I. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT LAB CHILD
A. Developmental information. Give
information about your lab child taken from the gold Developmental Questionnaire available from the
files in the child's room. DO NOT TAKE THIS FILE FROM THE LAB. (Ask at other schools to see if
this type of information is available.) DO NOT PHOTOCOPY IT. Write down the information you need
(only what is asked for here). Do not include precise identifying information such as the child's exact
birthdate, names of family members, or exact occupations of parents. Include developmental
information such as delivery, ages baby began sitting, crawling, walking, speaking words and
sentences. Also include unusual information noted by the parent (health problem, etc.). Look for
items that may explain your child's behavior, reinforce what you've seen, or contradict what you've
noticed. The child may act one way at home, another way at school or may be growing out of a stage,
maturing, developing, or changing. It may have been a year since the parent filled out the form. Look at
this early in the semester. If any requested info is missing from the form or it is more than a year old,
ask a staff member if the parents could update it. If you still can't get the info, state this in your
paper.
B. Physical description. Give a complete physical
description of the child. Discuss height and body build in comparison to other children the same age
(the exact height & weight is not important) , hair color and style, and any other distinguishing
features.
C.
Selection of child.
State your reasons for selecting this particular child.
D.
Lab Setting. Give
a complete description of your child's room-- arrangement, equipment, decorations, etc. List and
describe each interest center-- set-up, materials and equipment, activities performed there.
II. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT (List and discuss every skill listed here. Use specific examples to
describe each skill you observe--how, where, how well. Then list all the remaining skills you were unable
to observe. The fewer skills you see, the more details you need to include about the ones you did
see.)
A. Gross (large) motor skills [13]. Describe the types of gross motor skills
the child engaged in and how his/her performance compared to other children the same age. Include
walking, running, jumping, climbing, throwing, catching, riding a tricycle, swinging, hopping,
galloping, skipping, dancing, gymnastics skills (balancing, etc.), and any other skills
observed.
B. Fine (small) motor skills [15]. Describe the
types of fine motor activities your child engaged in and tell how his/her performance compared to other
children the same age. Include handling small objects, pincer grasp (using the thumb and index
finger to pick up objects), eating, buttoning, zipping, tying shoelaces, dressing, undressing,
working puzzles, cutting, pasting, coloring, painting, manipulating blocks, hand motions to
songs, and any other skills observed.
III. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT (Use specific examples for each
area.)
A. Number concepts. Discuss the child's ability to count with
comprehension and tell what the child counted (plates, blocks, etc.). How high can he/she count? Tell
if the child used pre-math words such as "more", "less", "bigger", "longer", "shorter", indicating
understanding of quantity or size.
B.
Attention and problem-solving style.
Discuss the child's ability (or inability) to attend (pay attention, focus or concentrate) to various activities
or projects. Tell how many minutes he/she stays at each major area or activity. [Example,
"She often spent from three to fifteen minutes on art activities."] What did your child seem to enjoy
doing the most? the least? When working (or playing), is he/she easily distracted by other people,
noises, etc.? When faced with a new activity, does the child get frustrated easily and give up or keep
trying for a long time?
C.
Reasoning ability and learning Tell if your child indicated by words or actions that he/she "figured
out" something--how to work something, how to get to something he/she wanted, why something
happened, etc.
What has this child learned while you observed? What specific problems has
he/she solved? [Remember, the child may learn that some things aren't allowed, and that some things
don't work.]
D. Curiosity, creativity and imagination. How does this child show (1)
curiosity about things around him/her? exploratory tendencies? Give examples of (2) creativity (new,
different, unusual, original) things the child has made, said, or done. How did this child use his/her (3)
imagination (imaginary activities, people, creatures,
etc.)?
E.
Memory. Discuss child's (1) short term and (2) long term memory abilities. How has the child
indicated remembering usual daily routines, people, special events from past? Discuss any memory
errors.
F. Piaget's stages of cognitive development. In observing your child, determine which
stage and substage, your child is in, according to Jean Piaget's theory. Give specific examples,
reasons for your answer. Use your text and handout to help you answer this section.
IV. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT [elements of language] GIVE DIRECT QUOTATIONS FOR EACH
OF THESE AREAS. INCLUDE BOTH CORRECT AND INCORRECT
USAGE.
A. Phonetics. Does the child pronounce words
clearly and correctly? Quote "bigger" words pronounced correctly. Quote any pronunciation errors.
[Example: She says "fwee" for "three"; "teeter" for "teacher".] B. Semantics. Quote several of this
child's "bigger" vocabulary words (words the child says). (This is active/productive vocabulary).
