Writing an observation report of a child

CHILD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENT REPORT

Summer 2019

CHILD OBSERVTION REPORT DESCRIPTION:

will write two separate child Observation Reports to fulfill these assignments involving observing a child of different ages (an infant OR toddler age and an early childhood OR a school-age child) and will then use the child observation notes as a basis for writing a report about the child’s development in the domains. Each report is worth 65 points. It is a course requirement that students complete both observation reports. If a student does not pass in the Observation Reports the notes will not be graded for credit. If a student does not pass in both observations any extra credit points will not be graded as part of the final grade. Students should use the Child Observation Grading Report Form for the report. Do not make your own form or copy/change the form in any way. Do not pass in a grading form that you have made a PDF document.

FINAL CHILD OBSERVATION REPORT DUE DATES:

Observation One-Choose either the Infant OR Toddler age for the observation report (4 months- 2.4 years). The Observation Notes Form is Due 7/26 and the Child Observation Report Grading Form is Due 7/29 by 11:30 PM. Submit the child observation notes form and the child observation report grading form titled with your name and the name of the observation on Moodle using the assignment link. The observation notes should be written as a separate document using the Observation Notes Form in the Observation folder. After submitting the Observation Notes Form, the notes should then be copied to the end of the Child Observation Report Grading Form that will be submitted later.

Observation Two- Choose either the Early Childhood observation paper-(3 to 5 years) OR School-age observation paper (6-11 years). The Due Date for the Child Observation Report Notes is 8/17 by 11:30 PM. The Child Observation Two Grading Form with the notes copied to the end due date is 8/20 by 11:30 PM. Note: If you choose a child who is 2 years four months for Observation One do not do Observation Two on a 3 year old.

**Note: All students should do Observation One on a child who is between 4 months and 2 years four months. For Observation Two students who are early childhood education majors should complete the early childhood observation (3-5 years). If you are an education major, you should complete the middle childhood age report (6-11 years) unless you cannot find a child of that age group and then you may do the report on the early childhood age. You may choose the early childhood or middle childhood age child if you are human services or another major.

If a student does not have a child for the report, students may visit a referred child care site for an observation of a toddler and/or preschool age child. Students will need to sign up ahead of time with the course Professor and receive a letter of introduction to set up a visit to the referred child care center. Students will need to contact the center director to set up the observation time after the director is notified by the course Professor. A letter of introduction will need to be brought to the site with the student BHCC ID or driver’s license if not a regular BHCC student. Students should not contact the director of the center unless they have given their name and received a letter of introduction from the course professor. The address for the program will also be posted.

CHILD OBSERVATION AND REPORT DESCRIPTION:

Audience for this Assignment:

You are to take the role of an observer spending a minimum at least 60 minutes observing each child and recording your observation notes for your report. You may also spend more time with the child and write the observation notes for sections of time. Each set of instructions below details the ages of children to be observed and other particulars to consider when looking for developmental trends as you observe children of different ages. Possible observation ideas are presented at the end of this assignment as an appendix for your use to assure strong, observational experiences. Set up these observations to get the most out your time to see as much about the child’s development as possible. Review the developmental child development information in your textbook, developmental checklists posted on Moodle or from other reliable resources for further ideas of what to look for before you observe the child.

Sites for observations: You may use the following sites for observing your children for this assignment—child’s home, your home, child’s center or school, or other site i.e. playground. Students should not observe children in a public setting that they do not know

Competencies from the course involved in this assignment:

While this assignment involves most of the competencies listed on the syllabus, the primary objective for this assignment will allow you to meet the following competencies fully as you complete the course.

Promoting Child development and learning:

1. Knowing and understanding children’s characteristics and needs. (Level I, II, & III)

2. Knowing and understanding the multiple influences on development and learning. (Level I, II, III)

3. Using developmental knowledge to create healthy, respectful, supportive, and challenging learning environments. (Level I, II, III)

Family and community relationships:

4. Knowing about and understanding diverse family and community characteristics. (Level I, II, III)

Assessment and evaluation of young children:

5. Understanding the goals, benefits, and uses of assessment.

6. Knowing about and using observation, documentation, and other appropriate assessment tools and approaches. (Level I, II, III)

Using Developmentally Effective Approaches to Connect

with Children and Families:

7. Understanding positive relationships and supportive interactions as a foundation of work with children. (Level I, II, III)

8. Using a broad repertoire of developmentally appropriate teaching/learning practices. (Level I, II, III)

9. Reflecting on their own practice to promote positive outcomes for each child. (Level I, II, III)

Using Content Knowledge to Build Meaningful Curriculum

10. Knowing and using central concepts, inquiry tools and structures of content area and/or academic disciplines.

11. Using their own knowledge, appropriate early learning standards and other resources to design, implement, and evaluate meaningful, challenging curricula for each child. (Level I, II, III)

Professionalism:

12. Engaging in continuous, collaborative learning to inform practice. (Level I, II, III)

Process and Format for Completing Each of the Reports

The process for observing involves the following:

Make an appointment to observe your child, even if you are going somewhere that is familiar. Everyone involved should be informed as to your purpose in the observation. It may be required that you obtain written permission from a parent to observe the child. Check this ahead of time with the program, director, and/or the parent. Some programs have a blanket approval for all observations. You will be changing the child’s name and the names any other children in the observation or you may use initials.

