Observation is multidimensional.
It allows the teacher to:

  • collect information from cognitive, social, emotional, and physical areas
  • gather data across many settings and situations before, during and after instruction
  • gather data about both the processes and products of students' learning

Observation chronicles development in descriptive fashion.
It allows the teacher to:

  • collect several indicators of achievement for any particular goal
  • collect data that describes the growing list of knowledge, skills and attitudes the student has acquired and is able to use

Observation is anchored in authenticity.
It allows:

  • the teacher to capitalize on actual classroom tasks and contexts as opportunities for assessment
  • students to demonstrate their learning in purposeful, integrated ways

Observation provides for active, collaborative reflection.
It provides:

  • regular dialogue with students about the process they use, the products they create, and their growth toward learning expectations
  • the teacher with information about student achievement and program effectiveness
  • an important model for students' own self-assessment
Ways of Observing

The spontaneous observations that teachers make are an important component of the assessment process. Planned observations, however, are necessary to elicit the specific data required for making instructional decisions and evaluate judgments. There are two main types of planned observation.

UNDIRECTED OBSERVATION
Undirected observation occurs as teachers and students interact in the course of normal, everyday classroom activities. It can take one of two forms, alone or in combination.

Teacher as Participant

During mathematics period, students manipulate base ten blocks as they solve problems involving regrouping. The teacher interacts with a group of students to facilitate and extends their understanding of the concepts and procedures involved. Before moving to another group, the teacher records the observed behaviours on a combined checklist/anecdotal checklist.

Teacher as Passive Observer

In the gym, the teacher observes the students’ movement skills as they participate in a variety of games and challenges. Observations are recorded on a skills checklist.

The teacher observes examples of the students’ picture-making work that has been collected in their visual arts portfolio. These observations are recorded on the combined checklist/ rating scale which is stored in the portfolio.

DIRECTED OBSERVATION

Directed observation occurs during a specific activity structured to permit the teacher to observe the students’ performance in a prescribed context. This type of observation is similar to a performance test.

As part of a diagnostic reading assessment, the teacher presents the student with the words from familiar rhyme. Each word has been printed on a separate card and the cards randomly scrambled. The student is asked to reconstruct the text. The teacher observes and records his observations in the student’s literacy learning.

 

Toward the end of a unit on Japan, the teacher meets individually with a small group of students. The are asked to imagine that they must teach some younger students about Japan. They are then asked to articulate the things they think would be important for the younger students to know. The teacher makes an anecdotal record of the demonstrated learning.