Course: Human Development and Learning (8610)

Semester: Spring, 2019

Level: B. Ed
Assignment No.1

Q. 1 Discuss different issues in child development.

Answer:

Children’s development of social skills is affected by the nature of their family and early
educational experiences (NRC, 2001). Whether in a nuclear, blended, or extended family; a

communal arrangement; or a single-parent family, the child learns social patterns and skills
within this context. Children find love and security and form attachments with people who

protect and care for them. In the family, children become socialized through interactions with

parents, siblings, relatives, and neighbors; once in a school setting, they need new ways of
acting, relating, and socializing. Children who have had a strong attachment to a nurturing

figure and see themselves as separate from this nurturing figure are ready for a group
situation. Children who have not fully developed strong attachments to another person may

have a more difficult time adjusting to the complexity of the social system of the school.

The child development theories vary widely in scope and content. Psychoanalytic theory

focuses on the emotional and motivational aspects of development. Learning theory is

concerned generally with the effects of the environment on behavior and, more specifically,

with how those who deal with children can control their behavior. Piaget's theory focuses on
the development of intellectual functioning: adaptive problem-solving, reasoning, and

concept formation. Information processing theory is concerned primarily with children's

attention, memory, and problem solving abilities. Ethological theory explores the effects of

evolution on children's adaptive behavior.

But the theories do not just differ in content; They take very different positions on certain

fundamental issues about the nature of development. Is the child an active force in its own
development? Is development continuous or discontinuous? Are there critical periods in
development? Is development the product of nature or nurture?

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Are children an active force in their own development?

Some theories portray children as essentially passive with respect to developmental change.
In this view, children do not initiate behavior or spontaneously act upon the environment;

they merely react to stimuli from the environment. Thus, some developmentalists see
development as the accumulation of learned associations between environmental stimuli and

responses (Skinner, 1953; Bijou & Baer, 1961; Bijou, 1989)

Other theories portray children as active agents in their own development. In this

perspective, children selectively and spontaneously involve themselves with specific aspects of
the environment and alter the environment in ways that affect the nature of their

experiences. For example, a child who develops an interest and aptitude for motor skills may
begin to select activities--such as joining a team and practicing--that further develop these

motor skills. Thus from the moment of conception, each individual must be understood as an
active force in development, affecting the environment as much as he or she is influenced by

that environment (Lerner & Busch-Rossnagel, 1981). This view promotes a sense of humility
among those who seek to steer children's development by external interventions. To

promote development, we must understand what children bring to a situation, what they
want and need, and whether they will spontaneously cooperate with our efforts.

There is no simple resolution to the differences between the passive and active views. Both
seem valid. Children do appear to actively affect some developmental changes, such as

acquiring language and social skills. Other changes, such as physical growth and changes in
certain infant reflexes, seem to occur with less, or perhaps no active participation of the child.

Thus the complexity of development can be best explained by theories that encompass both
passive and active involvement of the child in developmental change.

Is development continuous or discontinuous?

Many developmentalists believe that the accumulation of developmental change is not a

matter of adding one new skill after another. Instead, they believe that developmental change
causes "the rules of the system to change" (Green, 1989, p.17), or to reorganize. For example,

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when a thirteen-month-old suddenly discovers that that he can let go of furniture and toddle

across the living room, the rules for the system of movement in space change irreversibly. At
a more advanced level of development, when a five-year-old child discovers that a few

cookies can be called one, two, and three, her mental system for conceptualizing quantity is
completely reorganized. She can now count cookies and tell whether her brother has more

or fewer than she has.

The controversy of continuity versus discontinuity is this: Some theorists say that children go

through various developmental stagesdefined by reorganizing changes, while other theorists

reject the notion of stages. A developmental stage refers to the time elapsing between any

two sequential developmental changes that reorganize the system. Sigmund Freud (1939)
proposed that personality emerges in a sequence of five developmental stages organized

around qualitatively different aspects of sexual functioning. Jean Piaget (1983) proposed that
cognitive development emerges in a series of four sequential stages organized around

qualitatively distinct forms of thinking and problem solving. Theorists who accept the
concept of stages view development as discontinuous.

