A major purpose of observation and record keeping is to gather information to facilitate curriculum planning, which entails creating projects, providing resources, and analyzing, adding to, or rearranging the environment. Early childhood professionals need to become good observers and must learn ways to record what they observe. Through careful observation and record keeping (sometimes called "documentation"), they seek to know the group and each individual in it. The tools early childhood professionals use to record information include anecdotal records, running record observations, incidents reports, journals, photographs, recordings (both audio and visual), checklists, mappings, time samples, and portfolios. They use the knowledge they gain from using these tools to plan long-term and immediate goals, keeping in mind that goals represent values that must take family and cultural contexts into consideration. Early childhood professionals also assess themselves to determine their own effectiveness and that of the program. A comprehensive program assessment involves evaluating a program in terms of its ability to meet the needs and goals of the children and their families, the administration and staff, and the community.
