A running record observation is a detailed, objective assessment method educators use to capture a child's behavior and activities in real time. This tool helps you evaluate what children know, understand, and need help with in your childcare program.
As an educator, you manage many responsibilities, but the core of your role is to help young children build a foundation of knowledge and skills. Your duties go beyond teaching academics; you also guide lesson plans, manage classroom behavior, and support children's strengths. Communicating progress to families to create strong partnerships is also part of your role.
Another important aspect of being an educator is observing. To effectively manage your classroom, support your children, and communicate with families, you need to regularly observe and monitor your children’s progress. While it’s impossible to watch everyone at all times, setting aside time to watch an individual child and conduct a running record observation helps you gauge their performance and behavior for a better understanding of their progress.
In this article, we'll discuss what running records are, their importance in early childhood education, and how to write them.
What is a running record?
A running record is a type of childhood observation method used to capture detailed documentation of a child’s activity or behavior while it is happening. Educators typically write these in the present tense and only include objective information, uninfluenced by personal feelings or opinions.
Preschool Daily Sheet
Use this template to document child's activities, meals, naps, and learning throughout the day.
Running records should include everything that happens during the designated period of observation as it happens. This observation tool provides a descriptive and comprehensive sequential account of a specific activity, giving an unbiased record of the facts, including what a child is saying or doing.
Teachers often use running records to assess a child’s reading skills, allowing them to accurately and objectively record what young readers say and do during oral reading. However, there are many applications for running records in an early education setting. Regardless of the behavior you are observing, running records help educators learn more about a child and their unique needs. You can then use that information to inform future lesson plans.
In any setting, running records give educators the ability to analyze what happened and plan appropriate instruction. They allow you to:
- Guide teaching
- Observe children and their strategies as they problem solve
- Document children’s learning over time
- Assign suitable work for current abilities
- Share progress with families
Keeping up with the progress of your children is an important step to ensuring that they actively learn. To follow and document their progress, you should conduct running record observations regularly. For children who are struggling at their current level, these observations should happen more frequently than for those who are on level or above level. This allows you to make timely changes in their learning to help guide their progress. While you might set aside time to observe a struggling child every one to two weeks, you might take a running record for an emerging or proficient child every three to four weeks.
Running record and anecdotal record
A running record is a highly detailed, real-time documentation of a child's behavior, whereas an anecdotal record is a brief, past-tense summary of a specific event. Both are objective observation methods used to track a child's developmental progress.
Anecdotal records are typically quick and easy to write, and they are shorter in length than running records. You usually write this note in the past tense and include specific details of an event as well as important context such as when the event happened, where it took place, who was involved, and what happened.
Like running records, anecdotal records should be objective. You should not include assumptions and opinions in the observations. For example, imagine you are writing an anecdotal record of a girl named Laura after her playtime with classmates. An anecdotal record that includes your assumptions might be: “Laura happily shared her toy with David after he asked to play with it.” In this example, you assume that Laura was happy about sharing with her classmate. Instead, you might write: “After David asked Laura if he could play with her toy, she smiled and handed him the toy.”
Running records and anecdotal records also share many of the same benefits. They allow you to:
- Record qualitative information about children
- Identify children’s needs, behavior, and learning patterns
- Track progress and changes in behavior and performance
- Identify areas of weakness
Both observation methods are effective tools for measuring children’s progress and identifying their strengths and needs. When comparing the two methods, running records are typically more detailed. While anecdotal records are usually brief notes of a child’s actions, running records are meant to include as many detailed notes as possible from the period of observation. Due to this detailed nature, running records take teachers more time to write.
Since there are pros and cons to any observation method, you will find it beneficial to adopt multiple tools for assessment. Child development is complex, and a series of tools, including running records and anecdotal records, helps you better understand children’s progress and growth.
How to write a running record
To write a running record observation, you should observe one child at a time, write in the present tense, record facts objectively, and document behaviors in sequential order. After the observation, you can add subjective notes and provide feedback.
All children are different, and they do not learn or develop in the same ways. Using an observation tool like running records helps you customize your instruction to cater to the different needs of your learners. The process of conducting a running record observation for each child can get overwhelming, but these tips will help.
Create a schedule
Setting aside time to conduct a running record observation for each child can intimidate many educators. Create a schedule to make this process easier. Decide how often you will conduct running record observations, and develop a schedule where you assign one or more children to each teacher on a specific day of the week.
