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Observing a Child
Posted by Stanley Communications on 10/21/2021 3:00:00 PM
“Didn’t you know I was saving these for elves and leprechauns?” said a kindergartener, holding up two plastic containers that she had pulled out of the recycling box in the classroom. By listening to what a child says, Stanley teachers gain insights into a child’s thinking and understanding. We see where they are in their development. We observe who they are and what they value.
As Stanley teachers, we not only listen to what a learner says, we watch the smiles, the stillness, the energy, the gestures, the tilt of the head and the facial expressions. The nuanced ways children’s bodies move communicate so much! As Deb Curtis and Margie Carter write in their book The Art of Awareness, “When you take even their smallest actions seriously you will be astounded at children’s deep engagement with the simple wonders around them. You will notice they are studying and speculating, engrossed in each moment.”
Listening and observing in these moments are the primary ways in which we gain more information and insight into a learner. Yet these simple actions take time, patience and a willingness to become students ourselves, allowing the learners to teach us who they are. As Alex Meallet, K-1-2 teacher resident, shares, “You learn more the longer you watch the child. It’s not like you can watch a child for five minutes and you have a real understanding of their complete identity. First you see the surface level of their actions and interactions and maybe some of the motivations behind those decisions they’re making. But the longer you watch them, the more slowly they reveal themselves over time. It’s a different way of knowing the child without actually interacting with them, but taking a step back and actually observing them.”
As Stanley teachers, we observe the learner alone and with others, both other children and adults. We observe the learner with a variety of materials and in a variety of environments. As Simone Brackett, Head of K-1-2, says, “One of the biggest things is that students, when you observe them, show you how they identify and how they name themselves and who they think they are in different spaces. You look at them in Choice Time and they are in the block area and they say, “I’m a builder”; or if they let another child come up with the blueprints and they say, “Yeah! What part should I do?”. Then, as you observe them, further and further, you might see some of those things shift. Are they the person who asks to play? Are they the person who joins something already going or are they the person who stands back and watches and then they join in? I think of the beauty of children being able to name themselves, and watching them progress through the different names and different identities that they find depending on what they’re working on and what resonates with them.” Nan Munger, 6-7-8 Art Teaching Fellow, adds, “Observing makes you realize what aspects of a student’s identity are getting brought to what spaces. You can then think about whether the learners are feeling like there’s room for their whole identities in certain contexts, why that is, and in what ways we can create room for more of students’ identities in our classrooms by welcoming different kinds of identity.”
As Stanley teachers, we observe the social, the emotional, the creative and the physical, as well as the academic. We value observing across classes and subjects. Different children are focused and engaged in different areas and seeing them across the curriculum, one comes to understand them better as a whole person. There’s also the importance of observing in the in-between spaces of learning – the transition times too can be so rich and full. And, we continually share our observations with each other as a team of teachers who seek to understand our students.
As Stanley teachers, we observe to discover what matters to each learner. As Carolyn Hambidge, founder of our school, says, “What are they doing that’s important to them?” As Stanley teachers, we work hard to understand the learner’s interests, joys, culture, way of being and seeing. We observe and listen as they explore open-ended experiences and answer open-ended questions. As Angie Martyn, former K-8 dance teacher, says, “I think about Choice Time and observing children through that experience and how much you can learn from that. Over time. Not just one Choice Time. Over time seeing where they gravitate. How long they are doing something, how they do something.”
As Stanley teachers, we listen with open eyes and ears, as well as an open mind and an open heart. As Katie Russell, former K-1-2 teacher and teacher coach, shares, “Observing takes a lot of self awareness and restraint to be aware of what we bring to the situation – our wants, biases, beliefs, etc. and a willingness to remain clear and open and not to jump to conclusions.” Alex Meallet shares, “We need to have awareness of the lens we have as well as our individual identities and how that affects how we perceive our individual students. Checking those assumptions at the door and seeing just how open you can be and just seeing the child for who they are, taking away what you are bringing.” We realize and appreciate that the learner’s way of seeing and being may be different from our own.
Stanley teachers continually gather evidence of each learner’s style, strengths and challenges, and where learners are in their development. We look for patterns and figure out how a learner learns best and where they are in their development, in all aspects of development. When we listen, when we observe, we are mindful to distinguish between observations and judgments, making sure that we do not jump too quickly to conclusions. As Nan Munger shares, “It’s important to tease apart the difference between what I see and what I think I know. Instead of looking at a learner and saying, “They’re doing this because of this,” I think, “They’re doing this and maybe it’s because of this or maybe it’s not.”
As Stanley teachers, we begin with seeing a child’s strengths and what they bring to any given situation. We notice the details that help us evolve in our interpretations and to see the dynamic beauty of each learner. At times if we want to dig deeper or tease out our interpretations, we choose a lens for observing. As Katie Russell shares, “We can go into observing children in a very open way, attempting to capture all we can about a child. We can also enter an observation with a focus or question in mind like watching body language or questioning or language or how they enter tasks, interact with peers, interact with adults, how they approach problems, physical play, resilience.”
We further understand a learner’s identity by having conversations with other people in their lives who also observe and know parts of them. We look at their work – writing samples, math samples, visual representations -- their creations. We observe the process and the product. We recognize the learning is what happens in the experience and to the students, not just the end resulting project, paper, or score. During learning, we confer with learners asking them questions about their thinking and feelings. At times we utilize anecdotal records, rubrics and checklists to provide a structure and to keep track of learning. At times, we layer in nationally normed benchmark assessments and when necessary progress monitoring; we view these assessments in light of the child’s work and interactions in the classroom as a whole. We believe that nationally normed assessments may capture progress on the basics of reading, writing, and math, but these assessments do not shed insights into cooperation, compassion, curiosity, and creative thinking.
As Friedrich Froebel wrote, “Watch the child; he’ll show you what to do. Educational experiences should only be judged as a result of unending observation of what the learner is doing; only through the detailed observation of persons can the teacher reflect, evaluate and take appropriate action.” Observing is how we at Stanley teach children authentically. To know a child is to watch a child and the most authentic way to teach is to see who the child is, what they need to learn and how they need to learn it. The coming together of everything that we know about a child – what they need, how they learn, who they are – with the curriculum that is being uncovered at that moment is the heart of Stanley teaching.
As Stanley teachers, there is magic in allowing our students to bring their own unique qualities to every situation and show us not only who they are, but who they are becoming. Each learner is unique and deserving of appreciation and understanding. By listening deeply and observing openly, we honor each learner as somebody who matters. And, we build trust with the child as they feel seen and they feel known. Through observing children we witness the joy and value of childhood and remind ourselves why we are teaching. We can learn from children to be open, to be observant, to be curious, and to engage with the world around us. We experience first hand what Deb Curtis writes in The Art of Awareness, “Becoming a careful observer of children reminds us that what might seem ordinary at a superficial glance is actually quite extraordinary.”
During the upcoming conferences, the Stanley teachers look forward to hearing your observations and stories about your child and to sharing what we have noticed and are learning about your child. Conferences will also be a time to hear your child’s self-reflections on who they are and who they are becoming as a learner and a person.