project 2

B. Interview/Observation Paper 2: choose 1 child from the group below

· Middle Childhood/School Age (6-12 years old): performance on preoperational tasks (may be appropriate for younger, transitioning children); understanding of various concrete operations: seriation, reversibility, identity, compensation, class inclusion; language development; self-concept; friendships and peer status; effects of family structure; sex-typed play and preferences; memory strategies & other information processing skills; sibling relationships; achievement attributions; parenting style

II. Conducting the Interview : Before conducting each interview or observation, be sure to explain the purpose of the project to the child’s parents. Depending on the age of the child, you should also offer some explanation to children about what you are doing. It is fine if parents want to look over your questions in advance. Also, tell the child and parent that their participation is anonymous and confidential and that only first names or fictional names will be reported in your paper. You should not share any information obtained about the child with anyone other than the professor for the purpose of this paper. Be careful to avoid any questions that might make the person uncomfortable (e.g., questions about death, divorce, or parental strife). Skip questions your child seems unable to answer or does not feel comfortable answering.

III. Writing the Paper : Write the papers paragraph format (NOT question and answer format). The first paragraph of each paper should include information about the child who you interviewed. You should include the child’s first name (real or otherwise), family structure, age, sex, etc. How do you know this child/family and for how long? When and where was the interview/observation conducted?

Next, the crux of your paper will include your observations and insights based on the questions asked. Be specific about what you wanted to learn by asking each question (i.e., what was the purpose of each question?), how you went about getting at this information, and what you ultimately learned; relate what you observed to what you have learned in class and what is in the textbook (i.e., how the information fits in with certain theories). You should have a theoretical reason for asking each of your questions. Your paper doesn’t necessarily need to include every question and answer from your interview, but you should be thorough. Do not simply include your questions and answers verbatim in the paper.

Finally, your last paragraph should be a conclusion/summary about what you learned about this child. Where would you place this child developmentally and why? Is the child’s development consistent with his or her age? What contextual factors may have influenced (positively or negatively) his or her development? How did observing this child help with your understanding of child development at this age?

SCORE	POINTS	HOW SCORE IS DETERMINED
5	100	Paper (a) follows project guidelines, (b) integrates material from the textbook, (c) is theoretical, (d) has good organization, (e) includes error-free writing, (f) meets length guidelines (3 typed pages of text minimum), (g) is based on relevant, age-appropriate questions/observations, (h) includes a copy of the questions.
4	90	Missing one to two of the above criteria
3	80	Missing three or four of the above criteria
2	70	Missing four or more of the above criteria
1	60	Addresses the spirit of instructions, but includes few of the above criteria
0	0	No paper turned in or paper is not acceptable.