Focus for this part of the Final Project:

• You will plan and implement 2 planned learning experiences/interactions for 2 children whom you have observed. The learning experience/interactions will be planned and implemented based on your observations of these 2 children and what you learned about the children’s cognitive development and individual learning needs. Ideas or examples of a planned experience could be:an introduction of new materials into the environment, a planned play experience, planned participation in a care routine, etc.
• You will then observe the children during these experiences, their response to you, and their response to the to the experience/interaction that you have set up and presented to them. This will require you to be a participant and an observer. Do you best to objectively observe while responding to the child. Your documentation and reflection of the observations will be the basis for your final presentation and project.
• You’ll want to take notes during, or right after, this observation. Your notes should be VERY detailed and should, as much as you can, describe events as they are connected in time-try to capture the ‘story line’ of what happened, not just isolated images.
• You will be writing up the 2 observations separately within your Final Project paper, and will be thinking about the 2 infants individually. You will use one of the experiences and observations for your Photo Documentation project, and your Final Presentation. You can use the Planning Next Steps Form or the Observation Form to guide your writing about the observations for this portion. These written reports will be due by Session 13.
• Attached to your Final Project paper, you will be handing in your observation notes, interpretation and reflection. You will also be writing about your implementation experience and further reflections in Section II of your Final Paper.

Final Paper reflection questions

This observation assignment reflection within the final paper will focus on 4 areas:

• Components and stages of cognitive development: For these observations, it will be important to reflect about which of the aspects of cognitive development we have discussed in class you observed the infant exhibiting. Also, did any of the observations of the infant (and/or adult) remind you of any cognitive theories that we have studied? Identify 2 components of cognitive development that you observe for each child, and at what stage you think the infant is in related to those components. You can draw from reading, class sessions, resources including the RIELDS, etc. to connect the evidence from your child observations to what you know about cognitive development. Define the components that you chose, what learning they exhibit, and specific examples of child behaviors and responses as evidence of the component that you saw.
• It is important to note what you know or have learned about the child as an individual to inform your observation and next steps. Did you notice anything about this child’s temperament, approach to learning, relationship with others? What did you notice about the child’s interests or motivations? Did the child persist? What strategies did the child use to engage with objects or people?
• Now that you know even more about the child, write down your initial thoughts about next steps in support of this child’s explorations. How might you offer this child next to take his/her exploration further? How might you scaffold development in the next stage? How might you learn more about what they child knows and is able to do?
• Describe how you would communicate with a parent or co-teacher about this child’s development and ideas for further supporting his/her individual development, goals, interests. Your described communication plan should include specifics that you would point out about the child and about cognitive development.

Remember that you are writing each observation and reflection as a separate assignment for each child.