Date Created: April 17th, 2017

Date Submitted: Spring 2017

Title of Artifact: Observation 10: Child Study 3
New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers: Standard One Learner Development

I am placing my artifact, Observation 10: Child Study 3, under Standard One Learner
Development as evidence of continued mastery of the various methods of how learners develop.
By completing this observation, I am able to prove my ability to guide students to reach their
fullest potential through developmentally appropriate learning experiences. Within this
observation, there are many examples of ways to promote student development by meeting the
cognitive, physical, emotional, social and linguistic needs of each individual student.

References:
New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers. (2014, August 4). Retrieved from
http://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap9.pdf
I. Observation:
Child Study 3
II. Grade:
Second
III. Student(s):
Age 7
IV. Setting:
Pull-Out Resource Room
V. Pre-Observation:
For this observation, I chose to focus more on the cognitive and linguistic

development of this student throughout my time spent observing. These two areas are

the ones where this student made the most progress so I felt as if it was the most

crucial to research and evaluate. They began the year not even being able to recognize

all the sounds the letters in the alphabet make which is a huge delay in linguistic

development for a seven-year-old. This was the first year for teacher I am observing

teaching at this specific school so it was not even as if this student had this resource

room teacher prior to this school year. They began the year not even knowing one

another but by the time I was observing in February you would think this student had

known this teacher their whole educational career. The amount of development from

the start of the school year to almost the last few months was substantial.
VI. Data:
*Check Attached Appendices*

VII. Analysis:
I decided to use the same developmental milestones checklist that I used for the first

child study to analyze how this student progress since that point. This students
 physical development remained strong throughout my time observing and their

social-emotional growth was exponential. This student showed the most development

cognitively and linguistically throughout the year. They began the year not having the

ability to recognize all the sounds in the alphabet and only a few sight words but by

the end of the year this student was able to recognize 150 sight words. This was a

major accomplishment for this student linguistically. Not only did I recognize that

this student developed quickly linguistically but also cognitively. There was a period

of time where I was unable to observe and when I came back the next time to observe

it was almost as if this was a completely different student. It was if their entire

outlook and maturity had changed. I was amazed at how much more focused and

serious this student was about their work.

VIII. Recommendations:
For this student, I would recommend having a laminated flashcard with a list of their

most frequently used sight words. The student could keep it in their desk, folder or

backpack and carry it with them where ever they went. By having a flashcard such as

this to utilize not only would it help them feel more comfortable with their writing but

it would also help them develop linguistically. Author of Conceptually Based

Vocabulary Intervention: Second Graders Development of Vocabulary Words,

Dimling states, Specific to word learning is the addition of sight words to a childs

repertoire. Words that are frequently read are likely to become sight words, because

they are read as whole words, rather than sound y sound or letter by letter, (p. 426).

Therefore, due to this student struggling in the beginning of the year with phonics it

would be crucial for this student to continue to practice and be exposed to their most

commonly used sight words. It is extremely important that this student has the ability
 to retain their knowledge and not regress over spring/summer break. Another way to

help this student would be to have everything within the classroom labeled with easy

to read tags. This would help the student be exposed to many sight words and help

them with their spelling abilities.

IX. Post-Observation:
After completing this observation, I decided to go back through all my notes and

previous observations to see if I could recognize any patterns or development within

my own work. I felt as if this was an effective way to wrap up my last observation

and to remind myself to continue learning, researching and growing. Having the

opportunity to have this experience as a pre-service teacher observing within an

authentic setting was extremely enlightening. If I did not get this chance I feel as if

my knowledge on teaching and education in general would be lacking severely. By

extensively observing the teacher-student interaction I have acquired more expertise

than I could have ever expected.

X. Citations:
Dimling, L. M. (2010). CONCEPTUALLY BASED VOCABULARY

INTERVENTION: SECOND GRADERS' DEVELOPMENT OF

VOCABULARY WORDS. American Annals of the Deaf, 155(4), 426.

New Jersey Department of Education FIRST through THIRD GRADE :

Implementation Guidelines 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.state.nj.us/education/ece/rttt/ImplementationGuidelines1-3.pdf