Observe one child at a time
To conduct an accurate running record, make sure the observations focus only on one child at a time. In creating your schedule, you may decide to assign a few observations for different children throughout the day. This system is still efficient; however, you need to ensure that teachers observe the behavior, skills, and events of only one child at a time.
For example, imagine two children, Claire and Emmy, playing together. While you observe Claire, the behavior of Emmy might easily trickle into your observation. You might write: “Emmy yells, causing Claire to become alarmed.” Not only have you directed this observation toward Emmy, but you have also made an assumption about Claire. To keep the focus on Claire without making any inferences about her behavior, you could write: “When Emmy yells, Claire quickly lifts her head with widened eyes.”
Write in the present tense
When you write your running record, remember to use the present tense. All notes taken during observation should be an active description of what is happening at that moment. However, when writing your conclusion based on your observation, you can use the past tense.
Record the facts
One of the most important aspects of running record observations is staying unbiased. Do not allow any interpretations or opinions to influence what you write or how you write it. If you are familiar with a child, you might assign reasons or feelings to their actions or behaviors; however, this negatively affects the accuracy of the recording.
Instead, record the facts. What is the child saying? What is the child doing? An effective way to stick to the facts is to limit the use of adjectives. If you feel tempted to write that a child demonstrated happiness, sadness, or fear, remember that there were actions or behaviors that led you to this deduction. Focus on what the child says or does to lead you to those conclusions.
Document the behaviors in sequential order
Recording behavior in sequential order is the only way you can create an accurate picture of what happens during your session. Most of our actions are due to cause and effect: “The child stutters while trying to read a new word. The child then pushes the paper off the desk, and it falls to the floor.” When your observation is complete and you are ready to make your conclusions, you can easily infer that a child became frustrated during the observation. That is because you have a sequence of events that lead to the child’s frustration.
Now, imagine writing that the child pushes the paper off the desk before noting that they stutter over a new word. Just this slight change to the sequential order alters the conclusions you might make about their behavior.
Intervene as little as possible
During running record observations, one child is the star of the show. Keep the focus on them, and intervene as little as possible. Other children might be the supporting characters; however, you can consider yourself the narrator of the event.
Leave room for notes
After you finish your designated time for observation, add notes. While the running record should remain objective, your notes can be subjective. At this point in the process, you can use your experience and expertise to make your observations on what you witnessed. Try not to delay this process. Although you have a detailed log of events, it is best to complete this step when the events are fresh in your mind.
Provide feedback
After completing your running record, provide feedback to your learners. This gives you the opportunity to praise them for successful actions or positive behaviors, and it allows you to reinforce some strategies in areas where they struggle.
Examples of running record observations
A running record observation example typically includes the child's name, age, setting, time, objective notes on what the child is doing, and a concluding section for the educator's interpretation.
As previously stated, running records are often used to assess reading skills, but you can use them in many situations. A basic template does not require an overly detailed document for the observation. A simple example requires you to fill out:
- Who (child, age)
- Where (setting)
- When (time)
- What (what you actually see)
- Why (meaning of observed behaviors)
With this simplified form, you can use the space given to effectively record the actions of your learners and later reflect on their significance.
Final thoughts
Children try to make sense of the world around them by observing, listening, exploring, and experimenting. As an educator, you learn about your children using the same methods. Using running records will help you understand why children behave the way they do and will help you gauge their behavior, discern their progress, and design a plan catered to their individual needs.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How often should I conduct a running record observation?
A: You should conduct a running record observation every one to two weeks for children who need extra support. For children progressing at or above their expected level, conducting an observation every three to four weeks is usually sufficient.
Q: Can I use running records for infants and toddlers?
A: Yes, you can use running record observations for infants and toddlers. This method works well for capturing motor skill development, early language acquisition, and social interactions in younger children.
Q: What is the main difference between a running record and an anecdotal record?
A: A running record is a highly detailed, real-time documentation of a child's behavior written in the present tense. An anecdotal record is a brief, past-tense summary of a specific event written after the fact.
Q: How long should a running record observation last?
A: A running record observation typically lasts between five to 15 minutes. This timeframe provides enough continuous data to capture sequential behaviors without overwhelming the educator.
Q: Can families view running record observations?
A: Yes, sharing running record observations with families is highly encouraged. It provides families with objective, detailed insights into their child's development, bridging the gap between the childcare program and the home environment.
Q: Do you need special software to do a running record observation?
A: While you can conduct a running record with just a pen and paper, utilizing childcare management software like brightwheel streamlines the process. Digital platforms make it easy to record notes, attach them to a child's profile, and share them directly with families.