Other theorists such as social learning theorists (Bandura, 1989) and information-processing
theorists (Bjorkland, 1987; Klahr, 1989) explain development without reference to the stage

concept. They view development as a gradual accumulation of minute changes and see no
basis for arbitrarily dividing development into stages. Developmentalists who reject the

concept of stages view development as continuous.

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Q. 2 Elaborate different physical characteristics of learners. Also discuss the role of

physical activities in developing body movement.

Answer:

They talk about what to do, about the pros and cons of a situation. They indicate emotion

through the tone, pitch, and volume of their voices. They enjoy listening but cannot wait to
get a chance to talk. They tend toward long and repetitive descriptions. They like hearing

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themselves and others talk. They tend to remember names but forget faces and are easily

distracted by sounds. They enjoy reading dialogue and plays and dislike lengthy narratives
and descriptions. Auditory learners benefit from oral instruction, either from the teacher or

from themselves. They prefer to hear or recite information and benefit from auditory
repetition.

• Like to talk

• Talk to self

• Lose concentration easily

• Prefer spoken directions over written directions

• Enjoy music

• Read with whispering lip movements

• Remember names

• Sing

• Cannot concentrate when noisy

• Extroverted

• Like listening

• Prefer lecture and discussion

• Prefer verbal praise from teachers

Tools for Auditory Learners

• Record lectures for repeated listening

• Use rhymes to help memorize

• Say study material (record and listen repeatedly for review)

• Listen to recordings of study material while driving to work or school

• Read aloud

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 • Discuss the material

• Listen carefully

• Sound out words

• Say words in syllables

• Talk through problems; paraphrase ideas about new concepts

• Paraphrase directions

• Talk about illustrations and diagrams in texts

• With new processes, talk about what to do, how to do it and why it’s done that way

Auditory teachers prefer. . .

• Using their voices to explain things

• Recordings, conversations, and phone calls

• Discussion in class

• Students to discuss issues among themselves, work together, and contribute their

ideas

• Clever use of speech; making a point well

• Argument, debate and discussion

• Seminars, group presentations, student interaction, role plays and dialogue

• To use the words, “explain, describe, discuss, and state” in written exam questions

Methods to Engage Auditory Learners

• Lecture

• Utilize sound during lectures

• Use beats, rhymes or songs to reinforce information

• Use mnemonic devices

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 • Ask questions during class and allow students to give verbal responses

• Allow students to engage in small group conversation during class

• Use aural cues to alert students to important information

• Provide verbal summary at the end of each class

• Think, Pair, Share

Role of physical activities in developing body movement:

Regular physical activity helps develop your child’s movement skills. It also, of course, helps

bones become stronger and builds a healthy heart and stronger muscles. Physical activity also
helps your child keep a healthy body weight. Moderate intensity exercise can even help to

relieve some chronic (long-term) pain conditions by maintaining physical function and
decreasing fatigue.

Aside from providing general physical benefits, regular activity can also help ease symptoms
of premenstrual syndrome in girls. This is because moderate exercise helps the body produce

hormones called endorphins. These are natural painkillers that can ease abdominal and back
pain as well as improve mood.

Benefits of activity for brain function

While it may not seem obvious, physical activity plays an important role in developing the

brain and supporting essential mental functions.

Research shows that regular moderate intensity exercise can increase the size of the

hippocampus, an area of the brain involved with learning and memory. Exercise also helps
release growth factors, chemicals in the brain that affect the growth and survival of new brain

cells as well as blood vessels in the area.

Exercise leads to improved motor skills (such as hand-eye co-ordination), better thinking and

problem-solving, stronger attention skills and improved learning. Not surprisingly, these all
combine to benefit school performance. In fact, even the simple act of playing outside with

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friends, setting non-academic goals and seeing progress can help the brain refocus when it

comes time for school work.

Benefits of activity for emotional and mental health

If your child has depression or anxiety, or even just an “off” day, exercise may be the last thing
on their mind. However, physical activity can help greatly with maintaining mental wellbeing.

The endorphins that the brain releases during exercise help to improve mood, energy levels
and even sleep. Together, these positive effects help to improve self-confidence and

resilience.

