Observations...do You Use These?

[rachelllps]

I used all of these for my DPP and we used them regularly during sessions, my soon to be deputy is doing her DPP at the moment and is using them too.

 

But I find the 'spot obs' written on post-its or on our evaluation sheets often give us more information than the long obs. Still it is worth while knowing how to do them in case you need them for a particular child.

 

Good luck with the DPP!

 

Rachel

[Jenimouse]

Hello, I am also doing the DPP and completed the first assignment middle of last year, so have had time to compare theory with practice. I found it useful to learn the 'proper' methods and perhaps my obs now aren't quite so formal as taught, the principles behind them remain the same, especially keeping objective. We occassionally use tracking and time sampling in our setting, but the routine method is the post-it with longer narrative obs perhaps 1 or 2 per term per child. Sometimes I think I am just going to do a snapshot ob and before I know it it has developed into a narrative and sometimes I only get the chance to write the child's name down before being drawn away in the chaos of pre-school life!

 

I tend to use a notebook as my writing is terrible and full of abbreviations that other people might not understand and then write them up on post-its later at home. I know that this pretty much defeats the object of the quick note, but at least people can read them. Wouldn't it be great if we had the budget for a video camera to record stuff and then write it all up at our leisure uninterrupted!