An psychology worksheet assignment. Please read the attachment carefully for more details.
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Child Psychology and Development Observation Paper Examples
Preschooler ages 3-5
Motor Development
Gross motor includes large body movements, such as: walking; running; carrying objects; climbing stairs; riding a bicycle; dancing, etc.
Fine motor primarily focuses on the use of hands, such as: picking up objects; feeding self; threading beads; holding a crayon; stacking
| Movement Observed | Description | How well did the child execute the movements? |
| Gross Motor Example: Climbing a ladder | The four-year-old child ran up to the ladder. After securing her hands to the railings she cautiously placed her right foot on the first step. She then lifted her left food to the same step. She moved very slowly and kept her body rigid as she proceeded with the right foot again to the next step. | When she got to the top of the ladder she stopped and fearfully looked around for the teacher. She called to the teacher for support and gradually could lift herself to the top of the slide. Anxiously she sat down and slid down the slide. Her body reflected her anxiety about climbing the high ladder. When she got to the bottom she jumped up and ran around to do it again. It was an example of trial and error learning and her needing to practice new skills. |
| Fine Motor Example: Stringing beads | The four-year-old picked up the thread with her left hand and held it between her thumb and pointer finger. With her right hand, she picked up a bead using a pincher grasp and slowly put the bead on the thread. | She moved the bead slowly down the thread as she glanced over at the remaining beads. Her focus was intense, and she worked hard to place more beads on the string. Her focus was amazing to me. Every move took a lot of attention and precise hand movements. |
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Cognitive Development
Cognition includes thought processes, learning, memory, language, and sensory and perceptual experiences. In the young child learning is the direct result of their perception of and interaction with different events and people. The child experiences the world through their senses (sight; hearing; touch; taste and smell) and through the repetition of events (when I need help my teacher will assist me). “Play” is essential to cognitive development and is the child’s richest learning modality. The importance of play should never be underestimated in a child’s life (especially play where children are allowed to explore, create and use their imaginations).
| Cognitive Learning Observed | Description | Discuss the learning process that occurred. |
| Example: Digging a river in the sandbox | The child got down on her hands and knees and used her whole body to push the sand around to build a river. Once completed she turned on the hose to fill is with water. She was surprised and frustrated that the water made her riverbanks collapse. | She then dialogued with the teacher about this and learned the word “erosion”. This then led to a conversation about the different properties of sand (i.e. wet vs. dry). The child and teacher then strategized how to make a “lake” so that the water wouldn’t disappear. The child discovered she could bury a small blue bucket to hold the lake water. Her boat (made out of a piece of tree bark, floated!). The learning was evident immediately. The child was engaging in her imaginary play about a city in the mountains while learning about science and the environment. |
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Social and Emotional Development
Psychosocial development includes emotions, temperament, attachments, relationships, and connections the young child has with others.
| Emotion/Communication Observed | Description and Evidence | Share what happened next |
| Example: Joy | When the child I observed finished building her train station she stood up and shouted, “it’s finished! “Her face beamed with joy. Her eyes lit up and her smile stretched across her face. She turned to the teacher for affirmation of her success. | The little girl sat back down and stated that she was going to work next on the train tracks. The teacher commented that she could see how much she was enjoying the trains. The little girl looked up and acknowledged “yes” to the teacher with a big nod and smile. The little girl then asked the teacher if she wanted to build a house to live in next to the train station. The teacher responded, “sure”! It appeared that this was the little girl’s way of including the teacher in her imaginary train village. |
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