Observation is one of a teacher’s key professional skills. It helps teachers understand children’s behavior, identify their strengths and support needs, and evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogical practices. Observation is also an essential part of becoming a teacher and developing professional expertise.
But what exactly are we observing? What do we focus on? How do we ensure that our observations are based on pedagogically sound criteria rather than solely on the individual observer’s own experiences and interpretations?
Observation is considered an important part of high-quality teaching and early childhood education. Its significance is recognized in curricula, the core guidelines for early childhood education, and various pedagogical recommendations. In practice, however, concrete tools are needed to carry out observation systematically and based on jointly defined criteria.
From General Recommendations to Specific Observation Criteria
Teachers and early childhood education professionals are guided to observe children’s activities, interactions, learning, play, participation, and well-being. The documents outline what factors are important to consider, but they do not always provide sufficient concrete tools for how to carry out observation in practice.
Without jointly defined criteria, observation may remain at a general level. Different observers may focus on different aspects, interpret situations in different ways, and form different understandings of the same pedagogical phenomenon based on their observations.
This does not mean that professional interpretation is unnecessary. On the contrary: observation always requires professional understanding and the ability to interpret situations. However, common ground is needed to support these interpretations.
Criteria-based observation helps transform general pedagogical goals into concrete and observable points of focus.
When clear criteria have been established for observation, the observer knows what is being examined and what aspects to focus on. At the same time, this makes it easier to justify the observations, compare them, and discuss them collectively.
Observation skills are a key part of becoming a teacher
In teacher education, observation is an important part of building students’ professional competence. Students practice identifying pedagogically significant situations, observing children’s social skills, play, and interaction, and evaluating the effects of learning environments and pedagogical approaches.
However, observational skills do not come naturally. They require practice, guidance, and the ability to distinguish between concrete observations and the interpretations based on them.
For example, when observing a child at play, it is one thing to record what the child is doing, who the child is interacting with, and how the interaction unfolds—and quite another to draw conclusions about the child’s social skills. Criterion-based observation helps students identify the specific observations on which their interpretations are based.
Common observation criteria also give students the opportunity to examine the same phenomenon side by side. For example, when several students observe interactions among children using the same criteria, they can compare their observations and discuss what happened in the situation and what pedagogical conclusions can be drawn from them.
In this way, observation transforms from an individual practice or learning task into a shared learning process. It supports students’ reflective skills, the development of professional thinking, and their ability to justify their pedagogical decisions.
Common criteria support consistency in observation
One of the key challenges of observation is its subjectivity. The observer’s prior experiences, expectations, and perceptions influence what they pay attention to and how they interpret what they see (e.g., Lämsä 2009; Lämsä et al., 2012; Malinen et al., 2009; Lämsä, 2017).
Common criteria do not eliminate the interpretive nature of observation, but they help make the observation process more transparent and consistent (Lautamo, 2012; Laaksonen, 2014).
When students, teachers, and instructors use the same observation criteria, a common language for examining pedagogical phenomena emerges. This also enables a critical evaluation of interpretations related to observation: Is the understanding based on actual observations or on the observer’s own assumptions?
This is particularly important in teacher education. It is beneficial for students to learn, even while they are still in training, that pedagogical decisions can and should be supported by systematically collected observational data.
Incorporating Research Findings into Practical Observation
The development of pedagogical observation requires methods and tools based on research evidence. It is important to be able to examine the phenomena and pedagogically significant factors identified in research in the context of practical teaching as well.
Criterion-based observation tools can serve as an important bridge between research and practice. They help structure complex pedagogical phenomena into an observable form and provide a common foundation for discussion, evaluation, and development.
In teacher education, such tools can support, for example, teaching practicums, students’ independent observations, guidance discussions, and pedagogical reflection. They can be used to examine how pedagogical goals are realized in practice and what areas for improvement emerge from these observations.
RALLA puts criteria-based observation into practice
The RALLA observation tools offer a concrete opportunity to develop pedagogical observation. The tools are based on the premise that observation is built on defined observation targets and criteria. This provides the observer with guidance on what to look for and how to organize their observations.
In teacher education, RALLA can be used, for example, to help students practice their observation skills, to support teaching practicums, in thesis projects, and in the collaborative analysis of pedagogical phenomena.
With the help of these tools, students can learn to identify key aspects of children’s behavior and interaction, examine pedagogical practices, and justify conclusions based on their observations.
Another key aspect of RALL’s development is the diversity of observation. Children’s play, peer relationships, interaction, and well-being are phenomena that require sufficiently concrete and pedagogically sound observation criteria for their analysis.
Observation is much more than simply looking at or following the object of observation. It involves purposefully directing one’s attention, organizing observations, and utilizing them to develop pedagogical practices.
When criteria-based observation is incorporated into teacher education, students gain tools that enable them to build their own professional competence and develop into inquisitive, reflective teachers.
Observation skills form the foundation for pedagogical decision-making, quality assessment, and continuous improvement.
During the upcoming winter semester, we’ll hear more about how the University of Turku’s teacher education program uses the RALLA observation tool to support student teaching placements. Of particular interest is the long-term model, which has been in use for years, in which the observation tool accompanies the student throughout their studies and supports the development of observation skills at various stages of their education.
What opportunities does this kind of model offer for teacher education and the professional growth of future teachers? We’ll hear more about this soon!
Sources
Laaksonen, V. (2014). Children’s Peer Relationship Skills and Bullying in Preschool Peer Groups. Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä. Doctoral dissertation.
Lämsä, T. (2009). Many Windows into a Child’s World: Children’s Knowledge as Observed by Adults and as Told by Children. In A. Rönkä, K. Malinen, & T. Lämsä (Eds.), The Palette of Family Life: Being a Parent and a Spouse in an Ever-Changing Daily Life (pp. 89–124). Jyväskylä: PS-kustannus.
Lautamo, T. (2012). Play Assessment for Group Settings: Validating a Measurement Tool for Assessing Children’s Play Performance in the Day-Care Context . Jyväskylä: University of Jyväskylä. Doctoral dissertation.
Malinen, K., Rönkä, A., Lämsä, T., Sevón, E., Poikonen, P.-L., & Kinnunen, U. (2009). The effectiveness and potential applications of the diary method. In A. Rönkä, K. Malinen, & T. Lämsä (Eds.), The Palette of Family Life: Being a Parent and a Spouse in a Changing Everyday Life (pp. 251–272). Jyväskylä: PS-kustannus.
