1.2 Explain The Importance Of Observation In Research

Observation is the formal term for one of the most important aspects of day-today professional practice when working with children and young people. It is how we find out the specific needs of individual children by carefully looking, listening and noting the activities of a child/young person or group of children or young people. Observation allows us to see a pupil as an individual; this is important for every child or young person in whatever setting but even more important in large group settings. Observations should be both formal (planned) but much of it will be informal (spontaneous) carried out as you work with pupils. Without observation, overall planning would simply be based on what we felt was important, fun or interesting (or all three) but it might not necessarily meet the needs of the children and young people in our care. Carrying out regular observations is vital because it ensures that we put the pupils at the centre of our practice. Through observations we can discover if a child or young person has developed new skills, their likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses as well as their understanding of what they are expected to do. Observation helps us assess pupils progress; we can find out about the specific care and learning needs of each child. We can then plan the next steps in children’s

Teacher observation is most successful when the teacher and observer work together and reflect on the teaching behaviour.

Critical Elements of Teacher Observation as Professional Development * Ensuring school leaders advocate and support teacher observation as a valid form of professional development

* Building a community of trust among faculty

* Establishing a school-wide commitment to the approach

* Separating observation from the teacher evaluation