How To Observe Children

Shows students how to make the links between observations and child development theory, helping them to achieve higher grades in their childcare awards. Provides guidance on terminology and presentation to ensure students do the best they can in their assignments. Includes chapters on observing for the Birth to Three Framework, the Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum. Written by an experienced early years professional and author - Sheila Riddall-Leech is Lead Examiner for CACHE and author of Childminding and Managing Children's Behaviour.

Intentional teaching begins with focused observations and systematic documentation of children's learning and development. This book is filled with tools and techniques designed to help early childhood educators purposefully observe children, create portfolios with rich documentation, and plan curriculum that supports every child. Discussion questions, observation practice exercises, and reflection assignments are included, as well as DVD with classroom vignettes showcasing observation techniques. Gaye Gronlund is an early childhood education consultant who trains early childhood educators across the country. Marlyn James is an education and early childhood professor.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

This user-friendly text is an invaluable guide to observation techniques for everyone working with children. It explains why child care workers and teachers need to observe children and gives clear instructions on how to carry out their observations. This new edition, which reflects the changes in early years education guidelines, now boasts material that relates specifically to the early learning goals of the foundation stage. It contains two updated chapters detailing how observations can be used when evaluating early learning goals and also assists with foundation stage profiling. Observing Children is essential reading for all CACHE Child Care validated courses, NVQs and SNVQs in Child Care and Education, GNVQ in Health and Social Care and the new Technical Certificates in Child Care. It will also prove invaluable for those training to be teachers in primary school. Book jacket.

In the Sixth Edition of their classic text, the authors reiterate the critical importance of observing and recording the behaviour of young children, especially in the current atmosphere of accountability and testing. In addition, because children with special needs are now widely included in a majority of early childhood classrooms, they have completely rewritten a chapter to focus more broadly on observing behaviours that may be viewed as disquieting. Designed to help teachers better understand children's behaviour, the book outlines methods for recordkeeping that provide a realistic picture of each child's interactions and experiences in the classroom. Numerous examples of teachers' observations of children from birth to age 8 enrich this work and make it accessible, practical, and enjoyable to read. With over 130,000 copies in print, this valuable resource for pre- and inservice educators features: fresh information about how children think and learn, how their language develops, and how their families, their culture, and their environment influence and help to shape them; observations that reflect the increasingly diverse population in contemporary early childhood classrooms; and the imperative for teachers to widen their lens in order to meet the needs of young children with a range of developmental capacities, abilities, and behaviours.

The assessment of young children's development and learning has recently taken on new importance. Private and government organizations are developing programs to enhance the school readiness of all young children, especially children from economically disadvantaged homes and communities and children with special needs. Well-planned and effective assessment can inform teaching and program improvement, and contribute to better outcomes for children. This book affirms that assessments can make crucial contributions to the improvement of children's well-being, but only if they are well designed, implemented effectively, developed in the context of systematic planning, and are interpreted and used appropriately. Otherwise, assessment of children and programs can have negative consequences for both. The value of assessments therefore requires fundamental attention to their purpose and the design of the larger systems in which they are used. Early Childhood Assessment addresses these issues by identifying the important outcomes for children from birth to age 5 and the quality and purposes of different techniques and instruments for developmental assessments.

Child Observation for Learning and Research is an exciting new text, providing a thorough grounding in the methodology, practice and interpretation of observing children. The authors draw on their experience and expertise in childcare, education, social work and research to introduce the fundamental principles and process of observation, preparing you for your first observation and building knowledge and confidence through a wide range of scenarios and activities. The book takes the unique approach of demonstrating how acquiring observational skills can serve as a key learning tool, not only helping you to understand children, but also to recognise, analyse and question theory, helping you make sense of your own learning.

The main purpose of this text, particularly this edition, is to assist students in developing the skills and knowledge necessary to conduct relevant, professional and meaningful observations of young children in the field of Early Childhood Education. The text is designed for college or university students embarking on a career involving young children. Observing Young Children includes references to various professions: Teachers, Early Childhood Educators, Early Interventionists and Resource Teachers and Consultants – all of whom use observation in a variety of ways for a diverse number of reasons. Observation is a language they all speak and understand. Uncovering the developmental process of a child’s early years and making it visible to others requires the skills and knowledge of a practiced observer. Educators know that one of the best ways to learn about young children is to observe them, and the other way is to talk with their families. Through observation and documentation Educators can co-construct with children and their families a curriculum that is alive with what matters to them.