Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Assessment Chapter 4
Focusing on specific questions can provide
guidance and assist in gathering useful information.
For example:
• What did I specifically see?
• What do I think is most significant about
this experience for the child?
• What can I say about how this child feels
about her or himself?
• What is the child trying to figure out in this
situation?
• What experiences, knowledge or skill is the
child building?
• What questions, inventions or problems is
the child encountering?
• What does the child find meaningful? challenging?
frustrating?
(Carter and Curtis, 1996)
When observing children’s interactions with materials
and/or peers:
• How does the child come to use the materials?
(Teacher’s suggestion, self-initiated,
watching another?)
• How flexible is the child with the materials?
• How long does the child spend with the
materials?
• Does he or she engage others?
• Does she try different approaches when the
materials present her with problems?
• Is there any private language or communication
with others?
• Who does the child approach to join him?
When observing children at work:
• Does the child ask questions out of a desire
to know?
• Is the child adventurous, a reasonable risktaker
with materials and ideas?
• Does the child have an intentional plan in
mind and work to completion?
• What seems to interest the child?
• Does the child show understanding of concepts
such as sequence, classification and
cause/effect?
• Would you be able to use words such as
persistent, curious and flexible to describe
this child’s style of learning? (Cohen, Stern
and Balaban, 1983)
The documentation process is only as valuable
as the language used to describe the observation. De-
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veloping a strong vocabulary enables teachers to “capture”
what they saw. Then, when the teacher revisits
the observation for reflection, it comes alive again and
is almost as vivid and provoking as when it was first
witnessed. Spend time with colleagues creating word
banks so that descriptive words can easily be retrieved
during observations. For example:
Walk: amble, stroll, saunter, clomp, stomp,
march, strut, lope
Run: dash, dart, gallop, shoot across, fly
Happy: jubilant, joyous, bubbling, bouncy,
sparkling, cheerful
Cry: whimper, mourn, lament
Sad: downcast, gloomy, depressed, deject
ed, discouraged
Say: whisper, shout, scream, demand, tell
NOTE: See page 63 for additional examples of descriptive
words to be used during observation and recording.
Some suggested materials to keep on hand include
the following:
• checklists to record which children and/or
which areas have been observed;
• clipboards with paper, pens and post-its in
ample supply around the room;
• folders or containers for each child for storing
observational notes;
• a time line for collection of specific observations/behaviors;
• tape recorders and tapes for recording children’s
discussions, which should then be
transcribed for later interpretation; and
• a digital camera to take photos to accompany
observations.
When teachers have completed making their
student observations, the following questions should be
asked.
• Is there a pattern emerging?
• Can you detect the child’s strengths and
weaknesses?
• What would be an experience you could
provide to move the child to the next level
of learning?
• What could you do next time to ensure that
the child is successful. How can you create
more opportunities for the child to practice
and integrate new skills or knowledge?
• Are there specific materials, peers or a learning
center that would be appropriate?