Observation, Documentation, and Assessment

Vocabulary Standard Competency: Explain basic early childhood and early childhood special education terminology

ABC Chart is an observational tool that allows teachers to record information about behaviors that occur in the classroom. Active Agent refers to the child acting as their own agent of learning and constructing their own knowledge without influence of adults. Authentic Assessment is the evaluation of a child’s knowledge, skills, and behaviors in a natural, culturally responsive learning environment free from the pressure of testing (preferably conducted in the child’s home language). Checklist is a document tool that records a child’s skills and abilities. Document any written item that provides information or evidence. Event Sample a type of documentation that helps a teacher understand the relationship between a behavior and the event under which the behavior occurs. Executive Functions are cognitive abilities that assist children to manage impulses and self-regulate, filter out distractions, problem solve, follow sequences, remember, and apply rules for different situations and more. Formative Assessment ongoing assessment of children’s educational development Observation is the ability to watch someone or something from a non-biased, factual, and free from personal opinion perspective for a period of time to gain purposeful information about that someone or something. Observation cycle is a process of observing, planning, and evaluating child progress shown in a continuous cycle. Objective the ability to write factually and without bias. Passive Agent refers to the child’s learning being heavily influenced or supported by the caregiver or environment. Portfolio a collection or body of work that shows a person’s ability. A type of authentic assessment. Rating Scale indicates the degree to which a concept is presented or the frequency that a skill is illustrated. Scaffolding is the assistance of a teacher in helping a child gain or become more proficient in a skill, knowledge, or ability. Summative assessment is the assessment of a child’s achievements over a range of subjects over time by combining appraisal of formative assessments. Subjective in the case of observation documentation is writing observations that have personal feelings, inferences, or nonfactual information. Time Sample also known as a frequency count. A documentation tool that should how frequently a behavior occurs over a period of time. ZPD is the Zone of Proximal Development. This is a period in which a child is ready to learn with the assistance of scaffolding from a more knowledgeable person.

Introduction

Regular and systematic observations allow us to reflect on all aspects of our job as early childhood educators. To ensure high-quality practices we should observe the program environment, the interactions between the children and teachers, and each child’s development. What are the benefits of observing:

To Improve Teaching Practices – As we watch and listen to children throughout the day, we begin to see them for who they are. With each interaction and experience, we can see how children process information and how they socialize with their peers. We can learn so much about a child if we take the time to watch, listen, and record on a daily basis. Teachers are sometimes influenced by their own ideas of how children should behave. Truth be told, everything passes through a filter that is based on the observer’s beliefs, cultural practices, and personal experiences. As observers, we must be aware that our own biases can impact our objectivity. To gain perspective and to be most effective, we must train ourselves to slow down and step back, we must try to focus on what the child is actually doing, rather than judging how they are doing it or assuming why they are doing it. To practice becoming more objective, imagine you are a camera taking snapshots of key moments. As you observe the children in your care – practice recording just the facts.

To Plan Effective Curriculum – When I was a teacher some years ago, I planned activities and set up the environment based on my interests and ideas of what I thought children should be learning. Today I realize that optimal learning occurs when curriculum reflects the children’s interests. To uncover their interests, teachers need to observe each child as an individual, in addition to observing both small and large group interactions. Let’s look at the curriculum cycle to examine best practices in how to use observation to plan effective curriculum.

Reflect

Reflective Practice is at the center of the curriculum planning cycle. Reflective practice helps us to consider our caregiving practices and to develop greater self-awareness so we can be more sensitive and responsive to the children we care for. As we look, listen, and record the conversations and interactions of each child, we are collecting valuable insight. With each observation, we are learning specific details about the children’s interests and abilities, their play patterns, social behaviors, problem-solving skills, and much, much more. With the information we gather, we can reflect on our caregiving practices and look at what we are doing well in addition to where we can improve. To ensure best practices, we can think about how we can become more responsive and how we can meet each child where they are in order to best support their individual needs. Reflective practice can be done alone or with co-workers.