How does this child's vocabulary compare with that of other children the same age? How well does
the child understand the meaning of words used by others? (This is passive/receptive
vocabulary). Give examples of specific directions given by the teacher and describe whether the
child understood and followed them. [Child may understand but not want to do it.] List any examples
of child's misunderstanding word meanings.
C.
Syntax. Does the child generally use good grammar? Quote examples of correct grammar, then
quote any grammatical errors you heard and try to explain the reason for these
errors.
D. Pragmatics. Does your child speak when appropriate and keep
quiet when appropriate? Does the child speak especially loudly or softly? ...in a pleasant tone quality?
How does the child use language? To whom does he/she speak, and in what settings? To what extent
does the child use egocentric speech (failing to take the listener's viewpoints into account) versus
socialized speech? How effectively is the the child able to communicate with peers?...with teachers?
Give examples in detail. Tell how the child communicates. Describe non-verbal communication--body
language, gestures, facial expressions--especially if the child is not yet very
verbal.
E.
General complexity. Quote four to six typical sentences spoken by your child, including the longest
one. Compute the average length of the sentences [# words] spoken by your child. (Be sure to
average in some of the shorter sentences.) How does your child's language compare with that of the
other children in the room? (Indicate if your child is younger or older than the other children, or about
the average of others in the room.)
V. SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
Use descriptions of
each type of play (Parten's list) from Chapter 9 of your text.
A. Play. What
types of play does your child engage in? Number, list, and underline each type. Give specific
examples of each type: (1) practice, (2) pretense/symbolic, (3) social, (4) constructive [this
is building or making something--2-or 3-dimensional art, puzzles, blocks, legos, sand castles,
etc.], (5) games. Tell which ones he/she does not use. Tell what % of time the child spends in
group play? (with one or more other children). What % of the time does the child. play alone? Is
this age-appropriate? What have you observed the child learning from play? What gender
differences in play activities have you noticed? What toys/activities are both sexes involved with?
girls only? boys only?
B. Interactions with peers. (Give examples of each
behavior.) How does your child interact with other children? How is he/she a follower or a leader?
How does he/she influence the others, if at all? When & how is the child friendly, cooperative,
hostile, outgoing, withdrawn? Does the child engage in aggressive behavior? When? why? to
whom? and how? How does the child react to aggression expressed by others? Who does the child
spend the most time with? How do the other children react to this child? Does the child express
sympathy to others or help them in any way?
C. Interactions with
adults.
1. Parents.
Describe the parent-child interaction if observed. Was the child's behavior different when the parent was
there? How? How did the parent relate to the child? What was said?
2.
Teachers. Does the child have a favorite teacher? How does the child relate to various adults in the
room--lead teacher, aide, child development students, other visitors? Compared to the others, how well
does the child listen & follow the teachers' requests and instructions? Is the child clingy,
dependent or independent? How do the teachers react to this child? How do the teachers deal
with problems concerning this child? What methods of guidance and control are used with all
children? tone of voice? How are positive actions reinforced? How do the teachers help this
child learn? How much attention does this child get from
teachers?
D. Erikson's theory
of personality development (psychosocial stages). In observing your child, determine which
stage, or stages, your child is in, according to Erik Erikson's theory. Give specific examples and reasons
for your answer. Use your Handout and text to help answer this section.
E.
Emotions. Describe the emotions that your child expressed. Does he/she cry easily? become
frustrated? indicate that he/she is happy, mad, sad, hurt, etc.? (Give specific examples of situations for
each emotion observed-- what causes the child to be mad, hurt,
etc.?)
F. Self esteem. How would you describe
the self-esteem of the child--high, low, average, a combination? What have you observed that causes
you to draw this conclusion?
VI. DEVELOPMENTAL
SUMMARY
A. Developmental
Milestones. This is available on our web course. You may need to download Adobe Acrobat (free) to
be able to open and print it. It is also available at the front desk of OC's LRC (Learning Resource
Center) in a Developmental Milestones folder. Make a copy of the complete handout to keep for
your files to study for state boards or other accreditation tests. Find the age section that corresponds to
your lab child's age. Choose several items on the list. Compare your lab child's developmental abilities
with those listed and describe how your child is on target, behind, or ahead of schedule in each area.
[Keep in mind there is a very broad range of "normal" as far as the ages that different children reach
various
milestones.]
B. Developmental evaluation. List each of the developmental areas given in this paragraph.
Summarize how your lab child is doing in each area--social, emotional, cognitive, physical, &
language development. In what areas is your child most advanced for his/her age? Which abilities
are least developed? Which areas are average? Why do you think
so?
C. Preschool program. Discuss several specific ways
that you think the program you observed is, or is not, meeting the needs of this child. Give detailed
suggestions for helping your child in his/her weakest area, or providing enrichment in a stronger area.
