Principles of Education and Training

Principles of Education and Training Chapter 3: Understanding Human Development

Understanding Human Development Objectives: • Distinguish between growth and development • Identify the main types of human development • Develop examples that illustrate principles of development • Define a developmental theory • Apply developmental theories to real-life situations • Analyze how developmental theories impact teaching

Understanding Human Development What is human development ? • Life is a process of growth and development • Growth refers to physical changes in size, such as height and weight • Development is the gradual increase in skills and abilities that occurs over a lifetime • Each person progresses in an individual way • However, the stages of development are similar for almost everybody

Areas of Development • There are four types of development: • Physical • Cognitive (or intellectual) • Social • Emotional During each stage of life a person’s physical, cognitive and social-emotional development can be identified. • Social and emotional development are intertwined, and often referred to together as social-emotional development.

Physical Development Period of rapid growth during the first year of life. • Physical development is advances in physical abilities • Example: a newborn cannot change positions, but a two-year-old can run. • Many aspects of development are happening at the same time. Often referred to as motor skills. • Motor skills include: • Gross-motor skills --the development of large muscles such arms, legs, back, and shoulders (walking and throwing) • Fine-motor skills--the development of small muscles such as hands and wrist (eating with a spoon)

Cognitive Development Process involving thought and knowledge are called cognition • Memorization, organization, knowing are all examples of cognition • Cognitive Development—(aka intellectual development) is the way people change and improve their ability to think and learn throughout life. • Consider math skills as a first grader, eighth grader and now. • The development of connections between nerve cells in the brain is a key component to cognitive development at all stages of life. • Brain connections grow and strengthen with new experiences and repetition of familiar ones.

Social-Emotional Development Includes Areas of Relationships and Feelings Individuals must learn social skills and how to care about others. • Social- Emotional • Must develop both self-confidence and self-esteem • Social-emotional challenges increase at each stage development • New skills must be developed to deal with increasing independence of childhood, adolescence, and adult relationships • How well one meets these challenges depends on skills they develop earlier in life and how they adapt to new situations

Principles of Human Development • Basic Principles of what is already known: • Development is relatively orderly -a sequence of steps that consistently follow one another • Development is a gradual, continuous process -changes happen gradually and are apparent over time • Development is interrelated -most development is not solely physical, cognitive, social, or emotional • Development varies among individuals • -each individual’s progress is unique

Theories of Development Researchers analyze behavior and development to better understand how and why behavior occurs. • Developmental Theories • Why should you as a future teacher learn about developmental theories? • They are useful because they help you understand what students are capable of doing and why • This knowledge can make you a better teacher • While these are theories, not proven facts, they can be useful • The theories mentioned in this book have had a real influence on teachers and teaching • Think about their potential impact in the classroom.

Theories of Development Heredity Versus Environment • Nature (Heredity) vs. Nurture (Environment) • Are a person’s personality traits, abilities, skills, and tastes a result of genetics? OR their environment? • Most researchers would answer “both” • A challenge for researchers is that heredity and environment interact in complex ways Genes carry a person’s biological inheritance and impact intellectual potential and much more

Theories of Development Heredity Versus Environment—Continued • Heredity - Genes • No single gene determines a particular behavior. • Behaviors, like all complex traits, involve multiple gene’s that are affected by a variety of environmental factors. • Genes do influence human development . • Just because a person has a genetic make to have a trait does not mean it will develop. • Environment • Persons are shaped by his or her individual experiences • All developmental traits can be affected by the environment • The term applies to many aspects of life: • Family • Peers • Community • Media • Health • Nutrition and physical activity

Theories of Development Behaviorist Theories • Behaviorism—a theory based on the belief that individuals’ behavior is determined by forces in the environment that are beyond their control. • One of the earliest theories in development • Heredity vs. Environment • Behaviorists think environment wins • “Blank Screens” (aka “Tabula Rasa” or “blank slates”) • Behaviorists think infants come into the world this way and all of their behaviors are direct results of their life’s experiences • Ex: If a child bullies another child on the playground, it is assumed he or she learned this behavior

Theories of Development Behaviorist Theories Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning • Pavlov was a Russian researcher • Theory: behaviors can be associated with responses • One of the earliest behavioral experiments Pavlov noticed that a dog naturally salivated at the sight of food. He began ringing a bell at feeding time. Eventually, if the bell was rung, the dog salivated, even if no food was given to the dog!

Theories of Development Behaviorist Theories Skinner’s Operant Conditioning • B.F. Skinner, researcher, well known for identifying the basic principle that if you have a pleasant experience, such as receiving a compliment, that you internalize the experience as positive • Theory: People tend to repeat behaviors that have a positive result or are reinforced • He found that to make these behaviors permanent, they need to be removed gradually, in unpredictable patterns • This also works to reduce unwanted behaviors as well when used with negative reinforcement, or punishments

Theories of Development Behaviorist Theories • Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory • Albert Bandura argued that people are very different from Pavlov’s dog • Theory: People of all ages observe and imitate the behaviors of others, regardless of rewards and punishments involved. • Piaget’s Cognitive Theory • Jean Piaget, a Swiss researcher, looked for a theory that would better explain differences in how people think throughout the stages of life • Four stages of cognitive development

Theories of Development Behaviorist Theories • Vygotsky’sSociocultural Theory • Lev Vygotsky, a Russian theorist, challenged Piaget’s theory, especially his beliefs that humans learn primarily through experimentation with objects • Theory: Children are social beings and develop their minds through interactions with parents, teachers, and other students. • Social interaction is critical to cognitive development • Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory • Focus was on development of personality • Personality development occurs during eight stages of life

Theories of Development Behaviorist Theories • Kholberg’s Theory of Moral Development • Three levels of moral development • Preconventionalmorality—decisions about what is right or wrong depend on whether you will be punished or rewarded • Convectional morality —understanding that society depends on people to observe basic rules of behavior • Postconventionalmorality—belief that there are universal moral laws related to human rights that are most important to follow • Children and teens should be moved to the next level of moral development with the help of adults • Only men and boys were observed , the findings did not include the way women and girls make moral decisions

Theories of Development Behaviorist Theories Which Theory Is Correct? • Many different, often conflicting, theories to explain human development • As a teacher, you can benefit from understanding several approaches to development and applying them in your classroom • As knowledge of human development grows, more theories will emerge • Gaining a greater understanding of the ways in which humans learn will help teachers develop more effective teaching strategies

End of Chapter Three Review Date: _____________ TEST Date: ______________

Principles of Education and Training