Instructions for observation papers: (100 points each)
You are responsible for identifying and locating individuals to interview. I encourage you to look for people you already know to observe. These observations may be done in the individual’s home, school, or other appropriate setting. You must have the parents’ approval (signed permission form) and support for individuals under the age of 18. Do not ask the public schools or teachers to provide access at school to complete these assignments. The amount of time expended for each interview should not exceed two hours. The average observation lasts about 45 minutes. You may wish to look for individuals with exceptionalities to observe. You may interview the child or the parent (if appropriate) as part of your observation. However, do not make an interview the whole observation.
You must turn in three (3) observation papers. There are four (4) pairs of age groups: 1) infancy or toddlerhood, 2) early childhood or middle childhood, 3) adolescence or early adulthood, and 4) middle adulthood or late adulthood. You will choose to observe and write about an individual representing one part of the pair from each age group at the time we are learning about that age period. Therefore, you will choose either an infant or a toddler (not both) for the first observation. For the second observation, you choose either a child in early or middle childhood not both. Each observation will correspond to the four chapters in the textbook that the class is currently reading and discussing. You may write an observation paper for all four age groups, but only the three highest grades will count toward your final grade. You will turn in the observation paper prior to the exam on that age group.
There are five parts for each observation paper. Label each part.
1. Part 1. (10 points)
List class and section number, observation age period, date, time, and place of observation must be listed under this section. Do not use the person’s name; make up a name. Be sure to attach the parental permission slip.
The use of a subject’s real name anywhere in the paper will result in a 0 for the paper due to violation of confidentiality (This is similar to FERPA or HIPAA). The subject’s real name should only appear on the permission form.
2. Part 2. (10 points)
Specify sex, age, Piaget and Erikson’s stage of development and the general areas of development (physical, cognitive, social, emotional development, etc.) for the person observed.
You will find Piaget and Erikson’s stages of development discussed in the corresponding chapters. Physical, cognitive, social and emotional development are the areas of observation and must relate to what you observed. Example: If you observe cognitive development, you must make a reference in the paper to something observed that represents cognitive development.
3. Part 3. (49 points)
This part is written in pairs. Each pair should include 1) a description from the visit/observation and 2) an explanation/citation from the textbook. You will need a minimum of seven (7) pairs. For every paper, you must include one pair, a description and explanation/citation, for Piaget’s cognitive stage (or equivalent) and one pair, description and explanation/citation, for Erikson’s psychosocial stage, plus five (5) additional pairs from any area of development.
For the description, describe in narrative form behavior and interaction from the observation visit. Specify what the subject and others did or said. Include quotes and descriptions of specific behavior. Be sure to have descriptions from all areas of development (physical, cognitive, social and emotional).
For the explanation/citation, interpret the meaning of the behavior and interaction illustrated in the description. The explanation is based on information from your textbook about the reason for the person’s behavior. Justify your interpretation by documenting what the text says about the behaviors.
Remember the author does not know the person you observed. Only objective information from text is documented/cited as coming from the text. This means you should use in-text citation when documenting information from the textbook, but not when describing your observation. DO NOT cite your description, only the explanation. Your explanation should not refer to your observation.
Description Ex: Cindy was able to tell the group about her visit to her grandmother’s house. Since she had visited her grandmother each morning, she had her memory stored as a script.
Explanation/citation Ex: A script is a “general description of what occurs and when it occurs in a particular situation (Berk, 2023. p. 240).
4. Part 4. Important information learned (20 points)
“What I have learned from this observation” or “What I feel is most important.” Write about what you learned about the developmental stage not about your specific subject. This is not a summary of what you wrote in Part 3. Instead, using what you learned from the textbook along with what you learned from your observation synthesize and present what you believe is important to development at each developmental stage. Be sure to include something that you learned about physical, cognitive, social (which might include the importance of relationships) and emotional development. What knowledge did you come away with? How did the information you learned help you understand children/friends/parents/ partners or you? Section 5 is very important – do not take short cuts on this section.
Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, and between 3-6 pages in length. It should be well organized and well written. Tell me in your own words but write in 3rd person. This is a formal summary not an “I” paper, except for the Part 4 “Important information learned” section.
5. Reference (4 points)
Berk, L.E. (2023). Development through the Lifespan, 7th edition. Sage.
6. Spelling and Grammar (7 points)
Permission Form
[Insert your name here-student] is a student in PSYC 2314 – LifeSpan Development at Northeast Texas Community College. As part of the required assignment, students must observe individuals of different age periods. Each student is required to write a report on the observation detailing what is learned about human development from this experience. The name of individual observed will not be used in the report. The student is required to have written permission.
____________________________ ____________________
Name of individual being observed Age of individual being observed
I have given my permission for this educational experience. __________________
Signature of Parent
__________________________
Print Name of parent (if individual is under 18 years of age/or has a cognitive impairment)