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 ⇒ Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Educator ⇒ Unit 3.14: Use observation, assessment and planning to promote the development of children ⇒ Evaluate observation methods: Event Sample, Time Sample, Sociogram, Narrative / Free Description, Target Child, Checklist, Child Tracker / Movement Record

Evaluate observation methods: Event Sample, Time Sample, Sociogram, Narrative / Free Description, Target Child, Checklist, Child Tracker / Movement Record

Qualification: Level 3 Diploma for the Early Years Educator
Unit: Unit 3.14: Use observation, assessment and planning to promote the development of children
Learning outcome: 2 Understand observation methods
Assessment criteria: 2.1 Evaluate observation methods: Event Sample, Time Sample, Sociogram, Narrative / Free Description, Target Child, Checklist, Child Tracker / Movement Record

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  • There are many methods observation, some of which are described below:
  • Event Sample
    • A simple table that tracks how often a particular event occurs
    • Table headers usually consist of date, time, what happened, who was involved and any other noteworthy points
    • Event trackers may use the ABC technique to record the antecedent, behaviour and consequence
    • They can be used to track a particular behaviour in a child
    • This can help to identify patterns in a child’s behaviour and the triggers/reasons for it
    • They may also be used to monitor if interventions are making a difference
  • Time Sample
    • A simple table that tracks what a child is doing over a specified period of time (e.g. a day or a session)
    • E.g. a practitioner may record what the child is doing every 15 minutes over a 3-hour period
    • This can build up a picture of the child including their likes, dislikes, social groups etc.
  • Sociogram
    • A diagram showing social relationships within the setting
    • All children are asked to name 3 friends and this information is recorded and a sociogram is produced with arrows between each of the children
    • This can be used to identify reciprocal friendships, children that are the most popular with their peers and children that appear to be rejected by their peers
    • However, children in Early Years settings often have regularly changing friendships, so the information may be inaccurate
  • Narrative / Free Description
    • Flexible approach, where a practitioner observes a child for a set period and can write freely about what they observe
    • The child’s name and date/time of the observation should also be recorded
  • Target Child
    • Records a child’s activities and interactions over a short period of time
    • A coding system may be used to speed up record-keeping
  • Checklist
    • Simple checklist for quick observation and assessment
    • E.g. practitioner has a list of skills that a child should be developing and marks off each to skill to say whether it is at the emerging, expected or exceeding level
  • Child Tracker / Movement Record
    • Records how a child moves around the setting
    • A plan of the setting can be used, with arrows that show how a child has moved around and how long they stayed in a particular area
    • Can be used to identify areas that are of interest to a child
    • When used with several children, these records can be used to identify aspects of the setting that are stimulating or uninteresting to the children and can inform decisions relating to making changes to the environment
  • There are no requirements in the EYFS about which observation methods should be used, however, it is required that observation and assessment is undertaken regularly
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