Ballet Class and Park Play: Child Development Case Study

Introduction and Observation Settings

Situation 1: Ballet Class

The children were practicing in a large dancing hall of a private ballet school when I had the opportunity to observe them. The walls were adorned with large mirrors while the students were practicing; this was the case for both regular sessions and special events. The ages of the group ranged from 4 to 10 years.

Adults were present in the classroom. The class, taken on a weekly basis, provides development for children in a social and creative environment. The presence of adults with children guides the young learners to develop coordination and motor skills, and also builds a relationship between the two by having them spend time together through dancing. The day began with an assembly session and instructions detailing the routine of the practice for dancing classes, which lasted for about half an hour. The children then practiced the explained steps on their own, aided by one teacher, while a second teacher attended to queries made by parents and guardians who raised all kinds of developmental, relationship, and behavioral questions about their children. Teacher–parent interaction increases awareness about child development, participative activities, and the development of communication abilities, and is a thoroughly enjoyable experience for the child (Thompson, Ruthmann, Anttila, & Doan, 2014).

Situation 2: Playing in the Park

The observation for the second situation was conducted in an open public park's play area. The children belonged to the seven-to-eleven years age group. Some children were inhibited and could not take instructions or interact freely with other children without their parents nearby. Their presence was therefore necessary, as I wanted to observe the learning capabilities and inherent skills each child possessed in a normative way. The parents were advised to remain nearby to act as emotional supports for the children and to reassure them when needed.

Ballet Class Observations

What Was Observed

The teacher needs to observe the behavior of children to prescribe the right activities for a particular age group. The general adaptive range across an age group helps the teacher incorporate appropriate activities, even though individual inclinations and capacities may vary to some degree. A teacher therefore takes into consideration the cognitive capacity an age group is capable of when introducing newer steps (Zallen, 2013).

I observed the children going through their training in the ballet class. The children were listening carefully to their teacher and following the actions she was performing. Some children were practicing moves individually in front of a mirror. Julie Fisher (2013) emphasizes the importance of observation if a teacher is to gain a clear picture of the learning potential and needs of students. This idea may not sit comfortably with many dance teachers, as there is often a misconception that if a teacher is not constantly "doing" then they are not "teaching." Fisher describes teacher-intensive, teacher-initiated, and child-initiated approaches to teaching and the need to consider these when structuring the content of a dance class (Royal Academy of Dance, 2015).

Behaviors Observed

Some of the children were concentrating fully on the practice they had been assigned, while those aged 4–5 were mostly looking toward their parents to make sure they had not gone anywhere. Some children were gracefully and with full concentration performing their moves. They displayed confident body language, listened attentively to their teacher, and showed clear motivation to perform the next move. One child was shy and did not want to perform with people watching her, but after her mother came to stand beside her, the girl began applying the techniques being taught.

How These Behaviors Affected the Situation

The behavior of children who did not want to perform in front of others affected the whole session, because the teacher was constantly trying to encourage them to participate. She assigned older children to assist some of the younger ones so that the younger children's reservations could be reduced. This stalled the process somewhat but also helped the situation overall.

Cognitive Development Stage

Children in the two-to-seven years age group are in the second formative stage of cognitive development identified by Piaget. This stage is marked by cognitive awareness and the intelligent use of symbols, encompassing language and comprehension development. It is the pre-operational stage, in which the child can relate to events and objects around them, signifying developing memory and imagination (Lutz & Huitt, 2004).

Why the Cognitive Developmental Stage Affected the Situation

According to Greeno (1989), the complexities of the human–environment relationship are too overwhelming to be fully understood through general cognitive awareness alone. At best, an individual's reactions and responses to a particular situation, and their cognitive abilities, can be appreciated in terms of the capacity to acquire and develop awareness and knowledge (Lutz & Huitt, 2004). The children at this stage require a great deal of adult attention; when that attention is not provided, difficulties for those around them can arise. Learning is the result of the interaction an individual has with the environment, because the child continually wants to pick up and learn from the actions taking place around them.

How the Teacher Interacted with the Children

The teacher tried to pay attention to every child while also encouraging parents to interact with their children, so that the children could learn technique more easily through intimate interaction. The music played at first consisted of well-known children's nursery rhymes. Initially I did not understand the purpose of this choice, but I then noticed the children starting to pay attention and relax. The nursery rhymes were used to put children at ease through their association with home and familiarity. Children grow up listening to these rhymes at home, and hearing them in an unfamiliar setting helps them feel that this new place is welcoming and safe. Every child had one adult with them who had also helped them dress for the class.

