Observation & documentation
IPS method and Portfolio
Observation and documentation are the basis of a reflected pedagogical work. Observing children also means paying attention to them, i.e. seeing things in the world from the perspective of the specific child and trying to understand the child as a whole. At the same time, it serves the critical reflection of our role as adults/educators. The aim of educational observation and documentation is to capture and understand the child’s actions and stage of development as objectively as possible without being influenced by our own subjective perception and value judgements.
As a sponsor, we aim to constantly support our pedagogical professionals in reflecting on themselves and questioning their observations. It is therefore desirable for an educator not to carry out his or her observation on his or her own, but to exchange information with a colleague in all phases.
Observation and documentation are to be seen as a process-like sequence that goes through several phases. It begins with a thorough planning of the observation. This is followed by the implementation, documentation and interpretation of the findings and, if necessary, a consequence, e.g. a support measure or intervention, a decision or an educational approach.
Similar to the language development integrated into everyday life, we also use the IPS method of Kornelia Schlaaf-Kirschner for the development documentation. Depending on age, two different sheets are used:
- for children under the age of three, the observation areas of hearing, seeing and understanding; speaking; movement and dexterity; body control; emotionality and social interaction; and thinking;
for children from three to six years, the observation areas play; speaking, hearing and seeing; thinking; movement; life practice and social interaction/emotionality.On the basis of Schlaaf-Kirschner’s criteria catalogs and on the basis of free observations, we prepare written development reports that serve as a basis for the development discussions with parents that take place twice a year. Since the 2020/21 daycare year, we have been documenting digitally. The KiTaPLUS group app is also used for this.
In addition to the development discussions, we work with portfolios. The word portfolio is composed of the two Latin words “portare” (“to carry”) and “folium” (“leaf”) and refers to a collection of documents. Thus, a collection of personal documents is to be created for each child. The child is given the opportunity to help shape the portfolio itself, be it through painted pictures, handicrafts or written work.
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