The fourth step requires an observation process,
using the Child Tracking Observation Schedule, with
the main purpose of understanding the child’s daily
routine. This technique gives information about the
learning experiences, the level of choice, his involve-
ment, the group organization and interaction with
adults.
The Child Involvement Scale seeks to measure
not only the learning outcomes but also the under-
lying processes. Essentially, it gathers information
about the participation in activities and projects, thus
giving indicators of concentration and motivation as
well as of satisfaction (Laevers, 2005). When lack-
ing, chances are that the children development will
stagnate, and all the actors in the education process
should do everything in order to create an environ-
ment in which children can engage in a wide variety
of activities. The details are registered in a specific
form.
The Adult Engagement Scale evaluates the inter-
action between the practitioner and the child (Laev-
ers, 1994). It targets the effectiveness of the teaching-
learning process through observation of adult-child
interaction. The quality of the adult’s intervention is a
critical factor for the child’s knowledge building. Up
to a maximum of 5 adults should be observed, paying
special attention to the sensibility, stimulation and au-
tonomy categories.
2.2 Ethical Behavior
Ethical behavior is fundamental in the whole process,
since it tackles professional behavior, privacy, and
confidentiality concerns (always keep in mind that the
observer is representing his school as well as himself).
Children, parents and professionals should be treated
with courtesy, always respecting the privacy rights of
children and family.
All the participants in the project, including chil-
dren, should be informed about all the details of the
project and their role in the whole process, giving
their consent. This will ensure that all of them are
comfortable and willingly, contributing to better re-
sults.
During observations, teachers may gather sensi-
tive information, such as details about child’s devel-
opment and behavior, as well as videos or pictures.
Children and their parents must know that this data is
restricted and will not be used in other contexts. Even
with adequate permission to observe and record these
details, the information must be stored appropriately,
to avoid misuses and eavesdropping.
2.3 Community Use Case
The procedure described in the previous sections is
traditionally paper-based, requiring a lot of written
material. In a typical set of 24 children, of which only
50% are observed, as much as 48 to 72 pages of forms
are filled. In a kindergarten, this procedure is repeated
in all the rooms, totaling more than 200 pages of gath-
ered data. Moreover, all the visual and audio details
are lost.
The subjectivity inherent to this process also re-
quires that all the observers, usually the kindergarten
teachers, receive an uniform training, allowing them
to achieve similar interpretations of similar situations.
This is only possible if the communication between
them is open and regular, requiring several in person
meetings.
Moving this information to an online service, such
as a social network, will allow the observers to store
and organize all the observation data in a single pro-
file, combining video, audio and text data in the same
observation procedure. This also makes it possible
to communicate asynchronously with other observers,
providing a valuable tool for subjectivity reduction
and better overall learning.
3 THE TEOBS SOCIAL
NETWORK
The interactions between observers (kindergarten
teachers) is fundamental to provide a stimulating en-
vironment for reflection and discussion, essential to
ensure low levels of subjectivity and to improve ob-
servers’ skills. The EEL/DQP process expects sev-
eral, face-to-face, meetings to discuss about the data
gathered in all of its steps.
The social relationships established between the
participants in this process (friendship, co-working,
information exchange, . . . ) can be mediated by com-
puters through the TeObs social network. Computer-
mediated communication (CMC) gives the possibil-
ities for asynchronous exchange of information, re-
gardless of where participants are. The community is
no longer defined as a physical place, but as a set of
relationships where people interact socially for mu-
tual benefit (Garton et al., 2006). However, this does
not preclude face-to-face meetings, should the com-
munity decide accordingly.
MySpace, Facebook or Twitter are remarkable ex-
amples of social networks, connecting millions of
people around the world. TeObs intends to be an audi-
ence specific social network, connecting kindergarten
teachers and providing a constantly updated memory
ObservationalResearchSocialNetwork-InteractionandSecurity
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