Midterm Test

Read the following anecdotal report. Identify the 6 types of errors made, and explain
the errors, including examples from this report. Identify 5 types of bias in this report,
and explain the inappropriateness of the comments, including examples. Rewrite
the report without errors or bias.

Date of Report: Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

Student: Dylan Buchanan, 4 years old
Context/Setting:

I have been observing Dylan’s peer interactions (Co-operative play). Dylan was
playing in the block area with Mrs. Smitt, Taj, Michael and some other children from
the class.
They were using a variety of materials to build a fort including chairs, blocks, boxes,
blankets, masking tape and scissors.
They boys were acting a bit wild as the weather was too crummy for outdoor play
time. Dylan is a super cute little kid, although he needs to bathe more often.
During the observation, Dylan demonstrated communicating his needs. For example,
he said “Get off there guy!” when Taj was sitting on the blanket which was to be the
roof of the fort. Mrs. Smitt said “I noticed you started to yell, but then your voice got
softer, good using your words”. Dylan was also able to express his emotions. He said
“Guys, you making me angry”. After this, there was some conflict as Dylan only
wanted some children to enter the fort, and not others.
When the EA said “What do we need to do Dylan?”, “can you get us organized?”
Dylan responded by said “(Taj) can come in, but only him because he (referring to
Michael), keeps wrecking it all day long.”
This is pretty normal for Dylan, he can be a bit of a control freak lol. Mrs. Smitt said,
"You know what, we need to figure out a way to stabilize this”. Dylan responded by
saying “can someone build this”, while holding up a corner of the blanket up and over
to Mrs. Smitt to put the roof on together.
He invited ONLY Taj to come into the fort again. When Michael responded by saying
“but not me?”, Dylan said “you can't come in” “you can come in too” (referring to
Michael
while shaking his head and pointing towards Michael. Michael said “Anyone Anybody
can come in?” to which Dylan said “Yes” “NO”.
The children were given tape and scissors to secure the blanket roof.
Giving JK students scissors seems like an accident waiting to be happen.
Given my experience, I would be a much better EA for this class.
When Mrs. Smitt asked Dylan what was his idea for the tape, he responded, "Tape it
on". His tone and volume would be considered appropriate for this setting.
Owen used scissors to cut the tape, while Dylan held it. Dylan took the cut tape and
stuck the blanket roof to the fort. When Mrs. Smitt reported that the fort roof collapsed
slightly, Dylan said “That’s okay!”.
Mrs. Smitt asked if the fort was ready to go in, as Taj was really anxious to get in.
Dylan responded “Well, not yet” and skipped away to fix another part of the roof. Taj
and Dylan continued to work on the fort, cutting and taping the blankets to the
structure.
Dylan asked Mrs. Smitt “you cut this?”. Mrs. Smitt responded that Taj has scissors.
Dilan showed Taj where to cut and rudely said “ Dylan asked Taj politely if he could
cut the tape right where he was holding it.
Cut it right there.”. Dylan and Taj continued to cut and tape together.
When the tape got twisted, Dylan screamed and forcefully pulled at the tape. Mrs.
Smitt said “Okay, settle down, I know it’s frustrating. How can we help you?”. Dylan
pointed at the fort and growled like a maniac.
Mrs. Smitt said “Taj has some scissors here. You know what, it is tricky with tape,
sometimes it gets twisted. Dylan worked alone for approximately 10 seconds, then
continued to work away at constructing the fort with his classmates. Taj used the
scissors instead of Dyl, which was probably a good idea given Dylan's anger issues.

Summary/Analysis. Dylan has anger management issues and does not have the
skills to respond appropriately to peer conflicts.
This might be because of his parent's recent separation.
His language development is poor for his age, my four-year-old speaks much more
clearly than Dylan.

Signature: Jennifer Tate

Name: Jennifer Tate
(Educational Assistant)
Date: November 5th, 2020
Response:

Error Type Give examples of this error Explain what was wrong
from the report with this phrasing

Clear - Dylan said “xyz..”, Use of excessive language

Mrs. Smitt said”xyz” use to describe or recall a
conversation or situation.

Concise - “Dylan has anger Lots of opinions given, and

management lots of speculations-
issues and does especially in summary
not have the skills areas.
to respond Insignificant speculations
appropriately to and descriptions being
peer conflicts”. used.
- “This might be Inappropriate and
because of his insignificant personal
parent's recent
connections and comments
separation”.
made to describe
reasoning.

Correct - Dilan showed Taj Important parts of dialogue

where to cut and were left out or written
rudely said “cut it improperly to convey a
right there.” different idea of what
- When Michael occurred.
responded by Inaccurate recall of events
saying “but not or dialogue can confuse the
me?”, Dylan said reader or teacher and
“you can't come cause them to misinterpret
in” “you can come
the situation and use
in too” (referring to
wrongful disciplinary
Michael-corrected
phrase from video) techniques.
while shaking his Misspelling of names could
head and pointing potentially confuse reader
towards Michael. teacher into things another
Michael said student was being reported
“Anyone on.
(Anybody)can
come in?” to which
Dylan said “NO”
“Yes”.