Observe

To gather useful information about each child, we must first remember to use an objective lens. In other words, rather than assuming you know what a child is thinking or doing, it is important to learn the art of observing. To gather authentic evidence, we must learn how to look and listen with an open mind. We must learn to “see” each child for who they are rather than for who we want them to be or who we think they should be. Be assured, learning to be an objective observer is a skill that requires patience and

practice. As you begin to incorporate observation into your daily routine, here are a few things to think about:

1. Who should I observe? Quite simply – every child needs to be observed. Some children may stand out more than others, and you may connect to certain children more than others. In either case, be aware and be mindful to set time aside to observe each child in your care.
2. When should I observe? It is highly suggested that you observe at various times throughout the day – during both morning and afternoon routines. Some key times may include during drop-off and pick-up times, during planned or teacher directed activities, during open exploration or child-initiated activities. You may have spontaneous observations – which are special moments or interactions that unexpectedly pop up, and you may have planned observations – which are scheduled observations that are more focused around collecting evidence about a particular skill set, interaction, or behavior.
3. Where should I observe? You should observe EVERYWHERE! Because children can behave differently when they are indoors as compared to when they are outdoors, it’s important to capture them interacting in both settings.
4. What should I observe? To understand the “whole child” you need to observe their social interactions, their physical development, how they manage their emotions and feelings, how they problem-solve when tasked with new developmental skills, how they communicate with their peers and adults, and how they use materials and follow directions. In other words – EVERYTHING a child does and says! In addition to observing each child as an individual, it’s important to look at small group interactions, along with large group interactions.
5. How should I observe? To capture all the various moments, you need to know when to step in and when to step back. Sometimes we quietly watch as moments occur, and sometimes we are there to ask questions and prompt (scaffold) children’s learning. Sometimes we can record our observations at that moment as they occur, and sometimes we have to wait to jot down what we heard or saw at a later time.

Document

As we observe, we must record what we see and hear exactly as it happens. There are several tools and techniques that can be used to document our observations. As you continue along the Early Childhood Education / Child Development pathway, you may take a class on “Observation and Assessment” which will provide you with detailed information on how to effectively document a child’s development. As for now, we will take a brief look at some of the tools and techniques you may want to use as part of your daily routine.

Tools to Use In Your Daily Routine

Running Record

To gather authentic evidence of everything you see and hear a child doing during a specific period, you can use a running record. The primary goal of using a running record is to “obtain a detailed, objective account of behavior without inference, interpretations, or evaluations.” According to Bentzen, you will know you have gathered good evidence when you can close your eyes and you can “see” the images in your mind as they are described in your running record.

Anecdotal Record

Whereas a running record can be used to gather general information more spontaneously, anecdotal records are brief, focused accounts of a specific event or activity. An anecdotal record is “an informal observation method often used by teachers as an aid to understanding the child’s personality or behavior.” Anecdotal records, also referred to as “anecdotal notes,” are direct observations of a child that offer a window of opportunity to see into a child’s actions, interactions, and reactions to people and events. They are an excellent tool that provides you with a collection of narratives that can be used to highlight a child’s progress over time.

Developmental Checklists

To track a child’s growth development and development in all of the developmental domains including physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional you will want to use a developmental checklist. With a checklist, you can easily see what a child can do, as well as note the areas of development that need further support. Teachers can create their own checklists based on certain skill sets, or to look at a child’s full range of development they can download a formal developmental milestone checklist from a

reputable source (e.g., the CDC Developmental Milestone. Checklists can be used to track a large group of children or an individual child.

Frequency Counts

To gather information about a child’s interests, social interactions, play patterns, and temperamental traits you can use a frequency count chart. As you observe the children at play, a tally mark is made every time the noted behavior or action occurs within a set time. Frequency counts are also used to track undesirable or challenging behaviors, as well as prosocial behaviors.

