Child Observations, Myths and Realities

I received a really interesting email enquiry this morning that went something like this,

'I have the Teaching Made Easy Obs App on my iPad. I am wondering how I can add the Principles and Practices to the Obs which needs to be on them.'

 

My response follows ...

I am wondering who told you that the Principles and Practices must be included on a Child Observation? Neither the EYLF nor the NQS prescribe how many observations are required or what format a Child Observation must take.

Why aren’t the Principles and Practices of the EYLF included on the ‘Teaching Made Easy – Child Observations’ iPad App?

It is the outcomes which refer to what you see children doing/saying/learning and therefore you record and report a child's progress against the outcomes in a Child Observation. The principles of the EYLF are essentially our beliefs as early year’s educators, for example,

through your observation you are building reciprocal relationships, showing your commitment to reflective practices as you use what you observed to plan possible next steps etc. The practices are what you do as an educator. Through the learning story that you write about the experience of the child as you observed it (the observation), you are likely to refer to aspects of your teaching practice such as your responsiveness to the child (what you said or did), how the child has learned through play and any intentional teaching you did or plan to do as a result. You can show evidence of the principles and practices of the EYLF in your service simply by choosing ‘Teaching Made Easy, Child Observations’ for continuous documentation of learning.

The National Quality Standards Professional Learning Program have identified many myths and assumptions made by educators implementing the NQS and EYLF. Following is their information regarding the Myths and Realities around Child Observations.

More Myths and Realities can be found here

 

If this is an issue in your service I hope this information assists you in your professional dialogue regarding Child Observations.

 

Andrea :-)