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Students learn through classroom observation
Child observation for the early years
Observation in early childhood
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Recommended: Students learn through classroom observation
The value of observation is to give you an insight into a child’s world. By doing this you are able to observe the children and see how they interact with other children and communicate. Also by observation we are able to understand children’s point of view better and are able to enhance their learning. Observation, assessment and evaluation in planning for children’s learning within early childhood setting come hand in hand.
While observing we are able to see the child’s development and are also able to identify the interest in different learning areas. During the observation, the time and date should be recorded along with a little bit of information about the setting and where the observation took place. If we have an accurate and detailed picture of the child’s profile at the beginning of the programme, the teacher’s will be able to enhance positive learning. Using a natural environment for observation is the best method, as opposed to contrived environment , because in a natural environment a child is doing what they normally do [NZTC ] , (2011). The teachers are able to plan better for the child and assess the progress in children’s different learning domains.
When any observations are carried out about a child, all the information must be kept confidential. As suggested by Bruce & Meggitt (2002) certain guidelines should be used to keep the observations confidential for example not using the child’s name , just using their initial and remembering to get permission from the authorised person such as parents /teachers before beginning any observations p.28. It is very important to be ethical when carrying out any methods of observations and keeping it confidential, letting access to only authorised people.
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...he teacher to help the child in their holistic development. Being a teacher it is important to engage child in all kinds of interactions and also think from a child’s point of view.
As mentioned by Jablon & Wilkinson (2006) “engagement stratergies give children greater responsibility for their learning and that use of engagement stratergies benefit children tremendously” p. 5.
In conclusion I would say that a teacher has one of the most important roles in a child’s everyday learning and that the way she observes , plans , assesses and evaluates each individual child , makes a difference in a child’s learning and helps the children to support /or enhance their interest or any other particular domains . To support the whole planning cycle in a child’s learning can only happen if the teacher is able to apply the teaching strategies adequately in the learning.
First of all I would like to explain why the child observation is important for social workers. It is important because it focus on the problems that arise when a child‘s situation is not taken seriously and consequently have harsh consequences for both worker and child (Climbié Report, 2002). Observation is something that leads to formation of hypotheses and gives new insights about the child’s world. Child observations assist social workers understand, through assessments, the children’s communication between them and their carer or parents. The aim of the observation is to understand the child and his/her world (Briggs, 1992).
Child Observation Record (COR) is the checklist that evaluates children’s learning in the five content areas. Each day, teachers observe children at play in natural and authentic situations and then take notes about children’s behavior. These records are gathered to help teachers evaluate children’s development and plan activities to help individual children and even the whole classroom make progress. For teachers, the Preschool Program Quality Assessment (PQA) is used to evaluate whether the whole High Scope program and the staffs are using the most effective classroom and program management
It may be important to observe a child but at the same time it may mislead you into being judgmental, too soon. For instance, if you observe a child misbehaving, not getting along with the other children or talking back to the teacher, you might get the impression that he/she is a 'bad' child and you might treat and act differently with that particular child.
For 12 weeks I observed a young pre-schooler Child C aged 31/2 years old, through my account I would give an observer’s view of Child C, three theories peculiar to Child C and my the emotions evoked in me as an observer. My observation assisted in my understanding of the changes in Child C as the week progressed over the 12 weeks.
Plan for when and where observations will be conducted. Observation will take place at the child’s home with another child and then with parents, out in public that allows interaction with different children, at a family event with a larger group of children and caregivers. These observations will be conducted at different times of the day to allow a variety of interactions and non-repetitive interactions, different times of the day can affect how tired the child is, whether the child interacts better in the morning first thing or the afternoon and how it affects her emotional mood. These different observation locations allow the child to be observed in different situations with one on one play, interactions with adults, interacting with groups of children in new environments and to see how well the child relates to other
Confidentiality needs to be in place at all times whilst observing children. You should never reveal a child’s personal details to anyone else, it should be kept private. This is part of The Data Protection Act, which has been formed to protect all personal data of UK residents. A child’s personal data should be stored in a named file and locked away in a private filling cabinet. When writing your observations, no child or practitioners names should be mentioned. The child of focus should be addressed as TC (target child) throughout the observation. If other children happen to join in with any activities that the target child is participating in then they should be addressed as C1, C2 etc. All practitioners will be referred to in the same many however, with an ‘A’ instead of a ‘C’.
