By the end of this section, you should be able to:
Explain its importance in understanding and supporting young children's development.
Observation is an essential practice for early childhood professionals. Through observation, professionals can make note of a child's developmental milestones, possible developmental delays, interests, or challenging behaviors which may aid in tracking a child's growth and development. Professionals can use this observational data to help plan appropriate experiences for children based on their needs. Observations of children's interactions and involvement with the program's environment and curriculum may also help professionals determine program and teaching effectiveness.
An observation begins by watching and listening to the child and noting contextual elements that influence the child's behavior. Observations are recorded through notes, photos, or videos that help document the behavior. The documentation of the observation is then analyzed by the professional. The analysis might include linking the child's behavior to developmental milestones, theories, or learning standards. Information gathered through observation may be used to complete developmental checklists, share with families, or create portfolios highlighting a child's growth, development, and learning.
There are many methods for recording observations, two common methods are anecdotal notes and frequency counts. Anecdotal notes are written records of children's behavior. Anecdotal notes should include a description of the child's behavior and notes about the context. Anecdotal notes can be used to complete developmental checklists or can be compared to previous observations. Frequency counts are used in tracking how often a child's behavior is occurring. A professional may use a frequency count to count how often a child enters play situations, interacts with peers, or chooses particular activities.