Child Development and How Children Learn

Caroline Bishop – Support and Intervention Consultan t AngelaTarrant - Support and Intervention Consultant

Aims• To explore stages of child development and ways

in which children learn.

• To know how educational theory relates to developmental stages.

• To identify how child development can be influenced by a range of external factors.

Activity

Why is knowledge of child development important?

In `Early childhood studies’ (2007: p34) Mary Wild quotes that “without some theoretical understanding the danger is that, at best, we do things in particular ways out of professional habit and thereby run the risk of not providing as worthwhile a learning experience as we could.”

Jean Piaget (1896 -1980)There Are Three Basic Components To Piaget's Cognitive Theory:Stages of Development:

– sensorimotor,– preoperational,– concrete operational,– formal operational.

Schemas•(building blocks of knowledge).Adaptation processes that enable the transition fro m one stage to another (equilibrium, assimilation and accommodation).

“Parental interest in their child’s education has four times more influence on attainment at 16 than socio-economic background.”(L Feinstein & J Symons 1999)

Three-way partnership

• All parents can enhance their child’s development and learning.

• Parents have the right to play a central role in making decisions about their child’s care and education at every level.

• Successful relationships between parents and educators can have long-lasting and beneficial effects on children’s learning and well-being.

• Successful relationships become partnerships when there is two-way communication and parents and practitioners really listen to each other and value each other’s views and support in achieving the best outcomes for each child.

(EYFS – Effective practice-Parents as partners 2007)

Definition of DevelopmentDevelopment is concerned with the possession of skills.

• ‘Cognitive development is about the way our thought processes develop. It is about the ways in which we organise our thinking and come to an understanding of our environment.’ (Tassoni, Beith and Eldridge, 1998)

• Physical development proceeds in a set order, with simple behaviours occurring before more complex skills – for example a child will sit before he or she stands.’ Bruce, T and Meggitt, C. (1996) Child Care and Education. Hodder and Stoughton.

• Development also includes the acquisition of linguistic and social and emotional skills.

Cognitive Development -Brain science

Brains aren’t born. They’re built”.

‘Brains aren’t born. They’re built’New Scientist

Developmental Stages of Play

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing”.

George Bernard Shaw

Jerome Bruner (1915 - 2016)

Benefits of Play in Children’s Development

As an essential part of childhood, studies have shown that play has a positive impact on children’s overall development. The positive benefits of play on a child’s social/emotional, physical, cognitive, language and literacy development have been well documented .

(Ginsburg, 2007; Pronin Fromberg, 2002; Roskos & Christie, 2000; Zigler, Singer, & Bishop-Josef, 2004).

The environment is the third teacher• The environment is recognised for its potential to

inspire children. An environment filled with natural light, order and beauty. Open spaces free from clutter, where every material is considered for its purpose, every corner is ever-evolving to encourage children to delve deeper and deeper into their interests.

• The space encourages collaboration, communication and exploration. The space respects children as capable by providing them with authentic materials & tools. The space is cared for by the children and the adults.

(Reggio Emilia Approach)

What characteristics do you use when you’re motivated?

Characteristics of Effective Learning

“Learning is not something that is done to someone, but is achieved through active involvement of the learner. And the most effective learning involves not simple participation emotionally, mentally and – in the case of young children at least –physically. Learning is strongest when the learner also commits real energy, focuses towards a goal and demonstrates the tenacity to reach it. This active, energetic participation is the learner exhibiting the will to learn. In other words, the active learner is exercising a strong motivation for learning. “

Investigations• Which characteristics of

learning could be developed though these types of activities?

• How does this relate to cognitive development for your class?

• How could you include differentiation in these activities?

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” Plato -428BC

“Do not keep children to their studies by compulsion but by play.”

Lev Vygotsky (1896 -1934)Like Piaget, Vygotsky claimed that infants are born with the basic materials/abilities for intellectual development - Piaget focuses on motor reflexes and sensory abilities.

Lev Vygotsky refers to 'elementary mental functions' –• Attention • Sensation• Perception• Memory

Mnemonics

Big ElephantsCauseAccidentsUnderSmallElephants

Benjamin Bloom (1913 -1999)

Carol Dweck (1946 - )

Mindset – The power of praise

Powerful praise

Importance of Encouraging Risk Taking

Sustained shared thinking

“An episode in which two or more individuals “work together” in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend understanding.”

Siraj-Blatchford et al., REPEY, DfES2002

Physical Development - Children need to move.

Margaret Donaldson describes movement as “thought in action”(1978)Body and brain develop together, and physical development occurs through using the body, moving it in space and gravity. (White, 2012) Movement gives youngsters the muscle control needed for sitting still. An expert on reading difficulties explains, “Those children who are unable to stay still are showing their balance and motor systems are not yet sufficiently mature...” (Goddard Blythe, 2005) At some schools each day begins with active physical play as many children have been seated in vehicles for some time before arrival.

Gross and fine motor skills

Schema

Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Social and Emotional development

John Bowlby (1907 -1990)

‘A bond which ties’ John Bowlby

A knotty problem…

Questions