Get Informal Observation Template 2020-2024

Informal observation is a way that teachers can collect qualitative data about a student's progress and development, without relying on scores from their academic work or reports from other teachers.

A classroom observation is a formal or informal observation of teaching while it is taking place in a classroom or other learning environment.

Informal assessments use observation and screening techniques to provide information. Examples of informal assessments include observation, portfolios, anecdotal notes and checklists. Screening assessments give teachers valuable information about where children are developmentally.

Informal observations can be as simple as watching a group of children during playtime or examining group dynamics within a classroom game. Although teachers are always observing their class, this everyday monitoring still differs from an informal observation.

There are two main strategies for conducting informal observational assessments: intentional and incidental.

An informal observation is conducted by a coach, and is an opportunity for the coach to focus exclusively on the behaviors a teacher is currently practicing, for the total 10-30 minutes of observation.

Informal observations include direct observations of our own and others' behavior as well as secondhand observations from nonscientific sources such as newspapers, books, and so on. For example, you might notice that you always seem to be in the slowest moving line at the grocery store.

An example of informal assessment could be a teacher asking her students to summarize their learnings at the end of the day. She can then understand how much the students have understood the topics.