The debate surrounding testing and accountability in early childhood education continues, but one thing is universally agreed upon: effective observation and assessment of young children's learning are critical to supporting their development. Educators balance what they know about child development with observation and assessment approaches that both inform and improve the curriculum. This foundational resource for all educators of children from birth through third grade explores What observation and assessment are, why to use them, and how Ways to integrate documentation, observation, and assessment into the daily routine Practices that are culturally and linguistically responsive Ways to engage families in observation and assessment processes How to effectively share children's learning with families, administrators, and others Find inspiration to intentionally develop and implement meaningful, developmentally appropriate observation and assessment practices to build responsive, joyful classrooms.

What is meant by high quality observation in the early years? How do you devise effective next steps for young children that build on their interests? How do you ensure that you meet the needs of all the children in your care? Offering a fresh approach, this practical toolkit offers a complete guide to observation, planning and assessment in the early years. It clearly explains the principles of good practice in this area and provides training tools to help practitioners develop their knowledge and skills and embed these principles into their setting. The focus throughout is on helping practitioners to create their own systems for observation, planning and assessment that are appropriate for the children they work with. All the material in the book has been fully tried, tested and proven to work and the methods described can be tailored to meet the needs of individual practitioners. Featuring a wide range of case studies to illustrate how the principles work in practice, the book includes: Making effective observations and assessments Recognising the characteristics of effective learning Ways to engage parents in their children’s learning How to identify next steps and learning priorities Dealing with barriers and maintaining quality over time With fully photocopiable resources throughout and including downloadable training sessions to accompany the book, this is an essential toolkit for all early years managers, leaders and those involved in setting support.

Widely used to assess social–emotional and behavioral referral concerns in grades PreK–12, systematic direct observation is an essential skill for school psychologists and other educators. This accessible book helps practitioners conduct reliable, accurate observations using the best available tools. Chapters present effective coding systems for assessing student classroom behavior, the classroom environment, behavior in non-classroom settings, and behavior in a functional assessment context; also provided are guidelines for developing new codes when an appropriate one does not already exist. Procedures for summarizing, graphing, and interpreting data for different assessment purposes are detailed. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 13 reproducible coding forms. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials. This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series, edited by Sandra M. Chafouleas.

This fully revised second edition of Observing, Assessing and Planning for Children in the Early Years provides a detailed analysis of what is meant by the observation of young learners and why this is so vital to early years practitioners and students. In this accessible and insightful text, Sandra Smidt examines the various theories of how young children develop and learn, which have been put forward by thinkers and writers across time and place so the reader has a genuinely global view of early childhood. She then highlights how important it is for practitioners in schools, nurseries and settings to think carefully about what they have seen and heard in light of what they, as adults, already know about the children and their learning. Also included in this text is a helpful ‘Try Your Hand’ section where readers are invited to make their own judgements about what they have read, as well as a section on observing and assessing not only the nursery-aged children but also babies and toddlers.

Possibly the most important part of teaching is observation. Observation is a gateway to understanding how children develop and how to support them, and yet it's a skill that many teachers can find challenging.This comprehensive book, written by an experienced Waldorf teacher, offers guidance and tools to help teachers develop their capacities of observation. The book includes detailed description, check lists and helpful case-studies.

Classroom Observation explores the pivotal role of lesson observation in the training, assessment and development of new and experienced teachers. Offering practical guidance and detailed insight on an aspect of training that is a source of anxiety for many teachers, this thought-provoking book offers a critical analysis of the place, role and nature of lesson observation in the lives of education professionals. Illustrated throughout with practical examples from a range of education settings, it considers observation as a means of assessing teaching and learning and also as a way of developing teachers’ skills and knowledge. Key topics include: The purposes and uses of lesson observation The socio-political and historical context in which lesson observation has developed Practical guidance on a range of observation models and methods Teacher autonomy and professional identity Performance management, professional standards and accountability Peer observation, self-observation and critical reflection Using video in lesson observation. Written for all student and practising teachers as well teacher educators and those engaged in educational research, Classroom Observation is an essential introduction to how we observe, why we observe and how it can be best used to improve teaching and learning.

Description of various methods of observing and recording the behavior of young children.