Plan your observation well ahead of the due date. All sorts of problems can occur with observations (you don’t get the information you need; the child is sick; the setting is chaotic the day you arrive, etc.) so you will need extra time to complete the assignment.

Before you go to observe the child, be clear about the child you are going to observe and the setting in which you will observe. Who is the child, where will you be observing, what expectations does the setting have for your interaction with the child? You do not need to interact with the child to do the observation.

Be careful if you know the child. This relationship often interferes with objectivity. If you are observing a child you are acquainted with, or know well, plan to be objective and to stay less emotionally attached than you might normally behave. You should only write about the behaviors you observed in the observation and not about other times you spent with the child.

Have your note paper set up ahead of time and plan your observation activities so you know what you will do when you arrive to observe. Plan for all the supplies you need (i.e., paper, pencil(s), props to help child with play, if needed, etc.). If you are observing a child you do not know in a child care setting, you can observe the child without interacting with them. You should follow the direction of the staff at the child care center about how you should interact with the child during the observation time.

You will need to write the observation anecdotal notes using objective statements using the child observation notes form before the report is written. The observation notes are used to identify the behaviors and the domains of development discussed in the observation report. Students should not write about any behaviors that were not observed during the observation time. Do not include any subjective statements i.e. child was angry, happy, sad and do not include your interpretations of the child’s behavior and development. The notes will also be submitted for credit as part of the observation report assignment. The notes should be written into complete sentences from the notes taken during the observation time. Use details and be descriptive in your writing so the child’s actions, behaviors, and activities are clear to the reader. You do not need to pass in the field notes. Students should complete the observation notes form that includes the information about the child and the setting etc. A copy should be downloaded from the Observation Folder on Moodle.

Format for the Observation Report:

The format for each report is discussed in detail below and you should follow this process for writing the report using the child observation grading form.

· Use the Child Observation Notes form to submit your observation notes written in complete sentences. The form is found in the Observation Folder.

· Use the Child Observation Report Grading Form to record your child observation report that can be downloaded from the Observation Folder.

· The Child Observation Report Grading Form has seven sections. The sections are clearly explained below. Using the observation report answer form found in the week folder, follow the topic section headings in the report to ensure that you write all of the report. The answer form also has an overview file that includes the directions for writing the report. Student should follow the directions on the overview form when writing the report.

· Students will be choosing three behaviors that each span two domains (biosocial, cognitive, language, social, emotional, cognitive, creative and self-help). The self-help domain information is located in the developmental checklist labeled Developmental Birth to Five Adapted and revised by the Mid-State Early Childhood Direction Center, 2012. These three behaviors will be the basis for your report and will be discussed using the same format. Do not use a behavior that is an example of one domain. The format will be discussed below.

· The three behaviors will be labeled as Behavior One, Behavior Two and Behavior Three. The domains you can discuss are biosocial, cognitive, language, emotional, social, creative and self-help.

  Child Observation Report Grading Form

Title: Your Name and Observation One Infant OR Toddler or Observation Two Early Childhood OR Middle Childhood

Students should download the Child Observation Report Grading Form from Moodle

Part One: Introduction

Introduction

Write an introductory paragraph that will state the purpose of your child observation report. You are observing a child to describe and explain domains of development and how these domains intersect with one another as the child grows. Give information about the child i.e. age, setting that was listed on the Observation Report Form. You can include other information if important to the observation report i.e. the child is bilingual. Do not describe any behaviors that were not observed in the observation time i.e. you know the child from birth and you discuss the child’s development from the past.

Part Two: Behavior One

  Behavior One and Two Domains

Choose one of the behaviors that span two domains taken directly from the observation notes. The behavior notes will be labeled as Behavior One. Use the exact notes from the observation written in objective statements and do not interpret or discuss the behavior in this paragraph. Identify two domains that the behavior is an example of. List the two domains that you will be discussing under the Domain One and Domain Two paragraphs.

    Behavior One Domain One Quote for Typical Development

In this paragraph you will state the domain that you will be discussing for Behavior One Domain One. Then describe at least one quote that is a statement about what the typical development is in that domain for the child’s age and/or developmental level from the text, another reliable source (handout or website) or a developmental checklist. The course text must be used for some of the quotes and use (Santrock, pg. 100) to document where you got the quote in the text. You should also state the title of the handout or the title of the developmental checklist with the age. A quote that is a definition of the domain being discussed is not accepted as a quote for credit. If you do not use a quote about typical development, your discussion for the child’s development will be your opinion only and you will not get credit for the behavior domain discussion. It can be compared to writing a research paper without using any citations. More than one quote may be used. Students may get a total of three extra credit points for the entire report.