Running Notes
The observation was that of child #111. #111 is a five year female. She has been enrolled in the kindergarten class for five months. I observed child #111 for two forty five minutes sessions. Over the course of the two sessions, a range of physical, social, emotional, cognitive and language development aspects were evaluated.
Child #111 has an approximate height of 40 inches. She is white in skin color and her overall physical appearance appears to be generally in line with children her age. In essence, from her physical appearance, she is generally healthy.
After being introduced to the children during the first session by their teacher, child #111 along with a number of others in the class clapped. Her clapping was consistent and well-coordinated, which served as an illustration of well-developed motor skills.
Once the lesson began, each of the children was required to introduce themselves. Child #111 was very eloquent in mentioning her name and even went further to state her home location. She did this in complete sentences and a logical manner; she adequately managed to include a conjunction in connecting the two concepts (her name and her home location).
While reciting the alphabet, child #111 recited the same adequately until letter W from where she had some difficulties proceeding though this was not conspicuously different from the rest of the class. She also illustrated an understanding of the concept of print as she could properly flap back and forth her coloring book as requested by her teacher. Additionally, she has a high level color and shape recognition, which serves to illustrate a high level of cognitive ability.
I also noticed that she is highly inquisitive, often times, she would prod the teacher for answers. For example, in one of the instances, she queried the teacher as to why the alphabet begins with the letter A and not any other letter. In another instance, she wanted to know what coloring crayons are made of.
I evaluated her concentration, which averaged about fifteen minutes, before she got distracted and had to be reminded by the teacher of the task at hand. As the class was proceeding, she asked for permission to visit the wash rooms for a short call, which I viewed to be a mark of adequate cognitive development. As she came back to class, I noticed that her hands were wet from washing, which illustrates that she understood social imperatives such as hygiene. During break time, the children were allowed to engage in play. Child #111 was generally very active and even averaged better than most of her peers.
She participated in jumping ropes from which I observed that she has very good coordination. I also observed that while running around, she could hop on either both feet or on a single foot. I also observed that while in class and on the field, her right hand was more active than the left one hence an indication of hand dominance beginning to occur. Hand dominance is an indication of developing motor skills.
Child #111’s fine motor skills were also well developed. During class time, I observed that she held her coloring crayons using a right hand tripod grip (using two fingers and the thumb). While having her lunch time meal, I observed child #111 using both a folk and a spoon with relative ease. The coordination between the spoon and the fork was also high.
During the course of her interactions with the children, I observed that she was able to not only initiate conversations but also sustain them in a logical manner. However, I observed that there was hardly any turn taking during the course of these conversations.
During the second session, child #111 and her fellow classmates had a lesson before proceeding for a play rehearsal. During the lesson, she was active as usual and after a while I noticed she got playful with her desk mate before the teacher had to put a stop on it. As the children were instructed to move into another room from where they rehearsed for the play, child #111 was very responsive to the commands. In fact, she appeared to get infuriated by other kids that were not as quick in following the teacher’s command. This served to illustrate a high level of emotional and social abilities.
However, I noticed a change in attitude during the course of the play rehearsal. She had been allocated the role of a mother in the play and while she appeared fluent in the script, there was a bit of hesitation in her.
Report
The observation is that of five-year old child #111. The child is a female and is being observed while in a kindergarten environment. Observing of the child for two forty-five minute sessions provided an important foundation with which to evaluate her development in various aspects from cognitive to physical development.
The theory of behaviorism contends that motor development is a function of conditioning. The conditioning is attributed to biological reflexes. However, these reflexes are further strengthened through experience and practice (Scott, & Marshall, 2009). The generally high level of motor development illustrated by child #111 can therefore be attributed enhanced physical stimulation in the school.
The school has allocated a lot of time for physical activity both on the playground as well as within the class. As a result, child #111 experiences a high level of physical stimulation that has further served to shape her biological reflexes as part of the conditioning hence the highly developed motor skills. According to Allen, & Kelly (2015), there is a positive relationship between the level of a child’s stimuli stimulation and the level of development.
According to Piaget’s cognitive development theory, children gather knowledge on a gradual basis, which is in line with the assertion that children’s cognitive development begins from a blank state (Scott & Marshall, 2009). As a result, children learn through inquisitiveness and curiosity. As illustrated by child #111 life experiences such as her desire to know why the alphabet begins with letter A or what crayons are made of, it is this curiosity that seeks to bridge the knowledge gap. Consequently, she is able to define relationships from her high level of curiosity.
One of the interesting observations from child #111 was her obsession to follow commands and rules and in some instances became infuriated by other kids that did not adhere to the same. This aspect may present an important illustration for the child’s psychodynamic development as envisaged by Sigmund Freud. It is especially the case with regard to the ego component of psychodynamic development which is often shaped by experiences from the external environment (Children’s Medical Services, 2016).
In this regard, child #111 may have been conditioned in an environment in which observing rules and following commands was rewarded and failure to do so attracted negative reinforcement such as punishment. Consequently, the child is conditioned towards tension reduction through following rules and obeying commands which is essentially less painful than doing the contrary (McLeud, 2007).
As illustrated in the running notes, in one of the instances, as child #111 was rehearsing for a play, she appeared hesitant to play her role as a mother despite being jovial during a greater part of my observation sessions. I, therefore, sought to find out from her teacher why her sudden change of mood. The teacher suggested that she could have been affected by the recent separation between her parents.
While this may not be the definite course of her hesitance, it is most likely the cause. It is especially the case when the attachment theory is evaluated. The theory evaluates personal relationships between close individuals and the effects on the relationship in the event of an external factor affecting the relationship (Cassidy, Jones, & Shaver, 2013). From the information I gathered, child #111 was very close to her father and as such his separation from her mother could have affected her ability to socialize within the context of a family as envisaged in the play.
References
Allen, L.R & Kelly, B.B (2015). Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8:
A Unifying Foundation. Washington DC, National Academies Press
Cassidy, J., Jones, J., & Shaver, P (2013). Contributions of Attachment Theory and Research: A
Framework for Future Research, Translation, and Policy. Developmental
Psychopathology 25 (402): 1415–1434 Retrieved January 27, 2017 from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4085672/
Children’s Medical Services (2016). What are the Major Theories of Child Development?
Floridahealth.gov Retrieved January 27, 2017 from
http://www.floridahealth.gov/AlternateSites/CMS-
kids/providers/early_steps/training/itds/module1/lesson2_3.html
McLeud, S (2007). Psychodynamic Approach. Simply Psychology Retrieved January 27, 2017
Scott, J., & Marshall, G. (2009). A dictionary of sociology. Oxford: Oxford University Press
