Child Development 1
Developmental Observation
Developed by Professor Malati Singh and adapted & Revised by Professor Lilamani de Silva
Written Observation & Oral Presentation Due - Monday Class – November 30, 2015 & Wednesday Class – December 2, 2015
Guidelines and Format for Developmental Observations Report
READ THE APPROPRIATE CHAPTERS OF YOUR TEXT BOOK
Your assignment begins by reading the chapters of your text that relates to the age of the child that you will observe:
Chapter 4: Infancy (Birth 2 years)
Chapter 5: Toddlerhood (2 - 3 years)
Chapter 6: Early Childhood (3 - 6 years)
Chapter 7: Middle Childhood (7 - 11 years)
Chapter 8: Adolescence (12 years and beyond)
A. Cover page: Your name; Title of the Assignment
Age of the child; Gender of the child
B. Introduction:  5 points
a.
b.
c.
d.
Name of the child/adolescent, age and gender
Family characteristics: Social and cultural contexts (Urie Bronfenbrenner’s model) (chapter 1- pages 26-28)
Siblings and their ages
Cultural background and socioeconomic status
C. Developmental characteristics (depending on the age of the child or adolescent)  80 pts.
1. Biological Domain (Physical Development):  20 points
Describe the child’s physical characteristics and motor abilities.
Identify any problems or issues, if any.
i. Physical appearance:
a. Child’s approximate height and weight
b. Does the child appear healthy or not? What makes you think so?
ii. Child’s nutritional habits and eating patterns
iii. Child’s sleeping patterns
iv. Child’s movement and activities:
a.
b.
c.
d.
For infants (newborn – 6 months), check for newborn reflexes.
How does the child move or how does the child use his/her body?
Does the child appear to be comfortable with his/her physical abilities?
Does the child prefer mostly high energy activities or quiet activities?
e. Give examples of child’s gross motor skills – are they age appropriate? How do they compare with what the
textbook identifies as age-typical?
f.
Give examples of child’s fine motor skills – are they age appropriate? How do they compare with what the
textbook identifies as age-typical?
1
2. Cognitive Domain (Cognitive Development) (Jean Piaget, Howard Gardner)  20 points
i.According to Jean Piaget’s cognitive development stages, which stage would you place the child? Why? Give
two examples to support/explain your answer.
ii.For children of ages four to eight years, verify Piaget’s conservation tasks (page 249). State the results and
conclusion. If necessary, apply Vygotsky’s concepts to explain conservation.
iii.For school age children and adolescents (ages six years and above), apply Gardner’s theory of multiple
intelligences by identifying the child’s strengths (pages 313-314).
3. Language Domain (Language Development):  20 points
For children 3 – 5 years of age, ask three to five questions; For children 6 – 10 years of age, ask six to ten questions;
For children 11 – 18 years of age, ask ten to fifteen questions.
i. Describe the child/adolescent’s language and thinking abilities.
ii. Ask age appropriate questions as applicable. Include the child’s responses.
iii. What is your conclusion about the child’s language development, or adolescent’s thoughts and ideas? Is the
child/adolescent expressive or reserved?
4. Social and Emotional Domain (Social and Emotional Development):  20 points
(Thomas and Chess, Erik Erikson, James Marcia, Phinney’s Model of Ethnic Identity)
i. Temperament and personality traits:
a. Based on Thomas and Chess classification of infant temperament, describe the child’s temperament
characteristics for children of ages – newborn to six years.
b. For children older than six years, apply the concepts of higher-order personality traits.
ii. Sociability:
a. For infants only: Is the infant attached mainly to a parent or primary care giver, or is the infant attached to
more than one parent or caregivers?
b. Does the child make friends easily? Is the child shy or quiet; cooperative or prefers to be alone?
c. How does the child communicate his/her wants or needs?
d. How does the child relate and interact with other people? Give two examples of child’s interactions with
family members/peers and friends/teacher/coach, or with you.
e. Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages: Which stage would this child be according to Erik Erikson? Give one reason
for your answer.
f. James Marcia’s identity statuses: For high school age adolescents only.
Which identity status do you think the adolescent is in? Find out by asking relevant questions about career
exploration and choices.
iii.Gender: Does the child’s behavior reflect any specific gender characteristics?
Give two examples to support your answer.
iv. Ethnic identity: For adolescents 12 – 18 years of age, and of other than Caucasian heritage,
apply Phinney’s model of ethnic identity development and state the identity status.
D. Conclusion:  5 points
Write a brief conclusion about the child’s developmental
parents/caregivers/teachers for their comments about the child/adolescent.
characteristics.
You
may
also
ask
2
 Please note: If you observe a child with atypical characteristics then apply relevant concepts, as appropriate.
 Oral Presentation: A five-minute class presentation of a summary of your report.  10 pts.
In order to better understand the changing developmental characteristics as children grow from newborn – infancy –
toddlerhood – early childhood – middle childhood – adolescence, the oral presentation is done in a chronological
order of the children/adolescents being presented in class.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
 Observation Report Requirements and Evaluation – Your report must be:
a. Written according to the guidelines provided.
b. Complete with all the relevant concepts clearly described or applied.

Points will be deducted for incomplete reports and/or lacking clarity.

Your report should be double spaced, normal font size, and have 1” left and right margins.
============================================================================================
Child Development 1 – Professor: Lilamani de Silva
Developmental Observation
Student/s Name/s: __________________________________________________
Title Page & Introduction
________/5
Developmental Characteristics
Biological (physical) Domain
Cognitive Domain
Language Domain
Social/Emotional Domain
________/80
________/20
________/20
________/20
________/20
Conclusion
Oral Presentation
________/5
________/10
Total Points
________/100
3