Description
Remember the following when doing and turning in this paper:
You can include the cover page by uploading it separately or sending me a smartphone picture.
OUTLINE OF WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
Provide a rich detail and narrative for each outline component.
Outline of Written Paper (5 pages max, double spaced)
The Setting
The Child or Children
Cognitive Development
Language Development
Psychosocial Development
Play
Your Impression of the Whole Child and Overall Impression
Observation Framework:
The Setting
- Give a description of the setting including
- What is your first opinion of what you see – does it represent children or not?
- Is the area geared toward children (furniture, sinks, etc.) or is all of this for adults only i.e. is it age appropriate?
- Describe the room as if your eyes were your camera
- What is the mood, feel and sound like in the school? Look at this in terms of the fact
- that it is a place for children.
- How welcoming does the school appear to be to families? How are they greeted,
- what resources are available to them.
- Does the school appear to respect diversity by using pictures and other materials
- representing all groups? Does it appear to represent all groups in the staff and
- children that go there?
- What happens at the arrival of people – is it welcoming or is no attention paid to this?
- Does it appear that the rooms are logically arranged and safe for children to play and
- explore? What safety precautions do you observe?
- What is the quality of interactions that you see? This can be with staff/staff,
- staff/parent, or staff/child.
The Child or Children
You need to relate what you saw in each area to the information in the text. This facilitates in the grading process and makes it easier for me to ensure you included all of the appropriate concepts.
In terms of reporting you will look at the concepts below and writing several paragraphs as to what you observed in terms of defining, describing, and giving textbook citations of what you observed from the text.
For example, “Lateralization was observed when Callie appeared to use her left-hand for most activities. Callie grasped both her fork and her crayons using her left hand only. Lateralization or sidedness is demonstrated by observing whether children predominantly use their right or left hand for activities.
When you look at the following be sure to do so in terms of developmental norms that your text has spoken about:
- Approximate height and weight, estimate.
- Gross motor skills
- Fine motor skills
- Balance
- Eye/hand or eye/foot coordination
- Lateralization, attention or perseveration
- Handedness
Cognitive Development
In terms of reporting you will look at the items below and write several paragraphs as to what you observed in terms of describing, defining and giving a citation of what you observed from the text.
Vygotsky:
- Vygotsky -scaffolding, apprenticeship, z.p.d. or guided participation
- Piaget/Preoperational:
- Centration, symbolic thinking, focus on appearance or egocentrism
- Theory of Mind
Language Development
In terms of reporting you will look at the items below and write several paragraphs as to what you observed in terms of defining, describing, and giving a citation of what you observed from the text.
- Use of words/vocabulary
- Length of sentences
- Grammar, word order
- Fast mapping
- Overregulation or overextension
- Ability to sing with the group
- Articulation
- Vygotsky (private speech & social mediation)
- Conversations
- Ability to follow a story
- If child is bilingual – development of emerging literacy
Psychosocial Development
In terms of reporting you will look at the items below and write several paragraphs as to what you observed in terms of defining, describing, and giving a citation of what you observed from the text.
Erikson:
- Initiative vs. guilt
- Self-concept
- Relationships with others
- Self-esteem
- Pride, guilt or shame
Emotional Development/Intelligence:
- Emotional regulation
- Ability to express feelings
- Social cognition
- Pro or anti-social behavior
- Empathy or antipathy
Temperament & Gender
- Goodness of fit
- Gender awareness
Play
In terms of reporting you will look at the items below and write several paragraphs as to what you observed in terms of defining, describing, and giving a citation of what you observed from the text.
- Sociodramatic
- Rough and tumble
- Artistic expression
- Types of play
- Solitary play
- Onlooker play
- Parallel play
- Associative play
- Cooperative play
The Whole Child and Overall Impression
This is where you will put things all together and give me an in-depth look or your overall impression of the child that you choose in both general and specific terms to back up your impression. You may use your own words to describe the child and give an opinion or evaluation of skills, abilities, etc.
When compared to the rest of the group and developmental norms, was this child average, above average or below average? Were you surprised by what the child could or could not do? You might also include information on what you learned about child development and your perception of children of this age. What did it feel like to be a “scientific” observer? Did you feel like you wanted to get more “personal” with these children or did it feel okay to be away from the involvement?
In what ways do you think the child’s environment or the quality/type of interactions you saw could be bolstered in order to support specific developmental needs and interests of the child? This helps me understand how you might apply what you have learned from the book and the observation to help this particular child’s preschool experience.
Hints for a successful observation:
- Do not wait until the last minute – this is a major assignment and will take time to process the information
- After the observation, carefully look through your notes and highlight sections of the assignment with different colors so you can more carefully find this information when writing your report
- You will use correct grammar, sentence structure and spelling
- Remember that this observation will tell me what you understand about what we have been studying
- Look carefully at the points that are assigned to each area and plan your writing in each area to fit the points
APA Citation Resources (OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab)
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.html
