Where did you observe? What time of day was it, what were the children doing? Was there evidence of positive family relationships, respecting diversity?

Each student will be required to visit a preschool classroom and observe preschoolers for one hour. The purpose of the assignment is to learn about unbiased observation and to understand and evaluate children’s development during ages 2 to 5 years old. The assignment requires that you visit a preschool setting (child care of licensed family child care home) to observe preschoolers’ behavior, record raw data, evaluate what you observed, and then write a paper based on your findings. Do not wait until the last minute. You may find it more difficult to arrange a visit than you expected, and the chronicling of information takes time.

You will observe ONE child in a licensed preschool setting. Do not observe where you are the only adult responsible for the children or when you are “on duty” working in a childcare setting. Also, do not observe your own children or children you are familiar with. You can visit the Modesto Junior College Children’s Center with an appointment (there are limited spaces). Do not observe in a transitional kindergarten or kindergarten classroom. Do not observe in a drop-off service at a gym or in a church. Observe for at least one hour.

You must bring paper in order to record everything that you see and hear. You must record as many details as you possibly can and facts only, do not include thoughts or opinions. Do not make assumptions. Turn in your notes with your completed paper.
The Setting

Where did you observe? What time of day was it, what were the children doing? Was there evidence of positive family relationships, respecting diversity? What was the adult/child ratio?

Describe your focus child.

For each of the following sections, you will have five objectives:

Define the term/skill
Cite your source for the definition
Describe your observation of the child demonstrating the skill
Use the text to state what the norm is for the skill
Cite your source for the norm.
Biosocial Development

Paragraph one: Choose fine OR gross motor skills. Paragraph two: choose one brain concept (myelination, lateralization, corpus callosum, maturation of the prefrontal cortex, impulse control, or preservation).

Cognitive Development

Paragraph one: focus on one area of preoperational thought (centration, static reasoning, irreversibility, focus on appearance, egocentrism, conservation, or symbolic thought). Paragraph two: look at one aspect of Vygotsky’s theory (scaffolding, zone of proximal development or guided participation).

Language Development

Paragraph one: describe one of Vygotsky’s language concepts (private speech or social mediation). Paragraph two: general language (vocabulary, grammar, etc).

Psychosocial Development

Choose two concepts to focus on, one paragraph for each concept. Choose from the following concepts; Erickson’s theory: initiative vs guilt, Emotional development: emotional regulation, internalizing or externalizing problems, Moral development: empathy, prosocial, antisocial, or any of the four types of aggression (instrumental, reactive, relational, and bullying), Self-concept or Gender schema.

Evaluation of Play

Two concepts, two paragraphs. Concepts: One of Parten’s Play Stages, Sociodramatic play, Rough and tumble play, or Artistic expression (found in chapter 8).

Overall Impression

Here you can state your opinions, impressions, thoughts and ideas. What stood out to you? What did you learn? Did you see evidence of developmentally appropriate practices?

Elaborate, this section should be a full page.

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