Activity 2.1 - Carrying out your own observation

Choose at least one of the following film clips by clicking on the links at the bottom of the page (Tip: To open the link in a new tab hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on the link, or right-click on the link and select ‘Open in new tab’). Watch the video and write a first person narrative observation of the child’s activity. It will be useful to write this in your notebook as we will return to this activity in Section 3. To make it easier to refer back you will find it helpful to title the observation 'Activity 2.1'. 

Carry out this observation in real time as if you were observing the child face to face in a setting. (Do bear in mind that a video is very different to being in the room yourself. You are aware of far more than the camera is and can pick up on far more nuanced cues which are attracting the interest of the child. These videos are also for practice...it does not mean you can only observe a child in these sorts of situations. We will return to this issue later in the course.) 

When you have completed the observation write some further notes reflecting on the process

  • How did it make you feel? 

  • Were there any particular difficulties in carrying out the observation in this way?

It would also be useful to try carrying out a first person narrative observation with a child that you work with. When you have completed this observation write some further notes reflecting on the process. 

  • How did it make you feel? 

  • Were there any particular difficulties in carrying out the observation in this way? 

  • Reading the observation back, were there any aspects that surprised you?

  • Why is it important to experience undertaking the first person narrative observation in-person?

If you have a colleague who is working through the course at the same time or has previously completed the course then it would be very useful to compare your observations and to discuss the issues raised by the questions above. Such discussion will highlight similarities and differences in the way you both recorded your first person narrative observations. It should also reassure you that although there are some basic principles attached there is also flexibility. Such adaptability will be explored further as you work through Section 2.