OBSERVATION
Running Record
Observer:__________________________________ Date:_____________ Time:_______
Child’s name, age, and grade: ________________________ Location:__________________
Description of the Context
| Include the following important data: Description of the child’s puzzling behavioral patterns, developmental difficulties, special need(s)Description of the problem that you think the child has to solveInfo about the child’s familiarity with the activities he or she participates inDescription of a sequence of the child’s academic activities under your observation |
Description of Child’s Activities/ Actions Comments
| All the child’s activities should be described chronologically from the beginning to the end of the observation period.Divide the description into small episodes; each should represent a separate child’s activity. (It will be easier to analyze and comment on specific episodes)Do not confuse descriptions of the child behavior with your comments. Descriptions should show what is going on; comments should explain why it is going on. What you describe is observable, what you comment on is usually not. | Comments represent your explanations and guesses about causes of the child’s actions.Format key words/phrases in every comment as bold face and underline. (You will use this info for writing your inferences.) |
The Cognitive, Socioemotional, and Learning Development observations allowed me to interpret, analyze, and gain understanding of the implications for teaching and the learning that should be developed for certain types of learners. Observations allow us as educators to help better our students and understand their strengths and weaknesses. The observations can allow a teacher to understand what the next steps are for the student, what the students plan will be to positively facilitate their learning.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OBSERVATION
Running Record
Observer: Dana Telese Date: 7/28/2020 Time: 7:30 p.m.
Child’s name, age, and grade: no name was given, 6 years old, First grade
Location: Guided Reading/ Center Time
Type of observation Cognitive Development
Description of the Context
Description of Child’s Activities/Actions Comments
the words. Could mean
the word from before. another guided
she quickly answers “a house “.
Inferences
o By observing the student, he had presented assimilation process. He had recalled what he had previously learned. The boy had remembered that on the cover of the reading book it had someone building with blocks. He had used visual information and comprehension, he remembered that previously.
SOCIOEMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OBSERVATION
Observer: Dana Telese Date: 7/31/2020. Time: 2:30pm
Child’s name, age, and grade: Pre-K, 4 years old Location: Video
Type of observation Emotional/Social Development
I have done my Emotional/Social Development Observation based on the video; 3rd Observation Part 1. In this observation I had observed a young girl that was in a Pre-k
classroom around 4 years old.
During the time of my observation the student had been sitting in center time or play time. The video started out where she was sitting on the rug surrounded by wooden blocks, but specifically had only one block in her hand that she was playing with. In the middle of the block it had a cutout, covered in a lime green film that you can look through, which she became very aware of throughout the whole observation. The way she processed and expressed her thoughts were quite different then students her age that I have observed previously. My observation I feel had related to Erik Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development and Vygotsky Social Development Theory.
not speak much with the boys.
Throughout the video I noticed that:
The observation on the student in center time can be based off of and relate to Vygotsky’s Social Development Theory and Erik Erikson’s Social-Emotional Development Theory.
From the previous readings in class on Vygotsky I was able to connect the Social Development Theory with my observation.
This observation also displayed the social-emotional development theory, Erik Erikson’s theory.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory focuses on immobilization by guilt.
By observing this student, I had known that her social skills were poorly being displayed. In the very beginning she was sitting alone playing by herself. No one had come over to her to ask to play. At sometimes she did take it upon herself to switch around to a few centers, but never stayed at one and did not communicate with the other students like a 4year old should have. If a problem arises, she did not know how to communicate. She would use her anger, her hands and lash out on the other students. It is extremely important at a young age that a child has good communication and socialization skills in order to maintain healthy and positive relationships with others around them.
Observer: Dana Telese Date: 8/3/2020 Time: 12:30pm
Child’s name, age, and grade: First grade, 6 years old. Location: Video
Type of observation Learning Development
For my Learning Observation I had chosen the video which was taken in a First-Grade class. I chose a boy who had been working in a science center. He was independently doing science observations on his own.
inferences about the magnifying glass and knew now that if you put any object under the magnifying glass you can “observe” more about it,
Since the child’s critical-thinking skills and fine motor skills have been developed he can now apply them by using simple tools to investigate and observe more. The magnifying glass allowed him to see things they’ve never seen before.
Development in early childhood is how a child thinks, explores, and figures things out.
It is the development of knowledge, skills, problem solving and dispositions, which allow and help children to think about and understand the world around them.
The student had shown examples of cognitive development by:
By working in the science center, it allowed the student to produce reasoning, thinking, perceiving, and observations. Since the student had been working with the magnifying glass, he had used reasoning, when asked “why can you observe the designs on the stone better under the magnifying?” he was able to explain the reasoning behind what a magnifying glass does to an object. “The design gets bigger.”
The student modeled thinking, by starting off with putting the brown crayon under the magnifying glass and seeing that it had become bigger. He understood now that if he puts the stone with the small designs under the magnifying glass as well, the design will become enlarged and easier to see.
