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How your written accounts differed

Heather’s written account was really beautifully composed in an almost narrative kind of way with full sentences and really descriptive observations in longer paragraphs.  She focused a lot on sounds she experienced, which helped the reader to really place themselves there.  Also, the type of parks we were each at definitely differed in size and had different features, but also I observed at a neighborhood park in the heart of downtown Philadelphia and she observed at a state park that was larger and close to water.  There seemed to be a lot less people at the park I observed, with a little less action.  The park she observed seemed to be busy and offered a lot of different outdoor activities like swimming, hiking, canoeing, we also took notes differently.  I brought a notebook, and she took notes directly on her laptop (smart!).  It seems like during her observation she moved from group to group of people, starting with whoever she saw first and then described what she saw as she moved to the next area of focus ie: the water.

How your approach to observation and note taking differed

Like I mentioned above, Heather wrote in a more descriptive narrative way that almost felt like a story, and sometimes wrote a longer observation in a paragraph form rather than short descriptive sentences which I feel like was my approach to note taking.  Also, I paid almost no attention to the sounds I heard in the park I was at besides mentioning some birds.  I also stopped note taking at two different times and interacted with two different dogs that I felt I had to greet.  I also may have been a little more judgmental in my observations.

What this exercise teaches you about field notes and observation

This exercise really exemplifies that people experience similar situations in completely different ways.  We pay attention to different details, and elements in terms of people, their actions, nature, transportation, and animals.

Specific questions this exercise raised

Are there different technical approaches to writing field notes, and are all forms accepted?  Is one better than the other?

Is it okay to draw conclusions about what we see, or should be objective and unbiased?

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I would like to start off this post by first mentioning that Amelia's observation notes were extremely well organized. She broke up her notes into smaller paragraphs in order to keep them organized and sequenced. While reading through Amelia's notes, I felt like I was actually there with her observing Hawthorne Square Park.

One way that our observation notes differed was that Amelia's notes focused more on what was actually occurring in the moment and incorporated sounds that she observed as they occurred, whereas mine started off describing everything that I heard and then focused on the actions and events that were happening. Another difference in our observation notes was the style of how we wrote. While reading Amelia's field notes, it seemed as if she was telling a story. Her notes were completely in order of events while they were happening. Her sentence structure was kept short, precise, and descriptive. I really liked how she structured her notes!

Another difference that I noticed was that Amelia was very specific in her descriptions. She describe people using ethnicity and recorded the brands of the strollers that she saw within the park. I was descriptive in types of clothing people were wearing and the colors of objects that I saw. We were both specific and descriptive, but more focused on different aspects of the scene that was occurring in front of us.

Something that I learned about taking field notes and observations is how difficult it is to record notes quickly enough to get every little description down of observation. I was typing the entire half hour of everything that I heard and saw and I still felt like I was missing some events that were occurring at the park. I learned that it is difficult to get every little aspect happening of a scene down in such quick timing that it all occurs. I also learned how important it is to make time to expand on your notes and specify. Specification leads to being more descriptive and can make the reader feel as if they are actually within the scene.

While thinking about the analysis process, one question that I have how field notes should look and sound? What is the best way to organize field notes?

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After reading through both Rachel and Alyssa's field notes and observations, the biggest difference I noticed was the way that they were written. Alyssa and mine were similar in the fact that we both took observation notes in time and said what was happening in order. We also both wrote paragraphs to expand on our field notes. Rachel's notes gave me more of a snapshot of what was happening that day. She didn't go into detail about what other people might have been doing at the park or if there were even other people at the park but focused more the actions of her, her mom, and her daughter. She also wrote her notes in a bullet point format focusing on the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings. Alyssa and I also focused more on the people and the actions of the people around us. Another difference, that I noticed between our accounts, was the fact that Rachel and Alyssa both were outside taking their field notes while I sat in my car to do my observation. This allowed them to experience other senses that I might have missed in my car such as smells or sounds.