Confidential - Other students’ No official report was made

names were being on any of the other
used. students involved.
The use of names were

Confined
Bias Type
1. Emotional Response
2. Prior Knowledge
3. Losing Sight of Standards
- Jennifer Tate, the EA
who wrote this
report, asked
another supervisor
to hand off this
confidential
document to the
principal.
Give examples of this type
of bias from the report
- “Dylan is a super cute
little kid..”
- “Given my experience, I
would be a much better
EA for this class”.
- “His language
development is poor for
his age, my four-year-old
speaks much more
clearly than Dylan”.
used in Dylan’s report,
breach of confidentiality is
in order if another EA,
teacher or supervisor does
come into reading this
report.
The document should only
be in the hands of the EA
who wrote the document,
and the teacher and or
supervisor who oversees
instructing the student at
hand.
Explain why this statement
was inappropriate
This statement is
inappropriate because
there should be no
indicators of bias based on
appearance of any kind.
The EA stating that she
thinks that Dylan is a “super
cute kid” already presents
an image or idea of him in
her head.
This statement was
inappropriate because the
EA is presenting herself as
knowing more than the
teacher of this class. She is
subjectively personalizing
herself as a better fit for
the EA position for the
class, based off one
interaction and
observation.
This was inappropriate
because she is attempting
to make personal
connections about her son,
and his development to
what she is reporting on, in
an anecdotal report-
 something that should be
objective and personal
towards the student the EA
is reporting on.

4. Inaccurate Accusations - This might be because This is wrong because the

of his parent's recent EA is attempting to justify
separation. or give reason for Dylan’s
actions because of personal
matters.
It is not the role of an
anecdotal report to make
assumptions and use
personal indicatives to
attempt to explain or justify
a behaviour, no matter how
good or bad.

5.

New Report:

Date of Report: Wednesday, January 20th, 2021

Student: Dylan Buchanan, 4 years old

Context/Setting:

I have been observing Dylan’s peer interactions (Co-operative play). Dylan was
playing in the block area with Mrs. Smitt, and some other children from the class. They
were using a variety of materials to build a fort including chairs, blocks, boxes,
blankets, masking tape and scissors. It can be seen throughout play time, that the
inclement weather is not the ideal setting for Dylan and his friends.
During the observation, Dylan demonstrated communicating his needs. For example,
he said “Get off there guy!” when one of his classmates was sitting on the blanket
which was to be the roof of the fort. Mrs. Smitt said, “I noticed you started to yell, but
then your voice got softer, good using your words”. Dylan was also able to express
his emotions. He said “Guys, you making me angry”. After this, there was some
conflict as Dylan only wanted some children to enter the fort, and not others.
When the EA said “What do we need to do Dylan?”,and “Can you get us organized?”
Dylan responded by saying “(friends name) can come in, but only him because he
(referring to other classmate), keeps wrecking it all day long.”
Mrs. Smitt then proceeded to say, "You know what, we need to figure out a way to
stabilize this”. Dylan responded to Mrs. Smitt by asking if “someone build this”, while
holding up a corner of the blanket up and over to Mrs. Smitt to put the roof on
together.
He invited one of his classmates to come into the fort again. When his other
classmate that they had been playing with responded by saying “but not me?”, Dylan
said “you can come in too” while nodding his head. One classmate asked, “Anybody
can come in?” to which Dylan said “Yes”. The children were given tape and scissors
to secure the blanket roof.
When Mrs. Smitt asked Dylan what was his idea for the tape, he responded, "Tape it
on". His tone and volume would be considered appropriate for this setting.
Owen used scissors to cut the tape, while Dylan held it. Dylan took the cut tape and
stuck the blanket roof to the fort. When Mrs. Smitt reported that the fort roof collapsed
slightly, Dylan said “That’s okay!”.
Mrs. Smitt asked if the fort was ready to go in, as she had noticed that Dylan’s
classmates seemed eager to go in. Dylan responded “Well, not yet” and skipped away
to fix another part of the roof. Dylan and friends continued to work on the fort, cutting
and taping the blankets to the structure.
Dylan asked Mrs. Smitt “you cut this?”. Mrs. Smitt responded that his classmate who
was closest to him has scissors. Dylan asked him politely if he could cut the tape right
where he was holding it. “Cut it right there.”. Dylan said to his friend who was cutting
the tape.They continued to cut and tape together.
When the tape got twisted, Dylan screamed and forcefully pulled at the tape. Mrs.
Smitt said “Okay, settle down, I know it’s frustrating. How can we help you?”. Dylan
pointed at the fort and proceeded to make growling noises.
Mrs. Smitt said “(classmate) has some scissors here. You know what, it is tricky with
tape, sometimes it gets twisted. Dylan worked alone for a short amount of time, then
continued to work away at constructing the fort with his classmates.

Summary/Analysis.

Dylan has issues with his anger, and difficulty controlling high intense emotions, this
can make it more difficult to respond appropriately to peer conflicts.

Signature: Jennifer Tate

Name: Jennifer Tate
(Educational Assistant)
Date: November 5th, 2020