The student understood what kind of observation he had been doing in the science center. In order for the student to understand his experiment he had recorded, which he drew the stone before the putting it under the magnifying glass. Once he had put the stone under the magnifying glass, he then drew his observations of what the stone looked like. Once he had both recordings, he put them together and explained how they were different and why.
By observing the student, I had seen how much he had understood from this experiment and what he took away from the experiment. He now knew that anything small goes under the magnifying glass to become bigger, it is like a new set of eyes. I think that this is as great scientific tool that children should all have in their classroom. It allows them to become observant, perceive and think about the things around them. It helps kids see things they’ve never seen before close-up. It opens up a whole new world to them, which they find pretty amazing.
My cognitive development observation was done on two first grade students who were both in the same first grade class. The first student was a boy, he had been sitting at a table with the teacher, which looked like they were in a guided reading group or a one to one group. The student was holding the reading book in front of him as the teacher was observing the way he was reading, as well as the strategies he uses. I chose this student because I recognized the strategies he had used while reading his leveled book independently, as well as noticing cognitive abilities he had used to guide him. The second student was a girl who had been in center time. The student decided to start building with the blocks. She sits on the rug and nicely by herself starts picking apart the building blocks. I had chosen this student to observe because I felt that she was showing cognitive abilities and thinking quickly by just observing her for a few moments. The developmental insights gained from this observation guided me to promote learning opportunities for both students I had observed.
For the first student, he appeared to have learned best by using reading strategies to help him read. I would use cognitive reading strategies with this student. Cognitive reading strategies can relate to, activating background knowledge of the book they are reading, this can help them stimulate their prior knowledge about the topic of the book. Questioning encourages the students to be curious about what they are reading, framing questions for the students if they may not be able too will allow them to increase their comprehension. Questions can be asked at the beginning of the story. “What do you think the book may be about by looking at the title”? Asking questions throughout the book, this allows the student to acknowledge what parts of the story are about. Visualization is also beneficial to the reader. Readers can comprehend better when visualizing images in their head about what the book may be about or something in the book that has interested them. Lastly, summarizing is important when finishing a book.
The reader must be able to understand what they have read, the important parts of the story, and able to either write or draw about what they read. Since this student had already used visuals from looking at the front cover, he stored in his mind the picture he had seen. When he started to read the book, he had come across the word “build” he remembered by using the picture on the front cover and picture on the page they were connected. This had allowed him to cognitively take that information and use it to read the book. He took the visual information and applied that to his reading when he came across a word he may have been stuck on or unsure. The student is supported to learn any new concepts cognitively by practicing his reading, repetition and experience with reading which allow him to gather a concept. As the teacher I would sit with this student in a guided reading group and use the next reading strategy that would help him progress to the next level book, these were reading strategies I have used with my students. Since he has obtained the picture power reading strategy, which is using picture cues to understand a word you may not know or decode words in a reading book, he can now use the reading strategy getting his mouth ready. This strategy allows the child to look at the first letter of the word, covering the rest of the letters and sound out that first letter. Once he has established the first letter he can now move onto the next letter and get his mouth ready. This will allow the student to use this strategy when he comes across a word they may not know.
My observation on the second student was different then the first one. This student had exhibited cognitive development through block building. Playing with blocks can help boost the child’s creativity and ability to produce what comes from their imagination. Playing with blocks can be supported by cognitive development, it includes symbolization, representation, directionality. The student can make comparisons, classify and follow sequence of shapes. It allows logical and divergent thinking and reasoning. According to Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, “Preoperational Thought (two to seven years). Children learn to think-to use symbols and internal images-but their thinking is unsystematic and illogical. It is very different from that of adults”. (Crain, 1992. p.103). This student appears to learn best by using her imagination and prior knowledge of how a house is built. She displayed Piaget’s constructive play where she used objects (blocks) in an organized, goal-oriented way to make her house. From previously learning how Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial is presented in classroom, I had seen an example of that in this observation. This student had a choice at the time what to do or what center to go to. She went and felt that building with blocks was the best choice for her. She expressed her understanding at the level that she best understood it.
The practices that could be useful in constructing meaning for the student would be identifying and supporting characteristics of the effective learning. I can have a checklist that I can go through while she is playing with the blocks. Is the student following their own ideas? Do they keep trying if their plan doesn’t work?, Are they trying to achieve a certain goal? And most importantly are they enjoying what they have constructed? Do they enjoy their discovery and achievement of what they have built? After checking off these questions and asking the student I can then keep record of what the student has constructed. Every time they build with blocks allow them to understand how to tie their creation into real life. After this student had built her house, I can then ask her to think of the steps she used to build the house. Have her draw the different steps using First, Then, Next, and Last. Which can be tied into a writing lesson for the student. Showing the student transition words which is used in writing throughout the year. This will show the student that her building with blocks can be used in other content areas than just center time.
