Observing my observations

In observing the way I observe others, I find that I try to create stories for people in order to make sense of data that I am collecting. If I can group people or objects and find patterns, I typically am better at remembering what I have seen. When observing a group of strangers, I found that imagining stories or reasons 'why' something might be happening helped me to make sense of what I was seeing. In being a researcher, I could imagine that this would be detrimental as it could cause me to pre-suppose a situation rather than letting the data control my findings.

In observing a group of students that I know,  I found that I did not necessarily need to find patterns or create these 'stories' to help me remember details as I knew enough about the person or group to look for more in-depth relationships changes and patterns in behavior. I focused on nuances about each person and their relationship to one another rather than trying to observe surface level interactions.

Upon reflection, I realize I could not tell what any of those being observed were wearing. I tend not to notice clothing or colours, but rather faces, expressions, nonverbal gestures and cues. This may be from my focus on non-verbal cues in the context of a drama classroom, or from years of trying to 'read' my students' understanding and emotional states based on their reactions. Either way, I acknowledge that noticing the smaller details in important to cultivate.