Amanda Kadleck

Mark O. Jarvis, PhD

FHS 1500
14 October 2016
Observation #2
Child Observed: Nicole

Biological Development:
While watching the video of Nicole and two of her peers working with their teacher, it
was easy to pick out where her biological development was skyrocketing. One example of this is
the development of her fine motor skills. Whereas younger children will scribble on the page
with reckless abandon, Nicole was holding the marker in her fingers and writing carefully and
legibly. She also was taking the time to draw the specifications of the fruit or vegetable she was
focused on. I could also tell that lateralization, specialization in certain functions by each side of
the brain with one side dominant for each activity, was taking place because she is right handed
(Berger, 2016, p. 168). Whether she is writing the word onion or drawing an onion, Nicole is
using her right hand to do it. Another significant brain development event taking place is the
myelination resulting in her rapid thinking. Myelination is the process by which axons become
coated with a fatty substance that speeds up transmission of nerve impulses from neuron to
neuron (Berger, 2016, p.169). We can see this demonstrated during their activity with the
teacher. In this activity the children are thinking of fruits and vegetables that are found in a
garden with some assistance from their teacher. Then, they are taking turns writing out the name
of the fruit of vegetable and drawing a picture of the fruit or vegetable. During this activity,
Nicole isnt taking all day to pull the names of fruits and vegetables out of her head, they are
coming out of her mouth lighting fast. And it isnt just her, this is also demonstrated with the
other children as well. Nicoles biological development is right on track for her age, her and her
peers are set up for a lifetime of success.

Cognitive Development:
While watching the video of the girls sitting at a round table with their teacher
participating in the creation of a garden activity, their ongoing cognitive development is showing
through. In this activity, the girls need to name and draw fruits and vegetables that are found in a
garden. Nicole and her peers are in kindergarten indicating that they are around five and six.
According to the chart in Kathleen Bergers Invitation to the Life Span on page 182, her
vocabulary should include about 5,000 to 30,000 words and this is apparent. Nicole is able to
name and list a remarkable number of fruits and vegetables as well as describe them sometimes
without having it before. For example, the last fruit that the girls named and drew was a
pineapple. Nicole knew what a pineapple was, however she kept saying, I dont know if Ive
had a pineapple. The knowledge of all of these words also leads of symbolic though. Symbolic
thought is a part of Piagets preoperational thought (a period of his theory about cognitive
development) and is the understanding that words can refer to things not seen (Berger, 2016, p.
173). The children are able to do this activity because of symbolic thought. This is because the

fruits and vegetables are not in front of them and yet the kids can recall what they look like and
what they are called. With little assistance from the teacher, the Nicole is able to name different
fruits and vegetables as well as draw them as a result of her extensive and still growing
vocabulary. This brain development is crucial for children this age, and during this video Nicole
demonstrated that she is right on track for her age groups cognitive development.
Psychosocial Development
While watching the video of Nicole participating in the creation of a garden activity with
her teacher and two classmates, the interaction between the group and her demonstrated the
psychosocial development going on in their growing beings. Vygotskys Social learning is
demonstrated a few times during this short snippet, particularly when the kids were talking about
cabbage and pineapple. This social learning concept believes that learning is not done alone, that
we learn best during joint engagements. For example, when the girls had hit a road block and
were having trouble naming any other fruit or vegetable, their teacher stepped in and suggested a
cabbage. Nicole and one of the girls were very vocal in expressing their consent, whereas the
other girl said that she hadnt ever had a cabbage and didnt know what it was. Nicole stepped in
and provided a description helping her classmate jog her memory. Another part of this social
learning is having a mentor, someone who teachers or guides someone else (Berger, 2016, p.
176). In this scenario, the mentor is the teacher and she nudges the students in the right direction
when they get stuck (as demonstrated when the girls were stuck and she suggested that they
include a cabbage). This temporary help is called scaffolding, help that is intended to help the
learner take the next step in their learning. Mentors and scaffolding are important in this stage in
life because at this age the students arent autonomous yet, they still need the structure and
guidance that an instructor provides. After finishing the video, it is apparent Nicole is on track
for her psychosocial development and has a bright future ahead of her.

References
Berger, K. S. (2016). Invitation to the life span (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.