When observing, consider playing alongside your learners and support them in extending their learning. Have a look at the slides below to see the types of open ended questions to help explore, challenge and extend learning:
You can also use the following prompts to support your interactions and recording of observations:
For further support, Education Scotland have produced a resource ‘Effective observation leading to effective assessment’ to offer stimulus for professional dialogue and discussion and invites practitioners to reflect critically on their own practice in relation to how observations of learning are gathered, analysed and used to improve learning.
Observation in P3 at Castlehill primary school, shared by lucy jackman, class teacher
“Naturally children are more motivated by an activity if it is of interest to them.”
“I make observations to determine how best to plan from their play and learning.”
“Important to set up learning experiences that allow ongoing observations and assessment.”
“I regularly reflect on whether a pre-assessment has to be a worksheet?”
“I observe children in maths play, by providing a wealth of opportunities to explore and spark curiosity. I have planned questions to extend learning.”
“All based against numeracy benchmarks. I use pathways to plan for assessment, allows children to take learning so much further than what could be limited on a worksheet.”
“Once we make observations, we often record through photos and share on Seesaw. This allows us to track how we are covering the curriculum and reflect on the opportunities that occur within plan, how they have resulted in learning and ultimately plan for next steps.”
