Chapter 4 Developmental and Learning Theories · Theories of Development and Learning u How do children develop? u What do children learn, and in what order? u What do people need

Chapter 4 Developmental and

Learning Theories

©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Theories of Development and Learning u  How do children develop? u  What do children learn, and in what

order? u  What do people need to be ready to

learn? u  What affects learning? u  Do all people develop in the same ways? u  What are the similarities and differences

in growth and development? ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Perspectives on Development

u  Theories provide broad and consistent views of the complexity of human development

u  Hypotheses allow us to make educated guesses about children’s behavior and development


Nature of Development

u Physical Motor Development

u  Intellectual Development

u Affective Development


Major Issues in Development

u  Is children’s development due more to maturation or experience?

u  Is growth smooth and continuous, or is it more stage-like?

u  What can theory and research do for early childhood educators?


Psychoanalytic Theory u  Freud’s Theory of Psychosocial Development

u Unconscious motives u Early years influence later years u Libido u Stages

u Oral

u Anal

u Phallic u Latency

u Genital ©2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved.

Erik Erikson u  Trust versus mistrust u  Autonomy versus shame and doubt u  Initiative versus guilt u  Industry versus inferiority u  Identity versus role confusion u  Intimacy versus isolation u  Generativity versus stagnation u  Ego integrity versus despair


Behaviorist u  Five theorists: Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike,

Skinner, and Bandura

u  Stimuli-responses—reinforcement

u  Observable/verifiable

u  Learned behavior—modeling

u  Conditioning—learning process


Theory of Behaviorism and Learning

u Classical Conditioning

u Reflexes simultaneously paired with responses

u Generalization

u Discrimination


Operant Conditioning

u  Particular responses learned because of rewards

u  Reinforcement

u Stimulus → response → reinforcement

u Positive or negative

u  Punishments


Operant Conditioning (cont.) u  Shaping

u  Behavior modification

u  Voluntary

u  Learn through reinforcement

u  Modeling


Cognitive Theories of Piaget

u  Schemas u  Mental concepts

u  Assimilation u  Making information fit

u  Accommodation u  Changing information to fit

u  Equilibrium u  Mental balance of information


Cognitive Theories of Piaget

u  Stages u  Sensorimotor, zero to one-and-a-half to two

years

u  Preoperational, 2 to 6 or 7 years

u  Concrete operations, 6 to 12 years

u  Formal operations, 12 years to adulthood


Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development u  Dependent on both maturational and

environmental factors u  Thinking and learning are a process of

interaction of the child and the environment

u  Children construct knowledge based on innate cognitive structure and experiences


Piaget’s Stages in Early Childhood u  Sensorimotor: birth to 18 months to

two years u  Use of inherent reflexes at birth u  Object permanence learned by experience

by age of one u  Movement from accidental to intentional u  Coordinates perceptual motor functions u  Learns simple relationships of means to

ends u  Beginning symbolic behavior


Piaget’s Stages in Early Childhood (cont.) u  Preoperational: two to six or seven

u  Gradual acquisition of language u  Symbolic play

u  Egocentric

u  Physical attributes of an object only

u  Ability to conserve is developing slowly u Quantity and size relationships

u  Inability to understand the whole and relationship to its parts


Piaget’s Stages in Primary Years u  Concrete operational

u Begins to conserve

u Can understand several attributes of an object

u Understands rules

u Can understand other points of view but is reality based

u Mental representations of objects


Sociocultural Theory

u  Zone of proximal development u Asking the right questions u Planning for experiences

u  Scaffolding u Social collaboration interaction u Fantasy play

u  Piaget and Vygotsky u Constructivist


Ecological Theory u  Based on the idea that the environment

greatly influences a child’s development

u  The four systems of Bronfenbrenner’s model

u Exosystem (community)

u Macrosystem (social conditions)

u Microsystem (individual family or program)

u Chronosystem (when the child lives)


Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences u  Human competence is a set of abilities

and talents u  Musical intelligence u  Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence u  Logical-Mathematical intelligence u  Linguistic intelligence u  Spatial intelligence u  Interpersonal intelligence u  Intrapersonal intelligence u  Naturalistic intelligence


Maturation Theory

u  Developed by Arnold Gesell

u  Establishes norms for areas of growth and associated behaviors

u  Provides guidelines for how children mature

u  Used to develop Word Pictures


Maslow’s Humanistic Theory u  Motivation of people is hierarchy of

basic and growth needs u  Physiological u  Safety and security

u  Love and belonging

u  Self-esteem and respect

u  Meaningfulness and self-sufficiency

u  Basic needs of a child must be met before a teacher can address learning


Key Developmental topics for Early Childhood Education

u  Identity

u  Definition


Ethnicity and Cultural Diversity u  Many children of one cultural group are being

taught or cared for by members of another cultural group

u  Four problems u  Different languages u  Expectations based on culture u  Different behavior styles

u  Insufficient recognition or respect for diverse cultural groups in standardized testing and assessments

u  General labels encompass critically different cultures (e.g., “Hispanic”)


Gender Differences u  Gender is the concept of being male or

female u  Sex is the physical male/female

determination u  Gender identity around two to three years u  Sex-typed behaviors u  Research indicates no significant

difference in intelligence between girls and boys

u  Socialization accounts for most sex-typed behaviors

u  Males grow larger, are less likely to develop physical or mental disorders, and show less self-regulation than females


Attachment u  Bowlby and Ainsworth

u  Infants send signals to caregivers

u  Synchrony, or “dance”

u  Stimulation

u  Positive attitude

u  Emotional support

u  Patterns of attachment

u  Secure attached

u  Anxious/ambivalent

u  Anxious/avoidant


Play u  Common factors that emerge from the definitions of

play. Play is: u  Relatively free of rules u  Controlled and dominated by children u  Carried out as if it were real life u  Focused on the activity rather than the product u  Dependent on the interaction and involvement of the

children u  Play promotes learning for the whole child u  All play activity holds the potential for growth and

learning u  Play is the cornerstone of children’s learning u  Through play, children learn about themselves, others,

and the world around them, and how to solve problems


Types of Play

u  Categories of play

u Unoccupied

u Solitary

u Onlooker

u Parallel

u Associative

u Cooperative

u  Types of play

u Dramatic

u Superhero

u Sociodramatic


Brain Function

u  The brain almost triples in weight during the first year of birth

u  Parts of the brain develop at different rates

u  The brain stem and midbrain or subcortex are the most highly developed parts

u  The cerebral cortex or outer layer of the brain is responsible for thinking and problem solving


Brain Growth

u  As the infant grows, myelination occurs

u  Myelination: the nerve cells, or neurons, which transmit messages from the cerebral cortex to the rest of the body, become encased in myelin, a fatty insulation substance that helps messages travel faster and more efficiently


How Factors Effect Growth and Development u  Study of how children change over time

u How, when, what, why

u  Development is:

u Universal

u Regular

u Orderly

u Cumulative


Developmental Research Conclusions- Applying theory to practice u  All have basic needs

u  Development occurs in stages

u  See world from own point of view

u  Play is important to development

u  Context affects development

u  Many theories, and no one is “right”


Identifying Conditions for Learning u  Learning must be real

u  Learning must be rewarding

u  Learning must build on children’s lives

u  Learning needs a good stage.


Documents

Chapter 4 Developmental and Learning Theories · Theories of Development and Learning u How do children develop? u What do children learn, and in what order? u What do people need