Interpretation and analysis of a child's development - Case Study Example

? Lily case study Lecturer: Table of Contents Introduction 3 Physical development 3 Cognitive development 4 Emotional and social development 5 Analysis and discussion 5 Recommendations 9 1.Aligning outcomes with child play 9 2.Increase child confidence and play 9 Conclusion 10 Appendices 12 References 13 Introduction The case study involves a girl child named Lily aged three years and four months. She is the eldest followed by her brother who is 6 months old. Lily loves playing scenarios, dancing and stories; moreover, her favourite pop star is Katty Perry and she attends a Pre-Kindergarten programtwo days a week. To carry out a study of the girl, various methods were applied including video and audio recording, pictures and educator’s observation notes in different scenarios. The video recording shows a water-play scenario and the audio recording depicts a play episode between lily and Alfie. In the study, Lily is able to speak and be understood at least half the time and she is capable of carrying out a conversation of 2-3 sentences. The video of the water play shows that the girl is anxious to learn new things, full of enthusiasm and energy and does things alone. This assessment of Lily aims at assessing her physical development, cognitive development and social and emotional developmental with regard to development theory, milestones and curriculum documents in the area. Moreover, the assessment also offers recommendations for the identified needs of the child in focus based on the various ways educators can help in enhancing effective brain development in children. Physical development At her age, Lily is very agile although she is able to run and climb with better coordination and as shown in her assessment of 26 February she is able to walk on wooden plank with her arms stretched. She has more control and balance whenever she is walking, climbing, marching, galloping and she is able to climb stairs with alternating feet; moreover, she is able to move quickly around obstacles. When balancing, Lily is able to use various points of support to make sure she does not fall; moreover, she shows signs of developing dexterity, strength and control necessary for using tools such as scissors. As well, her hand-eye coordination seem to be improving because she is better at putting together simple puzzles and drawing shapes; however, she is yet to improve on the coordination with pouring liquids because some spills. Lily is able to hold crayons with her fingers rather than her fist; besides, she is able to dress and undress with little help. Lily is much nimble because at this stage in her development she is able to handle small objects, use age-appropriate scissors and draw a person with at least four body parts that are essentially a face two stick legs and arms (Educator observation notes, 2013; Educator Video recording, 2013; Educator audio recording, 2013). Cognitive development At her age, Lily is able to communicate clearly in sentence of 5 to 6 words or even in complete sentences and even tell stories. Lily is able to ask many questions and she is even able to correctly name familiar colours, understand the concept of different and count and comprehend the concept of counting. She has a vocabulary of several words, acts out social encounters in play activities, she understands her name and gender and she is able to share and engage in cooperative play. She is imaginative and talks to the toys and imitates what she sees around her, she begins to make friends outside her immediate family because she is able to communicate with playmates; hence, she shows enjoyment in engaging in such activities. Through her associative play, she begins to share with other children and playing with Alfie who is her age mate helps in establishing socialization skills. Cognitive learning in Lily involves not only learning the alphabet and counting but also absorbing information, asking questions, processing and understanding. Lily has a good grasp of language and can say and understand hundreds of words; moreover, she is able to ask and accept assistance is she needs it. Moreover, in the water play, she is able to identify the various glasses in sizes like small, medium and large which demonstrate increased spatial awareness. She is able to answer simple questions; she is also able to talk to herself especially during the water play, which helps guide her in whatever she does. Lily is able to follow simple instructions; she is also able to write her name and engage in dramatic play by accepting pretend character roles (Educator observation notes, 2013; Educator Video recording, 2013; Educator audio recording, 2013). Emotional and social development At her age, Lily is not only becoming physically independent but also emotionally because in the study there are not significant tantrums. Lily is also becoming more social because she is able to cooperate with her friend Alfie, take turns and she begins to show signs of problem solving skills. At this point in her development, Lily is able to seek adult assistance and begins to have real friends in other children. At her age she is still developing her preference for special adults and utilises familiar adults as a safe base for her learning and play. Lily in the water play shows signs of developing and expressing her sense of individuality as well as personal preferences since she refers to “my father”. Moreover, she shows progress in expressing her feelings, desires and opinions in tough situations without harming herself, others or even property. Lily in this age shows interest toward other children since she plays cooperatively with Alfie for some time. Moreover, when playing with her age mate, she is able to jointly manipulate objects with her friend Alfie; in addition to, sharing, smiling and cooperating with her peer friend (Educator observation notes, 2013; Educator Video recording, 2013; Educator audio recording, 2013). Analysis and discussion Theorists like Piaget, Vygotsky and Skinner came up with theories based on research around cognitive development and various teaching approaches have thus developed from their work and other theorists. Piaget considered children thinking to be passed through distinct stages and was altered qualitatively in every stage. The theorist highlighted the need for mature and offering an encouraging environment for children in order for them to explore because he believed that children were active learners. Although, Vygotsky considered children development to be in stages, the theorist emphasised the social as well as cultural influences on a child’s learning. Vygotsky shows that learning in children is through social interaction that involves communication; hence, the