One thing I learned from this exercise about field notes and observations is that everybody is going to take notes differently, but can still have a similar experience without talking to one another. Another thing I learned from taking field notes is that 30 minutes really flies by especially once you get into really taking in the environment.

When thinking about the learning event analysis, right now I really only have one question which is: when taking fieldnotes, what is the proper formatting of fieldnotes and is there a right/ wrong way to write them or should it suite the writer of the notes? When I initially did my notes for step 1, they were very similar to Rachel's in the fact that they were bulleted. Once I expanded on them, I turned my observations into written response instead of just jotted down notes.

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Gioanna's observation notes were done in a very organized and thorough approach! It was clearly she was very attentive to all details in her surroundings, which allowed her to grasp more specific observations throughout her time at the local market. I felt that her introduction/background information was very holistic and grounded me in the experience; something I could follow, in my observations! I also liked how Gioanna pointed out what was going on around the market as well, which showed her attention to all factors. It was clear that our experiences differed in the times we went to the market and the amount of people that were present at those times. Regardless, she made the most of it by observing the restrictions due to COVID-19 and did a good job calculating the exact numbers of things she noticed (people wearing glove, people who were in line, etc.) It was very well organized and easy to follow as she labeled the sections with the theme she was observing. I liked observing what stood out to here including a person who spoke in a southern accent and someone calling her ‘ma’am’, which she still finds weird. Her general focus seemed to be on the age, conversations and influence the time period had on people and it was cool how we both had people speak to us! I feel like she was closer to the market then I was as she was addressed by someone working there.

This exercise taught me several things about fieldnotes and our role as observers. Our own experience and perceptions shape how and why we observe what we do. Very psychological stuff but its true! I also learned that there is not a one size fits all approach to be an observer. Whether you are in the classroom or in the market, we can rely on our unique thoughts, feelings and assessments of a given situation and turn it into something meaningful and relatable to our own experience and understanding! Being an observer does not always have to be viewed as weird, but a genuinely useful skill in understanding human behavior!

Some questions this experience raised for me, as we prepare for the learning event analysis process are as followed. What prior beliefs/biases do I hold that I can challenge when observing and analyzing a learning event? How can I be creative in my observations to enhance my knowledge of the experience? What elements of the event might I be overlooking that could be equally as valuable and insightful as the seemingly obvious observations? How can I learn from peers and others techniques when observing to enhance my own approach?

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Maddy and I both tried to make the best of our situations! I went to a grocery store to make my observations since I live on a pretty busy street and Maddy made their observations from their porch.
Which leads to the differences in our notes.
Obviously the locations were different so the interactions were slightly different. I interacted/took notes on strangers in the store and Maddy took notes on neighborhood children/people on their street.
Our approaches to note taking were very similar. We both explored the background behind why some things were happening, which I took a very lighthearted and comedic way, as I do. We both noticed some similar things about people, I feel that we are both very observant with things that most people wouldn't have made note of.
This exercise taught me that I am very mindful and observant, more than I thought. I go to the grocery store all the time and I noticed things I always notice but never wrote down. I have written field notes in the classroom before and writing them outside of the classroom was incredibly different and harder for me! In a classroom, we can focus on specific students or the teacher. In public like this, I found it much harder to find things to focus on. I found myself shifting from person to person.
Specific question this raises is if I wasn't focused enough on specific students and how to do that properly in the future.

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I read Alyssa and Caitlin's field notes. The main thing that stood out to me was the style in which Alyssa and Caitlin wrote their field notes was very similar to each other’s but very different from mine. I went to a park and there was no one there so I focused on my own observations about my environment. Because of this, my field notes seem more introspective and theirs seems more observant of outer elements. I also edited my field notes and organized them into sections – mainly by the senses.

I considered expanding them to be more of a narrative but ultimately decided to keep them as bullet points organized by section.
I tried to keep them objective, as that’s what I was told to do in a different grad class when taking field notes for the most part.

Caitlin and Alyssa‘s field notes read very much like an essay, describing their experience to the reader using full sentences. It felt narrative and chronological. I could see uses for both types of field notes depending on the circumstance.

