Application: Child Observation Project: Part 2-Planning Your Observation
This Application Assignment is the second component of your Child Observation Project and underscores the importance of partnering with families in every step of the assessment process. This week, you will select the area of development and learning that will be the focus of the Child Observation Project. Then, you will interview the parents (or a very close family member) of the child whom you have selected for your Project. In an authentic assessment situation, parents/family members would be involved at each step of the assessment process. Within your Child Observation Project, this experience is designed to support foundational knowledge, skills, and opportunities to practice effective interactions with families.
To complete this assignment:
Plan
• Arrange for the interview and confirm the appointment.
• Before you speak with the parent/family member, take time to carefully review Appendix A in your text. Note that the following areas of development and learning are listed at the top of the pages:
o Large Muscle Development - page 219 (large-motor skills)
o Small Muscle Development - page 222 (fine-motor skills)
o Basic Concepts of Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies - page 224
o Cognitive Development: Thinking - page 229
o Language Development: Oral Language - page 232
o Language Development: Literacy Development - page 234
o Personal-Social Development: Personal Development - page 238
o Personal-Social Development: Social Development - page 240
• Based on the areas of development and learning presented in Appendix A, select one as the focus of your Child Observation Project.
To guide your selection process, think about an area that is of particular interest to you, that you have previous experience with, or are interested in learning more about.
• Prepare a brief overview of the area of development and learning that you selected to share with the child's parents/family members. When preparing your overview, describe your selected area of development and learning, including examples. The Parent/Family Member Interview Sheet includes a script that you can use to convey this information.
• Print out and review the Parent/Family Member Interview Sheet.
• Print out and review the Observation Plan.
• Plan to use a laptop computer, audio recording device, or notepad to record your interview responses. When recording, be sure to obtain the family member's permission. Also, make sure to use only the first names of anyone that you mention.
Implement
• Complete your interview using the Parent/Family Member Interview Sheet.
Reflect
• Review your interview notes and consider the knowledge and insights you gained from this experience.
• Relate your interview experience to what you have learned about planning for effective assessment and consider:
o How the information that you gleaned from the interview contributes to your knowledge of the child you selected for your Child Observation Project
o Information, knowledge, and/or advice from the Parent/Family Member Interview Sheet that you want to remember in order to facilitate your observation
o Additional information that you might want to gather from parents/family members in a more authentic assessment situation
o How the concept of developmental continuum is important to understand when conducting your observation
• With all of the above in mind, complete your Observation Plan.
For this assignment, submit:
• A summary of the Reflection (cite specific examples from the Required Resources to support your thinking and ideas)
• Your Observation Plan
The child's name is Ivy and is 1year old.