Question

Example of observation:

AJ is standing in the play room facing the toy bin. She bends down and grasps the end of a string attached to a duck pull toy. She pulls the duck out of the bin by the string using her right hand and bends her knees and squats down next to it. With her right forefinger she pushes a button on the duck’s back which plays a song. She stands up holding the string in her right hand. AJ walks forward with head and body turned slightly back looking toward the duck following behind. She walks slowly and evenly approximately 12 feet and disappears momentarily around a corner. She emerges with body and head facing forward. She continues walking back toward the toy bin. The duck tips over on its side. AJ drops the string.

          AJ stands facing the toy bin. A grey cat walks past her left side. AJ turns to her left and follows the cat and drops to her knees as the cat slips under a chair and lays down. AJ leans forwards and grasps the cat with both hands and pulls her our from under the chair. AJ lets go of the cat and uses her hands to balance herself as she gets to her feet. Then she grasps the cat around the midsection with both hands and stands up. The cat slides back along AJ’s belly until the cat’s hind feet followed by fore feet are on the floor. The cat walks away. AJ follows at a brisk walk until the cat goes under a table. At the table AJ turns 180 degrees and gallops, smiling, toward the play kitchen area.

          Using both hangs, AJ picks up a tub of play food and dishes. As the tub reaches just able chest height she tips it toward her body and dumps the toys on the ground and on her feet. She bends forward at the waist and grips a toy spoon in her left hand and a toy dish of ice cream in her right. Using her left hand, she brings the spoon to her mouth two times. She says, “Dat better.” Then “ I tee AJ poon. I tee AJ poon, Moma! Then in increasingly louder tones she says, “All gone. All gone. All gone! She holds the ice cream and spoon straight out in front to her and walks evenly toward the table. She places them on the table and pushes them away from the edge.

         

          Again she turns 180 degrees and walks back to the pile of toys. She squats down and picks up another toy. She says, “Dis a baby bottle. Where baby? Baby! Where are you?” She hold the bottle in her right and walks around the corner momentarily out of sight. She reappears still holding the bottle in her right hand and walks directly to a wooden baby cradle. She peers inside and says, “Where yellow baby?” she stands up straight and turns around. She moves her head slowly back and forth scanning the room. Her eyes lock onto a baby on top of the table. She laughs out loud and jogs toward the table.

Conclusion: AJ displayed gross motor control in walking, pulling, lifting, dumping, and galloping. She used language to communicate, speaking in two to four word sentences and using proper voice inflection on questions. She did not make an initial/s/ or /th/ sound. AJ delighted in solving her own problem successfully.

Assingment:

Write EVERYTHING that one infant or toddler does in the span of 15 minutes, especially focusing on physical, cognitive and psychosocial skills.   Includes all physical activity, all evidence of thinking, problem-solving, and language, and all interactions with other children and adults. Record what the child is doing, how the child appears (facial expressions, movements, how the child carries him/herself), etc.

DO NOT SUMMARIZE anything you see. The point of a running record is to maintain a running play-by-play account of the child’s behavior. Admittedly, this is a lot of writing. However, what appears to be pieces of behavior episodes for older children and adults may be an entire behavior episode for an infant or toddler. And often, it is in retrospect, when observation notes are reviewed, that this becomes apparent.

Analysis:

After you have completed your observation, go back through your notes, and:

1. Identify two physical skills, two cognitive skills, and two psychosocial skills that the infant or toddler exhibited during the observation. In the span of 15 minutes, you will most likely see at least several of each type of skill displayed in the child's behavior.

2. Describe those specific skills (behaviors) that you observed. What was the child doing? How was the child doing it? For example, if the child was walking, describe how that physical skill was observed. Where was the child walking? If the child was talking or somehow communicating, describe how that cognitive skill was observed. How and to whom was the child communicating?  If the child was interacting or looking at another person, describe how that psychosocial skill was observed. Who was the child interacting and with whom?

After you have completed analyzing the child’s behavior:

3.  Write a statement of what you learned about this child in particular and about infant/toddler behavior in general. Did the behavior surprise you? What was the infant or toddler telling you about his/her development? What was the infant/toddler trying to learn? What use did the infant/toddler make of the adults in the environment? Of the other children? What one thing remains in your mind about this child and why

Answer 1

1. Identify two physical skills, two cognitive skills, and two psychosocial skills that the infant or toddler exhibited during the observation. In the span of 15 minutes, you will most likely see at least several of each type of skill displayed in the child's behavior.

Physical skills: bending down with squatting knees; brisk Ali under the table.

Cognitive skills: balancing with hands; moves her head slowly back and forth scanning the room.

Psychosocial skills: in the form of communication where she is using language for displaying dat better and I tee AJ poon. Also, she is looking for the baby and is delighted to see the baby and laughs loudly.