Observation Project Worksheet
Instructions: Each observation project should be completed in two parts. First you should observe a child for a period of time (at least 15-20 minutes). Take careful notes of the specific behaviors you observe (see below for a form you may use for this purpose). Make sure to include as much detail as you can to make your observations understandable to someone who wasn’t there.
Avoid interpreting in the Experiences/Observation section. Save your interpretations for the Analysis/Interpretations section. Do not attempt to obtain information from the student’s cumulative file without written parental permission. This would constitute an invasion of the student’s privacy.
After you complete your empirical observation, go back to analyze and interpret what you have seen: what age/stage do each of the observed behaviors represent? Use the theories we have studied in this class to categorize and evaluate the behaviors you saw and heard. Cite the specific theories and if appropriate, the page number from our text where you found that theory.
If no critical behaviors (i.e., behaviors which would definitively characterize a particular age or stage) were observed, can you speculate as to the age or stage of this child specifying the behavior(s) you’re using to infer their developmental status? Try to comment in each of the four major developmental domains: physical, cognitive, psychosocial, and moral.
You will then repeat the process on a second child.
In total, you will observe a total of two children at two different chronological ages. One of the children should be at the age(s) you plan to teach. Please type your final draft. Use this form as a worksheet and model for the format of your final report. A Model Observation Project may be found below.
More Information Is Available Here: If you need help in understanding how to proceed with this project and carry it out in a professional manner, here's a link to a series of brief online videos discussing how to approach observing child behavior and how to interpret and write about what you observe. The video series, called, "Interpreting Child Observation," was developed by Professor Sabrina Mendez-Escobar at Truman College in Chicago.
Format of Observation Project:
I. Experiences/Observations:
II. Analysis/Interpretations:
Try to draw inferences regarding the developmental status of this child in each of the following domains:
1. Physical Development
2. Cognitive Development
3. Psychosocial Development
4. Moral Development
Field Notes Matrix
If you want to follow a specific format for collecting your observations, you may use this form. This is not the document you hand in (see below for models of the final Observation Project). You use this form to collect your observations while you are observing the children.
Sample Observation Project