theorist emphasised the role of language in development of thinking process in children. This perception is evident in the case study because through language and communication, lily is able to follow simple commands, perform simple tasks and learn from her experience. Moreover, like Piaget, Vygotsky considers children to be active partners in their learning, which increasingly increases their ability to interact with others as they develop. As well, this is evident when Lily plays because she is able to interact with her educator and her friend Alfie. In Vygotsky’s view, thinking in concepts is impossible without verbal thinking; moreover, Vygotsky considered adults to be essential in the process of ‘scaffolding’ a child’s behaviour. Vygotsky considered adults to be essential in extending a child’s learning past areas in which a child is independently capable; in the water play it is evident that Lily does not know why water spills but her educator is able to offer an explanation. In social development, Vygotsky emphasised the significance of the relationship and interaction between a child and a knowledgeable peer and adult (NSW office of Child Care, 2002; Allen and Marotz, 2010). Social play promotes both mental as well as social capabilities within a child and is support by Piaget and Vygotsky among other theorists. Piaget and Smilansky developed types of play like sensory motor play which involves infants up to 2 years old, symbolic play where used symbols are evident and finally games with rules where children are able to follow rules of a game. Nevertheless, Piaget did not consider play to be a means of learning through accommodation of new information but rather assimilation of fresh materials into existing cognitive structures. In the water play, Lily tries to assimilate the new materials with her existing knowledge which corresponds to Piaget’s theory. Smilansky expanded these three stages of play to incorporate functional play that takes place within the first 2 years of life as infants explore objects using their body. The constructive category in Smilansky occurs when children begin to manipulate material in order to create objects and patterns as shown by Lily’s efforts to create a puzzle. Moreover, Smilansky includes dramatic play in his theory to show that children imitate the world around them by role play which leads to cooperative dramatic play within the agreed themes. Piaget along with other socio-emotional theorists like Erikson believe that children can use play to act out unpleasant experiences or experiences where the children have little power as implied by the audio recording when Lily plays with her friend Alfie (NSW office of Child Care, 2002; Goswami, 2011). Using Vygotsky’s theory, a teacher offers a student demonstrations, explanations as well as verbal prompts to guide the child in learning as shown by the way the educator interacts with Lily in the water play. As well, the theory focuses on collaborative group work, where the child is encouraged to use language to talk about everything they perform and learn as evident in the water play and Lily’s play with her friend Alfie. Piaget’s theory emphasises a child self-discovery by offering opportunities for children to solve problems on their own through hands-on learning experience, which is evident when lily tries to process as well as assimilate schemes. Bowlby’s attachment theory is often referred to as a close link between a child and one or more caregivers. This theory suggests the basic characteristics of children in forming this bond which reflects its survival value because a child’s early relations influence future social and emotional development. Bronfenbrenner’s model concentrates on actual development of a child in the environment where the child will have better development. Children grow in environments that are heavily affected by relationships that exist within where the relations act as structures and within the environment family, peers, friends and schools that form the context for development. Moreover, Bandura’s social economic theory indicates that children are strongly receptive to learning from modelling and imitation. Although many theorists believe children learning is strongly influenced by classical conditioning, Bandura believed that children behaviour and learning were highly affected by role models within the child’s environment (NSW office of Child Care, 2002). Vygotsky considers play to be an essential factor in a child’s development during its preschool and kindergarten period. The make believe play or the socio-dramatic play which involves interaction in a make-believe situation and contains a set of regulations and roles and involves figurative use of objects. Vygotsky shows that make believe play affects development in two essential ways one of which is the creation of a broad zone of proximal development for both cognitive and socio-emotional development. Secondly, make believe play facilitates separation of thoughts from actions and objects that paves way for development of a child’s high order thinking in future. Vygotsky shows that children in make-believe play were able to comprehend how to monitor and control their behaviour. Moreover, Vygotsky shows that children that participate in make-believe play create zone of proximal development which enhances a child’s logical thinking. Another essential influence of play in a child’s development involves the severance of thought from action and objects and growth of mental representation from symbolic functions evident when Lily plays with her friend Alfie. This severance of meaning from objects enhances growth of abstract ideas as well as theoretical verbal thinking. Moreover, Vygotsky believed make-believe play to be socially and culturally determined; for instance, by Lily playing the role of a vendor in the water play helps her achieve mental representation of social roles and the rules of society (NSW office of Child Care, 2002). Erikson shows that preschool kids will either gain a sense of initiative by being able to make decisions, plan activities and event and carry them out or feel guilt if they are constantly told no and their ideas squashed. Erikson therefore, emphasises that an individual’s personality emerges from the child’s interactions as well as experiences with significant people most of the interaction occurs around the various skills that develop during the preschool period. During the preschool period, children tend to be ready to learn and achieve goals and at the same time they are developing a sense of right and wrong this development is evident in Lily when she is playing with her friend and notices the wind to be messing up everything. During this time, children realise that they are capable of