The teacher stood at the front of the group, leading the class. I noticed that the matching costumes also comforted children who were attending for the first time. Some of them confidently copied the technique with ease. Consistent recognition from the teacher motivated them to learn more, and the other children looked up to them as well.

Behaviors That Impacted Lesson Delivery

Because some children were on their first day, their shyness was affecting the activities of other children, as the teacher was concentrating on helping the newcomers open up. Children are valuable sources of insight; spending quality time in activities with children provides markers for understanding child behavior and development. Parents and immediate family know details about children that can accelerate our understanding of behavioral traits better than almost anything else, owing to the time they spend together (Royal Academy of Dance, 2015). The presence of a family member therefore helped bring out the real side of the children, allowing me to observe one of the most important techniques for creating comfort in young learners.

How the Teacher Reacted

The teacher remained very calm throughout, because she understood how challenging it can be to work with young children. Rather than forcing the shy children to perform, she gave each one a small booklet and asked them to write or draw anything they wished. This approach both revealed what the child thought of the ballet class and encouraged them to express their creativity in a low-pressure way.

Park Play Observations

What Was Observed

Playing in the open helps children exercise and develop their physical abilities as well as interactive skills with the environment and with other people. Development of motor skills and creative pursuits through activities such as jumping, throwing, running, and inventing variations of games like hide-and-seek and tag are attained alongside risk-taking and social awareness skills (Brotherson, 2009). I observed that the children were engaged in their activities and sharing their toys with other children. The adults present were not interacting directly with the children. The children were playing independently or with one another — some were using the swings and re-enacting superhero scenarios, while others were playing with balls and Frisbees.

Behaviors Observed

Children enjoy playing with toys such as cars and trucks, balls, dress-up clothes, dolls, skipping ropes, blocks, and puzzles. These activities help them learn about the world around them while simultaneously developing people skills. I observed that children found it pleasing to be in the company of others while playing. Attention and self-control emerged as important lessons learned through ball play. Block-building in the sandpit also proved to be an important activity, helping children learn about weight, measure, size, and shape, as well as developing control and coordination (Brotherson, 2009).

How These Behaviors Affected the Situation

Playing is one of the best activities a child can engage in to learn many things simultaneously. No other single activity draws out as much in a child. While playing, children explore activities, engage their imagination to relate to things in a story-like fashion, and at times give in to raw instincts, such as competing with playmates. I observed that they do not like being interrupted or asked to stop when engrossed in play. In the earliest years, an infant explores by chewing a new toy, fascinated by colors and sounds. More skill is required when seeking out imaginative shapes and figures in blocks. Further skills are needed to interact with new playmates. It is therefore essential that parents allow sufficient time for children to engage in play to develop and enhance cognitive and motor skills along with social and interactive abilities (Brotherson, 2009).

Cognitive Development Stage

Children in the seven-to-eleven age group are in the concrete operational stage of development. Here, they learn to present their thoughts coherently and in an integrated fashion. The child can form definite relationships between objects, thoughts, and symbols — language and expression begin to take definite, meaningful structures during this age range. During this span, the child can form independent opinions about objects and activities, and can do so from multidimensional perspectives (Lutz & Huitt, 2004).

Why the Cognitive Developmental Stage Affected the Situation

At this stage, the self-centered way of thinking characteristic of earlier development begins to give way to more accommodative thinking. The ability to make abstractions and extrapolations has not yet fully emerged. Intelligence develops (Lutz & Huitt, 2004) to the point where responses to stimuli become more considered and mature. The children can begin analyzing things from more than one point of view, which starts to have a meaningful bearing on how they engage with their environment.

How Adults Interacted with the Children

The adults in charge allowed the children to play independently, recognizing that constant adult intervention might hinder the construction of the children's social selves. Many children who had initially been playing alone gradually began playing with another child or sharing their toys. This helped them open up to people outside their immediate circle and learn different things from their peers. However, one child wanted his parent to play with him; instead, he was introduced to another child so that he could play with someone his own age and grow comfortable with peers.

Behaviors That Impacted Lesson Delivery

There was no behavior that impacted the delivery of the session, because the children were playing in a natural environment that supported their natural instincts and encouraged them to interact with children of their own age.

How the Adults Reacted

The adults allowed the children to play on their own, which helped the children bring out their creative selves independently.