Work Samples

Creating a work sample requires more effort than hanging a child’s picture on the wall. A work sample provides tangible evidence of a child’s effort, progress, and achievement. Not only does a work sample highlight the final product, but it can also highlight the process. To collect authentic evidence, with every work sample you need to include the date and a brief caption that explains the child’s learning experience.

Interpret

After you have captured key evidence, you must now make sense of it all. In other words, you must try to figure out what it all means. As you begin to analyze and interpret your documentation, you will want to compare your current observations to previous observations. As you compare observations, you will want to look for play patterns and track social interactions. You will also want to look for changes in behavior and look for triggers (antecedents) when addressing challenging behaviors.

Lastly, you will want to note any new milestones that have developed since the last observation. To help you analyze and interpret your observation data, you will want to ask yourself some reflective questions.

Here are some suggested questions:

• What have I learned about this child?
• What are their current interests – who do they play with and what activity centers or areas do they migrate to the most?
• Has this child developed any new skills or mastered any milestones?
• How did this child approach new activities or problem-solve when faced with a challenge?
• How long does the child usually stay focused on a task?
• Is this behavior “typical” for this child?
• What can I plan to support and encourage this child to progress along at a developmentally appropriate pace?

Another vital step in interpreting your observations is to reflect and connect your observation data to developmental theories. ECE theories provide foundational principles that we use to guide our practices and plan developmentally appropriate curriculum.

Plan

Once you have interpreted your observation data (asked questions, looked for patterns, noted any changes in growth and development) and you have analyzed theory principles, it is time to plan curriculum. First, let’s define curriculum. According to Epstein (2007), curriculum is “the knowledge and skills teachers are expected to teach and children are expected to learn, and the plans for experiences through which learning will take place (p. 5). I would like to define curriculum as “the activities,

experiences, and interactions a child may have throughout their day.” Curriculum supports learning and play and it influences a whole child’s growth and development. As teachers set goals and make plans, they should consider that some curriculum will be planned, while some curriculum will emerge. As you plan your curriculum, you are encouraged to think about the following aspects of curriculum – the environment, materials, and interactions.

• How is the environment set up – Is it overstimulating, cluttered, or inviting and well organized?
• What is the mood and tone of the classroom – Is it calm or chaotic? Do the children appear happy and engaged? Have you interacted with the children?
• Are there enough materials available – Are children having to wait long periods of time for items and are there conflicts because of limited materials?
• Do the materials reflect the children’s interests – Are they engaging and accessible?
• What are the social interactions – Who is playing with whom, are there social cliques, is anyone playing alone?
• Are the activities appropriate– Do they support development in all areas of learning?
• Are there a variety of activities to encourage both individualized play and cooperative play?

Implementation

The more joyful part of our job is implementing curriculum and seeing the children engage in new activities. It is common to hear teachers say that the highlight of their day is “seeing the lightbulb go on” as children make valuable connections to what the teacher has planned and as the children master new skill sets. An important part of implementation is understanding differentiated instruction. According to Gordon and Browne (2016) when teachers can implement activities and materials to match the interests and skill level of each child, they are utilizing developmentally appropriate practices. For light bulbs to go off, intentional teachers must remember to “tailor what is taught to what a child is ready and willing to learn.”

Evaluate

Once you have planned your curriculum, gathered your materials, set up your environment, and implemented your activities, you will need to observe, document, and interpret the interactions so that you can evaluate and plan for the next step. Based on whether the children mastered the goals, expectations, and met the learning outcomes will determine your next step. For example, if the children can quickly and easily complete the task, you may have to consider adding more steps or extending the

activity to challenge the children. If some children were unable to complete the task or appeared uninterested, you may consider how to better scaffold their learning either through peer interactions or by redefining the steps to complete the activity. As you evaluate your implemented activities here are some questions that you want to think about:

• How did the child approach the activity and how long did the child stay engaged?
• What problem-solving strategies did the child use?
• Did the child follow the intended directions or find alternative approaches?
• Who did the child interact with?

Based on your answers, you will decide on what is in the child’s best interest and how to proceed moving forward.

