Classroom observation

Educating people is essentially a social interaction process. It relies heavily on communication skills and group dynamics. Both can be studied with The Observer® XT. This type of research is typically video based and carried out in real life situations. Examples of research topics

  • Teacher-student interaction
  • Shared book reading 
  • The effectiveness of special education programs for young children with developmental delay
  • The engagement of students with behavior problems

A portable lab allows video recording from different viewpoints. The Observer XT is used to code the video and analyze the data. Combine continuous and instantaneous sampling, which is very useful especially in a classroom situation. Just follow the behavior of the teacher continuously, while sampling all the children instantaneously, for example see what they are doing once every two minutes.  


Interesting publications

Read an interesting case study from Martijn van Schaik "Looking at learning in practice. Classroom observation with Noldus Observer XT". You can also read what others think about this coding solution. The Observer XT featured in the Journal of Special Education Technology:"The Observer XT appears to be the best coding solution" is the closing of the Associate Editor's Column in the Journal of Special Education Technology. The writers, Dave Edyburn and James Basham, recognize the ongoing interest in observational data collection systems. As a result, they have highlighted four software products. Interested? Please read the column to get to know more about The Observer XT.

  • Schaik, M. van; Oers, B. van; Terwel, J. (2011). Towards a knowledge-rich learning environment in preparatory secondary education. British Educational Research Journal, 37(1), 61-81.
  •  Edyburn, D.; Basham, J. (2008). Research and Practice. Collecting and Coding Observational Data. Journal of Special Education Technology, 23 (2), 56-60.

 

A diverse collection of scientific articles citing Noldus products are published in renowned journals each week. The following list is only a small selection of scientific publications in educational studies:

  • Brown, K.; Kennedy, H. (2011). Learning through conversation: Exploring and extending teacher and children’s involvement in classroom talk. School Psychology International, DOI: 10.1177/0143034311406813.
  • Li, H.; Rao, N.; Kam Tse, S. (2011). Bridging the gap: a longitudinal study of the relationship between pedagogical continuity and early Chinese literacy acquisition. Early years, 31 (1), 57-70.
  • Snell, J. (2011). Interrogating video-data: Systematic quantitative analysis versus micro-ethnographic analysis. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 14(3), 253–258.
  • Klein, P.S.; Adi-Japha, E.; Hakak-Benizri, S. (2010). Mathematical thinking of kindergarten boys and girls: similar achievement, different contributing processes. Educational  Studies in Mathematics, 73, 233-246.
  • Leng, B.A. de; Dolmans, D.H.J.M.; Donkers, H.L.M.; Muijtens, A.M.M.; Vleuten, C.P.M. van der (2010). Instruments to explore blended learning: Modifying a method to analyse online communication for the analysis of face-to-face communication. Computers & Education, 55, 644-651.
  • Kandalla, M.; Bhat, P. (2010). Early Social Skills as a Function of Gender: An Observational Study of Children Between 3-8 Years in Andhra Pradesh, India. Proceedings of Measuring Behavior 2010, 7th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research (Eind­hoven, The Netherlands, 24-27 August 2010), 235-238.
  • McAuliffe, M.D.; Hubbard, J.A.; Romano, L.J. (2009). The role of teacher cognition and behavior in children’s peer relations. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 37(5), 665-677.
  • Baker, J.A.; Clark, T.P.; Maier, K.S.; Viger, S. (2008). The differential influence of instructional context on the academic engagement of students with behavior problems. Teaching and teacher education, 24, 1876-1883.
  • Smith, F.; Hardman, F.; Higgins, S. (2007). Gender inequality in the primary classroom: will interactive whiteboards help? Gender and education, 19(4), 455-469.