In the article “How do you learn to walk? Thousands of steps and dozens of falls per day”, experimental research was done to find an answer to how infants learn to walk. Previous research was conducted on this topic, but it did not show anything about how much or how far infants walk, how often they fall, what makes them continue walking after falling, and how these abilities change with development. Researchers have simply focused on the structure of postures from a crawling to an upright walking position and the regular steps of infants on open grounds where they have to use natural locomotion, or the natural ability to move. This process is known as periodic gait. The experiment does not have a specific hypothesis because learning mechanisms
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Researchers put a mixture of crawlers and walkers in a lab playroom: 20 crawlers (ages 11.8-12.2 months) and 116 walkers (ages 11.8-19.3). The infants were allowed to move freely throughout this room. To make sure they were getting accurate observations, they observed 15 walking infants (ages 12.8-13.8 months) inside of their own homes. It was advised that the caregivers of these infants act normally. Researchers recorded the infants’ movements in each of the two environments with handheld cameras. This research demonstrated naturalistic observation because the infants’ behaviors were studied by video camera recordings without manipulating the environment that these infants were placed in. After the completion of this lab, another method was used. Infants walked a straight path over a pressure-sensitive mat. Researchers recorded the step length and the step width of the infants, and then estimated the average step length for crawlers. This also demonstrated naturalistic observation because they were observing and obtaining results from this pressure-sensitive mat; however, the infant did not know that the mat had a specific purpose, so the results were not …show more content…
The walkers spent more time in motion, had more steps per hour, and traveled greater distances per hour. Walkers accumulated an average of 1.2 minutes in motion, 12.5m, and 69.2 steps before each fall; whereas crawlers accumulated 1.7 minutes in motion, 8.6m, and 54.7 steps before each fall. Because the crawlers weren’t as active, the fall rate didn’t show much of a difference when it came to falls per distance traveled between the two groups. As for the second method, older infants took longer and narrower steps over the gait carpet, spent more time walking, and had fewer falls during playtime. Younger infants, however, had similar results from the gait carpet to free play. The relation between age and functional skill measures reflect more than overall activity level. Infants who walk more may have more opportunities to fall, but they also begin to be better walkers and fall
Researchers put a mixture of crawlers and walkers in a lab playroom: 20 crawlers (ages 11.8-12.2 months) and 116 walkers (ages 11.8-19.3). The infants were allowed to move freely throughout this room. To make sure they were getting accurate observations, they observed 15 walking infants (ages 12.8-13.8 months) inside of their own homes. It was advised that the caregivers of these infants act normally. Researchers recorded the infants’ movements in each of the two environments with handheld cameras. This research demonstrated naturalistic observation because the infants’ behaviors were studied by video camera recordings without manipulating the environment that these infants were placed in. After the completion of this lab, another method was used. Infants walked a straight path over a pressure-sensitive mat. Researchers recorded the step length and the step width of the infants, and then estimated the average step length for crawlers. This also demonstrated naturalistic observation because they were observing and obtaining results from this pressure-sensitive mat; however, the infant did not know that the mat had a specific purpose, so the results were not …show more content…
The walkers spent more time in motion, had more steps per hour, and traveled greater distances per hour. Walkers accumulated an average of 1.2 minutes in motion, 12.5m, and 69.2 steps before each fall; whereas crawlers accumulated 1.7 minutes in motion, 8.6m, and 54.7 steps before each fall. Because the crawlers weren’t as active, the fall rate didn’t show much of a difference when it came to falls per distance traveled between the two groups. As for the second method, older infants took longer and narrower steps over the gait carpet, spent more time walking, and had fewer falls during playtime. Younger infants, however, had similar results from the gait carpet to free play. The relation between age and functional skill measures reflect more than overall activity level. Infants who walk more may have more opportunities to fall, but they also begin to be better walkers and fall