Guest Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 hi all, im looking for examples of some good high quality observations and next steps and some not so good observations and next steps for toddlers/pre school age. Can you share some examples please, or is there something out there that i could use to show the difference in quality to share with colleagues? what should a good observation and next step entail? many thanks all Salus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinthinguk Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Sorry I don't have any to share, I write mine on post it notes so mine are always brief, subjective and factual, if the child is enjoying something, explain how you know this, level of engagement and expressions so rather than " John was enjoying making sand castles in the sand" I would write, John showed high levels of fascination with pouring and filling containers, he smiled and chatted using some simple maths language ie full and all gone now" does that make sense? not sure if that's the sort of thing you are after. As for bad obs, some of the learning journals I have had from other settings have been shockingly bad lol, one had a photo of a pair of hands in the water, the caption read " may likes water play" .....couldn't even tell it was the same child. as for next steps, well I tend to use my own personal knowledge of the child and development matters to create a next step that is tailor made, using some specific areas that I know my key child could do with some progress, again quite hard to share an example. hope that helps x 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stargrower Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 twinthinkuk do you want to come and work for me? :wub: ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Hi thanks for that. I was given an observation and told it wasn't good enough and that it was too much from the adults point of view. This was the ova of a toddler: " I was mixing the green paint and Bob pointed to it and said green. He then pointed to his shirt and said green!". Next steps: introduce basic colour mixing (primary colours). Is this ok? I don't think there was anything wrong with that.. I wonder if there's like a document out there of examples of one and appropriate vs inappropriate next steps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinthinguk Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 As I don't know the exact age its hard to determine if colour mixing is age appropriate, perhaps you could also expand language if they are under 3. Colour mixing comes up in EAD in an older age band ( sorry not got my development matters to hand right now) If it was one of mine I might use a next step that introduced some colour matching play, we have collections of small objects specifically for colour matching and sorting but you can make your own, depends on which areas of development you are looking at. Perhaps the person who told you it was from the adults point of view was after a bit more of what the child was doing at the time, where you were, how long they watched you for, how involved they were, if you let them help mix the colours ect. not sure if that helps x as for inappropriate next steps, you really have to know your child well so that you can give them achievable next steps, does that help? I don't know of any documents of examples. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Your next step will vary according to what you already know about the child. I probably wouldn't choose colour mixing as the next step but might look at joining two words eg green jumper or green paint. Or I might encourage the child to mix their own paint. If the child has a particular interest in colours, I might look at other colour activities or games. writing obs come with practise.. Perhaps the person who criticised you could so some with you and discuss what you might write? Or could they share theirs with you to support you? don't be too hard on yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panders Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/p_10/qklg_pd_mod4_exp2_doc_observ.pdf You might find this a useful read 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apple Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Thank you Panders... very useful 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Great question Salus! Thanks for the link Panders - that document is going to be very useful very soon :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Thank you all for your replies and thank you panders for that link, it's just the kind of thing I was after. I've just been having a lot of doubts about my work lately and questioning everything which is making me panic. I know this forum is full of people far more experienced and knowledgable than me so hence all my questions. I apologise for being a pain. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mundia Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Not at all salus, this is exactly what the forum is here for. Support when needed, a confidence boost when we feel things aren't going quite right, a good debate when we have differing views, a place to vent our 'occasional' frustrations and a vast range of experiences, and some good humour thrown in for good measure. We've all been there at times, feeling a little low, or that we're not quite getting it right. Sometimes we aren't quite getting it quite right, but chewing it over on here helps us along the way. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Salus you are absolutely in the right place to feel well supported :-) You'll never be a pain and never have a question that you feel shouldn't be asked - we've pretty much all experienced the feelings you're going through. What it's telling me though is that you are a reflective practitioner who is keen to learn and do the 'right' thing...and that can only be positive when working in this sector (and remember 'right' is often what's right for your children, not because it's the same as what someone else is doing) You'll have doubts many times in Early Years, often they're not about us as practitioners though but because the powers that be keep changing things! <you'll get used to that though and may even become as cynical as us!> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynned55 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Thank you Panders, that is an extremely useful document. Salus, please dont ever feel you are being a pain. LittleRedRobin is spot on with what she says. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 thank you very much for your supportive words LittleRedRobin and Lynned55. this forum really is fantastic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Thanks for sharing the document Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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