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PHYSICAL OBSERVATION PAPER ASSIGNMENT
PHYSICAL AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOLERS AND
KINDERGARTNERS
PRERNA AGARWAL
CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
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Question: It is essential for our society to understand the change in and the development of
children over time. Physical and motor skills are one of the crucial components of a childs
development since they indicate the level of intellectual learning, growth and coordination of
muscles and different body parts of the child. To better understand the difference in physical and
gross motor development of a child, we may ask an important question: is the difference in the
motor development between a preschooler and a kindergartner more striking as compared to the
difference in physical development of the two?
Context for addressing the question: Using naturalistic observation and time sampling,
I was accurately able to analyze how the children behaved in their natural environment - the
childrens school, by observing one child at a time for a particular period. Since the data was
collected in their habitat, it was externally validated. On wednesday, September 16, 2009 from
2:25 to 3:10 pm, I observed preschoolers who ranged from the age three to about five. Their
activity time was conducted in the gym room at the Skibo Gym on campus (see figure 1). Using
a rope with loops which each child could hold onto, the teachers guided the children to the gym.
The children were made to do various gym-like activities such as hula hooping, running races
and stretching. The preschoolers stood slightly wobbly, fidgety and most had proportionate
bodies with the exception of some with slightly bigger heads. The teachers gained the attention
of the children by constantly repeating what must be done in a catchy beat and invoking a sense
of achievement within a child on successfully finishing a task. Occasionally the instructors
assisted the child in an activity when attention was required, possibly due to the lesser developed
muscles. The preschoolers had extreme varying energy levels, and even though they were
skeptical to try new activities at first, they demonstrated high levels of eagerness to learn.
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On Thursday, September 17, 2009 from 11:15 to 12 pm, I observed preschoolers who
ranged from the age five to about six. The site of the observations was the playground at the
childrens school (see figure 2). The children were presented with open ended activities and were
allowed to run around and play. The playground was filled with props such as tricycles, a
sandbox and slides. The kindergartners were well proportioned, stood erect all the time and were
not fidgety. The lack of constant interaction between the children and the teacher, and more
interaction between children helped the children learn on their own, through trial and error if
necessary. The kindergartners had high but more stabilized energy levels and demonstrated less
skepticism and surprise to new activities.
Even though the physical set up of both the locations varied, in both cases the children
were presented with multiple tasks and objects suitable for their age, with which they could
interact. This enhanced their development and learning through interaction and exploration. The
preschoolers activities helped them improve their balance, gain control over muscles and learn
and improve many other basic physical activities that are used in daily life. Simultaneously, the
kindergartner's activities enhanced their coordination and do tasks on their own and with greater
ease.
Observations associated with specific theories and ideas: There are three theories
along with my observations which have made it easier for us to explain t that the difference
between motor skills of the two children categories is more than the difference in physical
development. These theories include: Piagetian theory, information processing theory and
sociocultural theory.
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prove a higher level of coordination and thinking. Even though some of the children ran a little
slower and often needed help at first since they were at first unable to register that they were
competing against one another, by the second round they got competitive and were able to run
better than before. While analyzing the kindergartners in the playground, I noticed that they
independently conducted castle building competitions. They definitely would have been unable
to do so if the buckets and spades were not lying outside and the instructor had not recommended
to have the competition. Therefore, we can see that based on difficulty of task the required
guidance differed. The kindergartners had races amongst themselves without the guidance of
teachers, clearly indicating that they could do the task pre schoolers struggled doing.
Conclusion: The physical development of a child slows down as the child approaches the
age of two and difference between the two sets of children is less striking as compared to the
motor development. However, even though the differences in physical development might not be
that obvious, they do exist. Kindergartners are more swift, have more muscular strength and are
more well-proportioned as compared to preschoolers. Since most of the children in both pre
school and kindergarten were American or Asian-American, the ethnicity did not have an impact
on the development. I did however notice that girls are more skeptical about doing certain tasks
as compared to boys. Firstly, Piaget was correct when he stated that children foster their own
learning since a key component of gross motor development is trial and error and building upon
what you already know. Secondly, information processing theorists were right when they said
that a child uses analytical reasoning to develop. The child attempts to understand and break
down the task into smaller parts to successfully accomplish what is required. Finally, social
theorists were also right, the level and kind of interaction is very important.
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Reference
Klahr, D. (1978). Goal formation, planning, and learning by preschool problem solvers
or: My socks are in the dryer. In R.S. Siegler (Ed.), Childrens thinking: What develops?
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Piaget J. (1952b) The origins of intelligence in children.New York: Int. University Press.
Rogoff, B. (2003). The Cultural nature of human development. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Siegler R.S. (1996).Emerging minds: The process of change in childrens thinking.New
York: Oxford University Press.
Siegler, Robert. (2006). How children develop.New York, USA: Worth Publishers.
Wood, D.J., Bruner, J.S., & Ross, G. (1976) The role of tutoring in problem - solving.
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 17, 89 - 100.
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