Sometimes giving the child materials to work his hands with, such as clay, provides opportunity to observe verbal-nonverbal discrepancies. For example, the child may be describing how much he likes his arithmetic teacher while simultaneously pounding a clay figure of a person flat on the table. Be aware that new points raised by the child after a comparatively long period of silence may be more closely related to a previous statement than one might expect. The child may have been incubating ideas and forming relationships in his mind, and you may be hearing only the endpoints of his thinking. Be on the lookout for recurrent themes, as these may show preoccupation with one problem situation or person.
Interviewers have different opinions about note taking during an interview.
Some say note taking inhibits the child and interferes with the interviewer's attention. Be aware of a child's strengths as well as weaknesses- Do not focus only on what she cannot do. Do not confuse observation with inferences. For example, it should not be inferred that a student understands place value if he does not raise his hand when asked questions on place value. A child who does not understand a topic may not indicate lack of comprehension for many reasons-shyness, fear, or not realizing he does not understand.