My case of study video

Through all the presencial classes in the university plus the previous entries presented here in this blog, we have been studying about the different stages of childhood and some of the problems that can come with the growing of kids in any of the three areas that have been the center of our discussions (physical, cognitive and pyshosocial development). Now, it is time to apply all the information processed in our mind and put it into practice. In this manner, this entry will address all the processes that were the mainstays of a real case of study video that I carried out with the intention of comparing all the theories studied with the reality of Salvadorian kids.

This video project compares the theories that some experts such as, Jean Piaget and Vigotsky have said about all the processes that appear during the stages of childhood, so for this opportunity the subjects of study will be:

Ø Andre Gabriel Ramos Sandoval              (toddlerhood - 1 year old.)

Ø Carlos Enrique Enriquez Garcia               (early childhood - 3 years old)

Ø Jefferson Alejandro Zelada Blanco         (middle childhood - 7 years old)

    Every childhood stage like: toddlerhood for example, will address the physical, cognitive and psychosocial parameters that belong to that specific stage.

Steps taken for the realization of the video:

ü Before creating the video:

ü I gathered all the information I could about the three stages of childhood that I was going to analyze.  For this task, I used many sources such as: books, and web pages that are cited at the end of this entry.

ü Then, the kids were selected according to their ages. 

ü Finally, once I had all the information needed, and the tasks that I wanted the kids to perform, I proceeded to the real contact with the kids.

During the video:

ü I analyzed one child at a time.

ü Every child was asked with different tasks that are mentioned in the video.

ü The kids were not told about the creation of the video so that they could not overreact or change their behavior. This applies in the case of Jefferson which is the only one that could be affected by the camera since the other two kids are two young to be conscious about the video project.

After the video:

ü All the data collected was classified and arranged into the stage in which it belonged.

ü The video was edited.

• About the findings:  

Toddlerhood. Andre Gabriel Ramos  1 year-old


Physical development 

This includes the growth of the body and brain, sensory capacity, motor skills, and health. In this stage, children height increases a lot during the first year of age. Of course this can very depending on the familiar patterns. For example here in el Salvador most people are either normal or short, but few people are very tall as Americans are.  

At this stage, babies are supposed to: Walk with support by 14 months, up steps by 22 months and run by 2 years. And effectively, In the case of Gabriel, he is able to walk with support of walls, furniture, and people. They also eat small amounts, eat frequently and they drink from a cup. All these activities are perfectly done by Gabriel. Toddlers can scribble, however according to papalia, this activity starts at the age of two, and that is the reason why gabriel is not able to scribble already since he is just one year. Moreover, toddlers Throw and kick balls, and this is one of gabriel’s favorite activities, there several the things that toddlers start to explore at this stage and this is the period more active than at any other point in their lives.

cognitive development

Here we have many theories such as Piagets’ theory that starts at 2 years of age in which babies are under the Preoperational stage in which the child begins to represent the world with words and images. On the other hand, we have Vigotsky’s theory. For Vigotsky, cognitive development occurs as a result of social interactions. In social interactions, children work with others to make decisions and solve problems. Therefore, their cognitive abilities increase and eventually they gain the ability to function intellectually on their own.  Subsequently, at this toddler stage, kids start to Point to objects they want, and can use them for their intended purpose. For example, Gabriel points out to dishes when he wants to eat; he even takes them and licks them when they are empty. They are also able to name familiar people and objects. In the case of Gabriel, he has problem producing names he is just able to say mom and dad, but no other names, this may be because he is just starting this toddler stage or because he needs more scaffolding from his parents, understanding by scaffolding to temporary support that parents, teachers, and more-skilled peers give a child to do a task until the child can do it alone.  According to papalia 2007. At this age, babies are also able to follow simple directions to play, or to do something. For example, if you tell Gabriel to show you his molars, he will surely show you his molars.

Psychosocial development 

At this stage, toddlers Are self-centered, possessive and have difficulty sharing toys. In the case of Gabriel, sometimes  he is willing to share his toys but not all the time, most of the time we would not share anything that is interesting for him. They also enjoy playing by themselves and or next to other children. Gabriel is still not that ready to play with other children, this is because we are considering toddlers since 1-3 years old and he is just one, so at this point he does not pay much attention to the fact of playing together with other children. Furthermore, babies show increasing fears and may ask for parents continually. This is what we call in Spanish niños uraños. This is completely true with Gabriel, he is fine just when his mother in near to him, if she gets away he cries a lot. 

