This assignment addresses the following NAEYC Standards:
Knowing and understanding young children's characteristics and needs. [NAEYC Standard 1a]
Using developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments [NAEYC Standard 1c]
Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and approaches. [NAEYC Standard 3c]
Understanding positive relationships and supportive interactions as the foundation of your work with children [NAEYC 4a]
Knowing about and upholding ethical standards and other professional guidelines [NAEYC Standard 6b]
Mastering and applying foundational concepts from general education [NAEYC Supportive Skill 2]
Written and verbal skills [NAEYC Supportive Skill 3]
Making connections between prior knowledgeable/experience and new learning [NAEYC Supportive Skill 4]
Course Competency: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 12
For this assignment, you will observe a child between the ages of birth and 8 years for 3-4 clock hours in a natural setting. Observations will be for a minimum of 4-clock hours. The ideal situation is to do this assignment in no more than 2 clock hour increments for a minimum of 2 separate visits over a 3 week period of time; however, this is not always possible. It is more important to complete the minimum of 4-clock hours for the observation.
During your observation of the child you will:
Focus on 3 of the child's developmental areas - physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development and record objective anecdotal notes based on facts of what you see, not your opinion or interpretation.
Your objective anecdotal observation notes will include:
At least 10 objective anecdotal notes for each of the 3 developmental areas (a total of 30)
The date of each observation
A description of the behavior
A description of the environment - including what adults and children were present
Your 30 observation anecdotal notes will need to be typed and submitted with your written report
After you have completed your observations, reflect on your notes, and apply the information you have learned regarding theories and stages of development to your notes to determine the child's stages of development. You will need to refer to the following theorists and their theories in your written report (please also feel free to reference other theories presented in your textbook):
Arnold Gesell - detailed normative information on milestones
Sigmund Freud - Psychosexual Theory [id, ego, superego]
Erik Erikson - Psychosocial Theory - [eight life-span stages, stages consist of unique developmental tasks that confront individuals with crisis that must be solved]
Ivan Pavlov - Classical Conditioning [behaviorist]
B.F. Skinner - Operant Conditioning [behaviorist]
Albert Bandura - Social Cognitive Theory [imitation / modeling]
Jean Piaget - Cognitive Developmental Theory [Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, Formal operational]
Lev Vygotsky - Sociocultural Cognitive Theory [culture and social interaction guide cognitive development]
Urie Bronfenbrenner - Ecological Systems Theory [child develops w/in a system of relationships microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem]
Next, you will create a 3 page computer generated report that summarizes your findings. In your report you will:
Identify why you chose this specific child.
Identify what stage the child is at in the area of physical development - based upon theories & stages of development.
Provide at least 2 examples [from your objective observation notes] to support your findings
Identify what stage the child is at in the area of cognitive development - based upon theories & stages of development
Provide at least 2 examples [from your objective observation notes] to support your findings
Identify what stage the child is at in the area of socio-emotional development - based upon theories & stages of development
Provide at least 2 examples [from your objective observation notes] to support your findings
Write a brief summary explaining how you will use what you have learned in your work with young children in support of each of the three area of development.
Provide a computer generated copy of your objective anecdotal notes & all information included in the above description of your notes
Thoroughly explain how the new information you gathered supports ethical responsibilities to children as noted in NAEYC's Code of Ethical Conduct. Research and select one specific ideal or principle to reflect on: www.naeyc.org/positionstatements/ethical_conduct.