Child Observation
This assignment helps you to build important skills and knowledge. First, you are developing a way to look at behavior in a detailed manner.
This will aid you if you become a teacher, a nurse, a therapist, or in any other profession where you need to make observations.
Note that it is important to focus on just the behaviors and avoid making judgments or assumptions about why that behavior is occurring. The last part is taking the specifics of what you observe and applying them to developmental theories.
The purpose of this assignment is to build your skills in looking for details and making applications of theory you have learned.
This project contains three components. These will all be combined into one
document.
Be sure to label the sections separately. Your paper should include the following:
1. Title page in APA format
2. Description of the setting of the observation
3. Observation of child
4. Application of theories
5. Reference list in APA format
Description of the Setting of the Observation
1. Provide a short description of where and how the observation took place.
2. Include the following in that description:
Name of child (do not provide the real name)
Age of child
Where the observation took place
Date of observation
Time of observation
Who was present during the observation
Basic description of types of activities (such as free time, snack time, etc.)
Other people present during the observation
Who gave permission for the observation to occur
Observation
1. Select a child who falls within the age range of 1 month to 12 years.
2. Observe the child for a minimum of 60 minutes. The observation can take place in an informal or a formal setting.
3. Permission must be gained from parent(s) and from the facility if you decide to observe the child in a formal setting.
4. You may not observe your own children or children you know well.
Revised February 4, 2021
5. Describe what you observed during the time period, including fine motor, gross motor, social, and cognitive skills. Label these categories in your paper.
6. You must list a minimum of 10 behaviors for each category.
7. The description should include details about the child’s behavior. Here are a few
examples of details:
(1), playing in the sand with a shovel and a bucket, (2) singing a
song from a television show, (3) kicking a soccer ball, (4) rolling over, (5) crying after
falling down, (6) throwing body to ground while screaming, (7) sucking thumb, and so
on.
8. Do not describe behaviors of parents or other people in the lists.
9. Do not make inferences or judgments within the lists. For example, do not write, “He threw his bottle because he was mad.”
10. Note that these behaviors could be listed in more than one category. For example,
putting together a puzzle would be listed under fine motor skills, as well as cognitive
skills.
11. Behaviors must be correctly categorized. For example, holding a pen is a fine motor skill, not a gross motor skill.
12. Be consistent in how you list these behaviors (i.e., complete sentences versus
fragments, consistent verb tense, etc.)
13. You are provided with a permission sheet. When submitting your paper, attach this
permission sheet as well.
Application of Theories
1. Identify and describe the developmental stage of the child. Use a minimum of 2
different developmental theorists to explain the child’s development (i.e., Piaget, Freud, Erikson, Kohlberg, etc.).
Describe each theorist and relate the components of their theories to the child you observed. For example, it is not enough to just state they fall into a stage.
What does the theorist say about what is expected in that stage? Clearly link the behaviors you see in the observations to the specifics of the theory.
2. Supplement your report with at least 2 outside academic sources relating to the theorist and/or development stage. You must cite these in a reference list. If possible, it is recommended that you find the original work of the theorists.
3. You may not use Wikipedia as a reference. You may use your textbook as one source, but it will not count as an outside source. Do not rely too heavily on your textbook.
4. Use your findings to identify any problems in this child’s development. How does the environment or other factors influence the child’s development?
5. You may include pictures, work samples, awards etc. to help illustrate how the child
functions in his/her developmental stage.
6. This should be a minimum of 350 words in length.
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