Name:Ekasatya Aldila Afriansyah
Student Number:F103177
E-mail: e_satya@yahoo.com or E.EkasatyaAldilaAfriansyah@students.uu.nl / Phone: 0645352044
Date of submission:Tuesday, March 8th, 2011
Number of the Task submitted: 1. Observation Report of Video MITC
Name of the Course:Domain Specific Education (DEC course)
Number of pages: One and a half page
File name: DEC Assignment I
Observation Report
A Case Study of”Taking Inventory: Children at work” from CD ROM of MITC Project
A. Introduction
Understanding quantity of numbers is not a simple thing for children. They need a
long process to construct their thinking in counting. There are some steps to understand the
numbers. First, children will tag or touch the object when they count. Second, children use
their finger to point out the object one by one. After that, children use their visualization by
looking the object only. Fourth, they use their imagination to describe the object without
seeing the real object. The last, children construct the numbers in their mind without
imagining the object – mental image.
Teacher has a great role to help the children at school to develop their understanding
of organizing their counting. There are many ways constructing students’ thinking. Mostly,
children work with their friends, we often see those children are sharing the ideas among
them. In this case, Jodi Weisbart as a K-1 classroom teacher introduces the context of
inventory. Jodi has a broader pedagogical and mathematical goal – to figure out the children
strategies in solving problem, to make them working cooperatively with their partner, to
work on their own level, to record the amount of the objects, and to make representation of
the result.
B. Observational Question
How do the children organize their material?
C. Purpose of the Observation
The purpose of this observation is to figure out what is the result of the development
of an understanding in number by influencing the students to construct their understanding
about grouping.
D. Description of Activity
From the observation it can be found that children use different method to
understand numbers. For example in snap cube table area, Donna organizes the cubes
within same color in order to make counting becomes easy for him. However, Amanda
organizes the cubes in grouping of ten so that she can count it easily and fast.
While in bookshelves area, Justin and Sierra count the amount of books separately
between Clifford book and Arthur book. Accidently, they get the number of ten from the
amount of one kind of books. It makes them easier to decide ´How many books are there´.
Then Jodi asked them to make representation of it.
Meanwhile, in block area, Declan counts the block smoothly but without structuring
in his working. After Jodi gives a help, Declan along with his friend can count with group of
five (even though failed) and group of ten. But in the end, they confuse with the writing of
27th number. They make a conclusion that 7 is in the front of 2 and writing down 7 oppositely
also. In paper bags table area, Isa and Eli are counting one by one in grouping of ten. Sharing
idea is happened here when Isa has made a conclusion incorrectly, but Eli directly fixed it.
E. Conclusion
The observation leads into a conclusion that children can construct their
understanding of numbers in different ways. They can construct a structuring idea to get the
amount of the objects that they count. In some case from the CD, we can see different
strategy such as counting ordering of ten, counting one by one in grouping of five or ten, and
also packs of things that are filled by 10th number as a tenth.
