Child DevelopmentBy: Amber Meyer

Child Development

Development refers to change or growth that occurs in children.

It starts with infancy and continues to adulthood

Role of the Brain in Learning Development

Most learning involves changes in neurons and synapse

Development changes in the brain enable increase thought

Brain remains adaptable throughout life

Many parts of the brain work in harmony to enable complex thinking and behavior

Piaget

Cognitive Theorist Theorized 4 stages of development

› Sensory motor (birth-age 2) Physical motor

› Pre-operational (age 2 - 7) Language, symbols and letters

› Concrete operational (age 7 – 11) Logic and organization

› Formal operational ( age 11 – death)

Piaget’s Terms

Schema: Ways in which children make sense of the world

Assimilation: Fitting new information into an existing schema.

Accommodation: Changing a schema to fit new information.

Equilibration: Explanation of cognitive shift (qualitative) from one stage of thought to the next

Disequilibrium: cognitive conflict motivation for change

Equilibrium: resolve conflict through assimilation and accommodation, to reach a new balance of thought

Vygotsky

Extends Piaget’s work

Based on language andsocial interactions

Vygotsky

What a child can do with assistance

Scaffolding

Peer assistance

Vygotsky

Helps guide behavior› Used more when tasks are difficult,

after errors, or when confused

Gradually becomes more silent› Children with learning and behavior

problems use longer

Kohlberg

Stages of Moral Reasoning› Premoral

pleasant or unpleasant consequences of actions physical power of those who impose the rules.

› Conventional role Confirmity Moral values reside in performing the right role, in

maintaining the conventional order and expectancies of others as a value in its own right.

› Self accepted Moral Principles conformity to shared standards,rights, or duties apart

from supporting authority. action-decisions are based on an inner process of

thought and judgement concerning right and wrong.

Piaget Cross-cultural Environment dependent Focus on infants and young

children Developmental ages and

stages

Vygosky Helps explain cultural

diversity in cognition Emphasizes importance

of teaching Says little about

biological contributions to cognition

Vague in explanation of change

Kohlberg pleasant or

unpleasant consequences of actions

Best interests for a child.

Principles and Assumptions

Infl

uen

ce o

f the

en

viro

nm

en

t

Ed

ucatio

nal Im

pactio

ns

Exam

ple

:

Create a classroom environment that fosters desirable student behaviors

When a student consistently has trouble working independently, praise her inconspicuously every time she completes and assignment without having to be prompted.

Learn

ing

as a

beh

avio

r ch

an

ge

Educa

tional Im

paca

tions:

Exam

ple

:

Conclude that learning has occurred only when students exhibit a change in classroom performance

Regularly assess students’ learning, and look for ongoing progress in what they know and can do.

Focu

s o

n o

bserv

ab

le e

ven

ts

(stim

uli a

nd

resp

on

ses)

Educa

tional Im

plica

tion:

Exam

ple

:

Identify specific stimuli (including your own actions as a teacher) that may be influencing students’ behaviors.

If a student frequently engages in disruptive classroom behavior, consider whether you might be encouraging such behavior by giving him attention every time he misbehaves.

Con

tigu

ity o

f even

ts

Educa

tional Im

plica

tions:

Exam

ple

s:

If you want students to associate two events (stimuli, responses, or stimulus and response), make sure those events occur close together in time.

Include enjoyable yet educational activities in each day’s schedule as a way of helping students associate school subject matter with pleasurable feelings.

Sim

ilarity

of le

arn

ing

p

rincip

les a

cro

ss s

pecie

s

Educa

tional Im

plica

tion:

Exam

ple

:

Remember that research with nonhuman species often has relevance for classroom practice.

Reinforce hyperactive students for sitting quietly for successively longer time periods—a shaping process based on early research studies with rats and pigeons.