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Running Head: CASE STUDY PORTFOLIO PROJECT

Erica Torres Case Study Portfolio Project 11 December 2013

Torres 2 Introduction The purpose of this portfolio is to assess the three developmental domains of a child. We used a variety of assessments such as: parent data, anecdotal recordings, running records, time and event sampling, formal assessments and an observational checklist. The different methods gave us information about the childs development. We conducted all of our observations at the Child Development Center (CDC) which is a laboratory center on the CSU Stanislaus. The Child Development Center looks to engage students, staff and the community in the childrens development (Asher, 1985). The Child Development Center believes that children learn through play with others within a well-structured, safe and nurturing environment (Asher, 1985). We work under the supervision of the CDC staff to ensure the childs safety. Methods Participant This case study is focused on Spencers development. Spencer attends the preschool section of the program. According to Spencers parent data, he is 4 years and 11 months old. Spencer comes from a 2-parent household. Spencer has an older brother. He gets along well with his parents and brother. Some important developmental milestones noted on the parent data were: that Spencer began to walk at 12 months, he began to use single words to name things between 10-12 months and 2-3 words combo in 18 months, he began to feed himself 6-9 months, he dressed himself when he was 2 years old and he began toilet training at the age of 18 months. These milestones are typical of children in his age group.

Torres 3 Professional conduct To ensure Spencers protection, I followed the guidelines offered by the NAEYC handbook. Of all the principles, principle P.1.1 is the most important to follow because we have to ensure the childs safety (NAEYC, 2011). I created the pseudonym Spencer to protect Spencers identity. I was careful with Spencers information and only shared it if there was a legitimate reason to do so (NAEYC, 2011). The staff at the CDC uses these principles everyday. They help ensure the childs safety by creating a safe environment where the children are encouraged to explore. I worked close with the staff to ensure that I was following these guidelines. Procedure I used both formal and informal methods to assess Spencers development. Two formal assessments that used were: the Portage Guide to Early Education Instruction Manual and assessments in alliteration, rhyming and picture naming. The Portage guide provides behaviors that are typical of different age groups, while the Language assessments focused on Spencers ability to rhyme, picture name and alliterate. I also used informal methods that included observational methods such as anecdotal records, running records and a variety of time and event sampling. The anecdotal and running records focused on the observations we made during a specified time. For time sampling we looked at the frequency that a behavior occurred in a specified time. Event sampling focused on a pre-destined behavior during a specified time.

Torres 4 Results Physical Motor Development During their preschool years, children spend the majority of their time playing. Through play they learn important skills (Santrock, 2008). During this age group, children use their fine motor skills (Santrock, 2008). Spencer demonstrates this skill when he puts the key ring through the key hole (Appendix A, 10/3/13). During this age group, children have better control of their hands. The abilities demonstrated by Spencer fit the description of skills that pre-school aged children should be able to do. Another example of Spencer using his fine motor skills is when he stacks the triangle pieces together (Appendix B, 10/3/13) and (Appendixes K,L, 12/5/13). Some of the behaviors that I did not observe include: cutting curves, cutting out a 2-inch circle, drawings that include simple recognizable pictures, cutting out and pasting simple shapes and printing capital letters (Bluma, 1976). All of these behaviors fall under the fine motor skills categories. I looked for some evidence of these skills in Spencers file, but didnt have much luck. I also asked Spencers teacher if she had witnessed the behaviors, and she had said that she thinks she might have, but was not sure. Since I was not able to get definite answers for these behaviors, the behaviors counted as misses on the checklist (Appendix L). Another aspect of physical-motor development is gross motor skills, and since most of my observations were done during outside free play, I was able to observe Spencer using his gross motor skills at a higher frequency. Spencer demonstrates the use of his gross motor skills by walking around (Appendix B, 10/3/13), changes direction

Torres 5 while running (Appendix K, 12/5/13), walks the balance beam (Appendix K, 12/5/13), performs a variety of jumps (Appendix K, 12/5/13) and pedals his tricycle and turns a corner (Appendix K, 12/5/13). Spencer was able to successfully complete most behaviors expected for children of ages 4 1/2 5 years of age (Bluma, 1976). Cognitive and Language Development During their preschool years, children are learning to become self-reliant (Santrock, 2008). Children during this age are also learning how to focus their attention to the task on hand. Spencer demonstrates self-reliance and focus while building with the magna tiles (Appendix B, 10/3/13) and (Appendix D, 10/10/13), while sitting quietly during circle time (Appendix C, 10/3/13) and while building a structure with the wooden blocks (Appendix E, 10/0/13). Spencer demonstrates that he is paying attention through his body position and eye contact (Appendix C, 10/3/13). Spencer is task-focused on all of the activities. He pays special attention to colors and shapes. These behaviors are typical of children his age (Mindes, 2011). While assessing Spencer using the discontinuous time sample, I chose to observe the frequency that Spencer engaged in offtask behavior. I chose the off-task construct because Spencer usually shows high level of attention to on-task behaviors. After observing and recording Spencers typical behavior in a large structured group setting, I calculated that the average rate in which he participates in off-task behaviors is that of 6 incidents in a 5 minute time frame (Appendix F, 10/31/13). I defined off-task as: inattention or lack of focus (eyes) on people or materials associated with an activity (5 or more seconds) and engagement in other behaviors irrelevant to the activity at hand or disruptive behavior (Appendix F, 10/31/13).

