Psychology 203: Human Development
Professor Mattanah
Term Paper: Description of Assignment
Due: Tuesday, Dec. 5th, by 5 pm
The Assignment
The term paper for this class is designed to help you integrate what you will be learning
about human development and apply it to a real, life “case”. Your assignment will be to
observe a single child five (5) times, one hour for each observation. You may observe
3.5 – 5 year old children at the Towson Student Day Care Center, located in Room 105 of
Lida Lee Tall building (phone #410-830-2652). To make arrangements for your
observation days and times, you must contact the Day Care Center Director, whose name
is Harriet Douthirt. You must make arrangements early in the semester, even if you do
not start your observations until a few weeks into the semester. When you contact the
Center, they will give you a sense of the best times to do your observations and may
provide you some guidelines for what behavior is expected of you (which you must be
careful to follow). You will give the observation form handed out in class to the center.
They will keep the form for the semester and you must make sure that the Lead teacher
signs your form each time you do an observation. Once you have completed all five
observations, they will sign the form and give it back to you, and you must hand it in with
your paper.
If your observations are done at a center other than Lida Lee Tall, you must have written
verification on an official letterhead with the teacher’s signature. Include the days, dates,
length of time of the 5 observations, and hand these forms in with your paper.
Ground Rules for Observers
In the classroom or yard, whenever possible, sit, do not stand, to observe (don’t hover
over children). Do not feel that you must stay in the first spot you choose, but give
yourself time there and then move quietly to another appropriate place. Be careful not to
be in the teacher’s way while he or she is handling a situation, even though this is
something you are observing.
Remember that the teacher’s primary responsibility is to the children. Talking with the
teacher can help you know whether what you have observed is typical of a given child,
but wait until later to ask questions or talk.
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Tips for How to Do Your Observations
Remember, the role of observer is passive. If you are observing within a classroom or
playground, yours is the “potted palm” role. The process of observing is, however, very
active! Try to tune in to the child you are observing; let yourself get into his or her frame
of experience. Observations can help you become aware of the range of normal behavior,
or of the underpinnings of some of the theories you are reading about, and of the
importance of carefully seeing detail and trying to understand instead of jumping to hasty
interpretations of behavior.
Steps to Take When Making Your Observation:
1. Have material for taking notes.
2. Give yourself 10 minutes or so to become oriented. Make notes about your
initial impressions of the space and the group. You may want to sketch or diagram the
setting. Pick out a child who particularly interests you.
3. Spend 15 minutes in intensive observation of the child on whom you are
focusing. Write down as much as you can of what the child does and says, and how he or
she does it. Be specific and detailed. Use key words and abbreviations instead of trying
to write sentences, so you can record more. Make some quick notes about your
impressions of the behavior, too – for example, the feeling tone.
4. Take 10 minutes for further general assessment of the situation. Then record
another 10 minutes of intensive observation of the child, with 2-minute time notations.
5. Finally, spend approximately 10 minutes more noticing how the teacher relates
to the group, what technique she or he uses in setting limits and presenting materials,
what differences there are in approaches to different children and in their reactions.
6. Write out your observations as soon as possible. Beginning with a careful
description of the setting and the child, you will want to weave together an account of
what you saw and heard, with your tentative inferences about what was going on and
with your general impressions – including how you yourself felt about the child. Attach
your original notes with your paper, no matter how scrappy.
Suggestions of Items to Look for in Observing an Individual Child
(It is not intended that you observe these things in sequence; these are simply things you
may want to take note of as you are observing the child.)
1. Physical appearance – what does the child look like? How dressed? Healthy?
2. Body movements and use of body – quick, slow? At ease or clumsy? Large and
small muscle coordination equally developed? Feelings expressed in body language?
3. Facial expressions – how much do expressions show feelings?
4. Speech – tone of voice? Speech an important way of communication for this child?
Fluent, average, choppy, inarticulate?
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5. Emotional reactions – how much and when showing anger, sadness, bewilderment,
doubt, enthusiasm? Too little control over feelings? Too much?
6. Relationships with other children – seek out? Avoid? How and when? Leader,
follower, one who watches, one who bosses? A friend?
7. Relationships with adults – comfortable and friendly? Clingy, demanding, anxious,
defiant? Asks for help? Avoids being comforted? Reaction to limits?
8. Play activities – What activities? For how long a time? Using little or much space?
Expressing fantasy?
9. Basic needs – anything you notice about his or her habits and feelings about feeding,
elimination, sexuality, rest?
The Paper
Goal of the Paper
Your primary goal in writing your paper is to summarize the 5 observations you have
made of the child and to relate your observations to one or more theories of child
development that we will be discussing in class (for example, Freud, Piaget, Attachment
theory, social learning theory, Erickson, etc.). In summarizing your observations, you
should comment on a number of aspects of the child’s development, including (1)
physical description and physical development, (2) cognitive and language development,
(3) social development, (4) emotional development, and (5) the child’s emerging
personality. In relating your observations to the developmental theories, you should write
about how your child does and does not exemplify aspects of what the theory claims
about child development. In other words, how good an example is your child of the
theory you are discussing and in what ways? You must comment on at least two different
theories.
In addition to relating your observations to two different theoretical perspectives, you
must also get at least two references from the library that report on empirical studies done
with children and weave those two articles into your discussion of your observations.
You should consider how well your observations support or undermine the findings of
the studies you have read. You should probably get those articles after you have done
most of your observations, when you have a better sense of what you will be writing
about. Please see me if you are having trouble finding articles in the library that you
think are appropriate.
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Paper Format/Structural Details
1. You paper should be no fewer than 8 pages and no more than 12 pages, not including
references or your notes of the observations.
2. Although your observational notes can be handwritten, your paper must be typed. I
will not accept handwritten papers. Spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and
typographical errors are all important in the grading of your paper and your grade will be
reduced significantly if you have many grammatical or typographical errors.
3. You paper must conform to APA (American Psychological Association) style for
citation of references. In APA style, the names of the authors and date of the article are
included in the body of the text and references are then listed on a separate reference
page. APA style does not use footnotes for citation of references. See me if you have
any questions about APA formatting of your paper.
3. You must staple together your paper, handwritten notes, and signed observation form
when you hand in your paper. 5 points will be deducted automatically for not following
these instructions.
4. Your papers are due in class or by 5 pm on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2000. For each day that
your paper is late, I will automatically deduct 15 points.
5. Also, if you do not complete all 5 observations, 15 points will be deducted.
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