Chapter 4
Using Running Records to Look at
Social Development
“When we look at what the child cannot do,
we fail to see all the child can do.”
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RUNNING RECORDS
• Same writing technique as Anecdotal
Records
• Detailed account of what is observed: who,
what, where, when
• EXCEPT this is a sample or a specimen,
so it is not an event but just an observation
of 5−10 minutes of ordinary behavior with
all details included
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Uses of Running Records
Advantages
• Details a segment
of normal behavior
• Open method,
including details
• Indicators of many
areas of
development
Disadvantages
• Child may feel
“watched” and
change behavior
• Segment may not
show normal
behavior
• Adult’s attention is
focused on writing
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TOPICS IN OBSERVATION
The Stew
• “The Stew” Story
• Meaning
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What to Do with It
• File in child’s portfolio/folder
• Use for planning and individualizing
curriculum
• Share with child and family
• Use to document child’s normal (or
unusual) behavior
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LOOKING AT SOCIAL
DEVELOPMENT
Play’s place in:
• Social development
• Social competence and school readiness
– Skills learned in play help in school success
• Play as the foundation of social studies
– Self-identity
– How other people live, think
– Rules for harmonious interactions
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Theories of Social Development and
Implications on Early Childhood Practice
• Erikson – Eight stages of man
• Piaget – Cognitive theory and social
conventional
• Behaviorists – Learned behavior
• Maslow – Hierarchy of needs
• Vygotsky - Peer relationships
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Play’s Place in Development
• Physical – Muscle practice, coordination
• Emotional – Replay life experiences, outlet
for feelings
• Creative – Experimentation, imagination
• Intellectual – Classification, problem
solving
• Language – Vocabulary, humor, function
in social situations
• Social – Sharing, negotiating, gender roles
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Levels of Involvement in Play
•
•
•
•
•
Onlooker – watching others play
Solitary – Alone, occupied with play
Parallel – Alongside another
Associative – Related play theme
Cooperative – Sharing materials and
sustaining play theme
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Stages of Social Development
The need for a selfless society
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Observing Infants and Toddlers in
Social Play
• Expanding social world from family to
others
• Physical play with objects
• Mostly solitary, not ready for sharing and
negotiation (egocentric)
• Beginnings of linguistic and dramatic play
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HELPING ALL CHILDREN WITH
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
• Children with Special Needs
– Adaptations
• Environment
• Social facilitation
• Activities
– Children with Autism
• Culture and Social Interactions
• Helping Professionals
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Standards Related to
Social Development
Head Start Performance Standards
1304.21 (3, I, D)
Encourage respect for others.
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