Observation and Child Development

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In order to have effective observation and assessment you must first understand typical child development. Children develop on a continuum and at their own rate.  Educators play a key role in observing and documenting a child's developmental progression in order to make informed decisions about their program.     

How does observation, documentation, and assessment work together?   

First, you must understand typical child growth and development.

Then you need to carefully and thoughtfully observe the children in your care/classroom to see where they are on the developmental continuum.

By reflecting on this information, you can then plan developmentally appropriate curriculum (curriculum that is appropriate for the specific abilities, interests and skills of each child). 

Observation is not an end goal, but the beginning of creating meaningful curriculum.  It is the basis for decision making about how to create curriculum or alter the environment, and insight into how to interact effectively with each child. 

As you observe, keep in mind the goals you have established for children in your care/classroom.

Optional Resources for Further Study

1. ​​Embedding Assessment into Daily Activities and Routines, Collecting and Recording the Data, Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities ​
2. Developmental Milestones,  Division of Birth Defects, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
3. Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines (Web links to all State early learning and development guidelines (ELGs), National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance
4. NAEYC Position Statement on Early Childhood Curriculum, Assessment and Program Evaluation’s

Course Navigation Menu

1. Course Agenda
​​2. Child Development
3. Challenges When Observing (1/7)
4. Recordkeeping 101
5. Observing
6. Objective vs. Subjective ​
7. Quantitative vs. Qualitative ​
8. Observing Young Children
9. Observation Types (2/7) ​

10. Recording and Documenting
11. Document Observations
12. Definition of Assessment (3/7)
13. Assess
14. Types of Assessment
15. Collecting and Using Video
16. Caution and Risk with Assessments
17. Following Standards
​18. Planning Ahead

19. Developmental Assessments
20. Early Intervention
21. Infants (4/7)
22. Toddlers (5/7)
23. Preschool (6/7)
24. End of Course Quiz (7/7)
25. Course Evaluation Form​
Parking Lot
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