Torres 6 Another aspect of cognitive development is language development. To measure Spencers language development I performed three formal assessments that measure alliteration, rhyming and picture naming. Spencer falls between the age range of 57-69 months old. According to the norms presented, children in this age range score on average 16.9 on the Naming task, 8.3 on the Alliteration task and 9.2 on the Rhyming task (Missall, & McConnell, 2004). Spencer scored a 4 in the alliteration task, a 9 on the rhyming task and a 14 in the picture naming task (Appendix J, 11/14/13). Spencer scored similar to the normative scores for the rhyming and picture naming task, but performed lower than expected for the alliteration task. Spencers alliteration task was not standardized, so that had an effect on his score. It can be concluded that Spencer is performing within the normal range for his age group (Missall, & McConnell, 2004). Social-Emotional Development Children spend the majority of their time playing. Through play, children are learning social skills, norms and school readiness (Santrock, 2008). The majority of my observations focused on Spencers play patterns. Spencers development is similar yet different to that of his peers. Children in this age group are expected to play and interact with other children (Mindes, 2011). Children should be interested in playing dress up while exploring gender differences (Mindes, 2011). Spencer typically keeps to himself when he plays (Appendix A, 10/3/13). Spencer appears to prefer activities where he gets to create structures. Spencer enjoys building with the magna tiles (Appendix B, 10/3/13) and (Appendix D, 10/10/13) as well as building with the wooden blocks (Appendix E, 10/10/13). I wanted to further assess how Spencer spends his free time. I conducted an event sample to help determine the types of plays that Spencer engaged in. After tracking

Torres 7 Spencers play patterns for 10 continuous minutes, I found that he spends the majority of his time in the science area followed by the lego wall (Appendix G, 10/24/13). The type of play that Spencer most often engaged in was parallel play followed by solitary play. For this assessment I used Partens definitions of play. Solitary play is defined as: the child being alone and maintaining this status by staying focused on the activity (Mindes, 2011) and Parallel play is defined as playing separately from others but close enough to mimic their actions (Mindes, 2011). Another aspect of socialization that I was interested in was assertive behavior. At first I looked at how often and in what ways Spencer displayed assertive behavior. Spencer was not showing assertive behaviors so I changed the focus to how often Spencer was the recipient of assertive behaviors and how he responded to them (Appendix H, and I, 10/31/13). I recorded 4 separate acts. 75% of the acts that Spencer received were commands. In the first incident, Spencer ignored the assertive childs command (Appendix H, and I, 10/31/13). On the second and third instances, Spencer complied with the childs request (Appendix H, and I, 10/31/13). The last act was physical leading and Spencer responded by compromising/negotiating with the assertive child (Appendix H, and I, 10/31/13). Through this assessment I was able to observe how Spencer engages with other children. Conclusions Through these various assessments I learned about Spencers development. I learned about behaviors that are typical of children in Spencers age group as well as behaviors that are unique to his development. Spencer seems to be developing normally across the different domains. He appears to be a bit shy, but this does not seem to affect the other developmental domains. I would like to see, if his social interactions will have

Torres 8 an effect on his development, as he grows older.

Torres 9 References

Asher, R. and Teixeira, M. (l985). The California State University Stanislaus Child
Development Center Handbook. CA: CSU Stanislaus. Bluma, S. M. (1976). Portage guide to early education. Revised ed. Portage, Wis.: Cooperative Education Service Agency 12. Mindes, G. (2011). Assessing Young Children. (Ed. 4). Merrill Missall, K., McConnell, S. (2004). Descriptive and Experimental Analyses. Psychometric Characteristics of Individual Growth & Development Indicators: Picture Naming, Rhyming and Alliteration. University of Minnesota. NAEYC. (1996). NAEYC position statement: Responding to linguistic and cultural diversity-Recommendations for effective early childhood education. Young Children 52 (2): 4-12. Santrock, J.W. (2008). Children. New york, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

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