One thing lacking in my field notes that I found useful in theirs was that it was written in an expanded narrative form, so they documented the experiences in the order they happened. My field notes were revised and separated into categories which lost the order in which I experienced each sense or element.

Overall this was an interesting activity, as it was not as straightforward as I expected, but there were a myriad of different ways to take notes when observing. I can’t wait to see how proper academic field notes should be taken!

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Andrew's observation notes were written in a creative way! He wrote his in a narrative form, like reading someone's journal or dairy. It reminded me of Samuel Pepys, he had one of the few accounts of the 17th century London Fires. Unlike my notes, Andrew's were fun and entertaining to read! I took more of a logical approach to the notes. Even though it read more like a journal entry, the account had massive amount of details in it. Both of our locations were grocery stores, but he went right as they opened, while I went during lunchtime. Even though our accounts differed, Andrew and I both had noted specific moments in our observation. Andrew talked about how a couple flirted with each other and how someone was so engrossed into their phone they didn't notice the line was moving. Whereas, my focus was more in the general aspects with only have a few things stand out to observe. It also seemed like when Andrew went it was crowded or had a lot more volume than I did, the store was practically empty when I went!  This exercise taught me that different people can look at the same (or similar) location and see two different things, or focus on different things. BUT that does not mean both are wrong or right, it is just another way to look at it. For example 1+1=2 correct, well 3-1=2 also. It's the same answer, but it was found in different ways. A specific question I have about the learning event analysis process is "What can I do as an educator to make the learning process for my students go more smoothly?" and since I'm studying to become a high school English teacher "Is the way that you observe children differ from how you observe teenagers?" and a final question "How do you make sense of  observations if your students are older?"

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Eva and I had many similarities and some slight differences in our accounts. We both decided to spend our time at a local park with a walking path at some point in the afternoon. Both of us happened to be there on a warm, sunny afternoon and we both sat in the car and observed people walking, jogging, and running. Eva decided to categorize all of her descriptions of the setting of her observations under the title “setup”, whereas I chose to create different headings for each category, such as “date and time” and “weather”. Eva chose to include more descriptions about who saw her and what device she used to take notes. This is something I would include next time I take field notes. As Eva has noted, she chose to use a more narrative style of writing, including multiple sentences for each action she observed. She also described the specific actions of each person that passed her, and their emotions and attitudes that were apparent. She also included what most people were looking at as well as their facial expressions. I chose to focus mainly on physical appearance and whether a person was walking, running, or biking as well as who they were with and when they passed me. I see from Eva’s notes that it could be beneficial to include emotional language and descriptions as well as physical appearance and actions, especially during my learning event analysis where social emotional development is an important aspect of any learning event. A question that this experienced has raised for me is what kinds of assumptions am I making as I observe, and how do these assumptions influence my observational writing? Simple assumptions, such as seeing a woman breathing heavily and sweating and assuming she is exercising, seem harmless. Other assumptions, such as my decision that two women walking together are mother and daughter, could potentially be making an unfair conclusion in some way. This helps me remember to understand and acknowledge my own assumptions and potential biases and do my best to observe from a nonjudgmental standpoint to gain objective information about an event or population.

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if/how your written accounts differed

Nicole and I were in different locations, I was on my front porch / deck watching my neighborhood — mostly my front street, while Nicole was at her local grocery store. Nicole experienced more direct interaction than I did, though in both our accounts people spoke directly to us. Something else that differed for us was that Nicole was accompanied by her mom, while I did my observation alone (except for my dogs).

-  How your approach to observation and notetaking differed:

Nicole and I’s style was pretty similar, we took notes in bullet points, after listing an observation we short of gave our own commentary on the observation — there were serval instances we observed which we then wrote that we wondered why someone was doing something, sometimes including assumptions / guesses. Nicole’s account was actually funny at some points, which was refreshing. When I was in undergrad I used to take notes in class where I would make little jokes to myself about the lesson / something someone said / how I was feeling / etc. Sometimes I felt like this was kind of rude but really, the notes were just for me and keeping myself amused made me pay more attention in class, and take more notes.

