Observing Young Children

Early childhood teachers observe children throughout the day for a variety of purposes. In e-clip #5, Dr. Sudha Swaminathan discusses various types of observations in the early childhood classroom and how to plan observations to get the most useful results. Four preschool teachers also describe their use of formal and informal observation strategies to identify the individual strengths and needs of children and to plan instruction. Additional resources to support using this video are available at:https://www.easternct.edu/center-for-early-childhood-education/e-clips/observing-young-children.html

Copyright 2009 by the Center for Early Childhood Education at Eastern Connecticut State University. This video may only be used for educational purposes. It may not be used for commercial purposes and may not be edited or adapted without written permission from the Center for Early Childhood Education.

0:39 - Overview of Observing Young Children
2:58 - Planned Observation of Child’s Social Interaction
3:48 - Planned Observation for Instructional Purposes
4:44 - Observing for Assessment Purposes
6:39 - Conclusion