The Power of Observation

by Judy R. Jablon

About the Author Judy Jablon is an experienced classroom teacher, author, and staff development specialist. She spent 12 years in the classroom teaching grades one through four, and holds a master's degree in early childhood education from the Bank Street College of Education. Ms. Jablon is a nationally recognized expert on early childhood assessment. She has worked on major school reform projects with the South Carolina Department of Education and the Maryland Department of Education. She is a co-author of The Work Sampling System and The Power of Observation Amy Laura Dombro is the author of numerous articles and books on infant/toddler and family child care. She has extensive experience training Head Start and child care staff, and consults for national organizations. Ms. Dombro was a member of the advisory committee on Services for Families with Infants and Toddlers that guided the design of the new Early Head Start program. She began her professional career by serving for eight years as the director of the Bank Street Infant and Family Center, and holds a master's degree in early childhood education from the Bank Street College of Education

Genres: Education

134 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

Reviews

[Tony Laplume · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kind of educational tool that has no clue who its audience is. Most of the book is written from the perspective of teachers who are basically already doing advanced observations, or quickly adopt such practices. It’s not written in a very convincing fashion; the anonymity of every reference and uniform observation samples doesn’t present a portrait of authenticity.

I find this troubling because observation is so crucial, and yet this book makes it seem the only way to obtain any use out of it is to find time to write extensive notes. It assumes a teacher can’t generate useful observations without them.

The focus should instead be on mindful practices that help teachers observe without crutches, not to lean heavily on them. If a teacher can’t learn something as basic as the students under their care, if they’re busy taking every possible shortcut, they are not likely going to read a book like this much less settle into its ideas so easily.

This is the second edition of the book. Perhaps a third, or scrap it and try better later.

[caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for teacher's who are new to observation-based assessment as well as a fantastic way for seasoned "observers" to be reminded. The well-organized and sub-divided chapters along with the discussion questions and activities at the end of the book lend themselves to using this for group discussions.

"You can use the information you learn from observing to create your classroom's physical and social environment and to plan your daily routines and activities. The environment you crate leads children to certain kinds of discoveries and thinking and to the acquisition of certain skills. Your role is to facilitate children's thinking and learning gas they discover their won meaning of their experiences." (p. 23)

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An extremely straightforward guide to the power of observation and how to do it. This book basically hits you over the head with a repetition of reasons and ways to observe individual children, or a group of children. An easy quick read for any teacher or child care provider.

[Jennah · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book that explains, very easily, the "Power of Observation." I wish I had this book at the beginning on my major, it is very helpful. We used it for discussions, observations, and the midterm in our Intro to the Teaching Profession class. Now we are on to the next book.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful book for practitioners striving to use observation as a method of individualizing interactions with children. A nice complimentary text for an Observational Methods course.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty straightforward, readable guide to being an effective teacher-observer. Glad I got a big chunk read before my first day at elementary school--helped my notetaking.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/11464587

[Nadiene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on thinking about how one should observe their classroom. Really made me reflect on my role as a teacher.

[Stephanie]

I think that this is a good book for anyone who wants to become a preschool teacher. I would say the down side this book is there is no index so it is hard to fins a topic when you are in a hurry

[Kay Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was wonderful! It was encouraging and practical! Vital for any classroom teacher!

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great read for a new teacher of young children.