As the final submission in this course you will prepare a topical reflection project on a developmental area or concern that is of interest to you. your topic should be focusing on infants or children. I attached the rubric for this project. 

As the final submission in this course you will prepare a topical reflection project on a developmental area or concern that is of interest to you. your topic should be focusing on infants or children. I attached the rubric for this project.

This project will have three parts that will be combined into ONE comprehensive 7-10 page, APA style paper with three sections:

Part 1:  A 2-3 page summary and reflection of an observation (of a child).

Part 2:  A 1-2 page review of a book, website or other resources (TED talk, etc.)  on a particular developmental topic.

Part 3:  A 3-5 page topical paper over a “hot topic” or “current issue” you might read about in your book, see a news report on or a social media article. This should be a focused topic like: “Interventions for a child with dyslexia”.

Sample Projects 

Below are some examples and ideas from other students’ projects in the past. Please use them to help brainstorm your project.

Pre-natal/Newborn Ideas

  1. Part 2 example:  Watch The Business of Being Born (available on streaming services). Write a summary of the documentary, what you learned, what troubled/surprised you, and give me a critical analysis of the content. Also, tell me if this info and what we have learned in class change some of your personal thoughts on childbirth.
  2. Part 2 example:  Visit the website https://www.babycenter.com and play with the pregnancy/development tools. You are welcome to even set up your own “pregnancy” and follow your “pregnancy” throughout the semester (this might also be a good tool for your My Child project). After you are finished give me an analysis of the site: Is it accurate and helpful? What are some of the best parts? What would you add or edit? What is the danger of using “discussion boards” for pregnancy information?
  3. Part 1 example: Take a Labor and Delivery hospital tour. Contact one of the local hospitals and participate in a Labor and Delivery Tour. Listen to questions of expectant parents, ask questions of your own BUT be respectful and please represent Maryville in a positive way. After, give an overview of the policies of the hospital, how you felt on the tour, and positives and negatives.

Infant/Toddler Ideas

  1. Part 1 example:  Observe an Infant or Toddler. For this activity, you need to find a child to observe for at least one hour. During this time you will need to take notes about the child’s activities. From your notes write up a 1-2 page report on this child’s developmental progress. You must include the stage of development according to Piaget, Erikson, Vygotsky and Freud, an educated guess on Attachment Style, as well as a discussion about the child’s temperament, risks, and resiliencies.
  2. Part 2 example:  Explore the https://www.talaris.org website and their sister site https://www.parentingcounts.org Explore their tools and research and give me a summary of what was the most interesting, the most useful, the most confusing, and the least helpful parts of these sites. Would you refer a parent there? Why/Why not. After reading, what do you think is the MOST important thing a parent should do?
  3. Part 1 example:  Interview a parent or grandparent about you as an infant or child. For this activity, you need to schedule an in-depth interview. During this time you will need to ask the caregiver about how you reacted in certain situations, your likes, and dislikes and the hardest/best things about raising you. From your notes write up a 1-2 page report on your own risks and resiliencies as a child including your attachment style. You must include the stage of development according to Piaget, Erikson, Vygotsky, and Freud.

Preschool Ideas

  1. Part 1 example:  Observe a Child in Preschool. For this activity, you need to find a child to observe for at least one hour (I will schedule times to watch my children if you prefer). During this time you will need to take notes about the child’s activities.  From your notes write up a 1-2 page report on this child’s developmental progress. You must include the stage of development according to Piaget, Erikson, Vygotsky and Freud, an educated guess on Attachment Style, as well as a discussion about the child’s temperament, risks, and resiliencies.
  2. Part 2 example:  Parenting Books. Visit the “parenting” section of the bookstore or library and thumb through several of the books. Make a list of the ones that you think have the best information and the ones that you think parents might want to skip over. Tell me why (or why not) you think these are good resources and whether the author has credentials you trust.

School-Aged Children Ideas

  1. Part 2 example: Interview a Child (ages 7-10). For this activity, you need to schedule an in-depth interview. During this time you will need to ask the child about their life, their likes and dislikes and perhaps put them through a series of developmental tests. From your notes write up a 1-2 page report on this child’s developmental progress. You must include the stage of development according to Piaget, Erikson, Vygotsky and Freud, their status of moral development, as well as a discussion about the child’s temperament, risks and resiliencies.
  2. Part 2 example:  Watch the documentary https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/weight-nation-children-crisis/  Write a summary of the documentary, what you learned, what troubled/surprised you, and give me a critical analysis of the content. Also, tell me if this info and what we have learned in this class change some of your personal thoughts on childhood obesity and what you think needs to be done to prevent it/treat it.
  3. Part 2 example: Google “Bullying”. Explore some of the first page hits. Give me a list of websites and a critical analysis of at least one of the websites you visit. explore their tools and research and give me a summary of what was the most interesting, the most useful, the most confusing, and the least helpful parts of these sites. Would you refer a parent there? Why/Why not. After reading and our class discussions, what do you think is the MOST important thing a parent should do if his/her child is being bullied?
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    ReflectionProjectRubric.pdf