Dear teachers, 

This article aims to illustrate an observation method called the Checklist. I hope this is useful for you. Please write if you use this technique in another way! Any feedback is kindly appreciated! I will post, later on, other observation techniques. I find this process crucial for the development of children.

Observation Technique:  Checklist

Starting Time: session 1 – 11.00                         session 2 – 12.15                     Finishing Time: session 1 – 11.30                                                                                                    session 2 – 13.00

 

No. of Children: 1                   No. and role of Adults: 2        Child’s mother and myself;

 

Letter of permission and ethical statement: completed.

 

Description of  Setting:  A home setting in a residential area of Brussels.

 

Immediate Context (Playground, Art Corner etc.): session 1: A large living room, with an area with child-sized furniture and various materials for crafts, threading or transferring; session 2: The garden of the house, with small playground area, which leads to a big park and the park.

First Names of Child observed: Ian

 

Brief Description of Child – Ian is a 2 years and 8 month’s old (2:8) boy; He will soon become a brother. He attends a crèche three days per week;

  

Aim of Observation:  To begin to assess Ian’s (2:8) physical development by observing his fine and gross motor skills in relation to the norms of a child aged 2 and 3 in a home and outdoor setting, recorded in Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010), Macleod-Brudenell & Kay (2008), MCI (undated a), Oesterreich (1995b), Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008), US National Institutes of Health (2010), Raising Children Network (2011) . A checklist will be used for recording purposes.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT       Gross Motor Skills at 2 years	Competent	Working Towards	Not yet able	Not Observed
Climbs stairs unassisted, one step after another on the same stair  [1,4]	X
Kicks a ball without falling [2,3,6]	X
Carries large objects  [3,5]	X
Throws a large ball [1,4]	X
Bends over to pick up toy without falling [1,4]	X
Walks backwards [1,4,5,6]				X
Opens and pulls drawers [4]	X
Runs a few meters changing direction [1,2,3]	X
Is able to stop [1,5]	X
Responds to rhythm, music [1,4,5]				X
Can sit on a chair [5 ]	X
Pushes a wheeled toy [3,4]	X
Squats [1,4]	X
Kneels without losing balance [1,3]	X
Walks and runs around without bumping into objects [2,3,4,6]	X

KEY

1.      Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010)

2.      Macleod-Brudenell & Kay (2008)

3.      MCI (undated a)

4.      Oesterreich (1995b)

5.      Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008)

6.      US National Institutes of Health (2010)

  

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT       Gross Motor Skills at 3 years	Competent	Working Towards	Not yet able	Not Observed
Jumps on both feet on the spot [1]	X
Climbs [1,2,3]	X
Pedals a tricycle [1,2,3, 4]	X
Walks on tiptoe [3,4]				X
Jumps over a 6" barrier [4]	X
Stands on one foot [1,3]				X
Adjusts speed or changes direction to avoid obstacles [5]	X
Operates equipment by means of pushing and pulling movements [1,3,6]	X
Walks sideways [1,4,6]				X
Walks on a line [4,5]		X
Hops on one foot [1,4,5]				X
Uses his/her legs to pump a swing [1,4,6]			X

       KEY

1.    Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010)

2.    Macleod-Brudenell & Kay (2008)

3.    MCI (undated)

4.    Oesterreich (1995a)

5.   Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008)

6.    Raising Children Network (2011)

CHECKLIST: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT          Fine Motor Skills at 2 years	Competent	Working Towards	Not yet able	Not Observed
Builds a tower out of two cubes [1,3,4,5,6]	X
Washes and wipes hands [1,4]		X
Folds paper [1]	X
Holds objects [1,3,5]	X
Feeds self with spoon and fork [3,4,5]				X
Turns the pages of a book [3]				X
Transfer toys from hand to hand [1,3]	X
Transfers objects with tongs [3,4]	X
Scribbles vigorously with crayons [1,4,5]	X
Claps [3]				X
Makes marks using a large paint brush [1,5]				X
Opens lids [1,3]	X
Fills and empties containers [4,5]	X
Uses pincer grip to pick up small objects                                                [1,3]	X

KEY

1.      Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010)

2.      Macleod-Brudenell & Kay (2008)

3.      MCI (undated a)

4.      Oesterreich (1995b)

5.      Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008)