Exercise can:

• reduce anxiety

• improve relationships

• improve body image.

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Q. 3 What are the limitation of using group intelligence tests? Explain.

Answer:

Group testing as the name implies it is about examining an individual by a whole group. The
test administered by a large group at one time is known as group testing. The group test is

mainly done to meet the practical need. These were designed as mass testing instruments.
The group testing not only allows the simultaneous examination but also make use of the

simplified processes and the instruction.

Disadvantages of Group Testing:

1. The scores are dependent on other things:

In the group testing, the scores totally depend on the reading ability of the individuals. Every

individual has to go through the test even if he or she is a member of a group.

So, the scores are highly dependent on the other factors like the reading ability and so on.

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2. The results and the information is less accurate:

The group testing is said to be less accurate as the result that we get is combined. This is
how the examiner fails to know the output at individual level.

So, the individual performance remains unknown when it comes to group testing.

3. Less cooperation is maintained:

As the work is done through the groups, at times it becomes very difficult to bring in
cooperation among the group.

If the group fails to cooperate then the results would get affected at the end. So, this is one of
the disadvantage of the group testing.

4. The results are examined readily:

The results are not examined readily because at times the tired and the anxious examiner may

fail to give proper attention towards the results.

So, due to lack of good and proper attention, the results are highly affected. So, it also forms

one of the disadvantage of the group testing.

5. Difficult to maintain rapport:

It is difficult to maintain a rapport sometimes because it becomes difficult to control a group

especially when the group is large and order-less.

So, due to lack of handling the group, it becomes difficult to maintain a good rapport.

6. The interest is not easily maintained:

It is very difficult to create same level of interest among all the members of the group. This is
because of the heterogeneous nature of the members in the group.

So, due to lack of creation of interest among the group members, it is difficult to get accurate
results at the end of the day.

7. The examinees response in a more strict manner:

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Due to difficulty in handling the group, the examinees usually respond in a strict manner. So,

this also becomes difficult to prepare and take a step for the group testing.

8. Boredom over easy items and frustrated over difficult ones:

It is difficult to work in a group at times due to different situations that arrive in a group.
Sometimes the members have to work for easy as well as difficult things.

For example, if the simple things come their way, they may feel boredom and at the same
time, if the difficult things come their way, they may feel irritated. So, by this manner, it

becomes difficult to work in a group.

So, above are some of the disadvantages of having a group testing. Although everything has

its own advantages and disadvantages, still in companies, the group testing is preferred,
especially when it has to be done on a larger scale.

The companies have many employees within and in order to save time, energy and money,
the companies prefer for the group testing process. The individual testing requires double the

time required for the group testing.

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Q. 4 Discuss intellectual development from infancy to childhood?

Answer:

Piaget’s theories have had a major impact on the theory and practice of education (Case,
1998). First, the theories focused attention on the idea of developmentally appropriate

education—an education with environments, curriculum, materials, and instruction that are
suitable for students in terms of their physical and cognitive abilities and their social and

emotional needs (Elkind, 1989). In addition, several major approaches to curriculum and
instruction are explicitly based on Piagetian theory (Berrueta-Clement, Schweinhart, Barnett,

Epstein, & Weikart, 1984), and this theory has been influential in constructivist models of
learning. In this of the developing intellect throughout the evolution of his model, Piaget has

clung to certain principles, many of which reflect his biological interests. His faith in these
principles has been substantiated by his own research and that of his Genevan colleagues,

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most notably that of Barbël Inhelder. The many replications of his work in this country and

Canada have also provided substantial support for his position. It is these principles that will
be presented, since they are essential to those working with the development of intellectual

skills. However, just as the total model cannot be presented within the limits of this paper,
neither can all of the principles. Thus, applying the criterion of value to educators of young

children, I have selected the following:

1. All development is hierarchical, that is, we must all go through the same stages in the

same sequence, moving from the simple to the complex.

2. Early learning is slower than later learning, although the rate at which we progress

through a given stage is a function of an interaction between our environment and our
genetic endowment. By genetic endowment. Piaget means a healthy organism and not of

specific genetic programming, as is the mode today.

