5 Ways Elementary Teachers Can Observe Their Students

Observing children in the classroom is a great way for teachers to gain insight into their students’ progress and unique personalities. The practice also helps teachers nurture better relationships with their students and improve their way of teaching. So, what are some efficient ways through which educators can become more observant?

The best way for teachers to observe their students is by recording events that happen in the classroom, how students interact and participate during the lessons, and how they behave at playtime. These records are a helpful resource that teachers can reflect on or share with parents when needed.

Elementary teachers should regularly observe students in class and at playtime. In fact, observations should be a normal part of every school day, as they are not only helpful in teaching well but also in having a deeper appreciation for the young minds you teach. Here are five ways through which you can observe your students effectively.

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1. Look at Peer Interactions

You can learn a lot from your students by looking at how they interact with each other. Here, you will want to carefully observe how they speak with their classmates, participate in group activities, and play (or refuse to play) with others.

You will find out many things about your students by watching how they interact, but you will mostly learn these qualities about them:

Social skills. When doing group activities, watch how your students interact with each other. Do they relate with each other in a respectful way? Are they happy to work with others on class activities? Or would some rather be left alone?

Language and communication. How do they speak with one another? Are they able to articulate their thoughts well? Remember to go beyond how they speak, though. Do they also listen when others are talking to them, and do they respond well?
Emotional intelligence. Depending on a child’s upbringing and natural inclinations, they can either be well-attuned to the feelings of others or be completely uninterested when a classmate has hurt her knee in the playground.

Learning how your students interact with each other will give you valuable insight into where you can come in as a teacher or where they need help. If some students, for instance, are showing a gaping lack of social skills, you can use your observations as a vantage point when preparing upcoming lessons.

2. Watch Participation During Lessons

We love it when our students have a great time in class. That’s when the hard work of preparing lessons and thinking of exciting activities to do together truly pays off. But when a few students don’t seem interested or enjoy school time, it may be because the lesson was just too dull for them or they need help.

To be a more effective teacher, you need to improve areas where you and your students can’t seem to connect and help anyone who’s having a hard time with the lessons.

How To Observe Student Participation in Class

Observing student participation is not as simple as watching how they behave in the classroom. Having a clear structure in doing this will give your observations focus and produce more useful insights.

Here are three tips on how to observe student participation:

Identity the Passive Students

Some students are more likely to raise their hands to answer a question or volunteer to do an activity, while others tend to be shy and need a bit of a nudge. Observing and documenting which students need more help in this area will help you monitor their progress as you incorporate fun ways to engage them in class.

Note How Various Setups Affect Participation

The teacher’s goal is to create an environment where every student is encouraged to participate. Techniques to achieve this can range from arranging seats in a circle or U-shape, so no one is left in the background or asking students to speak their minds.

Note how different setups affect how eager your students are to participate. Do they feel at ease when discussions are done in small groups? Do they enjoy showing their artwork to everyone in the class? These insights will help you shape your lessons in a way that allows everyone to feel excited to contribute and feel that their input is valuable.

Observe How Students Participate

The kind of participation also matters when you are trying to gain insight into their progress. For instance, if you are observing a particular student to monitor their progress on making rude jokes during class, you can take note of the words that they use during recitations or the kinds of behavior that they show during group work.

3. Collect Their Artwork

Drawings and paintings are a wonderful portal into a child’s mind. They give insight into the child’s thoughts, feelings, and even the way they perceive the world around them. So one way to observe students is by taking a closer look at their artwork.

Observational art or an activity through which kids are asked to draw things that they see is a great tool that teachers can use to have a peek into their young students’ minds. When observing students based on their artwork, here are some things to remember:

Take care not to color your observations with your biases. It can’t be helped sometimes, but make every effort to refrain from allowing your personal biases to color your observations of a child’s work.
Be objective. Make notes of facts – stick to the colors used, what elements were omitted, and what was included, based on what the students were asked to draw.

Reflect. When you see recurring themes in children’s drawings, you can then reflect on what those could mean and what you should do moving forward. If you think that a child needs help based on their artwork and other observations, do not hesitate to ask for it.

Sometimes, though, looking at a child’s drawing is not enough. You may need to sit with the child and ask them what their drawing meant or why they drew their family that way. These conversations will help you make a more complete observation.

4. Record Stories From Class

If there’s one thing to love about teaching elementary students, it’s definitely that no two days are alike. You never know how your class is going to behave today. You may get the happy bunch today and the tantrum team the next.

However, that’s exactly what makes teaching kids so exciting. The classroom is full of funny stories, as well as sad ones. Make a note of significant events that happen during the day, like when shy Jennifer finally raised her hand to answer a question or when John used a unique expression for the first time.

These little snapshots of the day are helpful in tracking your students’ progress and in explaining such progress to their parents.

These classroom stories can happen anytime during the day, though, so they are trickier to catch. Here are tips on how you can be effective at documenting anecdotal records:

Have a notepad ready. Be it in the classroom, at the playground, or in the canteen, it’s helpful when you have a notepad to pull out and scribble on when you need to. This way, you don’t have to put off writing notable events down and risk forgetting them.
Use abbreviations. Knowing the focus of your observations will help you identify what behaviors you need to watch out for. To make things quick and easy to jot down, come up with abbreviations for keywords so you can take notes even in the middle of a lesson.
Be a keen observer all the time. It’s easy to miss the little things when you’re not paying attention. A little remark, a facial expression, or even silence from a student can be important observations. Make observing part of your lessons so that you don’t miss anything.

5. Watch How They Play

Observing how children play allows teachers to determine how their students feel, their cognitive abilities, and how they perceive others. When observing children play, teachers should be close enough to see well but far enough so that students don’t feel like they’re being watched.

What To Note When Observing Students at Play

Knowing what to look for when observing children at the playground will give your observation direction and make it easier to identify which facts are worth noting and which you can leave out. Here are a few things to note when watching students play:

Creativity. How do your students use the toys in front of them? Are they content with playing with those toys as they are, or do they make ways to make play more exciting?

Physical activity. Watch how your students move. Are they active, or do they hesitate to jump or skip? How do they behave alone and with others?
Use of language. How do they talk to classmates during play? Do they make their wants known or make suggestions? Or are they content with keeping quiet?
Interactions with their peers. Do they show empathy when a classmate trips and scratches their knee? Or do they laugh and make fun of them instead?

Conclusion

By making observations a regular part of class time, teachers are better equipped to make their lessons more engaging and meaningful. Observations can also be great tools that help teachers and parents gain a better understanding of children’s behavior. Besides, it’s not just the students that need to learn. Teachers need to expand their point of view too.

Sources

Parenting Success Network: Why Observe Children at Play?