Essay on Objective and Subjective Observation

Published: 2021-08-15
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In subjective observation, the observer puts into record his or her own ideas, opinions, thoughts, and emotions of a situation. Note that when two or more are carrying out an observation about a same situation, results may vary. In subjective observation, personal bias and perception of an observer influences data quantity and quality. On the other hand, in objective observation the person carrying out observation records tastes, sounds, physical feelings, sights, and smells of a situation. Unlike in subjective observation, similar sets of data from two observers may result in objective observation.

Part one

Under the naturalistic setting, I had to focus my observation on a male child. Erick is a 4-year-old child who according to the mother, loves to stay in the family backyard. Anyone who tries to stop him from staying in the yard is an enemy. In carrying out the observation, I had to include two adults (Ericks parents). The only child that was present was a 3-year-old girl who was a daughter of Ericks uncle.

As I observed Erick, I did realize that the natural environment was unique and appealing. It was characterized by an ending diversity of landscapes, trees, grass, among others. The environment was a total stimulator and an experiential component for Erick and his cousin to carry out various activities. The environment sheered Ericks sensory experience in the manner how it provided platforms to interact with. For instance, the plants, the soils, the sand, and the tap water, provided settings that could be manipulated by Erick. The natural environment had elements that provided open-ended play which facilitated creative exploration by Erick with the diverse materials. The environment was also good in providing an inviting more complex plays (Ontario, 2015). The plants in the backyard stimulated discovery and imaginations for Erick. The mixture of the sun, color, texture, shape, softness, and fragrance, encouraged a sense of peacefulness for Erick and her cousin to carry out their activities.

Social skills

Erick and his cousin showed a lot of social skills in the natural environment. For instance, Erick was able to conduct a group activity where they used to remove the undergrowth and building of small houses with small sticks. Erick and his cousin could walk around, running and making noise from all corners of the backyard. Erick also showed communication skills especially to her cousin by showing her to for instance jump up and down. Erick could even hide himself to go and ease himself.

Cognitive skills

The cognitive skills that they portrayed were exceptional. For instance, Erick portrayed a lot of thinking in accomplishing the tasks he was carrying out and trying to find solutions to the problem he encountered. For example, instead of walking a sloppy area, Erick knelt and walked with his four legs because he knew by walking by legs alone, he would fall. I could as well observe Erick pointing out things to his cousin in reference to how his mother and teachers at the preschool had taught him. He could, for instance, differentiate a tree from running water by naming them by their names.

Motor skills

By use of hands in the natural environment, Erick and his cousin did show a lot of motor skills. They were able to perform a number of various tasks. For instance, as the two thought that no one observed them, they spent a lot of time zipping and unzipping their trousers. They as well hide and went on to wash their hands in the running water in the tap. It was so amazing to see the two sit down and compete on how to clap their hands and buttoning and unbuttoning their shirts. Of course, the two carried out a lot of drawings on the soils and the tree leaves. I loved to see Erick use soil and sad to make toys and to mark his face with mud. A lot of music could be heard as the two used the available buckets in the natural environment to make musical noises.

Part two

Under the preschool environment, I had a chance to observe Darnell who was 5 years old. The female child loves to play with her toy cars and as her mother stated, she hates eating. The entire activity took place at Darnells preschool where I had to examine the impact the preschool context had on her. The observation was during the morning break and some few minutes in class. A total of 24 children were present.

The entire preschool environment was an excellent one. The environment encouraged physical activities because it was equipped with inexpensive portable playground equipment of all varieties ranging from children physical games, customized play structures, fitness equipments, and climbing games. The classroom was equipped with various facilities as well such as learning blocks especially the interlocking ones like bristle blocks, magnetic blocks, tinker toys, and construction straws. The class had the nontoxic markers that are washable, glue, crayons, paste, modeling clay, coloring books, and constructions papers.

Motor skills

Darnell portrayed a number of motor skills. For instance, in class, Darnell was able to paste things on the paper just as the teacher instructed. She was able to clap hands when the teacher requested her to do so. Darnell was even able to manipulate pencils and the crayons and she managed to draw and color from the blackboard as well as completing puzzles with ten and more pieces. I cant forget how Darnell went and opened the classroom door after a knock when the teacher requested her to do so. Provided with a piece of paper, Darnell was able to cross onto the paper and even draw circles on the paper.

Cognitive skills

Darnel showed significant cognitive skills where she responded positively by showing learning skills such as paying attention, thinking and memory. With the practice and training that Darnel received from the teacher, she a minute after the other improved her thinking and learning skills. For instance, Darnell showed a lot of attention when the teacher instructed her to take the ball and pass it to the next child. Regardless of the prolonged time that Darnell and other children repeated the same process, she was never disrupted by other environmental factors. Inside the class, Darnell showed good progress in mastering the content from the teacher. She showed a lot of rhythms and catchy sayings and some of the content she even put it into music. For instance, she was able to, through rhythm, master numbers 1 to 3. However, in some cases, she used to forget what number followed what.

Social skills

The social skills that I observed were based on Darnells ability to communicate and interact with the other students (In Arnold, 2016). For instance, I can remember how Darnell used facial expression and gestures to express how bad she felt when she was denied the ball by one of the children on the playing field. Poor Darnell even cried. On the other hand, Darnell could show role play. For instance, when they circled, Darnell was able to introduce herself to the other children when the teacher requested her to do so. Darnel could as well sing songs, she could as well watch other students play and even make some comments concerning how her fellow students performed to the teacher.

References

In Arnold, D. (2016). Preschool children: Social skills, educational development and health disparities.

Ontario, E. S. (2015). PIAAC in Ontario - An Analysis of Cognitive Skills in the Province, 2015. Toronto: Essential Skills Ontario.

White, R. (2017). Helping children to improve their gross motor skills: The stepping stones curriculum.

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