Educational Psychology
PSI 1
Noella Piquette Tomei
Lecture 2
Overview
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Introduction to Development
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Cognitive Developmental Theories

Personal, Social, and Emotional
Developmental Theories
What is Development?

Certain changes that occur in human
beings between conception and death
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Physical, personal, social, and cognitive

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A. Development occurs at different rates.
B. Relatively orderly.
C. Takes place gradually.
Major Goals of Developmental
Theories
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A. Describes what happens.
B. Explains how and why people
develop as they do.
C. Predicts how people will develop
over time.
Issues in Child Development
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A. Nature vs Nurture
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B. Continuity vs discontinuity
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C. Qualitative vs quantitative
Chapter overview
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Readings

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Theory that resonates
Theory that you have questions about
Cognitive Developmental
Theories

I. Jean Piaget
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Child based theory.
Developmentally ready.
Strive to make sense of the world.

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A.
B.
C.
D.
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Biological maturation
Activity
Social experiences
Equilibration
Equilibrium/disequilibrium
Piaget Points

What is a schema?


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Psychological structures used for
understanding and interacting with the
world.
Comprised of nodes which form the basis
for elaborate networks.
Constantly develop new ones and build on
old ones.
Piaget Points

Adaptation - tendency to adapt to one’s
environment.
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1. Assimilation - fitting new information into
existing schemas.
2. Accommodation - altering existing
schemas or creating new ones in response
to new information.
Four Stages of Cognitive
Development
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1. Infancy: Sensorimotor.
2. Early childhood to early elementary:
Preoperational.
3. Later elementary to middle school
year: Concrete Operational.
4. Junior and Senior High: Formal
Operations.
Constructivism

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Individuals construct their own
understandings.
Process of meaning-making.
Authentic and traditional assessment.
Social Learning Theory
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II.. Lev Vygotsky
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Sociocultural Perspective

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Culture shapes the child.
Interaction - develop knowledge, ideas,
attitudes, and values.
Symbolic Tools
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Language
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Language = expressing ideas and asking
questions, the categories and concepts for thinking,
and links between the past and the future
 Private Speech

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Self-management/monitoring
Internalization
Unconscious speech
Directing attention, solving problems, planning,
forming concepts, and gaining self-control.
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Scaffolding
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Interaction with more capable members of
the culture, with adults, and with peers.
Assisted/mediated learning

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Clues, reminders, encouragement, examples,
etc.
Interpsychological (between people) to
intrapsychological (within one’s self).
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Zone of Proximal Development
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Area where the child can master a task if
given the appropriate help and support
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Verbal prompts and structuring.
Authentic assessment
Example

You are teaching a grade 7 social studies class. Based on your earlier
assignment (writing a comparison essay), you realize that the students
don’t know how to write an expository paper. There appear to be a
number of deficiencies in regards to essay formatting (e.g., micro and
macrostructure) and argument development. You would like the
students to learn how to write an effective essay. Using Vygotsky’s
theories concerning language, scaffolding, and the zone of proximal
development, how would you go about teaching the proper ways to
write an expository essay? Where would you start and what types of
strategies would you use to assist the students? Be specific.
Personal, Social, and
Emotional Development

I. Erik Erikson
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Psychosocial theory of development.
Stage theory.
Developmental crisis.
Trust versus Mistrust:
Birth to 1 year
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Will someone care for my basic needs?
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Nourishment, warmth, contact, cleanliness.
Role of helper: meet needs for
sustenance and comfort, usually with
warmth and affection.
Autonomy versus Shame and
Doubt: 1 - 3 years

Can I learn to become self-sufficient
enough to experience independence?
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Walking, talking, toilet training, feeding.
Mostly skill acquisition tasks.
Role of helper: Support and encourage
control over environment without
overprotecting.
Initiative versus Guilt: 3-6
years
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Can I act more like an adult?
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Try on adult roles, but sometimes overstep
boundaries.
Role of Helper:
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Encourage curiosity and inquiry.
Avoid imposing guilt.
Encourage play involving different roles.
Industry versus Inferiority: 6 12 years
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Can I be competent and productive?
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Effort; willingness to try.
Seek approval and/or acknowledgement of effort.
Role of Helper:
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Provide supportive and stimulating environment at
school.
Encourage work-related skills.
Build self-esteem.
Identity versus Role
Confusion: 13-18 years

Do I have a unique identity?
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Form identities: sexual, cultural, career.
Role of Helper:
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Allow freedom to develop social roles in
peer-groups.
Provide security when needed.
Intimacy versus Isolation: 1930 years

Can I find love, and a life-partner?
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Selflessness
Selfishness (meeting of emotional needs).
Role of Helper:
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Allow freedom to develop partnerships.
Help discover needs.
Generativity versus
Stagnation: 30-60 years
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How can I make a meaningful
contribution?

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Be productive.
Perform meaningful work.
Raise a family.
Role of Helper:
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Explore opportunities for contribution.
Provide feedback on results.
Issues that impact the
education of students

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Delinquency
Divorce
Abuse and neglect
Suicide
Bullying

II. Lawrence Kohlberg
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Stage of Moral Development
Stage of Moral Development
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1. Preconventional Moral Reasoning
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Reasoning is based on personal needs,
absolute rules.
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Stage 1: Punishment-Obedience Orientation
Stage 2: Personal Reward Orientation
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2. Conventional
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Reasoning based on social and family
conventions.
Rules regarded as absolute and
sanctioned by lawmakers.
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Stage 3: Good Boy/Nice Girl Orientation
Stage 4: Law and Order Orientation
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3. Postconventional
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Reasoning based on acceptance of laws
as changeable.
Abstract concepts of justice and equality
recognized.
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Stage 5: Social Contract Orientation
Stage 6: Universal Ethical Principle Orientation
Criticism of Kohlberg’s Theory
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Stages
Level 6
Innate
Gender
Universal
Situational factors
Helping Unpopular Children:
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Jeannie is 9. She talks loudly over the voices of the other grade 4 girls. Sometimes, out
on the playground, she hits hard to get what she wants. Although her classmates may
give way, later they complain about Jeannie, how bossy she is and how much they hate
her.
Michael, 12, is a little older than many of his classmates, and not doing well in school.
Maybe by keeping his grade 7 class in an uproar he is trying to ensure that others won’t
do well either. In class a few boys sometimes get caught up in his disruptive games;
mostly, though, other kids shun Michael. Out on the playground, he plays “Star Wars”
alone.
David is disliked by his grade 10 classmates. He always seems hesitant and
uncomfortable in social interactions. He is always alone. No one chooses him as a
partner in class projects, and his classmates roll their eyes if he is assigned to their group
for any type of activity. You suspect that David is receiving aggressive verbal and
written messages from someone in the school as he always arrives late for school and
leaves long after his classmates have left the premises.
Suggestions for coping with unpopular children:
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1. Without overreacting, intervene early, before a pattern of rejection is
established.
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2. Set firm limits and stick with difficult children, but give them extra help in
improving their behaviour. Do not give up on them. Try to establish a personal
relationship.
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3. Help all students learn social skills such as anticipating the consequences of
behaviours, recognizing feelings, effective communication, etc.

4. Experiment with cooperative learning and peer tutoring to improve
performance.
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5. Establish clear expectations for all students’ behaviour.
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6. Seek extra help if you suspect physical harm is imminent.