Observing and Interacting with Children

Chapter 1; Section 3

OBSERVATION  See children as individuals, meeting the challenges of development  The more you know them, the more you can tailor the activities  Help catch disabilities earlier- they do better longer turn

Subjective  It relies on personal opinions and feelings, rather than facts to judge events

Objective  Record is factual, and leaves aside personal feelings and prejudices  Only what is said or heard

Running Record  Writing everything down that happens in a set of time  Good for observing one part of development

Anecdotal Record  Is similar to a running record except its not for a specified allotment of time

Frequency Count  Is a tally of how often something occurs

Baseline  A count made before any steps are taken to try to change the behavior  Example: Hitting  Baseline is 20 times in one day  After intervention: 12 times in one day

Development Checklist  A list of skills children should master, or behaviors they should exhibit at a certain age

Formal Observation  Setting up an observation with a specific place with a specific child or specific children

Informal Observation  Observing in a public place using estimate ages  Don’t be noticed; it may affect your observation

TIPS FOR OBSERVATION         Take notes during an observation Know your purpose Identify the when, where, who, and what Be descriptive Make comparisons Uncover the data Review and clarify *Interactions can occur if you’re looking for something specific

Interpretations  The analysis an observer forms and expresses about what was observed

Confidentiality  Protection of another person’s privacy by limiting access to personal information

The Developing Person Through the Life Span

Berger, Worth p. 33-53

Major Theories 1.

2.

3.

4.

Psychoanalytic- Nature, battling unconscious impulses Learning- Nurture, conditioning through stimulus and response…reinforcement from environment Cognitive- Nature, actively seeking experiences influence on thinking, remembering, and analyzing Sociocultural- Nurture, learning the tools, skills, and values of society through apprenticeships

Birth to 2 years 2-6 years 7-11 years 12 years + Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Sensorimotor *using senses; *immediate actions of environment; *trial and error Preoperational *symbolic thinking; *subjective and intuitive; *past and future events Concrete operational *applies logical principles *systematic *objective *No abstract ideas Formal operational *abstractions & hypothetical concepts *can think about thinking *speculate about possibilities and reality

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages       Birth to 1 1-3 years 3-6 years 7-11 years Adolescence Adulthood  Oral Stage (mouth)  Anal Stage (body, toilet)  Phallic Stage (genitals)  Latency (an interlude; quieted sexual needs)  Genital Stage (pleasure and relationships)  Genital Stage (also)  “to love and to work well”

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages  Birth to 1  1-3 years  3-6 years  7-11 years  Adolescence  Adulthood         Trust vs. Mistrust (am I going to be taken care of?) Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (self sufficient or doubt own abilities) Initiative vs. Guilt (overstep boundaries; imitation) Industry vs. Inferiority (learn to be competent or unable to do anything) Identity vs. Role Confusion (who am I?) Intimacy vs. Isolation (build relationships or not) Generativity vs. Stagnation (meaningful work) Integrity vs. Despair (make sense of their lives)

Research

Ways to Make Research More Valid  Sample Size  Needs to be large enough that extreme cases will not distort the picture of the group as a whole  Representative Sample  A group of subjects who are typical of the general population  Blind Experimenters  Unaware of the purpose of the research as to not distort the evidence

Ways to Make Research More Valid  Operational Definitions  Define each variable in specific terms  Observable behavior can be measured with precision  Determining Statistical Significance  A numerical indication of exactly how likely it is that the particular difference occurred by chance (sample size, average difference between groups, levels of significance)

Ways to Make Research More Valid  Experimental and Control Groups  Must study two groups  Experimental- receives some special experimental treatment  Control Group- does not receive the experimental treatment

The Developing Person Through the Life Span

Berger, Worth p. 33-53

Major Theories 1.

Psychoanalytic- Nature 2.

Learning- Nurture 3.

Cognitive- Nature 4.

Sociocultural- Nurture

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Birth to 2 years Sensorimotor 2-6 years 7-11 years 12 years + Preoperational Concrete operational Formal operational

Freud’s Psychosexual Stages       Birth to 1 1-3 years 3-6 years 7-11 years Adolescence Adulthood  Oral Stage  Anal Stage  Phallic Stage  Latency  Genital Stage  Genital Stage

Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages       Birth to 1 1-3 years 3-6 years 7-11 years Adolescence Adulthood         Trust vs. Mistrust Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Initiative vs. Guilt Industry vs. Inferiority Identity vs. Role Confusion Intimacy vs. Isolation Generativity vs. Stagnation Integrity vs. Despair