Watch the video "Babies" a 2010 documentary by filmmaker Thomas Balmes. The video charts the early development of four babies from different parts of the world illustrating what makes life unique and similar regardless of where it occurs. He films a baby named Hattie from San Francisco, Ponijao from Namibia, Bayarjargal from Mongolia, and Mari from Tokyo. The video can be found in public libraries, CSU library, Redbox, Netflix, iTunes-Movies, YouTube-Movies, purchased, or online with your EID and media number (D429) at https://secure.colostate.edu/dana/home/launch.cgi?url=http%3A%2F%2Fvideoplay.colostate.edu.
Pay specific attention to the 3 babies being raised outside of the United States. For this assignment, you don't need to include anything about the baby from the United States. Compare the 3 babies' development in physical, cognitive, and social/emotional areas. You should have 9 observations all together for those babies. How is development similar or different among the 3 babies?
Review infancy and toddlerhood development from Chapter 5 to 7. How does the textbook support or conflict with your observation? Use information in the textbook to make connections between the three areas of development and your observations.
Review the ecological systems theory from Chapter 1 (page 25 to 27). Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory is a useful conceptualization of the potential impact that different levels of the environment can have on a baby's development. He describes five levels (microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem) that he sees playing a critical role in the development of every baby. Compare the 3 babies' environments that they are being raised in. Write about how you think the differences in their environments might impact their physical, cognitive, and social/emotional development. Note if you can see whether the varied environments have affected them differently or not.
Your paper should be 4-6 pages long not including title and reference pages. Papers will be submitted electronically on RamCT Blackboard and need to be saved as a Microsoft Word (.doc) or (.docx) document.
Your paper will be graded on how well you tie your observations to specific areas of development and the appropriate application of Bronfrenbrenners theory.
Baby comparison/observations (30%). This should be a clear and concise summary of your observation. Please make sure that you include specific descriptions of behaviors, interactions, contexts, etc. This should be no more than 2 pages long.
Integration of course material (30%). Please use information from the text to connect with your observation on babies' development in various areas. This section should be about 1-2 pages long.
Apply ecological systems theory (30%). Explain the theoretical perspective and define/discuss how the concepts are relevant to your observation. Please give examples from your observation to support your reasoning. This section should be about 1-2 pages.
APA/style (5%). Please use APA format, 1 inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and double-spacing.
Writing quality (5%). Please proofread to ensure correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and page limit.