什么是观察
What Is Observation?
原文图片说明 / Original image description：一名幼儿躺在游戏镜前的地板上，一位老师在旁观察。 / A toddler lies on the floor in front of play mirrors with a teacher looking on.
一本在线词典¹ 对 observation（观察，名词）给出了以下定义：
One online dictionary¹ gives the following definitions for observation (noun):
注意到或感知到某事的行为或过程
An act or instance of noticing or perceiving
专心留意或观看的行为或过程
An act or instance of regarding attentively or watching
观察或留意事物的能力或习惯
The faculty or habit of observing or noticing
通过这样的行为获得的信息或记录
The information or record secured by such an act
根据《开端计划项目绩效标准》（HSPPS）45 CFR §1302.33(b)(2)：“项目必须定期使用本条第(b)(1)款所述的信息，并结合教师的非正式观察，以及视具体情况由家庭和工作人员提供的补充信息，来确定孩子的优势和需要，为策略的制定与调整提供依据，从而更好地支持个别化学习、改进中心式及家庭式托育环境中的教学实践，并改进以家庭为基础的服务模式中的家访策略。”
According to Head Start Program Performance Standard (HSPPS) 45 CFR §1302.33(b)(2), "a program must regularly use information from paragraph (b)(1) of this section along with informal teacher observations and additional information from family and staff, as relevant, to determine a child's strengths and needs, inform and adjust strategies to better support individualized learning and improve teaching practices in center-based and family child care settings, and improve home visit strategies in home-based models."
在早期开端计划（EHS）和面向流动及季节性务工家庭的开端计划（MSHS）中，观察儿童是教师、家访工作人员和家庭式托育服务提供者日常工作中必不可少的一部分。不过，观察不只是看看孩子在做什么。下面一位幼儿教师的描述说明了这一点：
Observing children is a necessary part of what teachers, home visitors, and family child care providers in Early Head Start (EHS) and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs do daily. However, there is more to observing than just watching what children do, as a toddler teacher describes here:
Johnny 是个两岁的红头发孩子。他把一架子玩具清空的速度，比我认识的任何孩子都快。每逢他来托育的日子，我都得跟在他后面跑来跑去，努力维持一点秩序。差不多就在那时，作为我在［学校］学习的一部分，我必须修一门观察课程。我有些不高兴：我知道怎么看孩子，也看得见他们在做什么。大约两个月后，我才恍然大悟：观察不只是看孩子做什么，而是通过观察他们外在的表现，尝试理解他们内在的感受和经历。这个领悟帮助我真正了解了 Johnny。²
Johnny was a red-headed 2-year-old who could empty a shelf of toys faster than any child I've ever known. I would spend the days he came to child care racing around after him, trying to keep some semblance of order. Around this time, I had to take a course on observing as part of my studies at [school]. I was upset. I knew how to watch children. I could see what they were doing. After about two months, it dawned on me: Observing wasn't about just what children do. It was watching them from the outside with the purpose of trying to understand what they are feeling and experiencing on the inside. This revelation helped me get to know Johnny.²
如果观察不只是看着孩子，那么应当怎样定义它？这位教师的故事包含一个重要观点：观察儿童还需要有关注点和目的。Stetson、Jablon 和 Dombro（2009）将观察定义为“通过看与听，了解每一个孩子”。³ 教育工作人员通过观察、倾听孩子及其家庭，了解每个孩子的发展，弄清楚孩子在学什么、怎样学习。观察也可以描述为：密切关注孩子的行为、互动、活动和兴趣，并留意其发展的各个方面。⁴ 这两种定义都强调，有意识、有目的地观察，以及通过观察去了解孩子的重要性。
If observation is more than just watching children, how might it be defined? This teacher's story contains an important point; observing children also involves focus and purpose. Stetson, Jablon, and Dombro (2009) defined observation as, "watching and listening to learn about individual children."³ Education staff watch and listen to children and families to learn about each child's development and to figure out what and how each child is learning. Observation can also be described as paying close attention to a child's behaviors, interactions, activities, and interests, and noticing all aspects of the child's development.⁴ Both definitions stress the importance of observing with intention and observing to learn about a child.
原文脚注 / Source notes
1. ‘Observation’，Dictionary.com，访问日期：2019年2月19日，http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/observation?&qsrc=.
1. “Observation,” Dictionary.com, accessed February 19, 2019, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/observation?&qsrc=.
2. Judy Jablon、Amy L. Dombro 与 Margo L. Dichtelmiller：《观察的力量：从出生到八岁》，第2版（Teaching Strategies 与美国幼儿教育协会，2007年），第3页。
2. Judy Jablon, Amy L. Dombro, and Margo L. Dichtelmiller, The Power of Observation for Birth Through Eight, 2nd ed. (Teaching Strategies and National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2007), 3.
3. Charlotte Stetson、Judy Jablon 与 Amy L. Dombro：《观察：回应性教学的关键——练习册及DVD》（华盛顿特区：Teaching Strategies，2009年），第1页。
3. Charlotte Stetson, Judy Jablon, and Amy L. Dombro, Observation: The Key to Responsive Teaching Workbook with DVD (Washington, DC: Teaching Strategies, 2009), 1.
4. National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative（全国婴幼儿照护倡议）：《婴幼儿课程与个别化》（华盛顿特区：美国卫生与公众服务部，2010年），第19页。
4. National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative, Infant/Toddler Curriculum & Individualization (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010), 19.