University of Wisconsin Madison Development in Children Discussion

This is our final virtual observation assignment, covering physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development in middle childhood. Virtual observations are designed to help students practice observational research skills, connect concepts to child development “in the wild,” and connect research to practice (e.g., teaching).

To complete this assignment, do the following:

1. Visit the Virtual Observation Policies to remind yourself of the general instructions and grading rubric.
2. Once you are ready to complete your observation, view each of these short videos:
   Organized Game: 6-7 year olds
   Game (Links to an external site.)Cognitive Development: 7 years oldCognitive (Links to an external site.)Pretend Play: ~7 and ~9 years old
   Pretend (Links to an external site.)Outdoor Free Play: 9-10 year olds
   Outdoor (Links to an external site.)
3. Submit a written observation report (approximately 750-1000 words) covering a couple of concepts from each chapter. Accepted file types are .pdf, .docx, and .doc.

Chapter 11 (physical development):

• Motor development: What motor milestones do these children demonstrate? Are there any milestones these children seen unable to do? Is this what you’d expect based on the children’s age and gross motor norms? (pages 316-318, Figure 2)
• Exercise and sports: Do you see capability for these children to participate in organized sports? How so? Why would it be important for children of this age to develop an interest in sports and exercise? (pages 319-327)
• Accidents and injuries: Do you see potential for accidents and injury in these videos? What are the most severe causes of injury/death during this age period? (pages 326-327)

Chapter 12 (cognitive development):

• Metacognition: Define and give an example of metacognition shown. Describe developmental changes in metacognition throughout middle childhood. (pages 346-352)
• Thinking: Do you see any examples of executive function, critical thinking, or creative thinking? Describe them. How could these skills be improved? (pages 346-352)
• Memory: Define and give an example of working memory shown. Describe how you would expect memory to improve throughout middle childhood.

Chapter 13 (socioemotional development):

• Moral Development: Provide an example you see of Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. What stage is exhibited? Compare/contrast Kohlberg’s theory with alternative approaches. (pages 387-390, Figure 1)
• Perspective Taking: Do you see examples of children understanding a different perspective? Why are these perspective-taking skills important? (page 382)
• Gender: Describe an example of gender stereotyping demonstrated a video. Do you see any examples of gender differences in communication or behavior? (pages 393-396)

Note that the guiding questions will give you examples of things to look for while watching the videos. However, you do not have to answer every single question, and you are not limited to the questions provided. It is more important that you make at least TWO meaningful connections with content in each chapter using specific examples. See the grading rubric for more guidance on what to include in your report.