Assessing Children’s Development

The key to a good assessment is observation. Whether you obtain your observation evidence through spontaneous or planned observations, it is suggested that you document your observations by utilizing various tools and techniques (e.g., running records, anecdotal notes, checklists, frequency counts, work samples, learning stories). As teachers watch children in natural settings, they can gather evidence that can then be used to track a child’s learning, growth, and development throughout the school year. To start the assessment process, here is a road map for you to follow:

• Step 1: Gather Baseline Data

• Step 2: Monitor Each Child’s Progress

• Step 3: Have a Systematic Plan in Place

Let’s look at each step more closely.

Step 1. Establish a Baseline

Before you can assess a child’s development, you must get to know your child. The first step is to gather “baseline” information. Through ongoing observation, you learn about each child’s strengths, interests, and skills. While observing you may also uncover a child’s unique learning styles, needs, or barriers that may limit them from optimal learning opportunities. For example, you may notice that when a child arrives in the morning, they tend to sit quietly at the table, and they don’t engage with other children or join in play activities. As you track the behavior, you begin to see a pattern that when a teacher sits with the child and they read a story together, the child warms up much faster than when left alone. Baseline information provides you with a starting point that can help you build a respectful relationship with each child in your class.

Step 2. Monitor Progress

“The goal of observing children is to understand them better” (Gordon & Browne, 2016, p.119). Observations help guide our decisions, inform our practices, and help us to develop a plan of action that best fits each child’s individual needs. With every observation, we can begin to see how all the pieces fit together to make the whole child. To successfully monitor a child’s progress, we must look at the following:

• The child’s social interactions
• The child’s play preferences
• How the child manages their feelings and emotions
• The time in which the child masters developmental milestones
• How the child processes information and is able to move onto to the next
• activity or level

With each observation, you gather more information and more evidence that can be used to assess the child’s development.

Step 3. A Systematic Plan

Once you have gathered an array of evidence, it is time to organize it. There are two different types of assessment systems:

• Program-developed child assessment tools are developed to align with a specific program’s philosophy and curriculum.
• Published child assessment tools have been researched and evaluated and are accepted as a credible source in assessing children’s development.

Forms of Assessment

Whichever system is in place at your program, you will need to be trained accordingly. In this section, we will highlight the use of portfolios and learning stories as featured assessment systems that can be used to track a child’s development.

Portfolios

Portfolios help teachers organize all the work samples, anecdotal notes, checklists, and learning stories that they have been collected for each child throughout the school year. A portfolio is similar to a traditional photograph album, but it is much more than an album. A portfolio is “an intentional compilation of materials and resources collected over time” (Gordon and Browne, 2016, p. 112). A portfolio is not an assessment tool in and of itself, it is a collection written observation notes for each photo and work sample.

The evidence clearly documents a child’s progression over time. Portfolios are important tools in helping to facilitate a partnership between teachers and parents. During conferences, teachers can highlight the portfolio as they share anecdotes of the child’s progress. Parents (and children) enjoy seeing all the achievements and chronological growth that has occurred during the school year. Digital portfolios or e-Portfolios are trending now as technology has become more accessible. Not only do e-Portfolios enable teachers to document children’s activities faster, but teachers can also now post information and communicate with families on a regular basis, rather than waiting until the end of the school year for a traditional family conference.

What are the strengths of portfolios?

• Information in a portfolio is organized in a chronological order
• Portfolios promote a shared approach to decision making that can include the parent, child, and teacher.
• Portfolios do not have the same constraints and narrow focus as standardized tests.
• Portfolios help teachers to keep track of a child’s development over time
• Portfolios can help teachers develop richer relationships with the children in
• their classroom

What are the limitations of portfolios?

