Ways of Expanding Participation in this Course
The knowledge that I have gained from the assessments and observations expanded my participation in this course by several ways. The first way is that forging a good relationship is the key towards a successful study. This study requires three levels of relationships. The first one is between the researcher and the child. The second relationship is between the researcher and the parents or the custodian of the child. It is important to note that with a good relationship, getting the much-needed information is easier. In addition, the good relationship makes communication easier between the researcher and the subject. Subsequently, the process of observation as well as assessment would be more natural.
The second knowledge that I have gained that has expanded my participation course is that focusing on one area of child development is important. These areas include cognitive development that deals with thinking, language development that deals with the oral language, and both large and small muscle development. Other aspects of development are social development and developments that involve basic concepts, such as mathematics, social studies, and science. The importance of focusing on the one aspect of development at a time is that it ensures a more detailed observation and assessment of the child for better findings.
The third knowledge that I have gained is the fact that recording of the results of observation and assessments determines the overall outcome of the study. As in any other research study, recording of the results is necessary. Recording enables the researcher to have a point of reference for the future. In addition, recording of the results is also important since it allows the researcher an opportunity of reviewing the assessment process later for an adequate assessment. There are different types of recording that are available for researchers. They include tape recording, video recording, taking photographs, taking notes, and making sketches together with the drawings.
Insights from Observation and Assessment
The first insight that I gained from participating in the observation and assessment during this study is that environment plays a huge role in the child’s development. This is because I noted some similarities in regards to the social aspects with that of the parents, as I was making my social development assessment on my subject. The same was also applied to the case of the language development. Another insight that I realized is that most of the people prefer anonymity in that they always prefer not to be termed using their real name. Therefore, any researcher should consider this. The third insight that I came up with is that muscle development in children depends on very many things, such as gender and nutrition.
Second Child Observation
In case I get an opportunity of conducting another assessment on a second child, there are several things that I would do differently. Firstly, I would focus on two contrasting areas of child development at a time with the aim of relating their developmental aspects. Secondly, I would make and record my observations without the child realizing. By doing this, I believe I would be in a position of coming up with the most accurate information. Thirdly, I would come up with a hypothesis of the study. This hypothesis would either be proved or disapproved during the child assessment. In conclusion, I have come up with these adjustments so that I can improve on the limitations that I experienced during the first study.