VII. PERSONAL VALUE
Describe in detail how observing the child and writing the case study was valuable to you. Even the
people most experienced in working with, or parenting, children continually learn new lessons from
them. What was new to you? What surprised you? What do you expect to remember the most vividly?
What previous knowledge was reinforced? How can you apply what you have learned to your personal
and professional life, both now and in the future.
Jean Piaget, born in 1896 was a biologist but moved into the study of children's development by
observing, talking and listening to them while they worked on exercises he set them.
Through his observations, Piaget developed his idea of stages of cognitive development which
have made a lasting contribution to psychology.
Piaget saw the child as an active participant in the development of knowledge constructing his or
her own understanding. The child, he argued, tries to make sense of the world around him and
this is known as the process of adaptation.
Before Piaget, there was no body of theory on how intelligence develops through childhood and
into adulthood.
Piaget's Developmental Model
Piaget's developmental model for children involves schemes (i.e. "concepts") or the action of
categorizing. A baby begins life with a small number of sensory or motor schemes. As a child
interacts within the world, they acquire more experiences and these schemes are modified as they
make sense of new experiences.
Later, the toddler develops "mental" schemas and this shift is through the process of assimilation
(absorbing some event or experience to some schema), accommodation (changing the schema as
a result of new information) and equilibration where balance is achieved.
Piaget was one of the first psychologists to apply scientific method to his work, carrying out
experiments based on measurable criteria. Freud and others who came before him relied on case
studies
.
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Piaget's theory of the way a child's thinking develops consists of four stages: the sensorimotor
stage, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational. His theory still greatly
influences behavioural psychologists and educationalists today.


Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to two years): Child's intelligence develops through his motor
(physical) interactions with the environment. During this stage the child starts to
recognise how he or she can manipulate objects i.e. shaking a rattle to make a noise and
will achieve object permanence i.e. realising things exist even when they aren't present.
Mum can walk out of the room but she hasn't disappeared forever!
Preoperational Stage (Between two and 6/7 years): Child is able to make mental
representations of unseen objects but cannot use deductive reasoning. During this stage
child uses mental symbols to understand and interact with the world; they begin to learn
language and engage in "pretend" play i.e. picking up a box and pretending it is a


zooming car. They will start to classify objects by a single feature i.e. putting together all
the blue blocks regardless of the size, or all the round blocks regardless of colour.
Concrete Operational (6/7 years to 11 or 12): Child starts thinking logically to solve
problems and organise the information they learn. During this stage children will begin to
classify objects according to several features.
Formal Operational (11/12 onwards) Adolescent starts to think more abstractly to solve
problems and will systematically test hypotheses. At this stage thinking becomes less tied
to concrete reality.
Piaget's theory of how children's minds work and develop has been an enormous contribution in
developmental psychology
Read more: http://www.bukisa.com/articles/120697_piagets-contribution-to-child-developmentcognitive-development-and-jean-piaget#ixzz10OYbUu71
Gardner, Piaget, and Vygotsy: The Nature of
Learning
Sep 12, 2010 Gina Barrett
Teacher and Child - ICMA Photos
Three key theorists have impacted the understanding of learning and teaching. Gardner, Piaget
and Vygotsy identify separate factors in effective learning.
Three theorists have greatly influenced the way children today are taught: Howard Gardner, Jean
Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Multiple intelligence, the importance of language, development and
culture, and scaffolding ideas are key concepts in the understanding of learning.
Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligence
According to Gardner, how a child learns depends upon the child’s type of intelligence. Gardner
believes children learn through one of eight different modalities: linguistic, logical-mathematical,
visual, musical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, or naturalistic. Although
Gardner’s theory has been popular, testing for types of intelligence has proven problematic. The
Multiple Intelligences Developmental Assessment Scale (MIDAS) is a work in progress. In one
study, teachers were able to accurately predict which children would score high an area of
expertise (mathematics, language arts, etc.), but MIDAS did not produce clear categorizations.
Students do exhibit different abilities, and MIDAS might be helpful in understanding a child’s
preferred learning modality. Even with an improved test available, however, educators would
have difficulty implementing individual plans in a classroom. Would eight separate lessons plans
be required? Aldridge and Goldman ask how musical intelligence could be addressed in a lower
socio-economic school? While looking for ways to address different modalities, the practical
teacher must ask, “What has been demonstrated to be generally effective, and possible, in the
classroom?”
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Internal Motivation and Society: Piaget and Vygotsky
According to the Piaget, learning is maturational, tied to specific ages. Motivation to learn is
intrinsic and internal in nature. According to Lev Vygotsky, human motivation to learn is
socially constructed. Vygotsky views motivation as both intrinsic as well as extrinsic with the
individual and the culture interacting to form new understanding.