Successful teachers develop the whole child by making integrated efforts to promote their student’s academic, social and emotional learning. Children need to be aware of themselves and others; make responsible decisions, and be ethical and respectful of the people around them.
Observing children performing an activity, either through independent play or group play, teachers can gather information about their interest, understand their personalities and behaviours. Moreover, by using checklist their level of achievement in terms of language aquisition and also developing certain skills can also be assessed. Observation helps to ensure that chidren meet their development milestones. Developmental milestones acts as rough guide to check children development are on track for their age. Child development observation is helpful to detect any early hiccups in development.
Observation is important as the practitioner can find out what the child is interested in and what motivates them to learn alongside their progress and how they behave in certain situations, additionally at the same time it identifies if children need assistance within certain areas of learning or socially (DCSF, 2008). Furthermore the observations check that the child is safe, contented, healthy and developing normally within the classroom or early years setting, over time the observations can be given to parents as they show a record of progress which helps to settle the parent and feel more comfortable about their child’s education. Observations are not only constructive within learning about an individual child, they can be used to see how different groups of children behave in the same situation and how adults communicate and deal with children’s behaviour (Meggitt and Walker, 2004). Overall observations should always look at the positives of what children can complete within education and not look at the negatives and all observations should become a fundamental part of all practitioners work alongside reflection (Smidt, 2009).
Understanding and observing a child’s development and learning skills. Progress can then be assessed and next steps can be planned to ensure the child keeps on developing.
A teacher must understand how students learn and develop and must provide learning opportunities that support a student’s intellectual, social and personal development.
There are three essential components that resonate with me when establishing support for a vision of teaching and learning of a school that is consistent with the overall vision and goals of the district. The first is to establish data from all stakeholders and use the data to drive the process to the creation of the vision. This first step is crucial so that all stakeholders will feel included and avoid unanticipated circumstances when problem arrives. The more people involve in the process, this creates transparency as well as allow issues to be discovered early and find solution for them to be successful in implementing the district goals. Second, a leader needs to be able to articulate the vision to all stakeholders so that the vision is inclusive and encompass concrete ideas that can easily be accepted and supported. This step is crucial to build buy in to the vision and establish coherent focus with specific strategies to meet the vision of teaching and learning. The third is to develop mentor leaders that will help guide the process of implementing the vision and build the structural support to encompass change. Mentor leaders are essential to support the learning and teaching goals, as changes in administration will still allow for the vision to move forward and sustain over the long run.
Observations take place in different settings. Its main objective is to focus on the student performance during an activity or during classroom activities. Teachers will have to plan how to record their observations. Observations should be recorded in order to improve the student skills through feedbacks. There are different possibilities for recording information from students, the teacher has to make sure that these observations are consistent for all classroom. Some recording options include the following (Checklists, Anecdotal records, and rubrics). The question is what makes observations beneficial for students and what makes it
Teaching and learning are complicated processes. The literature is full of research describing how people learn. Two well-known models characterize learners by age: pedagogy and andragogy. Pedagogy focuses on the teacher-child learner relationship and andragogy focuses on the teacher-adult learner relationship. While pedagogy is a longstanding theory that can be traced back to the monastic schools of Europe in the 7th century, Malcolm Knowles brought recognition to the concept of andragogy in the 20th century (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007; Knowles, 1973). Knowles proposed six assumptions about the design of learning for adults (see Table 1). These assumptions indicate the traditional, lecture-based method of teaching is not conducive for adult learning. Using Knowles’s six assumptions, a course is redesigned to represent a more collaborative andragogical method of teaching.
The role and responsibilities of a teacher is very complex. Teachers are responsible for making sure their learners acquire the knowledge they need, but also achieve their qualification by the end of the course in a safe learning environment, so they have the skills and experience they need to start their careers. To achieve that goal a teacher must be creative, professional, flexible and knowledgeable enough to deal with daily challenges and find different ways to help their learners needs. Establishing a safe and stimulating environment for learners, creating mutual respect and set goals that stretch and challenge learners of all backgrounds and abilities.