Recording Observations

1. Recording Observations
2. Reviewing Observations
3. Sorting Observations
4. Deleting Observations
   

1. Recording Observations
To record observations using Learner Profile on your desktop computer, follow these steps:

1. Click on the OBSERVATION tab, then click on the RECORD OBSERVATIONS radio button if it is not currently selected.
2. In the Students box, select the Group you are observing from the pull-down menu.
3. Select the student or students you are assessing by clicking on their names. On Windows, you can make contiguous selections by holding down the SHIFT key while you make your selection; use the CONTROL key to make non-contiguous selections. On Macintosh, you can make coniguous selections by holding down the CONTROL key; use the SHIFT key to make non-contiguous selections. You can deselect a student by clicking on the student name again. You can deselect all students by clicking on a student's name without holding down the CONTROL (Windows) or SHIFT (Macintosh) key .
4. In the Observables box, select the observable set you are working with. To choose an observable set, double-click on the set that contains observables you want to work with. If the observable set is nested within other observable sets, continue double-clicking on observable sets to move deeper into the observable set hierarchy. Use the pull-down menu to navigate out of an observable set and back toward the root directory. You can move one level up (toward the root directory) by clicking on the ARROW button to the right of the pull-down menu.
5. Once you have double-clicked on the observable set you want to use, you should see the observables contained within that set, each with its own bullet point. Select the observable you would like to record an observation on by clicking on it.
6. In the Qualifiers box, you should see the qualifiers and qualifier values associated with the observable you selected. Select the qualifier that best reflects the selected student(s)'s level of achievement by clicking on it.
7. (Optional) In the Annotation box, there is space for you to enter a comment about the observation you are making. The comment will be recorded for all selected students.
8. Once you have completed steps 1 - 8, you're ready to record your observation. To do this, click the RECORD button at the bottom of the screen.

Back to top

2. Reviewing Observations
Using the Observation Maintenance feature, you can browse the observations you have recorded and delete observations you may have recorded in error. To review observations you have recorded, follow these steps:

1. Click on the OBSERVABLES tab.
2. Select OBSERVATION MAINTENANCE... from the Observables menu.
3. In the window that appears you can view the observations you have recorded. Each observation contains the name of the student observed, the observable, the qualifier used, the date of the observation, and the annotation (if applicable).

HINT: You can sort the data in the Observation Maintenance window alphabetically by Name, Observable, Qualifier and Annotation, or chronologically by Date. Click on the respective header at the top of the column in the table to perform this sort.

Back to top

3. Sorting Observations
Over time, you may accumulate hundreds, if not thousands of observations. You can filter these observations by telling the database to only look for observations recorded between certain dates. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Follow the steps to reviewing observations as described above.
2. In the Observation Maintenance window, click the CHANGE DATE... button.
3. In the window that appears, you will see a pull-down menu from which you can select TODAY, THIS WEEK, THIS MONTH, THIS YEAR, LAST WEEK, LAST MONTH, LAST YEAR, or OTHER... Select the date range that best suits your needs. If you select OTHERƒ you should enter the "To" and "From" dates in the fields to the right of the menu.
4. Click OK to filter the observations by the chosen date range.

NOTE: By default, the Observation Maintenance screen displays only today's observations.

Back to top

4. Deleting Observations
The Observation Maintenance feature enables you to delete observations you have recorded. This is a useful tool if you mis-selected a student or qualifier when recording an observation. To delete an observation, follow these steps:

1. Follow the steps to reviewing observations as described above.
2. Select the observation(s) you want to delete. You can select more than one observation by holding down the SHIFT key while clicking on the observations. Click the SELECT ALL button to select all observations in the table.
3. Click the DELETE button to delete the selected observations. Once you delete an observation, that operation cannot be undone.

Back to top