
What questions are they asking others?
How are they responding to others?
What are they talking about and to who?
Look for conversation and engagement.
Don't forget to notice what they are not doing.
Additional Resource:
Check out Melissa Butler and her book "How to Notice". See her free video collection here, or read her blogs here.
Ask Questions
When should we ask questions?
Ask children questions about what they are noticing or wondering about either individually as a group. This can be during play or afterwards thinking back. Try to encourage independence by standing back to see their competence and conversations grow. You don’t need to be talking or doing for them all the time. Take that stance of standing back and allow space within proximity so they know you are there attending to them. Ask questions when you want to know more or dive deeper into a topic. As Melissa Butler says, "follow questions to find new questions".
Document
Why is it important to document learning?
To highlight children's learning- for others
Communication with families, other children in the class, or other stakeholders
Accountability (to administrators or other regulators)
To extend the learning- for one child or multiple children
Help with planning the curriculum
Understand where children are at developmentally and make appropriate referrals
Always make sure to be clear about your why and the purpose of documenting. Is it for highlighting learning for parents (TS GOLD) or extending learning in the classroom (curriculum), or both? This will guide you through the process of who should be involved and what means to use for documentation.
What are we documenting?
Skills and knowledge that children are applying or developing in ALL developmental domains. What are children saying, doing, and/or not doing?
The interesting events or things that you noticed outside of the things that happen everyday.
How to document
Medium (the method we use to communicate)
Display of class made story books or laminated images
Individual portfolios
Bulletin boards or white boards
Newsletters and social media posts
TS GOLD Reports
Text messages or emails
Discussions between parents, teachers, admin, and children
Evidence (the ways in which we collect the data)
Photos, videos, or audio clips
Writing or anecdotal notes
Graphs created as a group (example: Claire Warden's Floorbooks- kids can add what they investigate throughout the year and go back and see what they have accomplished)
Children's drawings, sculptures, or other art pieces
Great documentation is:
The whole story (spark, process, and result)
As descriptive as possible to convey what you saw and the story you are trying to tell.
Easy to access for intended audience and organized. Examples: emailed directly to parents with reply email, displayed on child level, posted for families at front desk.
Should continue to change because learning is always happening!
Balance between being in the moment and documenting the moment can get tricky. Use your judgement on what you can remember and record later versus what is best to capture in the now.
Teaching Strategies GOLD Application
Use the ipad to take or upload photo or video documentation of children
Enter anecdotal notes from OR form (below) related to the objectives. Focus on moments that include multiple objectives. For teacher led, identify likely objectives before-hand. For group documentation, make note of key objectives that came up and then work on each child individually.
Observation Record (OR) Form from NAEYC's COI
Use the form to document anecdotal notes of children's play and learning while thinking ahead with questions about what they might be thinking or already know.
NEXT: INTERPRETING & PLANNING
NEXT: INTERPRETING & PLANNING
Page updated
Report abuse