Observation Paper
11/16/12
Observation Paper
This Monday, I ventured to the nearby Child Daycare center, Bright Beginnings, in an attempt to analyze the behavior of children. Upon arriving, I was greeted with what I expected before I set foot on the premise: chaos. As an adult, kids are drawn to you for some odd reason, mostly because they look up to you, figuratively and literally. As time passed, I screened out the kids and chose 2 which particularly caught my attention. Child one was a big 5 year old kid that seemed extremely introverted by nature. Child two was diminutive in stature but not lacking in personality. Through observing these kids, I gained a greater grasp on kids’ behavior, and why they behave the way they do. Pertaining to Child Development, the name Jean Piaget has to be mentioned almost immediately at the broach of the discipline. The proclaimed “Grandfather of Child Development”, Piaget was a brilliant psychologist that concluded children developed in four succinct stages. These stages are: Sensorimotor, Pre-Operational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational. Each stage signals a different cognitive capacity for the given child. Sensorimotor takes place during the initial two years of the child’s life. Obvious from the name, senses are the main aspect of this stage. The child is in touch with senses and things that are readily apparent to them. Pre-operational occurs from ages 2-6, and involves the development of symbolic function and egocentrism. Concrete operational signifies an ability to thinking logically and seeing things from another’s perspective. Lastly, Formal operational means the child can think abstractly and solve problems. For this project’s sake, all kids at my disposal were in the pre-operational stage as they fell under the 2-6 age range. Piaget’s importance in the discipline of Child Development cannot be understated, and it is because of him the discipline is where it is today. Using my rich knowledge from class (taught by
Observation Paper
This Monday, I ventured to the nearby Child Daycare center, Bright Beginnings, in an attempt to analyze the behavior of children. Upon arriving, I was greeted with what I expected before I set foot on the premise: chaos. As an adult, kids are drawn to you for some odd reason, mostly because they look up to you, figuratively and literally. As time passed, I screened out the kids and chose 2 which particularly caught my attention. Child one was a big 5 year old kid that seemed extremely introverted by nature. Child two was diminutive in stature but not lacking in personality. Through observing these kids, I gained a greater grasp on kids’ behavior, and why they behave the way they do. Pertaining to Child Development, the name Jean Piaget has to be mentioned almost immediately at the broach of the discipline. The proclaimed “Grandfather of Child Development”, Piaget was a brilliant psychologist that concluded children developed in four succinct stages. These stages are: Sensorimotor, Pre-Operational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational. Each stage signals a different cognitive capacity for the given child. Sensorimotor takes place during the initial two years of the child’s life. Obvious from the name, senses are the main aspect of this stage. The child is in touch with senses and things that are readily apparent to them. Pre-operational occurs from ages 2-6, and involves the development of symbolic function and egocentrism. Concrete operational signifies an ability to thinking logically and seeing things from another’s perspective. Lastly, Formal operational means the child can think abstractly and solve problems. For this project’s sake, all kids at my disposal were in the pre-operational stage as they fell under the 2-6 age range. Piaget’s importance in the discipline of Child Development cannot be understated, and it is because of him the discipline is where it is today. Using my rich knowledge from class (taught by