Question
How do I identify non-biased documentation?
Answer
When thinking about bias, we need to be careful about the words we use when recording observations. The words we use need to be chosen very carefully. Here are sentences that you may find located in an observational notebook. Read each sentence and identify which observations contain bias and which do not.
- Lori cannot cut in a straight line.
- Lori doesn’t want to cut.
- Lori put her thumb into the scissor hole where the finger belongs and the finger in the hole meant for the thumb.
1. Lori cannot cut in a straight line. Is this biased? Yes or no?
The answer is yes, this sentence is biased. When recording your observation, what you write needs to be exactly what you see and hear. The word "cannot" is not visually or auditorially recognizable. Instead, you can write what you see her doing and hear her saying. You can write, Lori held the scissors with her finger and thumb over small holes. Lori picked up the paper and placed it into the scissors. Lori shut the scissors on the paper. The paper then bent instead of being cut.
2. Lori doesn't want to cut. Is this biased? Yes or no? And why?
Yes, this sentence is biased because it gives only your opinion about what Lori wants. Instead, write exactly what you see and hear. For example, you can say, Lori put the scissors down and put her head down on the desk.
3. Lori put her thumb into the scissor hole where the finger belongs and the finger in the thumb hole meant for the thumb. Is this biased? Yes or no? Why?
No, this is not considered biased. This is a completely non-biased observation and is ready to be used for assessment because there are no opinion statements in this sentence.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course, Helping Children Learn Through Bias-Free Observation and Assessment, presented by Rebecca Reynolds, EdD.
