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
Vision
Approximate
Window
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/wa
tch?v=kvX9FbXY_C8
http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?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=B37yJxF
kQ8o&feature=player_embedded
Gardner’s Multiple
Intelligences Theory
http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?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, problemsolving 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