doing many things but they also acknowledge there are limits to what they can do, this evident when Lily asks for assistance from the educator during play.Vygotsky believed that cognition advanced through interactions and problem solving and demonstrates that support for more knowledgeable other like an adult or a killed peer, children ability shows marked increase provided the interactions are not beyond the child’s prevailing level of skill (NSW office of Child Care, 2002). Recommendations 1. Aligning outcomes with child play In Australia, there are learning outcomes designed in order to capture the integrated and complex learning as well as development in children from birth through the age of five years. The target involves recognizing that children study in various ways and differ in their potential and speed of learning. Moreover, learning in a child is influenced by prevailing capabilities, depositions, and learning preferences; educator practices as well as the early childhood environment; engagement with the child’s family and community and the integration of learning, all of which are supported by Bandura’s theory, Vygotsky theory and Piaget’s theory. Therefore, the educator’s role in Lily’s play is crucial in many areas in order for the child to have an effective social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. This necessitates the educator to create an appropriate environment that nurtures, is safe and secure and encourages interactions, promotes learning and ultimately challenges the child by even incorporating the child in development of the environment (The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, 2009; Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd, n.d). 2. Increase child confidence and play Moreover, it is essential for the educator to instil confidence in the child in order for the child to attain the right outlook toward learning, which correlates to Erikson’s theory. As well, the learning environment ought to be filled with various resources and materials that arouse curiosity, experimentation and exploration for the child to develop an understanding of the world. The educator has to ensure that the environment supports and enhances role play as well as plenty of space and time for the child to play. This is so because in a child’s development, the role of an educator is to ensure that a child gets most out of her play in accordance with Vygotsky’s theory. The teacher also has to create time and space for the various forms of play as set out by Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) to offer the child the opportunity to discover, create, explore and imagine within a play based environment. In addition, the teacher needs to support the child’s development and learning by ensuring quality provisions to play. The early childhood educator needs to be capable of responding to the child’s play ideas because such support extends to the child’s learning and development that correlates to Erikson’s theory. The educator has to offer many toy materials to Lily that are age and developmentally appropriate for the girl incorporate open-ended experiences into her play activities. This is essential in working out the child’s individual learning style; besides, the teacher has to be also available and observant in case the child gets in a dangerous situation because the teacher is able to intervene in preventing harm to the child (The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, 2009). Conclusion In principle, early childhood underpins practice that relies on a rich repertoire of pedagogical practices in order to promote learning in children in line with the various theories such as Piaget and Vygotsky theories. The various practices that promote a child’s learning include adoption of holistic approaches, being responsive to children, intentional teaching, planning and implementing learning through play, providing continuity in experiences and enabling children to have successful transition. The child can learn about herself and construct her identity within the context of the family and community, which correlates with Vygotsky’s theory. This involves her relationship with people, places and things as well as actions and responses of others because identity is never fixed but shaped by experiences. When the child has positive experiences she is able to develop the understanding that she is significant and respected and develops a sense of belonging. In early childhood, a child develops a common sense of fitting in when she feels acknowledged, creates attachments and trusts individuals who care for her, which is in line with Bandura’s socio-economic theory. As a child, lily is able to develop her sense of identity and explore the various aspects like physical, emotional, social and cognitive through play and relations. When a child feels safe, secure and supported, the child is able to develop her confidence to explore and learn. The concept of being ensures that the educator aims at the child and the significance of the child’s right to be a kid and understand the joy of childhood. Hence, the notion of being ensures that the child develops social and cultural heritage, gender and her significance within her world in accordance with Erikson’s theory. The notion of becoming in children involves developing as well as shaping identity through evolving experiences and relations that include change and transition, which correlates to Bandura’s socio-economic theory. A child’s guidance, care and teaching by educators as well as families shape a child’s experience of becoming. Appendices Appendix 1: Educators observation notes 26.2.2103 Appendix 2: Educators observation notes 26.2.2013 – Time 10.20am Appendix 3: Educators observation notes 26.2.2013 – Time 1.30pm Appendix 4: The play corner March 9th 2013 Appendix 5: Water play 12th March 2013 References Allen, K. E., &Marotz, L. R. (2010).Developmental profiles: Pre-birth through twelve. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Community Child Care Co-operative Ltd (NSW). (n.d) Early Years Learning Framework Practice Based Resources - Developmental Milestones. Educator audio recording (2013).The play corner. Educator observation notes. (2013). Collage of Assessment for Lily. Educator Video recording. (2013) Water play. Goswami, U. C. (2011).The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. NSW office of Child Care (2002).A Basic introduction to development theories. Retrieved from http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/LRRView/7401/documents/theories_outline.pdf The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.(2009) Belonging, being and Becoming. Retrieved from http://www.coag.gov.au/sites/default/files/early_years_learning_framework.pdf Read More