Observation Guidelines

What to observe

1. How the teacher interacts with the child.
2. How the child interacts with other children or another child.
3. How the adults in the classroom interact with each other, i.e.
eye contact frequency, body language, verbal comments, etc.
4. Social behavior of the children as a group and/or specific child’s behavior.
5. What are the work patterns in the class? Are all areas of
the classroom being used?

Choose a child and observe how he works, what he has chosen as his work, and how attentive he is to his work.

6. Can you tell what the Ground Rules of the classroom are?
7. Note the balance of children working with others or alone.
8. What type of discipline is being used?
9. Are there times when the atmosphere of the class is calmer than other times?
10. Is the teacher aware of the whole class at all times?
11. What feelings do you experience in this environment?