3. Development is divided into four general stages or phases, with a gradual transition from

one to another. Each of the four stages is characterized by modes of learning and thinking
unique to that stage.

4. Because of the hierarchical nature of Piaget’s theory, thought and intelligence are rooted
in the actions of the sensorimotor period, the first of the four stages of cognitive

development. Thus, for Piaget, thought and intelligence are internalized actions.

5. Throughout all of the stages, two “cognitive functions” are present that are invariant.

These are organization and adaptation. The former is involved in the categorization of
sensory data. The latter is comprised of assimilation, the taking in of new information, and

accommodation, the adjusting of the existing knowledge to the new information.

6. The result of the above invariant or unchanging functions is what Piaget refers to as

“cognitive structures.” The cognitive structures are formed actively by each individual and
contain all of the information that he has assimilated and accommodated or is in the

process of adapting.

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7. The cognitive structures result in behaviors from which the content of the structures can

be inferred. Therefore, Piaget refers to such responses as “cognitive content.” Since the
cognitive structures vary in content from individual to individual according to personal

experiences and level of maturation, the behaviors or cognitive content vary accordingly.

As a result of the above, Piaget concludes that innate factors, environment, social

transmission, and equilibration all play roles in what we know and in how we use our
knowledge. For him, equilibration consists of the processes of equilibrium and disequilibrium

which are in relative balance at all maturational levels, motivating us not only to assimilate
and accommodate within stages but also to move from one stage to another.

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Q. 5 What are social skills? Prepare a glossary of the terms related to social
development?

Answer:

Social skills are the skills we use to communicate and interact with each other, both verbally

and non-verbally, through gestures, body language and our personal appearance. Human
beings are sociable creatures and we have developed many ways to communicate our

messages, thoughts and feelings with others. What is said is influenced by both verbal
language and the way we use it - tone of voice, volume of speech and the words we choose -

as well as by more subtle messages such as body language, gestures and other non-verbal
communication methods. The fact that some people are better 'social interactors' than others

has led to detailed investigations into the nature and function of interpersonal interaction.

Developing social skills is about being aware of how we communicate with others, the

messages we send and how methods of communication can be improved to make the way
we communicate more efficient and effective. There are distinct advantages to having well

developed social skills.

Here are five:

1. More and Better Relationships

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Identifying well with individuals leads to more relationships and, at times, friendships. By

developing your social skills you become more charismatic, a desirable trait . People are
more interested in charismatic people as charismatic people are (or at least appear to be)

more interested in them.

Most people know you cannot advance far in life without strong interpersonal relationships.

Focusing on relationships will help you get a job, get promoted and make new friends. Well
honed social skills can increase your happiness and satisfaction and give you a better outlook

on life. More relationships can also help to reduce the negative effects of stress and boost
your self-esteem.

2. Better Communication

Relating with people and being able to work in large groups naturally develops

one's communication skills. After all, you can not have great social skills without good
communication skills and being able to convey one's thoughts and ideas may be the single

most important skill that you can develop in life..

3. Greater Efficiency

If you are good with people, you can more easily avoid being with the people you do not like
as much as others. Some people dread social interactions because they do not wish to spend

time with individuals who do not have similar interests and viewpoints. It is a lot easier to
attend a meeting at work or a party in your personal life if you know at least some of the

people who will be there. If you are in a social situation and do not want to spend time with
'John' because you don't like him or he cannot help you with a particular issue, a good set of

social skills will allow you to politely convey that you need to spend time with other people at
the get together.

4. Advancing Career Prospects

Most worthwhile jobs have a 'people component' and the most lucrative positions often

involve a large amount of time spent interacting with employees, media and colleagues. It is
rare that an individual can remain isolated in their office and still excel in their job. Most

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organisations are looking for individuals with a particular, tactical, skill set: the ability to work

well in a team and to influence and motivate people to get things done.

5. Increased Overall Happiness

Getting along and understanding people will help to open many personal and career-related
doors. Having the confidence to start a conversation at a work-related conference may lead

to a new job offer with a higher salary. A smile and 'hello' in a social situation may lead to a
friendship being formed.

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