Observing

Children
Brittany Black

What are the Guidelines for

Observing
Children
The information you gather on young children has to be handled with special
care.

All information must be kept confidential. It may be shared in the classroom

setting but not out in public.
Avoid using a childs name in discussions and first names only are permitted in
other classrooms.
Dont bring personal objects (coats, books, etc.) into the classroom while youre
observing. Certain items cause unnecessary distractions.
During observations, avoid talking to the children, other observers, or the staff.

Anecdotal Records
Anecdotal Records are a brief narrative account of a specific incident. Anecdotal
records dont require charts or special settings. Anecdotal Records have to be
objective, they must describe observable actions and recorded information must
be nonevaluative. An advantage of of an anecdotal record would be that it is the
easiest method of recording information and a disadvantage would be that a
complete picture might not be provided in the record.

Checklist
Checklists are designed to record the presence or absence of certain behaviors or
traits. Checklists may be designed for any area of development: physical,
emotional, social, or cognitive. An advantage of a checklist would be that there
arent any time constraints on collecting the data, but a disadvantage of using a
checklist would the lack of detailed information they gather.

Rating Scale
Rating Scales show to what degree a quality or trait is present. They are used
when you want to make a judgement about behavior. An advantage of a rating
scale would be they are easy to use and they can be completed quickly but a
disadvantage of using a rating scale would be that only some actions are
included. In order to choose a rating the observer has to have a good
understanding of the behavior.

Participation Chart
Participation charts help you gain information on specific aspects of a childs
behavior. Participation charts could be used to determine a childs activity
preference during self-selected play. Sometimes teachers will find out that
childrens preferences dont match their needs. To solve this, they may introduce
different toys to help with their needs.

Portfolios
A portfolio is a collection of materials that shows a persons abilities,
accomplishments, and progress over time. Portfolios include items that show a
childs growth and development. Portfolios need to be carefully planned and
organized. Most teachers include summaries of parent conferences and parent
questionnaires, audiotapes of conversations, child-dictated stories, anecdotal
records, and checklists. A portfolio should never stop changing. It should be a
summary of a childs development. If you look at a centers portfolios, you should
be able to pinpoint a childs unique abilities.