CD54 Naturalistic Observation (20 points)
Observation is a powerful tool. In fact, it is one of the most important
sources of information at your disposal for the planning and implementation
curriculum. The child’s experiences are
the resources from which his/her intelligence and personality are
constructed. Observation of children and
their competencies along with your interpretation of what you see is essential
to the success of any curriculum.
Each child responds to his or her own
inner laws to develop a set of separate experiences. By observing children, their
capabilities,
the manner in which they solve problems and the subjects that attract them, you
can assess their competency, discover their learning styles, and develop
appropriate and individualized curriculum.
This is an information gathering observation. You are to observe a group of children,
aged 3-5. These children should be at play in a group setting (preschool, daycare,
or family daycare).
The purpose of this observation is to discover what subjects, themes, or concepts
"emerge" from their play.
Your report should include the following sections:
Setting:
The names, ages, sexes and number of children observed. Give a brief description of
the physical
setting, the composition of the group, the ratio of adults to children, the
time of day and the area within the setting.
Running
Observation: Describe in a sequential way, the
actions and words of the children who you are observing. Please be detailed and objective.
Conclusions/Emergent Topics: After making the observation of at least
40 minutes, review your observation and comment on any curriculum topics
that ‘emerged.’ Please be aware that there might not be any topic that
emerges. This is okay. Try not to
force a conclusion into what you want, but rather make informed choices about
what you feel the children are striving to learn and/or what subjects they
might be interested in exploring.