St.Mary's Lab 1

Observe the interaction between St. Mary’s students and your peers (Cortland students). Try to get an idea of the behaviors of the St. Mary’s students – Do they listen well? Do they remain on task? What do they attend to? What motivates them to play?
Most of the students listened well as they were interested, initially, in who we were and what we had to say. They did have a hard time remaining on task both in activity and conversations. They attend to their needs and interests as these are more important than their peers needs. Many of the conversations in the cafeteria were interrupted as they all wanted to be heard. The motivation to play came from within. If they wanted to play then they would. If they did not want to then they were difficult to encourage joining the group as they looked for another activity that interested them.

1. Based upon observation, what are the differences in motor behavior and social between the St. Mary’s students you observed? What differences did you observe between grade levels, gender, and ability? Do you think that grade level, gender, and ability have any influence on motor behavior?
The kids that I worked with today were between the ages of three and four years of age (Pre-K) and I stayed with them throughout the day. The gender did not appear to have any effect on the motor behavior of these children, however socially the girls seemed to be more talkative and more open to work in groups. Most of the motor behavior that I observed during variations of the “50 yard scream” had children performing at what I would determine to be between the initial and elementary stage of development.



2. Based upon your observation, what fine motor activities did you observe (describe these) when watching the St. Mary’s students? Were there differences between age? Gender? Ability?
As I discussed in the previous paragraph there was not much difference in the pre-K children. From last weeks visit, however, there was a big difference between the pre-K children and the third and fourth graders that I spent time with. Running as well as throwing mechanics were more advanced for the older children, with flight during running and being the biggest difference that I observed from a motor activity standpoint. Gender differences were again minimal.