Child Virtual Observation Report

Use the attached template to guide the format of your report. 

Instructions: Compose a developmental report based on 2 child observation videos from the “Results Matter Video Library-Practicing Observation, Documentation, and Assessment Skills” websiteю

Observe various preschool age children (from the website linked below) interacting in an educational setting with the specific intent to analyze and understand their cognitive, linguistic, and social/emotional characteristics using the lens of the theorists you researched above (the first two components of this assignment).  You will use the information from the observations to write your report:

1. Go to website
2. Scroll down to locate the preschool video clips available for observation, the first video featuring a preschool age child is titled “Samantha and Sara Building Towers and Castles”
3. Familiarize yourself with the various videos featuring preschool-aged children and select 2 videos to watch as part of your child virtual observations
4. Make a list of behaviors you would expect to observe in each area (cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical) for the age of the child—REMEMBER you should use theory to support your expectations, observations, and analyses.
5. Record your observations of the children in the video as a “running” narrative of their activity; be mindful to not use subjective or judgmental terms, such as “grouchy”, instead use descriptive terms, such as “crying” or “throwing toys”. Remember to note what the children are doing or saying. You do not submit these notes, but will use them to write your report.

Writing The Report:

Your report should be 2-3 pages in length (not including references)

• Introduction/Background
• Video One –
  • Cognitive/Intellectual Development
  • Linguistic/Language Development
  • Social and Emotional/Personality Development
• Video Two –
  • Cognitive/Intellectual Development
  • Linguistic/Language Development
  • Social and Emotional/Personality Development
• Conclusion

As you write the report, include citations in each paragraph (cognitive, linguistic, and social/emotional). Include at least three different scholarly references for the citations (textbook, handouts, websites, scholarly articles/book.)

Introduction: Briefly introduce the context/setting of both of the videos being analyzed in the paper. (We understand there is not a lot of contextual information about the children, just fill in what you can infer from the videos. This part will be brief.) Explain why you chose each of the videos you picked to include in this report. 

You must gear your virtual observations and discussions in the report to the appropriate age. See chapters from textbook and from the resources in the course. Use the compare and contrast charts or tables you created to provide an overview of the development theories being used to analyze the videos. You must fit the theory with the appropriate age and developmental level of the child in your video. 

Cognitive/Intellectual Development: Indicate the video of the observed behavior. Describe the cognitive development of the child/children observed. Provide several specific examples of the children’s behaviors and tie that to specific developmental terms from the course material.  Provide citations for all terms and theories used, with page numbers if from a text or article.  For example: In the Working on a Puzzle video, John demonstrated dramatic play when he …….(Seifert & Sutton 2009, p. 48). 

The ideas below can assist you in tying your observations to terms and theories.  You do not need to answer or address all of these questions, this is just to help get you thinking in relation to terms and theories:

• What stage of Piaget’s cognitive development model would you expect the observed child/children to be in?
• What evidence did you observe that the child/children in this stage are transitioning to or from this stage?
• Did you observe the child/children experience any disequilibrium and try to accommodate or assimilate the new experience?
• What evidence of egocentrism (if appropriate) did you observe?
• Was there any evidence that the child/children could use the principles of conservation or decentering?
• Did the child/children engage in symbolic play?
• What types of play did you observe?
• What did these observations lead you to believe about the child/children’s stage of cognitive development?
• Did the child/children engage in private speech or social speech?
• Did you observe any of Piaget’s other principles or concepts?
• How do Vygotsky’s principles and concepts apply to what you observed?
• Did the child/children use private speech?
• Did you observe the child/children use language to regulate his/her own behavior or the behavior of others?
• Did you observe any problem solving activities?
• Did the child/children confer with older or more skilled child or adults for help with tasks?
• Did you see any other evidence of scaffolding?
• Provide specific examples from the videos in reporting the cognitive development of the child/children.

Linguistic/Language Development: Write a paragraph that describes the linguistic development of the child/children observed.  Provide several specific examples of the children’s linguistic development and tie that to specific terms from the course material.  Provide citations for all terms used, with page numbers if from a text or article.  Look not only at developmental aspects of linguistics, but also watch for social and/or cultural influences on linguistics. The ideas below can assist you in tying your observations to terms and linguistic development.  You do not need to answer or address all of these questions:

• What, if any, errors in pronunciation did you observe?
• Are these errors developmental, social, or cultural?
• Does the child/student use complex syntax, such as extra qualifiers, conjunctions, or clauses?
• Is syntax typical for the child/student’s age group?
• Pragmatics: Does the child/student engage in conversational turn—taking?
• Is the conversation a real conversation or “talk time?”
• Is there evidence of learned social rituals? (“How are you?” “Fine.”)
• Does the child/student use slang expressions that are understood mainly by peer groups?

Emotional /Social Development: Write a paragraph that describes the emotional/social development of the child/children observed.  Provide several specific examples of the children’s behaviors and tie that to specific developmental terms from the course material. Provide citations for all terms and theories used, with page numbers if from a text or article. The ideas below can assist you in tying your observations to terms and theories.  You do not need to answer or address all of these questions:

• Was the child/student aggressive?
• Was any evidence of bullying behavior present?
• Which of Erikson’s stages would you expect your child/student to be in based on age?
• Did you see any evidence that the child/student was working on crises in this stage?
• Did you observe any events where the child/student practiced self—control, planning, independence, or task perseverance?
• Did you observe decision making that required moral reasoning?
• If so, what stage of Kohlberg’s model was evidenced?
• Review Gilligan’s theory on the Morality of Caring. Were there any events that would support this theory?
• Did you observe any incidents of caring for others behavior?

Conclusion: Summary of what you observed. If there were any individual development patterns that differ from typical patterns, you could include those here. What were the key similarities or differences between the two videos you observed? What did you learn from this assignment? How would you adapt your classroom or teaching to accommodate the needs of the children you virtually observed?

Reference Page:  Include all references/citations used in this assignment.  Use APA formatting for the Reference Page.  Review the APA PowerPoint and resources to help with this.