I.GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LAB CHILDA.Developmental information. Give information about your lab child taken from the gold Developmental Questionnaire available from the files in the child's room.DO NOT TAKE THIS FILE FROM THE LAB. (Ask at other schools to see if this type of information is available.)DO NOT PHOTOCOPY IT. Write down the information you need (only what is asked for here). Do not include precise identifying information such as the child's exact birthdate, names of family members, or exact occupations of parents. Include developmental information such as delivery, ages baby began sitting, crawling, walking, speaking words and sentences. Also include unusual information noted by the parent (health problem, etc.). Look for items that may explain your child's behavior, reinforce what you've seen, or contradict what you've noticed. The child may act one way at home, another way at school or may be growing out of a stage, maturing, developing, or changing. It may have been a year since the parent filled out the form. Look at this early in the semester. If any requested info is missing from the form or it is more than a year old, ask a staff member if the parents could update it. If you still can't get the info, state this in your paper.B.Physical description. Give a complete physical description of the child. Discuss height and body build in comparison to other children the same age (the exact height & weight is not important) , hair color and style, and any other distinguishing features.C.Selection of child. State your reasons for selecting this particular child.D.Lab Setting. Give a complete description of your child's room-- arrangement, equipment, decorations, etc. List and describe each interest center-- set-up, materials and equipment, activities performed there.

II.MOTOR DEVELOPMENT(List and discuss every skill listed here. Use specific examples to describe each skill you observe--how, where, how well. Then list all the remaining skills you were unable to observe. The fewer skills you see, the more details you need to include about the ones you did see.)A.Gross (large) motor skills [13]. Describe the types of gross motor skills the child engaged in and how his/her performance compared to other children the same age. Include walking, running, jumping, climbing, throwing, catching, riding a tricycle, swinging, hopping, galloping, skipping, dancing, gymnastics skills (balancing, etc.), and any other skills observed.B.Fine (small) motor skills [15]. Describe the types of fine motor activities your child engaged in and tell how his/her performance compared to other children the same age. Include handling small objects, pincer grasp (usingthe thumb and index finger to pick up objects), eating, buttoning, zipping, tying shoelaces, dressing, undressing, working puzzles, cutting, pasting, coloring, painting, manipulating blocks, hand motions to songs, and any other skills observed.

III.COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT (Use specific examples for each area.)A.Number concepts. Discuss the child's ability to count withcomprehension and tell what the child counted (plates, blocks, etc.). How high can he/she count? Tell if the child used pre-math words such as "more", "less", "bigger", "longer", "shorter", indicating understanding of quantity or size.B.Attention and problem-solving style. Discuss the child's ability (or inability) to attend (pay attention, focus or concentrate) to various activities or projects.Tell how many minutes he/she stays at each major area or activity. [Example, "She often spent from three to fifteen minutes on art activities."] What did your child seem to enjoy doing the most? the least? When working (or playing), is he/she easily distracted by other people, noises, etc.? When faced with a new activity, does the child get frustrated easily and give up or keep trying for a long time?C.Reasoning ability and learning Tell if your child indicated by words or actions that he/she "figured out" something--how to work something, how to get to something he/she wanted, why something happened, etc.What has this child learned while you observed? What specific problems has he/she solved? [Remember, the child may learn that some things aren't allowed, and that some things don't work.]D.Curiosity, creativity and imagination. How does this child show (1) curiosity about things around him/her? exploratory tendencies? Give examples of (2)creativity (new, different, unusual, original) things the child has made, said, or done. How did this child use his/her (3) imagination (imaginary activities, people, creatures, etc.)?E.Memory. Discuss child's (1) short term and (2) long term memory abilities. How has the child indicated remembering usual daily routines, people, special events from past? Discuss any memory errors.F.Piaget's stages of cognitive development. In observing your child, determine which stage and substage, your child is in, according to Jean Piaget's theory. Give specific examples, reasons for your answer. Use your text and handout to help you answer this section.

