Observations DO NOT need to be linked to theorists or quotes from theories.Try and think about telling the child's story though and how often you might need to be adding observations and reflections to keep the story rolling along without big gaps!! An observation here and there is again a waste of your time and does nothing to support the child on their learning journey. But there is no set magical number for compliance. You do need to show an ongoing method of collecting and evaluating observations and then using the information to inform your program. This will depend upon the number of children in your care, the environment you work in, your centre or scheme expectations. The EYLF and NQS do not tell you how many observations you need to be doing.The idea is that you are continually documenting their learning journey but also increasing their content knowledge. What I'm trying to say is that although the eylf does place a level of importance on experiences being child initiated it is still best practice to incorporate a combination of planning methods. I use a combination of both in my programming, some weeks there may be more focus on intentional teaching, other weeks more focus on children's interests or individual focus activities.
Planning learning experiences based on children's interests and strengths is important but so is using some planned opportunities for intentional teaching.
This might be seen in your planned activities, your spontaneous child led activities, your environment, your resources, your intentional teaching moments, your language and communication with the children,your program template/method, how often you follow and build upon a child's interests and there will be a clear link to a child's ongoing learning journey (or “distance travelled”)through their individual records.
Your planned individual and group activities should clearly show that you are meeting all areas of the EYLF. You do not need to link your activities to the EYLF! What you need to ensure is that you have an understanding of the 5 outcomes and the activities that fall under the different categories….many will cross over so don't feel you need to make them fit in one box. You do not need to use numbers, colours or confusing codes to link your programmng and documentation to eylf outcomes, quality areas, standards or elements.
Objective observation how to#
You will find if you read them closely that many are the same as the things you learnt years ago, there is just a slightly different focus with how to approach learning and the language that is used. What you do need to do is just incorporate some of the language of the EYLF and it's important outcomes. If you trained before the EYLF came into being then you can still draw upon the knowledge and experience you already have, you don't have to ‘relearn' everything and do the same as everyone else.So we OBSERVE, RECORD, REFLECT & INTERPRET then use all of that to PLAN our PROGRAM. Use your reflection/evaluation summary to now plan your experiences, environments and focus activities.Recall and reflect upon the EYLF learning outcomes as well as the primary developmental areas of social, emotional, physical, cognitive, language and creative (don't worry, more about this below!) Briefly reflect and interpret what you have just observed…identify strengths, interests, needs, developmental skill, emotional state, potential.Incorporate visual or audio tools into your observation if you are comfortable doing so and it helps to build your overall picture or story.Record what you see and what you hear using the format/template/style that suits the situation, the time you have to observe, but also your particular skill and comfort level.Listen to what the children and other staff are saying.It needs to be authentic to be useful as an observation. First watch and observe….look for significant moments…not just moments to meet this week's observation quota – that is a waste of your time and does nothing to extend a child's learning journey.
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