Reading about child development, or even watching segments about children on a CD-ROM, can help build knowledge and understanding. However, viewing children in unscripted, unrehearsed situations—moving, interacting, playing, growing, and developing—can broaden and deepen your perspective and offer insights about development in very unique ways. Your Application Assignment for this course is divided into two parts. Part 1 includes the Application Assignments for Weeks 2, 3, and 4. During these weeks, you will view video segments of children in an actual child care center and apply your growing knowledge of child development to the children you observe. Part 2 of the assignment will be completed in Week 5 after you view a video segment with commentary by the center director and educational video host.

Week 2: Observing Infants and Toddlers: 3 to 36 Months Old

This week, you have been studying infant and toddler development. For your assignment, you will watch the video segment “Infants and Toddlers.” This first video segment will provide you with an opportunity to observe young children who range in age from 3 to 8 months, 9 to 18 months, and 18 to 36 months and give you a chance to share in the wonder of the world of very young children and the pure joy and excitement of development!

To complete this assignment:

Plan: Consider what you have learned about infant and toddler development. Click on the link below to download, print out, and review the document you will use to record your observations:

Week 2: Video Observation Guide

Observe: Watch the video segment and look for at least two examples of infant or toddler development in each of the following domains: physical, cognitive/language, and social-emotional development among the children on screen. Record your description of each on the Video Observation Guide. Use the information in your course text to help you recognize evidence of development for each age group—such as developing motor skills; emergent language and other cognitive skills; interactions with caregivers or other children; and facial and other expressions that signal social and emotional development. Some guidelines:

Watch the video as many times as you need. Take notes on what you observe.
Use only what you see and hear as evidence of physical, cognitive/language, and social-emotional development (i.e., be mindful to not make assumptions about a child). Factors you are not aware of, such as a child feeling tired or hungry, can influence the child’s mood and behavior. (For example, an objective observation might be: Infant on back puts scarf over eyes. A subjective observation may be based on personal emotional reactions, personal judgment, or an assumption: Infant is shy [or scared], so she puts scarf over her eyes.)
Remember that despite similarities shared by children of various ages, each child is different and goes through the stages of development in his or her own way. Keep that uniqueness in mind as you observe each child in the video.
Enjoy the segment. Use what you’ve learned this week to try to imagine the world through the eyes of an infant or toddler.
Reflect: Reflect on your observations by responding to the following:

Describe the examples you observed that demonstrated infant and toddler 1) physical development, 2) cognitive/language development, and 3) social-emotional development. Be sure to include age levels in your descriptions.

Describe at least one example of how development in domains overlaps (e.g., how a child demonstrates both physical development and, from his or her facial expression or other response, evidence of emotional development).

Describe growth from infancy to toddlerhood that you saw evidenced in each of the three developmental domains—physical, cognitive/language, and social-emotional development.

Explain at least one example of how your perception of infant and/or toddler development has changed or grown based on what you have learned this week and/or the video segment you viewed.
Submit: Write and submit a summary of your reflection. Cite specific examples from your observations and, if applicable, references to the Required Resources to support your thinking and ideas.

Assignment length: 1–2 pages