Rozycki and Goldfarb explain the relationship between society and the child as "constructivist."
The ability to think is distinct from the ability to use language, but language itself is developed
through social interaction. In turn, language development is necessary for participation within a
culture. So, language, which is developed socially, is a key to learning.
Vygotsky and Research on Scaffolding
In contrast to Piaget’s stages, Vygotsky’s theoretical model has been said to be “fluid.” Vygotsky
provides the teacher with guidance in regard to teaching so that children will rise to higher levels
of understanding through incremental challenges called “scaffolding.” Learning is constructed
via social interaction and language. A teacher will look for the “zone of proximal development”
or the place where the child can complete a task with assistance, but not alone. This is the place
where the mentor can effect change. The teacher presents lessons incrementally. The teacher and
student discuss the lessons.
In Vygotsky’s model, both the teacher and the student are active participants in the learning
process. The “Tools of the Mind” research project is dedicated to encouraging scaffolding
techniques. Best Practices for Education reports that the Tools of the Mind approach has
demonstrated its effectiveness. Teachers reported children improving scores from well below
average to above average. An excellent overview of scaffolding was done by researchers at the
University of Georgia
Read on



The Key Concepts in Piaget's Theory of Learning
Child Language Development: Semantic Knowledge
Vygotsky's Theory of Child Development
Researchers at the University of Alabama summarized a large quantity of research on the nature
of effective teaching. Among their findings: “Students learn more when they are engaged
actively during an instructional task…Students achieve more in classes in which they spend
much of their time being directly taught or supervised by their teacher.” Learning is more likely
to occur within an active, social, mentoring context, as Vygotsky proposed.
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz studied students in grades three to five
and found support for the use of the “Standards for Effective Pedagogy,” a five point plan for
teacher effectiveness. The first educational standard identified is the use of “joint productive
activity” or JPA, which is defined as an activity where “students and teachers work together on a
common product or goal and have opportunities to converse about their work.” JPA incorporates
the social interaction and mentoring elements favored by Vygotsky.
The second standard is to develop language literacy through opportunities for “reading, writing
and speaking.” Again, Vygotsky’s contention that the interactive use of language is central to
learning has been validated. The third standard involves “contexualizing” the student’s learning
in his or her homes and communities. This is related to Vygotsky’s “Theory of Value” where the
cultural artifacts and past cultural experience are considered crucial, as well as to Piaget’s theory
of direct experience. A kindergarten teacher, for instance, might teach counting in an urban
school by counting stoplights and shops rather than farm animals.
The fourth standard involves engaging the students in cognitively challenging activities;
Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development encourages teachers to continually challenge their
students. Rozycki and Goldberg note this means the instructor must “provide educational
materials and content which go beyond the child's current capabilities. The teacher's role is not
that of simplifying the content, but of providing unfamiliar content and the setting for learners to
step from their current level to a higher level of understanding.”
The fifth standard involves dialogue. As Vygotsky believed, dialogue is an effective teaching
technique. The Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE) suggests
that “Instructional Conversation” is particularly effective.
How, Then, to Teach so Learners Learn?
As with Howard Gardner's multiple intelligence theory, Vygotsky's scaffolding model has
several drawbacks, not the least of which is the time and training involved in effectively using
the techniques. But the benefits are well-documented. While remaining open to Gardner's
multiple intelligences, teachers will obtain the best overall results in the classroom when they
interact with their students, understand the importance of culture, use hands-on materials,
scaffold learning experiences, and provide challenging tasks that the teacher and student can
discuss.
Related Article:
John Dewey--The Democratic Educator
References:
Aldridge, J. and Goldman, R. Current Issues and Trends in Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon,
2002.
Baker, P. and Mcerney, T. Language Acquisition: Session Three - Cognition and Language
Development. Accessed September 12, 2010
CREDE. The Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy. Accessed September 10, 2010.
Doherty, R.; Hilberg, R.; Pinal, A.; and Tharp, R. Five Standards and Student Achievement.
NABE Journal of Research and Practice. 2002. Accessed September 12, 2010,
Education World, n.d., Multiple Intelligences, a Theory for Everyone. Accessed September 12,
2010.
Eggen, P. and Kauchak, D. Educational Psychology: Windows on Classrooms, Fifth Edition.
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001.
Kauchak, D. and Eggen, P. Learning and Teaching: Research-Based Methods. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon, 2003.
Lindsay Lipscomb, Janet Swanson, and Anne West. Scaffolding. Accessed September 12, 2010.
Read more at Suite101: Gardner, Piaget, and Vygotsy: The Nature of Learning
http://www.suite101.com/content/gardner-piaget-and-vygotsy-the-nature-of-learninga282595#ixzz10ObCt97k