Noelle Uranga

ECE 252
10/25/2015
Cognitive Observation
Part A (4-12 months)
1A. As a child that is only 5 months old, they are truly starting to discover the word
that is around them. They can't respond to your questions, or have a full on
conversation with you, but they are learning in their own separate was. While
observing the 5 month old I noticed two different actions that helped me see where
the child was at in that moment in their cognitive development. One of the things
the child did was grab onto the rattle and shake it back and forth while her arm was
moving. She kept doing so and was smiling during the whole time. Once she put it
on the floor, she just kept looking at, but it no longer made the shaking noise. Later
the caregiver came over, shook it again and set it back down for her to pick back up
and begin shaking again, smiling. Another action of the child was when she was
laying down on her bed and her caregiver hit the mobile that was above her. When
the bells made the ringing noise, she reached up to try to hit the mobile to also
make the same noise again.
1B. I believe that this child is in Stage 3 which is repeat actions that bring about
interesting results. She is slowly becoming more aware of her caregiver and the
actions that she is making that produces interesting results for her and trying to
repeat them herself to see if she can possibly make the same thing happen.
2. The toys that I could see helping her move into the next substage are toys that
you have to make go on your own. The wind up toys in particular would really help
once she is old enough to move onto the next step. As a child her age you can
accidentally make noises all the time, or watch others create the noise and then try
to recreate them yourself. But once you have those types of toys everything
becomes you having to do it yourself and it moves you onto the next stage of
learning.
3. While watching the caregiver with the 5 month old she was helping her growth
plenty. Everything that she did she tried to make a specific noise with it that the
child could then possibly try to recreate if she wanted to. She hit the mobile to make
the bells ring, shook the rattle, rolled the ball with the bells inside, hit the drum, etc.
They were all things that the 5 month old also had the chance to recreate if she had
the interest in doing so.

Part B (13-19 months)

1A. While observing a 19 month old child she easily gave me many different
examples on how her development was going, and what stage she was at in the
development. The first example that she gave me to work with she picked up a
small, orange, hard ball and started to throw it around. She was hitting the walls,
the toy kitchen, and she even threw it up and it hit another child who was sitting
down. Once the caregiver noticed it hit another child, she grabbed the ball, said "No
thank you. We do not throw the balls" and she walked away and put it in a toy
basket. The child immediately started looking for the ball around the area that the
caregiver had placed the ball, found it, and started throwing it around again.
Another example was when the children were playing outside. She had built up a
small tower of blocks in the corner of the playground. She walked over and grabbed
one of the bikes they had. She got on her bike, and pushed herself right into the
area of blocks and knocked them all down.
1B. I believe that this child is in the 5th substage of her development which is
partially the real beginning of active experimentation, and searching for hidden
objects. Both of those are exactly what she did. She is old enough that she knows
permanence now. When her caregiver takes away her ball and puts it somewhere
else she knows exactly to go where she last saw her put it, and look for it there. She
was able to dig through the toys and find the hidden object, which was her ball. Also
as it pertains to experimentation, she set up the blocks, got on her bike, and ran
into them to see exactly what would happen, and to find out that the result was all
the blocks would fall.
2. A way I believe could get them to the next stage is to plan little art projects with
them. Have a specific list, with pictures since they can't read, or things they need to
go and find. For example, scissors, colored markers, etc. It shows the children how
to be mentally and physically prepared for what they are doing, which is in the next
step. They stop and plan out what they are doing, before they actually go and do
said project.
3. A way that I saw the caregiver help and foster the child's growth was playing a
game of hide and seek but with different objects. She had 12 different dogs printed
out on a piece of paper. She had the children go to the back of the class and close
their eyes while she hid these pieces of paper around the room. Once she hid them
all she said go and the class ran around the find the pieces of paper. Therefore
enhancing the permanence and finding the objects that are already hidden.

Part C (20-27 months)

1. While using the Piagetian scales I decided to test the 27 month old using Scale 6:
Development of Imitation. Step number one in vocal imitation is differentiation of
vocalization from crying. As a 27 month old, he made many other noises other than
just crying. Something that they child did often was laugh. Whether he was playing

with his other friends, or even by himself, he was constantly smiling and laughing
throughout his playtime. Step 2 is Response to familiar vocal productions. While
getting ready for bed the child always makes the same humming noises. So while
he was starting to fall asleep, I started making those noises that he makes. His eyes
popped right open and he made the noises back to me. Step 3 is Development of
imitation of familiar sound patterns (babbling). While playing with his little rocket
ship he always makes the noises ba ba ba ba while he flies it around the room.
While he was seated I started to make those noises. He immediately ran and
grabbed his rocket ship and started to fly it around the room creating the noises
with me. Step 4 is Development of imitation of unfamiliar sound patterns. Since the
child is already 27 months old he knew just about any sound that I had made to
him. His favorite one that was semi new to him was the sound of a cricket, that he
spent all throughout the day making at random times. Step 5 is Imitation of familiar
words. During circle time I grabbed a small book that is full of animals and turned
each page saying what the specific animals were. The second time around with the
book I asked him what each animal was and what sound it made, and he knew all of
them, such as cow, pig, duck, etc. Step 6 is Imitation of new words. After going
through the animal book a couple of times with the names of the animals, I started
to name off different parts of the animal he may not know, such as hoof, mane,
wing, and saw if he could point them out to me. Some he knew and some he didn't
right away. But after being shown once or twice, he knew where they were right
away and could even tell you without being asked. Step 7 is Extensive imitation of
words. As a 27 month old he was able to repeat any word that I said to him for his
age. Of course with some words they were a little off. Like helicopter to him is
helicockpter. So I believe that this child is at this final level of imitation of being able
to imitate almost every word that you want him to, familiar or new.
2. What would take this child to the next level is starting to read very small books.
If you should a picture of a duck and next to the picture it had the word, the children
would slowly start to associate the words to what they are looking at. Having small
books nearby in the room with the child and starting to go over it with the children
at that age will help them down the road when it comes time to start reading and
writing.