. ; a i d Bl insane et dod te 1428 Blame eat af nd Obie ctriveg in Affe chive comasin tala’ ar, »= J Sihualires fia Poisons. > a hse ino Dt deak wiDe Dar overt betraretowa of19.7 OBSERVATION - A TECHNIQUE OF ASSESSMENT Observation is a very good assessment techniques. It gives valuab|. information. The aim of observation is to illuminate any issue connected with or arising from the actual use of a CAL package. Its purpose is to form a ‘realistic impression of what actually happens in the session where it is used. 19.71 Meaning of Observation Observation means knowing about the things, persons, places and events | in our environment with the use of ours sense organs. It is very natural a spontaneous method of gathering information and gaining direct and ind experiences for learning one or the other things. According to Oxford Concise Dictionary, observation means, “accurate watching, noting of phenomena as they occur in nature with regard to cause and effect or mutual relations.” In this meaning of observation, two points are highlighted Firstly in observation attempt is made to discover causal and other relations between facts of a phenomenon, secondly, phenomenon is watched realistical ly and precisely and the facts noted down, At present, observation is recognized as a technique of evaluating various aspects of overt/external human behaviour in controlled or uncontrolled situations. It occupies an important place in descriptive educational research. Since this technique provided for classification and records of certain happeningseee assessment in the Affective & Conative Domain-Observation Schedule & Art Judgement Test 439 inreal life situations, by one or more persons, it is termed as an objective technique. Its applicability ranges from most casual experiences to sophisticated laboratory experimentation 19.72 The Concept of Observation The art of observation signifies the process of capturing human behaviour as occurring in a particular situation. It is a means of obtaining first hand information as seen and experienced at a moment. It is very systematic, well planned and purposeful activity Observation, also provides immediate recording of events yielding both quantitative and qualitative data which help in arriving at appropriate decisions. The specific information gathered by an expert through this technique, can be verified for reliability and validity. Reliability of observation increases if observation is done by many individuals simultaneously or repeated by the same persons. 19.73. Types of Observation The mode of observation may be classified in the following way: ())_ Finding Vs Directed Observations Symonds, P.E. has divided observation is two types: 1. Finding Observation: In this type of observation, the observer simply knows that he has to observe a given situation. He tries to find the factors inherent in that situation, e.g. while observing study habits of school boys, he need not know what study is or how it is constituted. His purpose is simply to make a survey of the activities constituting study by observing boys. For this type of observation, the observer has to be competent in the field. 2. Directed Observation: The observation is limited to the schedule used. A list of activities is already prepared and attention is directed only to the items in the list. Diary records are taken for every act under study and included in the list. Entries in these diaries are later only analysed into separate habit lists. The check list may be a guide for subsequent directed observations. Items in the check list should be included on the basis of their social importance and reliability with which they can be observed. (11) Thomas Murrey has mentioned following types of observation: 1. Casual observation ~ i.e. having general impression of behaviour. This method generally gives wrong impressions, so it is unsatisfactory, 2. Anedotal Records ~ i¢, the method of taking down notes of the subject's behaviour on slips of paper and keep them in a folder, 3. Time-sampling ~ i.e. recording of behaviour for a definite period, say ten minutes, at a particular time of day. ~ =&440 Learning Resources and Assessment of Learn (111) Controlled Vs Uncontrolled Observation ° y be :d, unco By another classification, observation may be controlled, uncontrolled or mixeg 1. Controlled Observation: In controlled observation, the behaviour jg