Observation of Cognitive Development



Observation of Cognitive DevelopmentED 231 Cognitive ObservationChild: AnaliseDate: 4/4/11Age: 5 years 4 monthsSetting: Sitting with Analise and Sam at a table with the blocks. I brought out the blocks and the picture mats that came with them and had each child choose a picture to do. Analise choose the fish.Cognitive AreaEvidencePhysical KnowledgeMe: What colors are you going to look for? (referring to the colors in the picture)Analise: First I’m going to start with yellow. (also meta-cognition)Me: What shape is this?Analise: Diamond.Logical-Mathematical KnowledgeMe: Which shape is bigger? (between triangle and hexagon, comparing)Analise: This one. (points to hexagon)Me: Which shape is the smallest? (between all shapes, comparing)Analise: Points to triangle.Me: How many more shapes do you have left?Analise: I think about 3 or 4.Representational KnowledgeMe: What are you going to draw?Analise: Something from my rapunzel movie.Analise: (thinking aloud) I made him yellow (talking at pastel, chameleon in the movie) because he is on the boat and he is getting really cold. I am going to throw this marker away because it is dried out. (not only is she using meta-cognitive thinking but also representational because she is drawing a picture representing her current ides and thoughts towards the movie and the picture)Social-Conventional KnowledgeMe: What shapes is this? (learn name for objects)Analise: Diamond.Me: What are you growing? (in reference to beans)Analise: Beans. (knows name for object)Meta-cognitionAnalise: (thinking aloud) I got one more orange piece. I need some more red ones back here.(after asking which shape was the smallest)Me: How did you know that?Analise: Because we work on shapes. (explaining internal thought process to answer about which shape was the smallest)Me: (branching off of question about what they were growing in the classroom) Why do you think this is growing?Analise: Maybe because it got lots and lots of sun.Me: What else?Analise: Maybe it got lots and lots of water.(thinking about thinking. Explaining thought process behind first answer of what she was growing)Analise: DONE!Me: (talking about the rapunzel movie) Do you think it would hurt if someone climbed up your hair?Analise: Yes. Besides its only a movie, its fake. Maybe her hair is protected because it lights up when she sings.Me: Can you tell this is not a tower?Analise: Yes.Me: How?Analise: Because it is blue and towers don’t have blue. (water).(having her explain her thinking is showing me her thought process)Analise: (thinking aloud) I made him yellow (talking at pastel, chameleon in the movie) because he is on the boat and he is getting really cold. I am going to throw this marker away because it is dried out.Analise: I am probably going to have to color with this hand.Me: Why?Analise: Because this hand got hurt. My dog accidentally bit it when I was playing with her.Analise: (referring to chameleon again) I know why he is that color! Because he is hiding in Rapunzel’s hair.Analise: Now I think I’ll make a picture of a carebear or something.Analise: (referring to the picture I was making) Maybe you can put a picture on the castle to make it pretty. A picture of a crown or something.(all of this was her strictly thinking aloud. I didn’t prompt her with any questions. Very interesting!)Me: Do you have carebear stuff at home?Analise: All of my carebear stuff was given away because it’s for 2 and 3 year olds and I’m 5. I’m too big for them. Cognitive Development Observation ReflectionED 231 Reread the explanation of inquiry as an instructional approach. Look back at your observation notes and the anecdotes you wrote. Consider one of them in light of the aspects of inquiry and describe how you might expand that interaction into an inquiry experience. I would expand my interaction with Analise when we were using the Tanagrams and I would have the inquiry goal to discriminate among objects and events. To do this I could have said:Preparation( put together a group of triangles, a group of squares and a group of hexagons. In each group add one or two shapes that do not belong in the group)Me: Analise look at these different groups. Which shapes do not belong in each group?Me: Look at this picture. What shapes do not belong in this picture?I believe even with these simple questions, this experience can turn into an easy inquiry experience for Analise because she will be showing me her ability to discriminate among objects and events. She is showing me her thinking about thinking process and by her answers and actions I would be able to determine whether or not she is capable of this objective. I believe however, looking over the different questions for the inquiry experience, Analise did demonstrate numerous aspects of this experience such as reasoning and making decisions. One more thing I would do to incorporate an inquiry experience is to have her imagine something. I would ask these questions when we were drawing and she was drawing a picture from the rapunzel movie. I would ask:Me: What if everyone had really long hair like rapunzel and we all lived in towers?Me: What if chameleons were in your house?Me: What if every time you sang, your hair glowed?These different questions would urge Analise to use her imagination and this would create a fun and engaging inquiry experience for both I and Analise. ................
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