My socioemotional development observation was done by observing a young girl that was in a Pre-k classroom around 4 years old. During the time of my observation the student had been sitting in center time or play time. The video started out where she was sitting on the rug surrounded by wooden blocks, but specifically had only one block in her hand that she was playing with. In the middle of the block it had a cutout, covered in a lime green film that you can look through, which she became very aware of throughout the whole observation. The way she processed and expressed her thoughts were quite different then students her age that I have observed previously. My observation I feel had related to Erik Erikson’s theory of Psychosocial Development and Vygotsky Social Development Theory. This student did not seem interested with playing with any other students or playing at a different center. She tended to play on her own, when she did switch centers she wasn’t interacting as much with the students. I did notice that she had poor communication and social skills in the beginning of the observation. she sat by herself, not playing with anyone and laughing and talking to herself.
From previous readings on Vygotsky I was able to connect the Social Development Theory with my observation. Vygotsky explains that socialization affects the learning process in an individual. A child develops social skills through play. In this observation she was not applying the Social Development theory, she was doing the opposite by not socializing with others during the center time. This student would in fact have a social skill deficit. She has little interaction with other students in the social interaction aspect. This observation also displayed the social-emotional development theory, Erik Erikson’s theory. The Psychosocial Theory, Learning Initiative vs. Guilt (purpose) “play age” allows healthy developing children learn to imagine and broaden their skills through active play of sorts. The children cooperate with others. “During the initiative versus guilt stage, children assert themselves more frequently through directing play and other social interaction. These are particularly lively, rapid-developing years in a child’s life. According to Bee (1992), it is a “time of vigor of action and of behaviors that the parents may see as aggressive.” (Mcleod, 2018.).
“During this period the primary feature involves the child regularly interacting with other children at school. Central to this stage is play, as it provides children with the opportunity to explore their interpersonal skills through initiating activities. Children begin to plan activities, make up games, and initiate activities with others. If given this opportunity, children develop a sense of initiative and feel secure in their ability to lead others and make decisions. (Mcleod,
2018.). I had observed that this student failed under the initiative versus guilt. This
observation had done quite the opposite. Her behavior was very off, she wasn’t communicating with the other children in the classroom. She wasn’t initiating activities and the children weren’t walking over to her to ask her to play.
Developmental insights gained from this observation can help me promote learning opportunities for the student. It is important to show the student how to interact with other students and teach them social skills. For this student I would help her understand how to interact with other students. I can provide modeling for her, if she sees me as the teacher model how to interact, she will then follow me. I can also use practices that might be useful in constructing meaning for the student. I can assign her a classroom job, role play social situations, assign her a buddy in the classroom, or read stories about socializing and working together with your classmates. Reading a story about having friends and working together, building social skills can allow the young girl to understand that her classmates are her friends and they are all there to help one another. This will allow the student to progress toward developing social skills. It is important to guide the student to play and interact with other students, showing her that it is ok to surround yourself with your classmates. This will allow the child to feel more comfortable.
While deciding what student would be best for my learning development observation, I had chosen a student who I thought had displayed an understanding of a scientific tool and why it is considered science by applying prior and new knowledge. For my Learning Observation I
had chosen a student in a First-Grade class. I chose a boy who had been working in a science center. He was independently doing science observations on his own. The academic achievement the boy is displaying would be understanding what a magnifying glass is and why it is considered science. I chose this student because I recognized that he had quickly became engaged with looking into the magnifying glass and understood the function of the magnifying glass and what he saw under the magnifying glass. He applied his prior knowledge and skills of his scientific tools and observations, but also receiving new information and practicing new skills.
This students’ abilities can be utilized by reflecting on what he has learned from using the magnifying glass and how far he can go beyond just the brown crayon and stone. In order for constructing meaning for the student, as the teacher I can use inquiry-based instruction. This will encourage the student to ask questions and investigate ideas on their own. This can help him use problem solving skills and understand the concepts that come academically from the experiment. This student learns best from visual and hands on experiments. He is able to take educated guesses by looking at the object and making an educated guess of what it would be like under a magnifying glass. He is applying his prior knowledge of how a magnifying glass works and takes a guess before looking at the stone under the magnifying glass.
An experiment that the student can perform in order to further his learning would be using other objects to investigate under a magnifying glass. I can start off by using inquiry-based instruction by putting different objects in front of him. I will ask him to write down or draw what the object looks like and then draw what their educated guess once the object is under the magnifying glass. I can use thought provoking questions that will allow him to think for himself and become an independent learner. By using inquiry-based questions it will encourage him to express his different views on the experiment. Not only can he use this for the magnifying glass experiment, but also with any science experiment. He can conduct his own experiments and show his classmates what he has learned and how he can apply the strategies to other scientific knowledge.
The teaching strategies and plans that I have referred to are used to help these students learn the desired content but also be able to develop achievable goals. The strategies identify the different available learning methods and enable for growth in learning. The student plans will help improve and further the students learning strategies. This will allow them to succeed and learn successfully. The proper teaching and learning strategies will promote successful academic performance to grow as well as a clear understanding of what they should be learning.
Crain, W. (1992). Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory in: Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. 5th Edition., pp. 100-127, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Erik Erikson | Psychosocial stages | Simply psychology. (2007, February 5). Study Guides for Psychology Students – Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-
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