Instructor: Malati Singh /I. Bazikyan
Child Growth & Development
Developmental Observation
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Student Learning Outcome:
Student will relate child observations to the four domains of development.
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 Introduction:
It is fascinating to observe children and to understand their developmental journey! Life begins as a tiny speck, and
after a period of miraculous biological transformation in the womb, the amazing newborn baby enters this world
ready to experience whatever the world around has to offer! As time goes by, the amazing infant grows and
develops physically, cognitively and socially into an eager toddler, a playful preschooler, an expanding school age
child, and then as an adolescent, struggling to form his/her own individual identity. Simultaneously, language
development helps the child understand and interact with people and objects in the surrounding environment. Each
individual child’s developmental track is unique. Children with atypical developmental characteristics may differ
from normal course of development depending on the unique characteristics of the child.
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Purpose:
The purpose of developmental observation assignment is to synthesize and apply the theoretical concepts of child
development to acquire an understanding of the developmental characteristics of a child or an adolescent in the
biological, cognitive, language, and social domains of development. The approach is multi-sensory and holistic. The
broader goal is to enable the student to better understand the changing developmental characteristics in the four
domains of development as children move on through childhood and adolescence.
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Objectives: The child/adolescent observation assignment will enable a student to:
1.
To apply child development theories and concepts included in CD1 to interpret and synthesize information
acquired by the observation of a child/adolescent.
To apply child development knowledge of CD1 course to describe and explain the general characteristics of the
child/adolescent observed.
To identify problem situations, questions and issues related to the developmental characteristics of the observed
child in the biological, cognitive, language, and social domains of development.
2.
3.
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Assignment: The observation assignment has two components:
1.
Observation: Observe and/or interview a child or an adolescent (newborn – 18 years) for four weeks in a home,
school or any other community organization serving children and adolescents. Record your observations based
on the guidelines provided. If the child can talk, interview the child/adolescent asking age appropriate questions.
In your interview, as appropriate, you may ask the child/adolescent about his or her likes, dislikes, interests or
hobbies, role models, hopes and fears, attitude towards parents, teachers, school, friends, society, influence of
the media, internet and the social media, and culture. Recognize atypical developmental characteristics, if any.
2.
Written Report: Write a written report following the guidelines provided.
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Grading Criteria:
The developmental observation assignment is graded according to the following criteria:1.
2.
3.
Information processing skills: Effectively interprets and synthesizes information obtained through
child/adolescent observation.
Knowledge of child development concepts: Able to access, process, and utilize child development
knowledge.
Evaluation of observation: Effectively identifies and explores problems, situations, questions, and issues.
Grading: Total Points  100.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Excellent  Complete; Included all the relevant concepts stated in the guidelines with examples, as required.
Clearly described the observation (91 – 100 points)
Good  Complete; Included concepts, but not applied with clarity. (81 – 90 points)
Fair  Some concepts included with clarity; some concepts missing (65 – 80 points)
Poor  Incomplete and/or lack of clarity. (50 – 64 points)
Unsatisfactory  Did not follow the guidelines provided (Less than 50 points)
Format of the Report
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All reports need to be typed with your student # .
Your report should be double spaced, 12 font size, and have 1” left and right margins.
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Make sure to follow the exact format of the report.
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Please include a photo of the child with the report. Make sure to get parent's permission for the photo by having
them sign their name on the back of the photo. If you obeserve an 18 year old you will not need to get
permission from the parents for the photo.
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Guidelines and Format for Developmental Observations Report
A. Introduction:  Total 5 points
a.
b.
c.
d.
Name of the child/adolescent, age and gender
Family characteristics: Social and cultural contexts (Urie Bronfenbrenner)
Siblings and their ages
Cultural background and socioeconomic status
B. Developmental characteristics (depending on the age of the child or adolescent) 
Total 80 pts.
1.
Biological domain:  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. For infants (newborn – 6 months), check for newborn reflexes.
b. How does the child move or how does the child use his/her body?
c. Does the child appear to be comfortable with his/her physical abilities?
d. Does the child prefer mostly high -energy activities or quiet activities?
e. Give 3 examples of child’s gross motor skills – are they age appropriate?
f. Give 3 examples of child’s fine motor skills – are they age appropriate?
2.
Cognitive domain (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. State the results and
conclusion.
3.
Language Domain:  20 points
4.
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?
Social and emotional domain:  25 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.
ii. Sociability:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Makes friends easily; shy or quiet; cooperative or prefers to be alone.
How does the child communicate his/her wants or needs?
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.
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages: Which stage would this child be according to Erik Erikson? Give
one reason for your answer.
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.
E. Spelling, Grammar, Following Directions
10 points
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Please note: If you observe a child with atypical characteristics then apply relevant concepts, as
appropriate.
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NO LATE REPORTS WILL BE ACCEPTED.