• To create and maintain a portfolio requires a large investment of time and energy
• Currently, there are no valid grading criteria to evaluate portfolios since outcomes can vary from one child to another
• Maintaining objectively can be challenging

Learning Stories

Learning Stories are written records that document what a teacher has observed a child doing. It becomes an actual learning story when the teacher adds his or her interpretation of the child’s dispositions toward learning – such as grit, courage, curiosity, and perseverance. The story may be as short as one paragraph or as long as one page. Much like an anecdotal record, teachers observe and document brief moments as a child engages with peers or completes a task. With the learning story,

however, the teacher connects learning goals and highlights developmental milestones that the child is mastering. With learning stories, teachers tend to focus on what the child can do rather than what they can’t do. With all learning stories, teachers will take photographs (or video) to include with the written story.

What are the strengths of learning stories?

• By listening to, observing, and recording children’s explorations, you send them a clear message that you value their ideas and thinking.
• As the teacher shares the Learning Story with the child, the child has the opportunity to reflect on his or her own development, thinking, and learning.
• The whole class can listen and participates in each other’s stories and ideas.
• Learning stories provide parents with insight into how teachers plan for their children’s learning.
• Parents uncover that teachers are thoughtful and continuous learners.
• Learning Stories encourage families and children to talk about school experiences.
• Learning Stories highlight how powerful and capable children really are

What are the limitations of learning stories?

• The quality of the learning story depends on the teacher’s own subjectivity (i.e., viewpoints, values, and feelings towards the child)
• Learning stories provide only a small snapshot of a child’s learning.
• It takes time to write a learning story (teachers may only be able to write 1 or 2 stories per month) and critics argue that this may limit the amount of information a teacher will need to truly track a child’s development
• Because learning stories are new, there aren’t official guidelines on how often to write learning stories and what exactly they should be included
• Learning stories are written up after the event or interaction has actually happened – so teachers need to have a good and accurate memory!

Recording Observations

Observations can occur from the first greeting of the day until the last goodbye. Observations should be planned and unplanned, while always being careful to ensure proper supervision in the classroom. It is essential to get holistic snapshots of the whole child throughout various times of the day. Additionally, observations should happen in both teacher-directed situations as well as child-directed situations. It is also important to observe during structured and unstructured learning periods both indoors and outdoors. Teachers can also observe relationships: those between children and staff, children and their families, and children engaged in play with children.

When planning for observations, the teacher or caregiver should be prepared to conduct informal and formal observations both at planned and unplanned times. In this way, the observer can experience authentic representations of the child’s skills, knowledge, and behaviors. When conducting observations at varying times and different tools (such as running records, brief notes, anecdotal notes, video/photography, creation of portfolio pages) in natural and comfortable surroundings; the observer can better view authentic representation of the child’s knowledge, skills, and behaviors in an authentic manner. These tools will be discussed later in the chapter.

It is essential to use tools that provide useful rating scales and documentation methods to observe a child’s development level and milestones. There are many methods that can be used to document (or record) your observations. In the next section of the chapter, we will explore some of the more common types of records used in early learning environments as well as the language to use when documenting observations.

Language

It is important to remember when writing any records of any kind to avoid “red flag” words or words that are subjective rather than objective. Subjective (or red flag) words are words that might have a strong emotional meaning to you but are not objectively written that describe the situation. An example of a subjective observation statement is “George and Joshua, two little stinkers in the class, were playing in the block area when George knocked over Joshua amazing tower that he had built.” The same scenario written more objectively is “George, four-years-old and Joshua, three years old were in the block area and George kicked over the tower Joshua had built that was five blocks high.” This type of descriptive language allows the reader to identify who the children were in the scenario, what they were doing, and gives some indication about the skills of the child building the tower. It is specific and non-biased.

