ng a pen and paper observation reporting technique, each of the four subjects was observed for a period of a half-hour. The researcher did not introduce herself to the subjects or participate in the classroom activities at any time. This represents a form of unobtrusive analysis.
The theories used in the observation are those of the Vygotsky, Piaget, habituation and dishabituation, appearance/reality distinction, and subjective expected utility. Each theory is used in the next section of this report to describe the observed behaviors for each of the four subjects.
Bjorklund (2000) maintains that Lev Vygotsky emphasized that development is guided by adults interacting with children, with a cultural context determining largely how, where, and when these interactions take place. Vygotsky further proposed that cognitive development takes place in situations in which a child's problem solving is guided by an adult. In other words, Vygotsky saw children's development as embedded in a culture and proceeding as children are guided through life in collaboration with others.
In the case of Jason, the 18 month-old toddler, the observation focused on assessing Jason's interaction with a caretaker and two other toddlers during guided play. Jason interacted comfortably with the adult, following instructions while picking up specific toys after being asked to. Jason was more interested in the adult caretaker than in other toddlers.
The second child observed was Sue, a 6 year-old who was identified making a drawing in a supervised group of students attending the day care center after school hours. Sue was focused on completing the drawing which she described as a picture of her family's kitchen. Vygotsky suggested that as of the early school years, children begin to scaffold while working in their zone of proximal development (Bjorklund, 2000). Sue was observed using fact retrieval to accurately depict the items found...