6.      US National Institutes of Health (2010)

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT         Fine Motor Skills at 3 years	Competent	Working Towards	Not yet able	Not Observed
Draws a dot, line [1]	X
Holds a pencil with thumb and two fingers [1,2,4]		X
Pours water without spilling [1]			X
Uses scissors to cut paper [1, 3, 6]	X
Dresses self with some help [4, 5]		X
Threads large beads onto string [1, 3, 6]		X
Draws shapes [1, 2, 3, 5, 6]		X
Builds puzzles of 6 -24 pieces [4,6]				X
Spreads soft butter with a dull knife [4,6]				X
Manipulates clay into shapes [4,5,6]	X
Brushes his/her teeth [1,2 ,4, 5, 6]				X
Blow his/her own nose when reminded [6]				X
Undoes buttons [4, 5, 6]	X

1.    Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010)

2.    Macleod-Brudenell & Kay (2008)

3.    MCI (undated a)

4.    Oesterreich (1995a)

5.    Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008)

6.    Raising Children Network (2011)

EVALUATION

I have assessed Ian’s (2:8)  gross defined as large muscle movement by Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010) and fine motor skills defined as movements of the hand movement by Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010), balance, spatial awareness and coordination against the norms listed for the 2 year old and 3 year old child in various sources, including Papalia, Olds & Feldman (2010), Macleod-Brudenell & Kay (2008), Oesterreich (1995a,b) and various websites.

At the age of 2 years and 8 months, Ian had time to perfect the gross motor skills attributed to a two year old; As expected of a child of his age, he was able to sit on a chair (Department of Children, Schools and Families, 2008), walk and run changing direction (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010) without bumping into objects (Macleod-Brudenell & Kay, 2008).  He demonstrated good muscle control being able to stop (Department of Children, Schools and Families, 2008), climb stairs unassisted (Oesterreich, 1995b) and coordination when kicking and throwing a ball (MCI, undated a). He was also able to carry large objects (Department of Children, Schools and Families, 2008), as he found a tree branch in the park and decided to move it after him.  Ian (2:08) was able to bend over and pick up objects (Oesterreich, 1995b) without losing balance. He was able to open and pull drawers (Oesterreich, 1995b) and push a wheeled toy (MCI, undated a). As a two year old may be able to do, he was able to squat (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010) and kneel (MCI, undated a) without losing balance.

Although not yet three Ian (2:08) was also able to do some of the gross motor movement attributed to a three year old child. He managed to jump on both feet on the spot (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010), doing warm-up exercises with his mother in the park. He was able to jump over a 6" tree branch (Oesterreich, 1995a) and climb (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010) a ladder to reach the slide. In the home garden he pedalled a tricycle (Macleod-Brudenell & Kay, 2008) with velocity, adjusting speed and changing direction to avoid obstacles (Department of Children, Schools and Families, 2008). He also showed competency in operating equipment by means of pushing and pulling (Raising Children Network, 2011), when handling his tricycle back to its garage. All of the above indicate that Ian is ahead of some developmental norms expected for a two year old.

There were a number of gross motor skills which I did not have an opportunity to observe, including walking backwards (US National Institutes of Health, 2010) and response to rhythm and music (Oesterreich, 1995a), which a 2 year old may be able to accomplish. In relation to the gross motor skills of a three year old, I was not able to observe walking on tiptoe (MCI, undated a), standing on one foot (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010) and walking sideways (Raising Children Network , 2011).

It appears that at 2 years 8 months, Ian’s gross motor skills, balance, and coordination are developing in accordance with the expected milestones or normative rate for a child of his age.

Ian’s manipulative skills recorded on the checklist also indicate a development in the range of the normative fine motor skills and abilities for a child of his age.   He seems to be as competent as can be expected of a 2 year 8 month old in his ability to build a tower out of at least two cubes (US National Institutes of Health, 2010), fold paper (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010), hold objects (MCI, undated a), transfer toys from hand to hand (MCI, undated a) and transfers objects with tongs (Oesterreich, 1995a), as he was playing with his collection of pebbles.

According to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008), a child of his age should be able to scribble vigorously with crayons, which Ian clearly demonstrated at his working table. He was also able to open lids (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010), fill and empty jars with pebbles (Oesterreich, 1995a), and use his pincer grip (MCI, undated a) while he was picking the pebbles up one by one.

