Importance of Observation and Documentation



Importance of Observation and Documentation

Introduction

Children behave differently in different situations. Sometimes they are reserved and sometimes they are spontaneous; sometimes they are sad and sometimes they are joyful. What makes children behave different in different situations? Every child behaves differently; therefore it is necessary to analyze the change in behavior of each child and understand trends and patterns of levels of energy and emotions. It is observed that most children don't tend to reason for this action as they explore the world. It is important for educators to know children deeply, to intervene effectively when they develop wrong concepts and to encourage their positive progress (Bracken, 2004). For a decade, several studies and surveys have been carried out to determine the benefits of observing and documenting the enigmatic characteristics and things that affect them.

Discussion

Why to Observe Children in their Early Years

Observing can help in understanding children and predicting their reaction on certain happenings. If an educator observes a child playing, he/she can find out child's areas of interests. Observing can help in determining the rate of development, both mental and physical. Strategies that children adopt to achieve their goals can help in determining their level in tackling issues. Observing a child helps in identifying their strengths, their weaknesses, their personalities and their temperaments.

Knowing children's interests can help in providing them with the environment they like. If an educator knows a child's skill levels, he/she can encourage the child to enhance and improve the skills. Identifying a child's development level can help in placing them among children of the same level, so that no one feels inferior to other.

Studying the behavior of a child does not include observation from a distance but it also covers conversations with them. These conversations are carried out in a way to squeeze out all the theories, strategies and concepts out of the subjects without annoying them or even letting them understand that they are being studied (Davies, 2004). To have a better understanding of children it is necessary to know their expectations, assumptions and beliefs. These things cannot be easily identified from a distance and therefore, conversations are necessary.

To discern children's theories demand proper transcription and documentation of their conversations. These transcriptions have to review several times to abstract the meanings of aborted movements, elliptical sentences, requests, or descriptions. Children tend to learn quickly but still they are always slower than the teacher and therefore to understand a child's mentality, thinking, theories, beliefs and concepts, it is for the teacher to slow themselves down to the child's level of understanding. Once, both the educator and the child are on the same level, both can understand each other in a better way.

While observing children, it is necessary to identify their goals and strategies to attain them. What do they expect by performing different acts? How do they plan to achieve their goals? Listening to their comments can help in finding out their strategy. It is the relationship or connection between a plan ...