In the Habit of Kidwatching I was reminded of how important it is to truly know my students as readers. I would say that I do a fair job with kidwatching, but there is definitely room for improvement. According to the article, "Kidwatching is not something apart from the curriculum but
rather what holds it together and pushes it forward into new and often
unexplored territory" (O’Keefe 1996). I was inspired by this article to work on my kidwatching binder. I have used a binder like this is the past to compile information on students gleaned from conferencing, observations, test data collection, etc. I would like to approach my kidwatching a little more systematically this year. I also want to be intentional about using the information to drive my instruction. A mountain of data collected in a binder can look quite impressive when organized and filed neatly behind jewel colored tabs, however unless I use it to individualize instruction and coaching moments it is useless. I hope that by taking the time to listen to and watch my students intentionally that my knowledge of them will grow in a meaningful way.
I love how you stated: A mountain of data collected in a binder can look quite impressive when organized and filed neatly behind jewel colored tabs, however unless I use it to individualize instruction and coaching moments it is useless. Let me know what you find out about your students!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100% on the kidwatching data. If we don't use it intentionally to guide our instruction and our student feedback, then it does no good. I want to encourage you to find a system that works for you to not only collect anecdotal data on your students but to use it intentionally to inform your instruction and to really know your students. Thanks, Dawn