Observation & Documentation Resources
The TS Gold system can be overwhelming. It is tempting to set aside a couple of days before each checkpoint to "do assessments" instead of collecting the documentation and observations in a meaningful and ongoing way.
Taking documentation in the preschool classroom is very individualized and no one can tell you exactly what will work for you and your class. Based on MANY conversations, here are some ideas that might help:
Print a one-page list of TSG objectives to post as a reminder in your classroom
Find a system that works for you to organize your documentation. Some systems that have worked for others include:
Individual child portfolios for work samples and photos - either digital folders or binders/accordion files or both
Whole class checklists when you know you are doing an activity that will create opportunities for observation (e.g. craft activity involving drawing and scissors that will create opportunity to observe fine motor skills)
"Running" notebooks with wide margins for you to take ongoing or anecdotal notes - be sure to tag/color-code with children's names and/or objectives to find at checkpoint time
Post-it notes, mailing labels, small notebooks, or index cards that can be sorted into individual child portfolios
Use the TS Gold app to immediately upload and tag documentation - especially photos of children, their work, or whole class activities like "the question of the day"
Photos, videos, or voice memos of children at play to jog your memories - organized into folders by developmental domain or individual child
Involve all classroom staff in taking notes, photos, and recalling children's skills
Documentation panels, newsletters, learning stories, and displays - when you are routinely sharing learning with families and others in this way, your documentation is focused and organized
Use a variety of methods to document learning.
Create opportunities during transitions, routines, and play to observe children's skills and document them on whole class checklists - for example, create an obstacle course to observe physical development, post the numeral for how many crackers children can start with for snack and observe how they count, create sign-in sheets for children to write their names, transition children to the bathroom with a rhyming or syllable game.
Some skills (e.g. social emotional/cognitive skills) are not as easy to document on a checklist. When writing observational notes, remember to stay objective.
Use times where children are more independent or when you have additional staffing to carve out time for observations
Date (and ideally time) EVERYTHING so that you can monitor progress
Regularly organize your documentation so that you don't have as much to do at checkpoint or conference times
Be sure to observe over time and in as natural a way as possible. And remember to regularly reflect on what you learned from your observations and what it means for your teaching and family communications!
Want more or want to dive in deeper with staff? Here are a few options for learning more about observation and assessment in the early childhood classroom.
Use the "Product Tutorials" on TS Gold to learn more about the system (under "Develop" -> "Product Tutorials"). A good place to start is with the Introducing MyTeachingStrategies course (2 hours) and then the Objectives for Development and Learning (10 hours) or Implementing GOLD in MyTeachingStrategies (Preschool) (10 hours).
The Head Start ECKLC has a number of 15 minute in-services and other resources related to observation and assessment here.
TS Gold offers a tip sheet on best practices in documentation
The books The Power of Observation by Judy Jablon, Amy Laura Dombro, and Margo L. Dichtelmiller and Focused Observations: How to Observe Young Children for Assessment and Curriculum Planning by Gaye Gronlund and Marlyn James have useful tips for teachers and are helpful to keep in your program library.