IV. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT [elements of language] GIVE DIRECT QUOTATIONS FOR EACH OF THESE AREAS. INCLUDE BOTH CORRECT AND INCORRECT USAGE.A.Phonetics. Does the child pronounce words clearly and correctly? Quote "bigger" words pronounced correctly. Quote any pronunciation errors. [Example: She says "fwee" for "three"; "teeter" for "teacher".]B.Semantics. Quote several of this child's "bigger" vocabulary words (words the child says). (This is active/productive vocabulary). How does this child's vocabulary compare with that of other children the same age? How well does the child understand the meaning of words used by others? (This is passive/receptive vocabulary). Give examples of specific directionsgiven by the teacher and describe whether the child understood and followed them. [Child may understand but not want to do it.] List any examples of child's misunderstanding word meanings.C.Syntax. Does the child generally use good grammar? Quote examples of correct grammar, then quote any grammaticalerrors you heard and try to explain the reason for these errors.D.Pragmatics. Does your child speak when appropriate and keep quiet when appropriate? Does the child speak especially loudly or softly? ...in a pleasant tone quality? How does the child use language?To whom does he/she speak, and in what settings? To what extent does the child use egocentric speech (failing to take the listener's viewpoints into account) versus socialized speech? How effectively is the the child able to communicate with peers?...with teachers? Give examples in detail. Tell how the child communicates. Describe non-verbal communication--body language, gestures, facial expressions--especially if the child is not yet very verbal.E.General complexity.Quote four to six typical sentences spoken by your child, including the longest one.Compute the average length of the sentences [# words] spoken by your child. (Be sure to average in some of the shorter sentences.) How does your child's language compare with that of the other children in the room?(Indicate if your child is younger or older than the other children, or about the average of others in the room.)

V. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENTUse descriptions of each type of play (Parten's list) from Chapter 9 of your text.A.Play. What types of play does your child engage in? Number, list, and underline each type.Give specific examples of each type: (1) practice, (2) pretense/symbolic, (3) social, (4) constructive [this is building or making something--2-or 3-dimensional art, puzzles, blocks, legos, sand castles, etc.], (5) games. Tell which ones he/she does not use. Tell what % of time the child spends in groupplay? (with one or more other children). What% of the time does the child. play alone? Is this age-appropriate? What have you observed the child learningfrom play? What gender differences in play activities have you noticed? What toys/activities are both sexes involved with? girls only? boys only?B.Interactions with peers.(Give examples of each behavior.) How does your child interact with other children? How is he/she a follower or a leader? How does he/she influence the others, if at all?When & how is the child friendly, cooperative, hostile, outgoing, withdrawn?Does the child engage in aggressive behavior? When? why? to whom? and how? How does the child react to aggression expressed by others?Who does the child spend the most time with? How do the other children react to this child? Does the child express sympathy to others or help them in any way?C.Interactions with adults.1.Parents. Describe the parent-child interaction if observed. Was the child's behavior different when the parent was there? How? How did the parent relate to the child? What was said?2.Teachers. Does the child have a favorite teacher? How does the child relate to various adults in the room--lead teacher, aide, child development students, other visitors? Compared to the others, how well does the child listen & follow theteachers' requests and instructions? Is the child clingy, dependent or independent? How do the teachers react to this child? How do the teachers deal with problems concerning this child? What methods of guidance and control are used with all children?tone of voice? How are positive actions reinforced? How do the teachers help this childlearn? How much attention does this child get from teachers?D.Erikson's theory of personality development (psychosocial stages). In observing your child, determine which stage, or stages, your child is in, according to Erik Erikson's theory. Give specific examples and reasons for your answer. Use your Handout and text to help answer this section.E.Emotions. Describe the emotions that your child expressed. Does he/she cry easily? become frustrated? indicate that he/she is happy, mad, sad, hurt, etc.? (Give specific examples of situations for each emotion observed-- what causes the child to be mad, hurt, etc.?) F.Self esteem. How would you describe the self-esteem of the child--high, low, average, a combination? What have you observed that causes you to draw this conclusion?

VI. DEVELOPMENTAL SUMMARYA.Developmental Milestones. This is available on our web course. You may need to download Adobe Acrobat (free) to be able to open and print it. It is also available at the front desk of OC's LRC (Learning Resource Center) in a Developmental Milestones folder. Make a copy of the complete handout to keep for your files to study for state boards or other accreditation tests. Find the age section that corresponds to your lab child's age. Choose several items on the list. Compare your lab child's developmental abilities with those listed and describe how your child is on target, behind, or ahead of schedule in each area. [Keep in mind there is a very broad range of "normal" as far as the ages that different children reach various milestones.]B.Developmental evaluation. List each of the developmental areas given in this paragraph. Summarize how your lab child is doing in each area--social, emotional, cognitive, physical, & language development. In what areas is your child most advanced for his/her age? Which abilities are least developed? Which areas are average? Why do you think so?C.Preschool program. Discuss several specific ways that you think the program you observed is, or is not, meeting the needs of this child. Give detailed suggestions for helping your child in his/her weakest area, or providing enrichment in a stronger area.