Subjective Observations	Objective Observations
Often influenced by personal past events, experiences, or opinions. Can be biased based on our own cultural experiences	Based on what is observed using our senses. Recording what is seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled.
Based on our opinions, assumptions, personal beliefs, feelings, rumors, or guesses	Based on facts that are gathered. If it is not seen, don’t document it. Only write details and provide vivid descriptions
Results are inconsistent and vary child to child	Results are likely to be valid and reliable child to child
Avoid words like always, never, can’t, happy, smart, helpful, pretty, angry, shy, likes, hates, loves, sad	Include phrases like “seems to be “appears to”

Assessment

In the field of early childhood education, assessment of learning is a multipart process that is used to make decisions about the care and education of children. In other words, assessment is the evaluation of a child’s ability conducted in a natural, culturally relevant learning environment combined with the process of determining the teaching process works in the classroom for both the children and the teacher. The ultimate goal of assessment is to better understand the children you are teaching and provide them with the programming that will meet their individual needs.

The Assessment Cycle

There are four parts to the assessment cycle, a cycle that is often used when building and evaluating curriculum as well as communicating the information a teacher has learned about a child to the family. Simply put into four “steps,” the cycle looks like a continuous loop.

What Does Assessment Look Like in Early Childhood

Assessments can be done both as a formative and summative approach. The formative assessment approach follows the teaching cycle’s critical steps, including planning, implementing teaching, assessing student work, informing teaching, and administering through adaptation. Formative assessments can take the form of an informal or formal assessment and in the field of early learning are often called authentic assessment and are often conducted while teaching.

Formal assessments maintain a standard of high validity and reliability in their tools. These assessments, in general, follow a predetermined standardized format and are typically administered to all children. Formal assessments are based on research-based development, not taking into consideration biases. Formal assessments follow a national rating scale or desired results developmental profile. Often this type of assessment is called standardized assessment. On the contrary, informal assessment can be done with an integrated approach. The educator can develop the assessment to address the individual needs of the children and the learning environment.

Summative assessment is gathered usually at the end of the year or developmental people to review the overall development process and are usually taken in the form of some type of test.

In following unbiased and ethically sound observation and documentation practices, the assessment will reflect a central focus of child development. In assessing a child’s growth and development, use various assessment tools to support developmentally appropriate, culturally, and linguistically responsive practices. Assessments should be observed and documented during children’s daily activities, without disrupting the child’s natural learning environment unnecessarily.

Assessments should be designed to fairly evaluate children regardless of age, cultural background, home language, economic status, or ability. NAEYC describes assessments as being “Derived from real-world classroom or family contexts that are consistent with children’s culture, language, and experiences.” (NAEYC, 2020) Additionally, assessments should adhere to professional criteria that are both valid and reliable and captured in a realistic setting.

The assessment process provides a vital part of the teaching and learning cycle that informs teaching practices and helps teachers plan effective curriculum. Through the proper observation and documentation, teachers can assess children’s abilities to plan for supported teacher work and independent work in the classroom. Additionally, teachers can also capture a child’s interest as part of their learning environment and foster better family partnerships. We will explore how observation and assessment inform curriculum in the last section of this chapter.

Keep in mind that the learning process may look and sound different for each child, and so it is important that teachers are responsive to the individual needs of children. Authentic assessment designed in observation-based documentation is an important part of knowing the interests of each child and their current stage of development. When making decisions about curriculum and activities to provide in early learning classrooms, teachers can feel confident that they are providing intentional experiences that support and respect each child’s growth, development, and culture.

Any assessment or information that teachers gather about children is information that should be protected. Assessments are confidential and should be stored in ways that protect the privacy of the children and families. Sometimes, other professionals working with children (such as speech therapists, physicians, or other medical professionals) might have interest in assessments conducted by teachers. Generally speaking, sharing of any assessments conducted with children require written permission by the family.

How Observation and Assessment Ties to Curriculum

Effective teachers understand that observations and assessments are also important to help inform teaching practices and guide the learning activities for the children. Observations and assessments are a looking glass into not only the child’s physical abilities but also their interests, strengths, and learning gaps.

Through observation of several children, a teacher is able to determine if the content planned for the children was absorbed, if a child is struggling developmentally in any areas, if the teaching strategies are effectively supporting students learning, and can provide information that can be shared with families about child growth and development.

Having well planned (and spontaneous) intentional activities throughout the day that are rooted in developmentally appropriate practice gives teachers solid information about how to scaffold and develop learning and curriculum for their classroom.

