Learning observation worksheet

Using this worksheet

This original Edunou outline is an untrialled practical suggestion. It supports an educational discussion; it provides no score and cannot establish a diagnosis. Adapt its wording to the setting, from early childhood to adult learning. It is not a complete teaching pack.

Print the page or download the editable text file. Use one sheet per situation; a brief, precise description is enough. Keep dated copies when observing again so that you can compare similar situations.

1. Set the learning goal

Date: ____________________

Learner’s preferred name or code: ____________________

Age or learning setting, if useful: ____________________

Task and learning goal: ____________________

Planned duration, location and people present: ____________________

What the learner can already do in this activity: ____________________

2. Describe observations

Instruction given and materials available: ____________________

What the learner did or said, and when: ____________________

What was happening around them: ____________________

Support already offered and the observed response: ____________________

• Describe an action in context: “starts after the first step is rephrased” instead of “lacks motivation”.
• Record hypotheses separately: understanding the instruction, tiredness, access to materials, task difficulty or another explanation to explore. This worksheet establishes none of them.

3. Hear the learner’s perspective

What they want to achieve: ____________________

What they find easy, difficult or tiring: ____________________

Support they would like to try, keep or avoid: ____________________

Communication used: speech, writing, pictures, gesture, communication aid or another method: ____________________

If their perspective could not be obtained, record this without inventing it: ____________________

4. Prepare an adjustment

One barrier to explore first: ____________________

Adjustment agreed with the learner: ____________________

Learning goal retained, or reason for changing it: ____________________

What you will observe to judge its usefulness: ____________________

Who will prepare the materials or arrangements, and by when: ____________________

• Do not remove necessary support to create a comparison.
• Choose indicators that matter to this person: understanding, chosen independence, access, perceived effort or task completion. Speed alone does not describe learning.

5. Review the attempt

Date and task of the next observation: ____________________

Context differences that may affect comparison: ____________________

What changed and what remains difficult: ____________________

Learner’s view of the support: ____________________

Decision: keep, adjust or stop this attempt, or seek another perspective: ____________________

Next step, responsible person and review date: ____________________

Keeping and sharing the worksheet

This page does not collect or transmit your observations. On your copy, keep personal information to what is necessary and follow your institution’s storage and sharing rules. A code alone does not make a record anonymous.

You may share and adapt this outline for noncommercial use with attribution to Edunou and an indication of your changes. External resources linked on the site retain their own reuse terms.