observation and assessment...observation and assessment session #3 february 24th, 2016 parent...

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Observation and Assessment

Session #3

February 24th, 2016

Parent Interviews and Portfolios


Agenda1) Lenses and Filters

2) Working with Families

2) Portfolio

3) Questions and Open Discussion

4) Break

5) Parent Interviews * Review of 10

questions for Parent Interview assignment


Objective Observations:

The quality of the observation being undistorted, impartial, unbiased, analytical and reliable

Subjective Observations:

Refers to a conditioned perspective, bias, judgement, or lens through which individuals see something from their own viewpoint


For the purpose of observation and assessment…

Lens: Observations

An abstract viewpoint that shapes what is observed and how it is understood

Filter: Assessment

A guided viewpoint that may help reshape an observation


Sensing and Perceiving

The first lens that you use in observation is your eyes.

Seeing requires taking in sensory information using the complex mechanism of the eye

The next lenses and filters will be those in the brain as it processes the identification of what you see. Here is where we are concerned with lenses and filters, and mental processes. Perceiving is the process of making sense of what we see.


What affects Your Observations?

1. Language

2. Personality/Temperament

3. Culture and Race

4. Anti-bias

5. Social Systems

6. Gender and Sexuality

7. Values, Morals, and Beliefs

8. Professional Lenses


Working With Families

Families can help you get a clearer picture

of their child by sharing information and

responding to insights and questions

based on what you observe.


Working Together With Families

Children benefit when the important adults in

their lives work together to get to know them and

to understand and meet their needs. Teachers

can share their observations with families in

many different ways. Families also can

contribute what they notice at home. Sharing

observations validates the sometimes different

perspectives of families and teachers and makes

communication an open, ongoing process.


Parental Input

• Why is it important to receive parental

input?

• Why is it important that we get to know the

parent, in addition to getting to know the

whole child?


Why Information From Families Is

Important

• Teachers and families bring different sets of information about the individual child

• Parents focus on “their” child and know specific information about their interests, likes and dislikes

• Parents have knowledge of their child’s culture and holiday celebrations

• Parents know what preferences and fears their child has

• Parents know how their child responds at home in certain situations

• Parents are the centre of the child’s world


Why the Parent’s Perspective?

• Parents are the center of a child’s world; our task is to support them

• By providing information to our parents we can facilitate positive social-emotional/cognitive development even at home

• By understanding a child’s home life better we are able to understand behaviours seen in the classroom

• Ultimately, if a parent doesn’t want to follow through with our advice, or has very different values, we need to respect those opinions and honour them


Why the Parent’s Perspective?

• It is useful to log information discussed and/or recorded

• Building a portfolio with the parent means gaining insight on how strategies are working at home and/or what health professional or psychologists are saying

• Recording daily mood, predispositions and development of a child can help you document changes and learn of emerging skills or triggers


Definition: Portfolio

A portfolio is a record-keeping device in which

observations, health and social information,

test results, work samples, and other

significant information about an individual child

are stored. The system enables educators to

keep records over a period of time, add items

as necessary, evaluate the child’s

performance, evolve plans to meet the child’s

needs, and review progress.


Key Features: Portfolio

• Contains a variety of observations, samples, and contextual information

• Documents development over a period

• Considers development an individual and holistic process

• Analyzes and assesses development sympathetically within the individual’s context

• Is mostly naturalistic


The Purpose of the PortfolioSome main reasons for developing portfolios in

childcare and education are to:

• Document a child’s development

• Record key features of a child’s learning

• Store relevant formal documents

• Demonstrate a child’s ability

• Reveal the interactions between children

• Collate children’s artwork and samples


The Purpose of the Portfolio

• Identify children’s special needs

• Document for the purposes of accountability

• Show the program’s success

• Record stages of curriculum delivery

• Help student teachers understand children’s

development

• Assess development progress

• Evaluate the children’s learning outcomes


The Purpose of the Portfolio

• Provide opportunity for teacher reflection

• Encourage children’s reflection and self-

evaluation

• Communicate with parents

• Design a curriculum and guidance strategies

• Evaluate the program’s effectiveness at meeting

children’s needs


10 Questions for Parent Interviews

• General questions

• Look for current information

• Ask about the child’s and/or family medical

history

• Developmental history

• Developmental milestones


Parent Interviews

• Setting Parent’s up before you begin…

Because some issues are more sensitive than others,

it is important that questions remain informal. It is also

important that you explain to the parent(s) why you are

asking the types of questions that you are asking and

if it would be okay to ask about a specific “sensitive”

topic before you actually begin. Follow-up questions

are a natural part of a conversation; be sure that you

are listening to the answers too!


10 Interview Questions

1. What is the composition of your family?

2. How does your child interact with others at

home?

3. How does the child respond to direction or

redirection at home?

4. Can you describe your child’s typical

evening/weekend routine?



5. What languages are spoken at home? By

whom?

6. What are your alternate child care

arrangements? i.e. when child is sick, if you

need to go out on weekends/evenings

7. What are some special activities that you do as

a family?



8. Can you tell me about your child’s overall

development?

9. What are some of your child’s

interests/dislikes?

10. Could you tell me about your cultural

background and are there any specific holidays

that are celebrated?