VII. PERSONAL VALUEDescribe in detail how observing the child and writing the case study was valuable to you. Even the people most experienced in working with, or parenting, children continually learn new lessons from them. What was new to you? What surprised you? What do you expect to remember the most vividly? What previous knowledge was reinforced? How can you apply what you have learned to your personal and professional life, both now and in the future.

Jean Piaget, born in 1896 was a biologist but moved into the study of children's development by observing, talking and listening to them while they worked on exercises he set them.

Through his observations, Piaget developed his idea of stages of cognitive development which have made a lasting contribution to psychology.

Piaget saw the child as an active participant in the development of knowledge constructing his or her own understanding. The child, he argued, tries to make sense of the world around him and this is known as the process of adaptation.

Before Piaget, there was no body of theory on how intelligence develops through childhood and into adulthood.

Piaget's Developmental Model

Piaget's developmental model for children involves schemes (i.e. "concepts") or the action of categorizing. A baby begins life with a small number of sensory or motor schemes. As a child interacts within the world, they acquire more experiences and these schemes are modified as they make sense of new experiences.

Later, the toddler develops "mental" schemas and this shift is through the process of assimilation (absorbing some event or experience to some schema), accommodation (changing the schema as a result of new information) and equilibration where balance is achieved.

Piaget was one of the first psychologists to apply scientific method to his work, carrying out experiments based on measurable criteria. Freud and others who came before him relied on case studies

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Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget's theory of the way a child's thinking develops consists of four stages: the sensorimotor stage, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational. His theory still greatly influences behavioural psychologists and educationalists today.

  • Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to two years): Child's intelligence develops through his motor (physical) interactions with the environment. During this stage the child starts to recognise how he or she can manipulate objects i.e. shaking a rattle to make a noise and will achieve object permanence i.e. realising things exist even when they aren't present. Mum can walk out of the room but she hasn't disappeared forever!
  • Preoperational Stage (Between two and 6/7 years): Child is able to make mental representations of unseen objects but cannot use deductive reasoning. During this stage child uses mental symbols to understand and interact with the world; they begin to learn language and engage in "pretend" play i.e. picking up a box and pretending it is a zooming car. They will start to classify objects by a single feature i.e. putting together all the blue blocks regardless of the size, or all the round blocks regardless of colour.
  • Concrete Operational (6/7 years to 11 or 12): Child starts thinking logically to solve problems and organise the information they learn. During this stage children will begin to classify objects according to several features.
  • Formal Operational (11/12 onwards) Adolescent starts to think more abstractly to solve problems and will systematically test hypotheses. At this stage thinking becomes less tied to concrete reality.

Piaget's theory of how children's minds work and develop has been an enormous contribution in developmental psychology

Read more:

Gardner, Piaget, and Vygotsy: The Nature of Learning

Sep 12, 2010 Gina Barrett

Teacher and Child - ICMA Photos

Three key theorists have impacted the understanding of learning and teaching. Gardner, Piaget and Vygotsy identify separate factors in effective learning.

Three theorists have greatly influenced the way children today are taught: Howard Gardner, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Multiple intelligence, the importance of language, development and culture, and scaffolding ideas are key concepts in the understanding of learning.

Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligence

According to Gardner, how a child learns depends upon the child’s type of intelligence. Gardner believes children learn through one of eight different modalities: linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, or naturalistic. Although Gardner’s theory has been popular, testing for types of intelligence has proven problematic. The Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scale (MIDAS) is a work in progress. In one study, teachers were able to accurately predict which children would score high an area of expertise (mathematics, language arts, etc.), but MIDAS did not produce clear categorizations.

Students do exhibit different abilities, and MIDAS might be helpful in understanding a child’s preferred learning modality. Even with an improved test available, however, educators would have difficulty implementing individual plans in a classroom. Would eight separate lessons plans be required? Aldridge and Goldman ask how musical intelligence could be addressed in a lower socio-economic school? While looking for ways to address different modalities, the practical teacher must ask, “What has been demonstrated to be generally effective, and possible, in the classroom?”