Next, the teacher then used this observation to plan how to scaffold his learning.

Identify Children’s Interests	Jackson has been using a spatula as a springboard to propel dinosaurs into his pool
Identify curriculum or assessment content area	Experimenting
Part of the daily routine	Small-group time
Description of planned learning experience	Children will experiment with the use of tongue depressor catapults and small pompoms
Consider children’s developmental levels	While observing Jackson at play, I noticed he initially repeated the same actions, even when his dinosaurs were not landing in the bowl of water. He was using trial and error rather than drawing correlations between the placement of the spatula and the ‘landing zone.’
Scaffolding strategy	Begin by supporting Jackson’s current level of development: Imitate his actions Have him describe his actions: “Tell me how you are using your catapult.” Use parallel talk to describe how his actions are impacting the trajectory of the pompom: “When you placed the catapult directly in front of the landing zone, it landed where you wanted.” Gently extend Jackson’s learning to the next developmental level: Introduce new ideas: “What might happen if we move the catapult to the left?” Model a change in trajectory using your own materials.

It is important to remember when planning for children using observations that learning is a continuum of growth that occurs over time and at differing rates across the domains of development (Copple & Bradekamp, 2009). Keep in mind that a child may be observed to fall into one domain area earlier in their stage of development, and that same child may come into later stages of development in another domain.

Once a teacher has reviewed all of the information gathered from observations, the planning of curriculum can begin. The most effective curriculum in early learning classrooms will include the following:

• It will motivate the child to explore the environment
• Inspire children to investigate various centers and activities
• Encourage children to explore with new materials
• Allow children to engage in conversations and prompt them to ask questions
• Prompt children to interact with peers
• Permit children to problem solve
• Celebrate diversity and embrace uniqueness
• Accommodate each child’s individual needs

The process of curriculum planning should always have thoughtful reflection at the center of the planning.

To summarize briefly how assessment and curriculum are connected: curriculum involves learning concepts through strategies the teacher plans and assessment determines whether the skills or knowledge has been learned. In the scenario with Jackson, the plan the teacher wrote after observing his play becomes the curriculum. Assessment will occur through another observation after the plan is executed and the teacher can determine if the goal of experimenting with tongue depressors deepens and strengthens Jackson’s learning.

Through careful observation, documentation, interpretation and reflection, teachers can plan and implement effective curriculum that that each child can thrive as they master major developmental milestones.

Ethics and Biases of Observations

To remain objective in documenting observations, teachers should always be aware of personal bias. This is done by self-reflecting on a person’s implicit and explicit perspectives rooted in one’s upbringing. Not being aware of bias, especially implicit bias, teachers can reflect their prejudice through their documentation. According to NAEYC Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement:

All children have the right to equitable learning opportunities that help them achieve their full potential as engaged learners and valued members of society. Thus, all early childhood educators have a professional obligation to advance equity. They can do this best when they are effectively supported by the early learning settings in which they work. When they and their wider communities embrace diversity and full inclusion as strengths, uphold fundamental fairness and justice principles, and work to eliminate structural inequities that limit equitable learning opportunities.

To effectively practice advancing equity in observation and documentation, an educator must “consider how your own biases (implicit and explicit) may be contributing to your interactions and the messages you are sending children.

To remain objective in documenting observations, educators must be aware of personal bias and strive to eliminate these in the observation and in the analysis of observations. (NAEYC, 2020)

Teachers need to practice responsible documentation that adheres to ethical practices. In doing so, teachers should keep in mind:

• Maintaining confidentiality and privacy of both the child and family in the documentation is critical.
• Inform the family of the observations and documentation process and receive permission for any picture or video-based documentation.
• Never force or punish a child into participating in an observation process.
• Do not interfere with the child’s natural learning.
• Never lie to a child about what the observer is doing or use rewards like food to get them to comply.
• Never share documentation in any other manner than it does not follow ethical guidelines.