Examples Of Observation Of Child Development

It is an important part of a practitioner’s job to observe and assess children in order to establish where a child is at with regards to their development, health and well being and if they require extra support. The factors that need to be taken into account when assessing development are:

Parents may feel overwhelmed by the assessment process and this assessment allows them to be involved every step of the way. Their role is also crucial to obtaining an accurate developmental level for the child. As part of the screening, there is an informal questionnaire and

"Ever since I was a child, I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one 's potential"(Bruce Lee). I think this quote pertains greatly to how children grow up. The Assignment purpose was to observe a child between the ages of 2 and 16. Human Development is important because it shows what you can identify. For example, if there is anything wrong with your child or if your child is more developed than others. Plus, there is so much that you can learn from observing the child from how they react in their environment and around people. If you know what to look for in human develop it greatly helps in knowing what to do with a child when you least expect it.

The place of observation took place at my work, before I clocked in for the day. I work at Oakwood Methodist Preschool/Daycare. I went in to the daycare at about 9:00, which is just free play/ breakfast time in the infant room. The infant room I observed in was a little different than the CDRC, because the infant room is from 7 weeks old to 18 months old. There was not really a place for me to be

1.1. When assessing development some factors need to be taken into account one of these is confidentiality, this means that you will need permission from a child’s parents/carers before doing observations, also when information is wrote down about a child is important that it is kept in a safe place were only the relevant people can access it. Also making sure that information about a child is only shared with parents/carers or colleagues and professionals that have the right to know. Another factor to take into account is a child’s wishes and feelings, this means to take into account the child’s wishes when doing an observation or assessment. The child may not want to be assessed at

The observation of children is performed by teachers and educators, to help understand each child, and their characteristics. Along with assessment and evaluation, educators are able to understand each child’s development, and make decisions about appropriate activities and experience to offer each child, to help foster their individual development. (Veale, A. and Piscitelli, B. 1988) This essay will discuss the Value of the Observation Process in Planning for early childhood settings, and the role of each teacher in facilitating children’s individual learning and development.

Describe the locations where you conducted observations and how much time was spent observing at each site: who was there, what were they doing, when and where did you observe, how was it being conducted. Briefly describe the people and setting at each site.

In an early childhood setting, being observant gives professionals and family members a helpful portrait of the children in their care, and as future professionals it helps us see how intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development occurs in children. Observing, documenting, and assessing young children shows how they progress from one stage to the next or when there is a delay in progression. The reason we observe young children is that “there is so much that demands attention and response; at the same time, by building in systematic observation, teachers can improve their teaching, construct theory, assess children, assist families, and solve problems” (Gordon and Browne, p.180). It gives dynamic information about each child’s learning styles, interests, abilities, and needs. Observation helps teachers improve teaching by making them become more objective and self-aware of biases they may have. It encourages us to remember that early childhood development is highly individualized, so customizing activities to benefit each child will help them utilize their abilities to their fullest potentials, and through this we will be able to recognize what behaviors are typical of various age groups. The reason we document our observations is so that we can keep records and show proper evidence of each child’s individual growth and participation in classroom activities. With good documentation, family members will able to see the progression made by their child.

Observer visited a play place of a restaurant in New Jersey, Hackensack. Why I have chosen the place is easy to observe every part of child development such as cognitive, social emotional, language as well as physical at the same time. Observer performed the observation on April 28 from 1 pm to 3pm. The child was an Asian boy. He has strait short black hair with dark brown eyes and thin black eye brows. His height looked around 37 inches that he may be a little smaller than other early childhood children. He looks thin and has a full set of teeth inside his mouth, full cheeks, and a small button nose.

It is imperative that practitioners are able to observe and assess each child’s development in order to gain a full understanding of their development and how they can build upon this in order to cater to the needs of the child and allow them to fulfill their potential. This is highlighted by Wheeler (2009, p.63) in stating that ‘Observations are fed into family worker and team planning so that future activities can be based on an individual child’s interests and patterns of behavior and thereby enhance their learning’.

SETTING: I completed my child observation on Monday the 19th of October I arrived at 8:30am and choose to stay until 3:00pm. When I arrived there were a total of ten children ranging in age from three to five years old and two teachers overseeing the toddler/preschool class room. At 9:00am the two teachers separated the class into two categories toddlers (4 children) and preschool (6 children). I stayed with the preschool children so I could observe the child I had chosen for my observation this separation remained in effect until 11:00am. The teacher had a set schedule of activities for the children to complete in those three hours which she choose to help prepare them for kindergarten.

The key to understanding children is observation. As observers, we begin to look for daily patterns in their behavior. Once patterns of behavior are recognized, the observer can then give positive guidance in securing the child’s developmental needs.

The child I’ve chosen for my observation is an lively child for being 9 years old, a girl named Sophia. She is 53 inches in stature and 30 kg in weight, Sophia is in average for her height and weight based on a CDC growth chart for age. (CDC, 2 to 20 years: Girl) She is developing normally and she is average for her age during the primary school years. I’ve chosen this particular child because she is much more active than most of children in the class. Most of times, Sophia is initiative to discuss and talk about the problems with the teacher in class. Also, she often voluntary raised her hand to give the response and answer the questions to the teacher. Not only that, she likes to talk with her classmate even the teacher is talking. From my observation, I feel like that Sophia will concentrate when the things are interesting her. If not, she will talk or do other stuff rather than pay attention on it. Thus, I believe Sophia is perform well at the aspect she likes it, meanwhile she takes less

Secondly, it is important to consider the strengths of naturalistic observation as a method. This was identified when the child was consistently moving and doing different activities that allowed me to understand how he communicates with other children, how he behaves and what he learns from others. In the play setting the child was able to develop his thinking and according to the Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families (DOH, 2000) through social relationships, the child was encouraged to express his feelings, emotions, which was achieved by the setting creating an enjoyment environment.

My child study was inspired by the richly textured collages of Romare Bearden. I created an appropriate lesson plan for the developmental level of a third grade student. The student that I worked with was Leanna, she goes to PS.29. She is eight years old, and she loves to to dance and be creative. As a third grade student, Leanna does not have art class. Arts and crafts are done sporadically throughout the school year and sometimes during lunch. As a lover of the arts, Leanna really doesn’t like that her school doesn’t offer her art classes. When asked, she said her favorite form of art is origami. She loves to create origami hearts for valentine’s day. It is really unfortunate for creative students, like Leanna to be deprived from applying their creativity in art classes.