It seems that Ian also acquired some of the fine motor manipulative skills which meet the norms specified for a three-year-old child. During my observation he drew dots and lines (Papalia, Olds & Feldman, 2010) together with his mother, he used scissors (Raising Children Network, 2011) to cut paper strips his mother previously prepared, he manipulated clay into shapes (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2008) and undid the buttons (Oesterreich, 1995a) of his mother’s cardigan, when she asked for some help.

In addition, he seemed to be working towards achieving some other manipulative skills of a three year old, such as holding a pencil with thumb and two fingers (Macleod-Brudenell & Kay, 2008) or  dressing himself (Department for Children, Schools and Families, 2008). When his mother presented the activity of threading large beads onto string, which, according to Raising Children Network (2011) is a skill a three year old may possess, he only managed to put the string into a bead, and, after struggling, he lost interest. However, he managed to draw shapes (Macleod-Brudenell & Kay, 2008); he drew a circle and made an almost completed triangle. This indicates that Ian is ahead of some developmental norms expected for a two year old.

There were some fine motor manipulative skills which I did not have an opportunity to observe, including feeding himself with a spoon and fork turning the pages of a book, clapping, making marks using a paint brush, spreading butter with a dull knife, brushing his teeth and blowing his nose, which, according to the authors I referred to at the beginning of this paper should be in the range of skills a three year old could normally acquire.

 It appears that at 2 years 8 months old, Ian’s fine manipulative skills meet the norms specified for a child approaching 3.

PERSONAL LEARNING

All in all, I felt that the observation went well, as I have a clearer picture of how this type of observation - the checklist method - should occur, how to prepare it and how to look back and evaluate it. As with other practical assignment, I found it hard to step back and not interact with Ian and his mother, so it was good to practice this type of skill – observing without intervention, and I feel I need as many future opportunities as possible to be able to be more focused on the specific objectives.

During the activities, because of his tendencies to repeat and concentrate, I found easy most of the times to find and tick Ian’s skills in the table I previously designed. However, when he was rapidly changing from one activity to another, I found it more difficult to search for something instead of writing everything down and processing it afterwards.

I knew beforehand I will not be able to observe all of the skills added in the chart, but I couldn’t help feel a bit disappointed when I arrived home and worked on the evaluation.  Because Ian did some activities I hadn’t previously written and he did not do some of the ones I added in the chart, I felt the Checklist method gave me only a partial picture of Ian’s physical development. In a classroom situation I might fill in this chart over a week and it would only include things that were possible in the environment. For example, if I knew that the children did not spread butter in the setting then you would not put it on the chart. I also discovered the importance of time and space in an appropriate environment to develop physical skills.

I felt happy to see Ian displaying skills that seemed to fit into his fine and gross motor skills development norms and share some initial findings with his mother. It is a good rewarding feeling to know all this hard work can help children fully develop and fulfil their potential.  Had Ian been way below what would be expected for his age, I would proceed to make a development plan for him. I would have called his mother or father and explained, and suggested some activities s/he could also do at home with the child.

Overall, I feel some extra observation sessions are needed in order to confirm all these findings.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Department for Children, Schools and Families (2008), Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage [online] available from: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130401151715/https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/eyfs_practiceguid_0026608.pdf (date accessed 5/09/13)
2. Macleod-Brudenell, I. & Kay, J. (2008, Second Edition) Advanced Early Years for Foundation Degrees & Levels 4/5 Harlow: Heinemann
3. Montessori Centre International (undated a) Module 2 - Child Development London: MCI
4. Montessori Centre International (undated b) Module 3 Observations London: MCI
5. Oesterreich, L. (1995a) Ages & stages - three-year-olds [online] available from: National Network for Child Care(NNCC) [online] www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/ages.stages.3y.html (date accessed 5/09/13)
6. Oesterreich, L. (1995b) Ages & stages - two-year-olds [online] available from: National Network for Child Care(NNCC) [online] http://www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/ages.stages.2y.html (date accessed 5/09/13)
7. Papalia D. E., Wendkos-Olds S. & Duskin-Feldman, R., (2010, 11^th ed.), Dezvoltarea Umană (Human Development), București (Bucharest): Editura Trei
8. Raising Children Network (2011) Physical development: 3-4 years [online] available at: http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/physical_health_from_age_3_to_4_pbs.html (date accessed 5/09/13)
9. US National Institutes of Health, (2010) Toddler development [online] available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002010.htm (date accessed 5/09/13).