Running head: WEEKLY OBSERVATION JEAN PIAGET 1

Weekly Observation: Jean Piaget

Ma. Elena Bush
Fresno Pacific University
The Imaginarium Learning Center Infant/Toddler Classroom
January 28, 2019
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
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Weekly Observation: Jean Piaget

It was an hour before lunch time and the children just got back from playing outside. There

were four children playing in the wide space play area of the infant/toddler classroom. The

children got busy taking toys out of the bins and dumping them out onto the carpet floor. Three

of the younger children were sitting in high chairs as they wait for lunch playing with the silicone

suction knobs stuck on their trays in the high chair.

One of the boys, John, took a baby doll from the toy basket then he found a thin blanket to

cover the baby. He walked over to the teacher and gives the teacher the blanket and the baby doll.

The teacher asked if he wants her to cover the baby with the blanket and John nods then says,

“yes”. After the teacher wrapped the doll with the blanket and hands it to John, he says “thanks”,

then he cuddled the doll and walked away. When John sat down his baby doll on the carpet while

he looks at another toy, a friend took the doll and starts to walk away with it. John looked back at

the doll and he screamed at a friend saying “no, mine!” then he cries while chasing the friend. He

grabbed the baby doll, but the friend did not let go and they screamed at each other until the teacher

intervened and helped John get his baby doll back.

John walked back to the teacher holding his baby doll on one hand and the blanket on the

other then he hands the teacher the blanket and he walked away with the doll. The teacher called

John back telling him that he forgot the blanket. He walked back then hands the teacher the baby

doll. The teacher covered the baby doll with a blanket and asked John if he knows where the doll

went. John answered “right there” pointing at the blanket then he grabbed the blanket off of the

doll. Right beside John is Tim. He looks at the blanket where the teacher has hidden the doll. He

looked around the room when the teacher asked where the doll went. John is twenty-three months

old while Tim is a month younger than John.

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According to Piaget’s four stages of development, the children “pass through these phases

to advance to the next level of cognitive development.” and these stages cannot be skipped

(Corona, 2019, slide 10). In the observation the two children are close in age, but one knows

object permanence while the other does not. Object Permanence is “If they can’t see something

then it doesn’t exist” (Corona, 2019, slide 11). Perhaps because each child is different even with

the difference of only one month, their stages are far apart. Although, both of them could still pass

through each of the stages just not in the same pace.

The part of the observation when the child got upset when a friend took his toy and he said

“no, mine!” showed the characteristic that Piaget believed to be present in children at Sensorimotor

and Preoperational stages, which is being egocentric (Corona, 2019, slide 12). Sharing is the least

of John’s concerns. He also showed symbolic representation when he was playing with the baby

doll and covering it with a blanket which puts him on the preoperational stage. Some of the

children during the observation are one-year-olds and most of them are still very sensory evidenced

by their mouthing of toys. John still showed this characteristic when he was observed chewing on

his sleeves.

Jean Piaget’s theory of development is helpful in understanding children’s behavior and

developmental level. As a preschool teacher I will be able to support the child’s developmental

needs if I have the right information as to where they are in the stages of development. I believe

that I can provide a more effective lesson plan that maximize learning through exploration if I

understand how young children learn.

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References

Corona, C. (2019). Child's play and learning theory week 3 [PowerPoint]. Retrieved from

https://learning.fresno.edu/mod/resource/view.php?id=1139909