Observation:
The Key to
Responsive
Teaching
Paola Hohenadel
Quality Child Care Initiative
December, 2013
Observation
Observation defined:
 Observation
is watching and listening to
learn about individual children
 When watching and listening to children
becomes a purposeful and intentional
part of your teaching, you can better
understand what children are feeling,
thinking and learning.
 This understanding supports responsive
teaching.
The Why and How of
Observing:
 Why
Observe:
 I`m curious about children and want to
understand them better.
 I want to get to know each child and
build positive relationships
 I want to find our about each child`s
development and learning.
 I want to teach more responsively.
The Why and How of Observing
How to Observe
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ask Questions: The cycle begins when
you ask questions and wonder about
children.
Watch, listen and Record: watch closely,
listen carefully to gather information and
record what children say and do.
Reflect: Pause and think (miniconversations with self).
Respond: based on reflections
How to Observe
Ask
Questions
Watch,
Listen and
Record
Respond
Reflect
The Why and How of Observing
I’m Curious
 Curiosity
about
children, the desire
to understand how
they experience
their world,
motivates us to
observe and keeps
our work
interesting.
DVD Vignettes
•
Ask Questions because I’m curiousWatch Clip #1
Watch listen and record to keep track of
what I notice Watch Clip #2, Eliana
Seg.2.1
Reflect to make sense of what I see
Respond to Further my Curiosity
•
Bridge to Practice Questions p.11
•
•
•
I Want to Get to Know
Children Better


Positive Relationships
begin with observing
to get to know the
children well
Most profound
learning takes place
when there is a
strong, positive
relationship between
you, the child and
the child’s family



When you
observe, you slow
down, listen more
carefully, and
pause to reflect
before stepping in
to offer direction
or help.
You see and
respond to who a
child is and what a
child needs.
Observing helps
you build
relationships by
revealing the
uniqueness of
every child
Using Observation
to Build
Relationships
You as the Observer
What You Bring to
Observing:
 Your culture
 Your individual
temperament
 Interests
 Feelings
 Professional
knowledge and
experience
Reflective Questions:


What do you bring to
observing that helps
you tune into the
special qualities of
each child and build a
responsive
relationship?
What else do you bring
that keeps you at a
distance and gets in
the way of building a
relationship
Lillian Katz’s Quote
 It
is not enough to be amazed by what
children do; one must be interested.
Amazement is a fleeting kind of “turn on.”
But interest, by definition, means losing
yourself in something outside of yourself,
becoming absorbed enough to stay with it
over an extended time, to follow up on it,
to try to understand it more deeply.
 (Katz, 2008)
Building Relationships
 Randy’s
Story (read-aloud) (Lillian Katz’s
Quote)
 Ask Questions to Build Relationships-Watch
Clip #3 Jenna, age 3
 Do video exercise p.27
 Watch, Listen and Record to see and
remember the details about a child
 Do video exercise p. 30
 Bridge to Practice p. 35
Understanding Development
 External
Pressuresassessment
 Internal motivationto teach
responsively
 Read Paula’s Story
p. 42
Understanding Development
 Practice
Observing: I want know
more about Children’s
Development and Learning. Watch
Video Clip #6
 “While watching” exercise p. 46
 Bridge
to Practice p. 48
Respond to Support Children’s
Development and Learning

1.




Two ways to respond:
Interact to scaffold and extend the child’s
learning; You can help a child move to the next
level by responding in these ways:
Introduce a new tool or material, book or
vocabulary word.
Join the child’s work or play to model a new skill
or strategy.
Offer a suggestion, information or guidance
Use open-ended questions to encourage the
child to describe, explain, predict, compare, and
contrast
Response to Development
and Learning
1.



Make modifications to the program to meet
children’s needs; to support children’s successful
exploration, interactions, and learning, you might
make changes such as these:
Adapt the physical environment by moving
furniture, changing materials, or altering the
ambience (e.g. private places, lowered lighting,
cozy corner, softness)
Adjust the daily schedule and routines
Plan learning experiences targeted to individual
children’s interests and needs.
I Want to Teach More
Responsively
Questions to Help Me be a
Responsive Teacher:
1.
2.
3.
What can I do to elicit positive
behaviors from each child?
What do I do that causes negative
behaviors from each child?
How might I change the
environment to enhance positive
behaviors and lessen negative
behaviors?
Responsive Questioning…
1.
2.
3.
How does each child respond to
different ways I use my voice?
How should I present information
so that listeners, lookers, and
movers all benefit?
What special attention might a
child need to experience success
in a particular situation?
Professional Book
StudyFebruary, 2014
Please register on-line at
www.qccigw.ca
in early January to secure a
copy of this amazing book for
the book study!