• Early childhood 
• Carlos Enrique Enriquez Garcia 3 years old

Physical development 

He has a younger brother who is 6 months old. And his grandmother takes care of him because his parents have to work the whole day and sometimes even at night, so his childcare has been completely granted to his grandmother. So regarding the physical changes: it can be said that at this stage, kids are able to run, jump,and  balance one foot for up to 5 seconds. Carlos is able to o all these activities. Kids can also pedal and steer a small tricycles. 

Cognitive development

 Advances of understanding categorization, numbers, space and identities are seen in this stage. Kids are able to correctly name some colors, and know some numbers. However, carlitos is still not good at colors or numbers. Nevertherless the problem with him is the lack of scaffolding that the baby has because his parents are not that present in his life, and his grandmother cannot even read properly so she does not teach anything to carlitos, and this is why he might be presenting some kind of delay in his learning. 

Psychosocial changes. 

At this point, they start understanding themselves, their emotions, their gender and they start acquiring the traditional masculine or feminine role they should assume according to the society. At this ages, they cooperate with other children, they play together, they are more likely to follow rules, they show concern for others feeling and start expressing the feelings of being sorry. In the case of carlitos, he is good at playing with other kids, and he is able to follow rules about what to do or what not to do. For example, he has been taught not to cross the street because it is dangerous. He might not understand completely the meaning of dangerous but he obeys and does not cross the street.

• Middle childhood

Jefferson Alejandro Zelada Blanco  7 years-old.


Physical changes 

In this stage, by age 6 the brain has reached about 95 percent of its adult volume according to papalia 2006. At this period, kids should be able to ride a two-heeler bicycle, however jeferson is not able to ride a bicycle because he does not have one, and not because his body it is not ready to do so. They are able to throw and catch a ball as it can be observed in the video. He has already mastered all kinds of movements and he can coordinate them as he prefers.

cognitive development…

In this stage,  kids start reasoning and they bombard their parent’s with plenty of questions. From 7 years old and on, kids can pass Piaget’s class inclusion problem This indicates greater awareness of classification hierarchies. They can focus on relations between a general category and two specific categories at the same time That is, on three relationships at once

Ex. Children can now understand that there are more “flowers” than “yellow flowers” because both blue and yellow flowers fall under the category of flowers.

—  

Jefferson was asked with this simple example of Piaget’s class inclusion problem and he effectively answered that there were more yellow flowers that blue flowers. During this stage kids start learning how to write and read. However, Jefferson still has problems with his reading and writing because he has some learning problems. And in  comparison with the US government that has tried to break poverty education and kids’ learning problems with different programs, El Salvador lacks programs that can help kids that have learning problems. There is also of vital importance the fact that Jefferson assists to a public school where there around fifty kids in his classroom.

Psychosocial development. 

There is a big emotional growth in this stage. Kids are more aware of their own and others’ feelings, they understand conflicting emotions, they are Aware of culture’s “rules” for emotional expressions, Emotional self-regulation and Control of emotions, attention, and behavior. Jefferson was asked what he does or what he feels when his older brother hits him, he said that he would feel sad, but he would not react violently. This is partially correct because, it is true that he would feel sad, but it is not true that would not react violently, actually he is the one who fights and hits his older brother, so this just confirm that at this stage they are also excellent to tell lies.

Conclusion: 

It is impressive to realize that all the theories studied during this period really come true in the development of Salvadorian kids. Starting from physical changes, the three kids of my study did meet all the expectations about their growth and the activities that they are supposed to do at the stage in which they are. The toddler Andre is almost able to walk, Carlos is already able to walk and run and Jefferson has already mastered whatever movement that he desires to do with his body. This confirms that physical development is going well in the life of these three kids. Now, about cognitive changes, I found some deficiencies in the three kids; Andre is still not able to produce familiar names, something that he should already do, and Carlos does not know about some colors or numbers; nonetheless, the problems found in Andre and Carlos are not due to some internal cognitive problems or lack of development in their brains, but rather, because their parents are not scaffolding them enough so that they can extend their cognitive abilities, however, in the case of Jefferson, he has been diagnosed with dyslexia (Dyslexia is characterized by difficulty with learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal intelligence.) and this is the reason why he has some problems in his reading and writing learning. Finally, talking about psychosocial development, the three kids show normal features that are compatible with their ages. Thus, it can be said that theories about children development are reliable and also consistent in relation to Salvadorian children.

Finally, here you are my case of study video…I hope you can find it interesting.

References:

v “Ages and Stages”, the University of Illinois Extension, 2008 

(www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/BABYSITTING/age-toddler.html).

v Papalia, D, et al. A child’s world. Mc Graw Hill, USA, 2006.

v Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. W., & Feldma R. D. 2007. Human development. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill.

 “Understanding Children: Disciplining your toddler”, Ohio State University Extension,HDFS-1529c-02