You have 3 options for this assignment. Read through all options, and consider which developmental age you find most intriguing; also consider which option would be most practical and informative for you, or would best meet your long term goals.
For the option you choose, you will want to make sure that you read the relevant chapters in the textbook BEFORE you perform your observation and write your paper. Be sure to follow the guidelines For All Papers listed at the end of this document.
Option 1: Daycare of Infants Option 2: Elementary School Option 3: Long-Term Care Facility FOR ALL PAPERS
Option 1 – Day Care Facility Observation – Infants
Call to make an appointment to observe at a day care facility that keeps infants. Be polite and courteous on the phone. It is also important to be honest that this observation is a class assignment. Observing for one or two hours will be the most valuable.
Follow this link for the Daycare observation form. Download this form to your PC, and then print it out to use for your observation. (It is easiest to download and print this form from the Project 1 assignment in the Assignment Dropbox on the Course Menu.) Fill it in during your visit to the child care center and attach it to your project paper. It is OK if you cannot clip/paste or recreate the form exactly; just make sure all categories are addressed for your final paper. Include any other significant observations you make.
Look for books, journal articles, magazine articles, and newspaper articles that discuss your topic. Be sure to include a discussion of developmental issues as they relate to the text and the unit. In other words, analyze the situations that you see in the center and relate them to the concepts. For instance, how do the activities in the day care center relate to the theories of Piaget, Erickson, etc.? How do the activities of the children at different age levels relate? Do not just list observations! Cite all references in the body of the paper, as well as in the reference page. Be sure to review the Learning Objective Summary below:
- Discuss the effects of the interaction of nature and nurture on human development.
- Describe Freud’s psychosexual stages for the first three years of development.
- Describe Erikson’s psychosocial stages for the first three years of development.
- Describe overall physical growth during the first three years of development.
- Identify and describe Piaget’s Cognitive stages for the first three years of development.
Option 2 – Elementary School Observation – Middle Childhood
Call to make an appointment to observe at an elementary school classroom (grades K-5). Be polite and courteous on the phone. It is also important to be honest that this observation is a class assignment. Observing for one or two hours will be the most valuable.
Follow this link for the Elementary School Observation Form. Download this form to your PC, and then print it out to use for your observation. (It is easiest to download and print this form from the Project 1 assignment in the Assignment Dropbox on the Course Menu.) Fill it in during your visit to the school and attach it to your project paper. It is OK if you cannot clip/paste or recreate the form exactly; just make sure all categories are addressed for your final paper. Include any other significant observations you make.
- Discuss the changes in moral reasoning that occur during middle childhood.
- Describe how peer relationships change during early and middle childhood.
- Describe Piaget’s Cognitive stages for early (3-6 years old) and middle (6-11 years old) childhood.
- Describe Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development for early and middle childhood.
- Describe theories of intelligence testing applicable during middle childhood, including Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence.
- Describe the progression of gender identity and typing in early and middle childhood and how such dictates social interactions.
Option 3 – Long-Term Care Facility – Late Adulthood
Call to make an appointment to observe at a long-term care facility. Be polite and courteous on the phone. It is also important to be honest that this observation is a class assignment. Observing for one or two hours will be the most valuable.
Follow this link for the Long-Term Care Facility Observation Form. Print this form for your observation. Fill it in during your visit to the care facility and attach it to your project paper. (It is OK if you cannot clip/paste or recreate the form exactly; just make sure all categories are addressed for your final paper.) Include any other significant observations you make.
Look for books, journal articles, magazine articles, and newspaper articles that discuss your topic. Be sure to include a discussion of developmental issues as they relate to the text and the unit. In other words, analyze the situations that you see in the facility and relate them to the concepts. For instance, how do the activities in the facility relate to the theories of aging discussed in the text? Do not just list observations! Cite all references in the body of the paper, as well as in the reference page. Be sure to review the Learning Objective Summary and Theories below:
- Describe Erikson’s psychosocial stages for these years of development.
- Describe Kubler-Ross’ stages of coming to terms with death and dying (see below)
- Describe overall physical state during these years of development.
- Theories
- Ego integrity versus despair: According to Erikson, the eighth and final critical alternative of psychosocial development, in which people in late adulthood either achieve a sense of integrity of the self by accepting the lives they have lived, and thus accept death, or yield to despair that their lives cannot be relived.
Wisdom: The virtue in Erikson’s eighth stage, an informed and detached concern with life itself in the face of death itself.
Life review: Reminiscence about one’s life in order to see its significance.
Kubler-Ross’s Five Stages of Coming to Terms with Death:
Denial (refusal to accept the reality of what is happening)
Anger
Bargaining for extra time
Depression
Acceptance
For All Papers:
Based on your observations and research, write a paper on “The Developmental Advantages and Disadvantages of (Infant Day Care) or (Elementary School) or (Long-Term Care).” The paper should
Describe the assignment and the reason you chose the selected facility.
Summarize your observations (and answer such questions as: Would you or would you not choose this facility for your loved one and why?)
Include a brief reference to the learning objectives for the option you chose.
Conclude with your general impressions of the facilities.
Be 3 pages long plus your observation form.
Include an annotated bibliography in APA style with a minimum of three sources.
Be typed, double spaced, with 1 inch margins.