Observation And Documentation In Early Childhood Education

A child’s play is not simply a reproduction of what he or she has experienced, but a creative reworking of the impressions that he or she has acquired (Vygotsky). This simple phrase is meant to carry the notion that observation and documentation is key in understanding young children as learners. Observation and documentation of children has been an important part of early childhood teaching throughout history (Stuart Reifel, 2011). In the early nineteenth-century German educator Friedrich Froebel encouraged all kindergarten teachers to observe the children in their care in order to understand the ways in which children think, learn and build on their many interests. He further stated that observing children helps educators understand the importance
It is through observation that educators are able to understand the unique ways in which a child develop especially when compared to other children (Foreman, 2010). As the world of early education continues to develop and evolve, educators continues to employ the use of different tools and resources in order to observe, document and assess children. These include; assessment and measurement tools such as the ELECT and FDELK, different forms of technology and social media. This report is aimed at looking at the importance of observation and documentation in early childhood education and the role of that technology plays in this process and will conclude with a recommendation for a documenting observing using
Educators have grown more accustom to employing the use of technology in the classroom especially when observing and documenting children. According Michael Robb, (2011) “technology has a positive role in early childhood programs, particularly to document children’s learning” Nonetheless, one of the disadvantages of using technology for observation and documentation is the availability of suitable pieces of technology. He argues that newer forms of technology are not readily available in early childhood classroom. Robb, (2011) outlined that the most common form of technology that is available to educators are digital cameras, desktop or laptop computers and TV and DVDs. On According to Green Garage (2015) another challenge that educators face when using technology is navigating the large number of negative views attached to the use of technology to record and observe children. These negative views are often among parents who concerned about the safety and wellbeing of their children especially in the digital world. Lindgren (2012) outlines that educators often get overly engrossed in the use of technology in documentation which often shifts the focus from the child’s point of view to the adult’s perspective. She argues that thus issue is prevalent among educators who have vlogs, blogs and other social media