Child’s Cognitive Development Evaluation and Methods

Evaluation- Cognitive

The aim of this observation is to examine ‘TC’ from the point of view of her cognitive development. “Cognitive development is the development of each of the following: Imagination, Creativity, Memory skills, Concentration skills, Problem-solving skills, Concept formation”(Flood, p85).

A good example of imagination in ‘TC’ would have been if she had copied ‘As’ actions in the example above, this was not witnessed during this observation. This is not to say that she cannot do this, it was just not observed at this time. ‘TC’ used her imagination when she was able to realise that when the brick was dropped, it was not gone, and looked for it and picked it up. When ‘TC’ is looking towards the hallway trying to locate the source of the noise is an example of her imagination being active, as she was curious to see what was causing the noise.

“Creativity is the expression of imaginative ideas in a unique and personal way.” (Flood, p86). It is not possible to give an example of ‘Tcs’ creativity in this evaluation as it was not observed. To help encourage creativity in ‘TC’ can be done by having a space that is inviting with age appropriate toys in a number of shapes, colours, sizes and textures. Everyday objects, such as, wooden spoons, plastic containers, and cups can stimulate creativity and curiosity.

Memory skills are one of the easier skills to recognise in a 6 month old, as there is clear evidence that the child is using memory e.g.

• when they recognise their mother and their care givers
• They repeat the same vowel sounds e.g. mama
• When they see an object that is familiar to them and they like, they will let the caregiver know that they want it.

In the above observation ‘TC’ is recorded saying the vowel sounds ‘mama’ repeatedly, after ‘A’ has said them to her first; she also shows that she recognises her mother when her mother picks her up she is comforted and stops crying.

‘TC’ demonstrates her ability to concentrate when she is watching the brick, observing it fall and then picking it up. Secondly, when she listens to ‘A’ say ‘mama’ and she repeats it, this demonstrates concentration. These games are very good for ‘TC’s concentration and will help to develop it further.

The example in which ‘TC’ is looking at her image in the mirror is a demonstration of her problem-solving which is another important aspect of cognitve development. Babies are constantly problem-solving in their day to day lives, because that is how they learn about the world they live in. ‘TC’ bangs the mirror realising that the baby she is seeing is a hard surface and does not have a face and hair that she can take hold off and put into her mouth as she normally would. ‘TC’ will eventually learn that the baby is an image of herself, but this will take another few attempts at grasping at the baby in the mirror before she realises the reality of the situation.

These everyday repetitive situations help ‘TC’ to develop her problem-solving skills. “Children begin to be able to mentally predict what may happen. This is called the hypothesis approach to problem-solving.”(Flood, p90)

‘TC’ is to young to observe concept formation as we would need her to be able to verbalise her ideas about the world. A good way to develop ‘TC’ concept formation is describe and discuss objects and animals in her everyday life.

‘TC’ is only 6 months, but using the milestones identified by the experts, I believe that ‘TC’ is developing normally in the cognitive category.