Q: “What was your ‘glow moment’ of the session?” ‌

A: “That we can be so focused on looking for one thing – so zoomed in on that detail – that we can miss so many other things.” ‌

This is an affirmative piece of learning from one of a group of educators who I was training about ‘The Art of Observation‘ last week.
Over the next two years, they’ll be using their observation skills to support our evaluation of a programme that’s being delivered across 12 schools and settings.

Many of the children participating have complex needs and disabilities, and limited vocabulary, so simply asking them to give verbal feedback isn’t a realistic option. Hence, ‘the art of observation‘ is an important part of the evaluation process.

Although none of us can never truly understand another’s experience – especially when a participant’s perception of the world may be very different from ours – it doesn’t mean that they can’t tell us anything meaningful and reliable.

It’s just that the ‘evidence’ of impact and outcomes look different than what we might otherwise expect.
Often, it’s only available in transient and fleeting cues; subtle changes in behaviours, barely-there clues in interactions; the quality of a child’s focus, the sensations they’re seeking, unexpected silences etc.

Finding ways to decipher those changes and decode the meaning in them is a growing part of my practice but, regardless of the type of setting you may work in, or the needs of the participants you work with, this can be more challenging and complex than at face value.

One reason why is because we usually know what kind of changes we want; improved engagement, increased motivation, sustained attention to the task.
Afterall, how well a young person (or adult) achieves those aims is rarely just an indicator of their success, but ours as well.
So inevitably, that influences they way we look; we pay attention to the desired changes.

And therein lies the issue…
When ‘results’, ‘outcomes’ or ‘success’ are pre-determined, we take notice and observe in particular ways because we’re essentially looking for ‘proof’.

Of course, we all need to know that we or a participant are achieving the aims; ‘results’ are usually the benchmark of us doing our job effectively.
But we can also learn remarkable things when we widen our field of vision.

Watch this video, following the instructions, and trying not to be influenced by the subject of this post…
It taught my trainees more powerfully in two and a half minutes than I could have myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bnnmWYI0lM

A QUESTION… When we know what we’re looking for, what are we missing? ‌
When we’re paying attention to paying attention, what are we not paying attention to? ‌

How often are we NOT looking at the most useful or interesting or important thing, because we’re looking for something else; confirmation that we are right, or evidence that we’re on track etc? ‌

A TRUTH: It doesn’t matter how attuned an observer we are, we can’t see EVERYTHING at the same time.
Some things will always remain unnoticed and unevidenced. ‌
We need to accept that with the knowledge that we are sometimes blind to what’s right in front of us. ‌

So what might we need to stop looking at or looking for, so we can actually SEE what’s happening in front of us? ‌

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