1. Observing involvement in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 A workshop for AST conference February 8th 2012, 2.00 – 3.15
Christine Barnes
Cornwall Learning Lead Consultant Early Years

2. Our focus
Observing children’s involvement in what they are doing provides a new way to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching and learning – with the focus very much on learning.  We will watch a number of video clips covering all age groups and use them to develop observation skills, which will be useful both in your own classroom and when you observe others in your AST role

3. Prof Ferre Laevers Leuven scales Monitor involvement and well-being
Leuven manual free to download
Google SICS (ZICO)

4. THE PROCESS WITHIN THE CHILD
Here, you focus on how the children experience their stay in the setting. You try to find out ‘how the children are doing’, asking yourself:
How well the children are feeling (their wellbeing)
How engaged they are in their activities (involvement)

5. Will the children reach the desired outcomes?
We have educational goals – and plan programmes of activity/ work and (in early years classrooms, an environment in which we hope children will learn)
The outcomes may be skills and attitudes or curriculum content
But whether they actually learn or not – this is the process bit (depends on children’s wellbeing and involvement)

7. What is involvement? When children are... concentrated and focussed
interested, motivated, fascinated
mentally active
fully experiencing sensations and meanings
enjoying the satisfaction of the exploratory drive
operating at the very limits of their capabilities
...we know that deep level learning is taking place

8. How can we tell that children are deeply involved?

9. The signals for young children:
Concentration – look at eyes
Energy – physical energy and sometimes shouting
Complexity and creativity – adding a personal element to the activity
Facial expression and posture – e.g. face when listening to a story
Persistence
Precision. N.b. when listening, this would mean not a single sound missed even when speaker has a low voice
Reaction time
Verbal utterances – e.g. enthusiastic descriptions of what they have been doing
Satisfaction – look for signs of fascination

10. The signals for older children
Newly published video clip and ‘signals’

11. The Leuven Involvement Scale
Five levels
No activity
Interrupted activity
Activity without intensity
Activity with intense moments
Continuous intense activity

14. Clips Practice clips, including baby Getting the measure, clip 7
Hospital
Story time clip 8
Multiplying clip 14

15. Levels of involvement tend to be quite stable within a setting (class)
The more competent the teacher, the higher the levels of involvement
Why?

16. Mathematical skills, age 7

17. High levels of competence can mask low levels of involvement
Any examples from own experience?

18. Measuring involvement
The involvement scales can be used regularly or as a dipstick (maybe for children causing concern)

19. Christine Barnes Lead Consultant Early Years cbarnes@cornwall. gov
Christine Barnes Lead Consultant Early Years Cornwall Learning Berlewen Building Trevenson Road Pool, Redruth TR15 3PL Tel: