Anecdotal Record Whereas anecdotal records are the written observations word for word, action for action

of exactly what a child is doing and saying. A transcript, if you will, on an event, series of events or even throughout the day. Anecdotal records have many benefits. The first is that, if done accurately, it is a true and unbiased account of precisely what is occurring. Look at figure 3.9: Anecdotal Record Activity: ____Learning center Table toys_ Date: _____11/09/02______

Name: ______ Tommy Tantrum__________ Recorder: ____Tina Teacher___ _____Tommy ran over to the table where other students were completing puzzles shouting, Here I come! He then approached another student and asked, Can I have that puzzle? Other student: No, I m not finished. Jimmy: But I need that one to build my rocketship. Other student: Mrs. H says you have to wait your turn. Jimmy: Mrs. H, Mrs. H, can I have that puzzle now? Mrs. H: when ___ is finished, you may have a turn. Jimmy: Set the timer then. (to other student) You have 1 minute, right Mrs. H? Jimmy then sat at the table with his face supported by his hands and repeated 5 times, Time is almost up. When the timer rang, Jimmy took the puzzle and dumped it and began assembling it himself.___________ Anyone reviewing this record can see exactly what occurred at the table. Notice how bias words such as demanded , grabbed or whined are omitted. An anecdotal record should be written in a positive tone. It needs to emphasize what a child is doing and his or her achievements as opposed to what the child is not doing. These records help defend and/or support other observations or opinions concerning a child s skill. They are particularly helpful in areas of social/emotional and behavioral skills.

Systematic observation Distinguishing between observation and inference moves us toward the process of systematic observation. Systematic observation is setting up our study so that we eliminate or reduce bias. We set up decision rules ahead of time that reduce inferences. A decision rule is a procedure set in place before we begin data collection. We construct our observational research in such a way that if someone else did it, under the same or similar circumstances, they would come up with the same result. In order to do this, our procedure and decision rules must be clearly described. It is essential to consider the context of behavior being studied. For example, you might be testing the hypothesis that boys on a playground are more likely to engage in risky behavior (e.g., leaping from high places vs. playing in the sandbox) than girls. It may turn out that more boys are jumping off of high places. That may be due to more boys being in the playground in the first place. To obtain an accurate picture, you need a count of the total number of boys and girls (so you know how many did NOT jump from high places). Also, you must keep track of the number of different individuals taking the risk. You might find more risk-taking incidents among the boys, but that might be due to one or two risky individuals. In this example, you would need to record the individuals doing the behavior in addition to counting the number of incidents. For observations to be systematic, they must be reliable. A rating scale is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a quantitative or a qualitative attribute. In the social sciences, common examples are the Likert scale and 1-10 rating scales in which a person selects the number which is considered to reflect the perceived quality of a product. A checklist is a type of informational job aid used to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task. A basic example is the "to do list." A more advanced checklist would be a schedule, which lays out tasks to be done according to time of day or other factors.