Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) should be able familiar with different techniques applied for assessing the children’s gross and fine motor skills. Each approach, however, has a varied level of objectivity or longevity of observations, which affects the results of these observations. The two observation techniques that RECEs can use to examine the gross motor and fine motor skills, and that will help gather the information to purchase appropriate materials are observation at play and regular observations.
The first technique is observing through play, which will help assess both types of motor skills. This method should be used because an educator can design a game where children can jump through obstacles or climb over objects, which are tasks specifically targeted to test gross motor skills (Martin, 2018). Alternatively, the educator can design a game that targets fine motor skills. The challenge with the first approach is that it may be difficult to predict the outcomes of the play and make objective conclusions.
The second technique is the direct observation of children, which should be used because it offers better objectivity. The challenge with this technique is that it requires time and patience to make enough observations. In the second case, the issue is that an educator may have to observe the children for prolonged periods to collect enough information about a specific type of skill. With this technique, the educator observes the children when they play on their own and notes some aspects of their motor skills that can be improved. Overall, the two observation techniques that can be used to decide how the funds for purchasing additional materials for children should be used are observation at play and direct observation.
Reference
Martin, S. (2018). Take a look (7th ed.). Pearson.