Running Head: AN ASSESSMENT ON THE OBSERVATION OF A PRESCHOOLER

An Assessment on the Observation of a Preschooler

Vanessa Yang

University of Michigan | Psych 211

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Introduction

In many perspectives of development, the growth and age-related changes often happen

throughout life, although some psychologists such as Freud (Berk, 2017) may argue that those

changes in childhood are most important towards a child’s development. Thus, the study of

development in children is key to understanding the field as a whole. A beneficial way of

looking at the development of children is to observe them as an outsider in their daily lives, or

rather, through naturalistic observation (Berk, 2017). Therefore, a child was chosen at random

and observed in a day to day setting for 2 hours.

Observation

In the interest of anonymity, the child will be named Henry throughout this essay. Henry

was on what seemed like a field trip for his preschool class, around ages 3-5. Physically, he is the

same stature as all the other kids, around 40 pounds and 40 inches (Gavin, 2015), and looks of

East Asian descent. There were 12 children in total and 2 adults watching over as the children

played on a small piece of snow. They were told specifically to stay in that area and used the

surrounding sidewalks as boundaries. When the teachers were giving instructions, Henry, like all

the other children, did not seem to have a problem paying attention and listening. However, once

all the children were told that they could go have free time, Henry wandered off on his own to

the edge of the snow area and sat down. For about 30 minutes, he did not engage with the rest of

his peers, and as there were not enough teachers to watch over every child, he remained staring

off into the distance. A teacher then came by and took him to a group of 3 other children in

which Henry proceeded to help pack snow onto a snowman. In this interaction, which lasted
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about another 30 minutes, there did not seem to be any verbal communication between Henry

and the other children even though the other children attempted to talk to him. However, he did

contribute to the task and had no problem staying focused on it. For around the last 20 minutes of

the class’ stay, the teachers involved the children in group activities such as singing Frosty the

Snowman while doing actions in a circle. Henry did not show as much engagement for the tasks

with singing, although, he was still involved with all the activities physically.

Assessment

Henry’s behaviour shows that he has no problem doing activities that all the other

children are doing once prompted; however, he does not seem to communicate with anyone,

including teachers. According to Piaget’s stages of development, Henry, who is in the

preoperational stage, should be able to use proper syntax and grammar and engage in

conversation. Thus, according to Piaget, Henry would be behind, which is due to a lack of

exposure to stimuli and experiences (Berk, 2017). As well, according to a milestones checklist

from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Henry is on track for a 4 year-old in the

aspects of movement/physical development as his fine and gross motor skills are well

functioning. He can touch his toes with balance, grab things, and move just as the other kids.

However, Henry is slightly behind in social/emotional and especially behind in

language/communication as he does not speak or use words to communicate and would rather be

by himself than engage with others (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Children

of Henry’s age, typically engage in symbolic activities and ask questions in order to explore and

learn about the world around them. Although Henry shows that he can participate in make
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believe play as he pretended to be a lion for a group activity, he does not seem to proactively

engage. Preschoolers often engage in their make-believe play on their own instead of only when

asked by an adult (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). In addition, when

interacting with other, preschoolers should be able to communicate with words and say what

they want/need. For Henry, he listened to others who acknowledged him, but did not interact

back to them. This is atypical for preschoolers as they should be able and ready to communicate

through language (Berk, 2013).

Interpretation

There are several reasons that could explain Henry’s development and behaviour.

Selective mutism is a disorder that is characterized by a child’s inability to speak and/or

communicate effectively in select social settings, such as at preschool. However, they are able to

speak in a setting where they feel comfortable (Shipon-Blum, n.d.). However, selective mutism

is extreme compared to children who just have more of a shy personality. For Henry, he could

just be quiet in nature and not mute; however, due to the limited knowledge on circumstances

both are possibilities. Another hypotheses to explain Henry’s behaviour is that he might be

student with English as a second language or an ESL student. Especially with the high influx of

people immigrating to the United States in present times, it is likely that Henry’s family recently

moved to North America from another country (Migration Policy Institute, 2016). Thus, his lack

of communication could be attributed to not only the fact that he does not know the language

well, but also his low confidence in communication. The low confidence could be due to a fear

that others will make fun of him for saying words wrong or that he just feels less comfortable
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speaking a language he does not fully understand. In this instance, Henry would not know how to

communicate with others more so than not want to. Thus, Henry is most likely is an ESL student

with more of a shy personality.

Solutions

It is integral for Henry to start making improvement in the language aspect of

development as soon as possible as younger children have more brain plasticity (Berk, 2017). As

well, children do not have as self-conscious and are usually not as embarrassed by mistakes that

they make (Ross, 2016). There are many ways that people around Henry can help him to start

improving his language skills. Teachers must understand that most ESL students go through a

silent period where they will not talk for around 6 weeks to 3 months (Levin, n.d.). It is

important not to force children to speak during this time, but instead to encourage them and keep

teaching them new information for when they are ready. A good way to entice children in this

stage to speak out is through music as it may be better if everyone is singing, for an ESL child to

join in. It is also important for teachers to not discourage ESL students from using their native

language as the goal is to learn English, not have it replace their native tongue (Levin, n.d.). To

start helping Henry, it is a good idea to put him in a buddy system with an English speaking

student. This could not only help Henry with completing tasks and learning the language, but

also with feeling more comfortable and meeting new people. Another way is to have a bilingual

teacher or helper come in the classroom for a while to help Henry adjust to the new atmosphere

(Levin, n.d.). Someone who can speak the native language of Henry could be more useful in

encouraging him to speak English as they act as a role model and someone he can feel
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comfortable around. A helpful tip is to also make sure that Henry’s classmates are encouraging

too (Jacobson, 2017). It can be detrimental for kids when their peers make fun of them and could

discourage them even more. Finally, a good way to encourage the English language in the

classroom is through interactive activities that teachers can find anywhere online to encourage

the learning and speaking of English (Levin, n.d.).

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References

Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Berk, L. E. (2017). Exploring Lifespan Development (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education Inc.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Milestones Checklist. Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/checklists/all_checklists.pdf​.

Levin, V. (n.d.) English Language Learners in Preschool, Pre-K, and Kindergarten. ​Pre-K Pages.
Retrieved from ​https://www.pre-kpages.com/esl/​.

Jacobson, R. (n.d.) How to Help Kids Deal With Embarrassment. ​Child Mind Institute.
Retrieved from ​https://childmind.org/article/help-kids-deal-embarrassment/​.

Migration Policy Institute. (2016). U.S. Immigration Policy Hit Record. Retrieved from
https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-population-over​.

Ross, J. (2016) How do children develop a sense of self? ​The Conversation.​ Retrieved from
https://theconversation.com/how-do-children-develop-a-sense-of-self-56118​.

Shipon-Blum, E. (n.d.) What is Selective Mutism? ​Selective Mutism Center.

Retrieved from ​https://selectivemutismcenter.org/whatisselectivemutism/​.