Observation

Observation #3
Class/section: FHS 1500-400
Name:
Autumn
Assignment: Observation #3 Schoolage- 6 to 12 years
Background Information
Childs age:
11 years old
Fictitious name: Allie
Location:
LDS Church
Brief
4 adults and 10 adolescence children and 5 middle children during a church
Description:
event, interaction playing basketball and lesson
Biological Development
Allies development seems to be right on track with her growth. Berger described growth
as slow and steady and that through the ages of 6 to 11, middle aged children grow 2 inches
each year. (Berger, 2016, pg. 240) Depending on how tall she was before the age of 6, she could
possibly be in a high percentile of height for her age. Out of all the middle-aged children, she
was the tallest. I would not be shocked if she had been.
She also looks very healthy for her age. Her BMI (body mass index) from viewing her
seemed to be regularly healthy. She was not overweight or had child obesity. (Berger, 2016, pg.
242) Part of that could possible play from genes since her older sister is a healthy weight as well.
But there could also be factors that her parents look when she was younger. They could have
chosen to breastfeed her when she was a baby, prevented her from drinking soda, and made sure
she got enough sleep during her younger development. (Berger, 2016, pg. 243)
Her parents defiantly encouraged her to have physical activity. When playing basketball,
I could tell it had been something she had been doing for a while. I could imagine that her
parents probably have a basketball hoop outside their house to encourage physical activity.
Exercise advances physical, emotional, and mental health. (Berger, 2016, pg. 240) From this
thought I would think that Allie is very well developed in almost all her growth in all other
aspects of her life.
Cognitive Development
Allie has well developed cognitive skills. During the teaching lesson, she showed that she
could implement control processes. Control processes are defined as being able to regulate
analysis and flow of information. (Berger, 2016, pg. 252) They are also related to
metacognition. (Berger, 2016, pg. 252) Metacognition is the understanding of ones own
learning. (Berger, 2016, pg. 252) She could focus on what was being taught and could from her
own thoughts and ideas on the matter. She also could understand her own learning because she
was taking notes on what was being said. Allie was clearly taught that understand what people
teach is important and her parents have not been neglectful in that development.

Allie also showed the key concept of automatization. Automatization is when a

sequence of thought and actions is repeated so often that it seems to be automatic. (Berger,
2016, pg. 253) She showed this well while playing basketball. Every time the ball was passed to
her she knew exactly how to grab it. Also, her dibbling down the court was fluent and she made
no eye contact with the ball as she moved. I was extremely impressed that someone so young
could be so good at a skill. I would think that she will use this skill to advance her in her future.
Allie also is in her norms and expectations for her again of reading skills. 11 to 12 years
old can demonstrate rapid and fluent oral reading. (Berger, 2016, pg. 257) They can also sound
out new words using cognates and context. (Berger, 2016, pg. 257) When she was called upon
to read a paragraph, she would sound out the names of the people being spoken about in the
book. But the odd names were the only things stopping her. Her reading was fluent. She seemed
to be similar with the idea of reading out loud. This will only help her learn new vocabulary as
she gets older.
Psychosocial Development
Allies psychosocial development also seems to be right where it should be for her age.
She does get a little nervous around people and I can tell she is always processing people around
her to compare herself. This kind of comparison is social comparison, where they assess their
own ability with their peers. (Berger, 2016, pg. 282) She could make decisions about herself like
style and try to match her older sibling.
Allie was also resilient. Reliance is the capacity to adapt well to significant adversity
and to overcome serious stress. (Berger, 2016, pg. 285) She had shared an experience of how
her father had died and how it caused her to overcome problems in her life and the effects of it.
This could have caused her to stunt her growth. But with the help other her mother, and her
resilience she could move forward in life. Not letting it stop her from continuing.
Allie showed signs of psychosocial maturation by many examples. She would respond to
specific chores such as being asked to clean up after the event was over. She could tell time and
adhere to set times for all he different activities they did during the meeting. She also was
dressed like her sister because she is trying to conform with her peers in style. She also could
express preference in lessons and activities when she talked with her peers. All of which are
example of her maturing development. (Berger, 2016, pg. 283)
Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2016). Invitation to the Life Span (3rd Edition) New York, NY: Worth Publishers