- What this exercise teaches you about fieldnotes and observation

This exercise taught me that it’s not hard to be more mindful of your surroundings. I sit out on my deck a lot with my dogs but I never put a ton of thought about what I’m observing around me, this experience showed me that it’s something I can do, and maybe should do more. Reading Nicole’s notes it also showed me that we share similar opinions, some of her asides about what she observed are also what I’d be thinking.

- Specific questions this experience raises about the learning event

analysis process

My biggest question about the learning event analysis process, is how / where I can observe children for such a long time, given the circumstances. I know the syllabus gives some options but it still seems kind of difficult to do in the presence of COVID.

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Since we had a group of 3, I'm going to off start by comparing my set of field notes with Rachel's observations. I am not too familiar with the proper format of field note taking, and I noticed the most apparent difference in our notes was the format of our findings. Rachel had specific bullet points that were broken up into the different senses that she was experiencing through her observations. She included sounds, smells and how she was feeling. I had written in full paragraph form, which caused me to leave out a lot of these specific details in my final notes, for the sake of writing in full sentences. I really like how Rachel was able to use such specific details to paint a picture of the scene in my mind. For example, she wrote, "The grass is still wet from a huge storm that came earlier today and if you walk under trees some drops fall on you." I focused more on the people around me, while Rachel was able to really catch the feeling of her environment. I'm definitely going to adopt Rachel's level of specificity in my future observations and field notes. I'd also love to learn more about the proper format of taking field notes, because my first instinct was to expand my notes into more of an essay form.

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Maggie and I were partnered for the observation and fieldnote exercise. Our written accounts were very similar in how we organized the observation notes with the date, location, and observation method followed by the specific notes. However, I like that Maggie labeled the sections clearly while my version was more of a combined introductory narrative. I think I will use Maggie’s labeling in the future because it helps one navigate the document more easily.

In terms of our approach to the observation and notetaking, I couldn’t find anything substantially different between Maggie’s and my styles and focus. It appeared that we focused on similar aspects such as physical appearance (hair, clothing, approximate age) as well as the actions and expressions of the people. We also both drew some reasonable conclusions based on a subject’s actions. For example, Maggie noted that a girl breathed heavily and reasonably concluded that she had most likely just been running. Similarly, I saw a woman jogging with a strained expression and concluded that the exercise seemed to be taxing for her.

One slight difference in style that I noted is that, although we provided a similar degree of details, Maggie’s notetaking was more succinct while mine was more of a narrative. I think Maggie’s style provided the essentials in a way that’s more efficient to read. Another difference, which I think is minor, is that Maggie wrote in the present tense while I wrote in the past tense.

I learned a number of things about fieldnotes and observation from this exercise. 1-The observer should not draw conclusions during the observation but, instead, try to be non-judging observers. I think that Maggie and I were successful in being impartial but I can see that it would be easy to slip into making judgments and drawing conclusions that could end up contaminating one’s data. 2-The observer should focus not only on the subject themselves but on events around the subject that may impact their behavior. 3-The observer should consider external conditions, such as the temperature, that may affect the subject’s behavior. For example, in colder temperature, the subject may walk faster. 4-When there are many simultaneous activities, such as multiple subjects engaged in different activities, it’s more difficult to make observations and take notes. 5-The observer’s level of comfort may affect the notes. For example, it was very hot in my car which affected my comfort level; although there were breaks between when people passed so that I could have used the time to open the windows, I didn’t because I was trying not to be noticed.

Finally, this exercise raised a number of questions for me. How can an observer identify any prejudgments or factors in themselves that may result in biased data? How can an observer identify events that may affect the subject? How can the observer train themselves to remain impartial? What kind of preparation can the observer make prior to notetaking in order to get the best data possible? How can the observer determine what is significant for their observation and what is not? For example, a squirrel running past may not be significant if the subject doesn’t take notice but may be significant if the subject alters their path to follow where the squirrel ran.