Responsive Observation
Narrator: With responsive observation, you observe closely and ask questions about a child's behavior or development to guide you in responding to a child's needs. Why is that child doing that? What are they feeling? What do they need? When you observe and ask questions, you can develop theories. You can use these theories to choose how to best respond to a child in the moment and support their learning and development. This is in addition to intentional teaching where you plan activities and interactions to help children achieve goals.
Think about this example. This teacher sees a child sitting by himself. We can hear the teacher ask another staff member how they can encourage him to interact with other children. The educators may have asked themselves questions such as, “Why is he playing by himself when other children are playing together? Does he know how to invite other children to play? How is he feeling?”
Teacher: So I see that Ethan is playing with a—with the trains. Would ... I'm wondering—or I'm thinking, how could we get him ... We had been talking about how we were going to get peers interacting with him at least a couple times throughout the day. How could we do that right now?
Narrator: In another example, this same teacher notices a girl standing and watching another child blow bubbles.
Teacher No. 1: Woo, Eselle is blowing bubbles for Ethan.
Teacher No. 2: Get 'em, Ethan! Smack, smack!
Teacher No. 1: You could say, "Can I have a turn, Eselle?"
Girl: Can I have a turn?
Teacher No. 1: Look it ... [Girls speaking in Spanish]
Narrator: What questions might the educator have asked herself to guide her to respond the way she did? Why is she staring at the bubbles so intently? Why isn't she saying anything? Does she know what words to use to ask for a turn? Responsive observation takes practice but can become a natural process over time. Educators can use responsive observation with all young children. Educators who become accomplished at responsive observation develop a key practice that builds relationships, responds to children's needs, and supports their learning and development.
Teacher: And Jill came ... Tum ... Bling ... After. Guys, your put your puzzles together. I am so proud of you. Can you give yourselves an applause? Give your friends an applause. Guys, I'm so proud of you. Excellent, excellent. Super. High five.
Explore the concept of responsive observation and examples of how educators can use it. The video is part of the Ongoing Child Assessment to Support Learning module, one of several EarlyEdU Alliance Higher Education Learning Modules.
