Child Development Principles and Theories

Today’s Learning Outcomes

Describe the areas and principles of development.

Define windows of opportunity as related to brain development.

No Two Children Are Alike

Care givers must create an environment that is predictable and

nurturing for all children

Child Development

• Development – change or growth that occurs in children

• Infant – Birth to One• Toddler – One to Three • Preschooler – Three to Six

Areas of Development

• Physical – body changes– Gross-motor – large muscles– Fine-motor – small muscles

• Cognitive – processes people use to gain knowledge – Language, thought, reasoning,

imagination

• Social-emotional – learning to relate to others and expressing your own feelings

• Development in one area can greatly influence another area

Principles of Development

• Cephalocaudal – development starts with the head and moves down

• Proximodistal – development starts from the middle and moves out

• Maturation – the sequence of biological changes in children.

Brain Development

• Nature vs.. Nurture • The most rapid development

occurs during the first three years!

Brain Development

• Neurons – specialized nerve cells that are contained in the brain

• Synapses – connections between the neurons.

Brain Development

• Overstimulation – a flood of sounds or sights may cause stress to a child

• Cortisol – steroid produced by the body during stress

• Over a long length of time, cortisol can lead to problems with memory and regulating emotions

Windows of opportunity

• Specific span of time for the normal development of certain types of skills.

Windows of Opportunity

Brain Function Approximate Window

Vision Birth to 6 months

Motor Development Prenatal to 8 years

Emotional control Birth to 3 years

Vocabulary/Speech Birth to 3 years

Math/logic 1to 4 years

Remember the Learning Outcomes

Describe the areas and principles of development.

Define windows of opportunity as related to brain development.

Theories of Development

Theory – a principle or idea that is proposed, researched, and generally accepted as an explanation.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory

• Development occurs throughout life• Children’s personalities develop in

response to their social environment • Social conflict or crisis occurs in

eight stages • They require solutions that are

satisfying both personally and socially

• They must be resolved before moving on

Trust vs.. Mistrust

• Children learn to trust or mistrust their environment

• Trust– Basic needs met consistently

• Mistrust– Basic needs are not met

Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

• Eighteen months and three years

• Autonomy – Independent and do things for

themselves

• Shame & Doubt – Overprotection or lack of

adequate activities

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvX9FbXY_C8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkjLXGKOujk

Industry vs. Inferiority

• Six and Twelve years• Learn societies expectations

and rules

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory

• Predictable cognitive stages• Thinking is different during each

stage of development • Knowledge is gathered gradually

during active involvement in real-life experiences

• Schemata –mental representations or concepts

• Adaptation – mentally organizing what they perceive in their environment.

Adaption of information

• Assimilation – taking in new information and adding it to what the child already knows.

• Accommodation – adjusting what is already known to fit the new information

Assimilation

• Cows are black and white. • Cows moo.• Dogs are brown. • Dogs bark.

Adaption

Stage 1 – Sensorimotor

Birth to two years old

Use all of their senses to explore and learn.

Preoperational Stage

• Two and Seven-years-old• Egocentric – others see the

world the way they do!• Conservation – physical

appearance may change but the amount does not.

Preoperational

Concrete Operations

• Seven to Eleven-years-old• Think systematically • Reversing operations

Formal Operations

• Eleven to adulthood• Think in abstract ways

– Freedom– Equality– Algebra??

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRF27F2bn-A

Vygotsky Sociocultural Theory

Vygotsky

• Children learn thought social and cultural experiences

• Private speech – “think out loud”

• Zone of Proximal Development - Learning as a scale

• Scaffolding – frame work to help a child understand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B37yJxFkQ8o&feature=player_embedded

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLLVYx0IPPU

Multiple Intelligences

• There are different kinds of intelligences used by the human brain

• Potential intelligence will not develop unless it is nurtured

Bodily-Kinesthetic

• Ability to control body movements. • Enjoy sports, dance, or creative

drama• Benefit from creative movement• Learn through sensation

– Create with their hands– Sensory boxes

• Physical Gross-motor development

Musical-Rhythmic

• Ability to recognize musical patterns and produce and appreciate music

• Love to listen to music• Use song for directions and

moving children from one task to another.

• Play background music

Logical-Mathematical

• Ability to use logic and reason to solve problems.

• Likes to explore categories, patterns, and cause and effect

• Use activities like: blocks, matching, counting, problem-solving books

Verbal-Linguistic

• Ability to use language for expression

• Have a sensitivity to the meaning, sound, and rhythm of words.

• Learn by talking, listening, reading and writing.

Interpersonal

• Excellent communication and social skills

• Understand feelings, behaviors, moods, and motives of others.

• Make friends easily • Uses their interaction with

others to learn

Intrapersonal

• Ability to understand the inner self

• Knows their skills, limits, and feelings.

• Understanding their desires and motives

Visual-Spatial

• Use their vision to develop mental images

• Prefer pictures and images • Provide children with

unstructured materials

Naturalistic

• Developed from the need to survive

• Ability to classify objects in nature such as animals and plants

• Provide cooking activities and nature walks

• Use their senses together information

How do they all work?

Mathematical

Musical I

Verbal I

Visual I

Interpersonal IIII

Intrapersonal I

Body II

Natuaralistic