DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF A

LEARNER
Objectives

▪ After the completion of this concept, the learner will be able to;
▪ 1. Identify the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial
characteristics of learners that influence learning at various
stages of growth and development,
▪ 2. Recognize the role of the nurse as educator in assessing
stage specific learner needs according to maturational levels.
▪ 3. Determine the role of the family in patient education
▪ 4. Discuss appropriate teaching strategies effective for learners.
Introduction

❖The nurse educator must carefully consider the

characteristics of learner with respect to their
developmental stage in life.
❖The developmental stage influences the ability to
learn.
❖Educators acknowledge the growth and
development on an individual’s willingness to make
use of instruction.
Developmental Characteristics

▪ Some typical developmental trends have been identified as

milestones of normal progression through the life cycle.
▪ It is imperative to examine the developmental phases as
individuals progress from infancy to senescence to
appreciate the behavioral changes.
▪ Growth and development interact with experiential
background, physical and emotional, health status and
personal motivation and among others.
Three Phases of Learning (Musinski, 1999)

▪1. Dependence
▪2. Independence
▪3. Interdependence
The Developmental Stages of Childhood

▪ Pedagogy- The art and science of helping children to

learn.
▪ The different stages of childhood are divided
according to what developmental theorists and
educational psychologists define as specific patterns
of behavior seen In particular phases of growth and
development
Stage Appropriate Teaching Strategy
LEARNER AGE GROUP AND GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
MILESTONES CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS

Infancy- Approx Age: Birth to 2 Dependent on 1. Orient teaching Welcome active

Toddlerhood years of age environment to care giver. involvement
Needs security 2. Use repetition Forge alliances
Cognitive stage: Explores elf and and initiation of Encourage physical
Sensorimotor environment information closeness
Natural Curiosity 3. Stimulate all Provide detailed
Psychosocial stage: senses information
Autonomy vs Shame 4. Provide Physical Answer questions
and Doubt safety and and concerns
emotional Ask for information
security on child’s
5. Allow play and strengths/
manipulation of limitations and
objects. like/ dislikes.
LEARNER AGE GROUP AND GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
MILESTONES CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS

Early Approx Age: 3-5 years Egocentric 1. Use warm calm Welcome active
Childhood Thinking precausal, approach involvement
Cognitive stage: concrete, literal 2. Build trust Forge alliances
Preoperational Believes Illness is self 3. Use repetition of Encourage physical
caused and punitive information. closeness
Psychosocial stage: Limited sense of time 4. Allow manipulation Provide detailed
Initiative Vs. Guilt Fears bodily injury of objects information
Cannot generalize 5. Give care with Answer questions
Animistic thinking explanation and concerns
Centration 6. Reassure not to Ask for information
Separation anxiety blame self on child’s strengths/
Motivated by curiosity 7. Explain procedures limitations and like/
Active imagination simply and briefly dislikes.
Play is her/his work 8. Provide safe
environment
9. Use positive
reinforcement
10. Encourage
questions
LEARNER AGE GROUP AND GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
MILESTONES CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS

Middle and Approx Age: 6-11 yrs More realistic and 1. Use warm calm Welcome active
Late objective approach involvement
Childhood Cognitive stage: Understands cause 2. Build trust Forge alliances
Concrete Operations and effect 3. Use repetition of Encourage physical
Deductive and information. closeness
Psychosocial stage: inductive reasoning 4. Allow manipulation Provide detailed
Industry vs Inferiority Wants concrete of objects information
information 5. Give care with Answer questions
Able to compare explanation and concerns
objects and events 6. Reassure not to Ask for information
Variable rates of blame self on child’s strengths/
physical growth 7. Explain procedures limitations and like/
Reasons syllogistically simply and briefly dislikes.
Understands 8. Provide safe
seriousness and environment
consequences of 9. Use positive
actions reinforcement
Subject centered 10. Encourage
focus questions
Immediate orientation
LEARNER AGE GROUP AND GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
MILESTONES CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS

Adolescence Approx Age: 12-19 Abstract , hypothetical 1. Establish trust and Explore emotional
thinking authenticity and financial
Cognitive stage: Formal Can build on past 2. Know their agenda support.
Operations learning 3. Address fears/ Determine goals and
Reasons by logic and concerns about expectations
Psychosocial stage: understands scientific outcome illness Assess stress levels
Identity vs Role principles. 4. Identify control Respect values and
Confusion Future Orientation focus norms
Motivated by desire for 5. Include in plan of Determine role
social acceptance care responsibilities
Peer group important 6. Use peers for Engage in 1:1
Intense personal supports and teaching without
preoccupation influence parents present
Feels invulnerable 7. Negotiate changes
8. Focus on details
9. Make information
meaningful
10. Ensure
confidentiality
11. Provide for
experimentation
LEARNER AGE GROUP AND GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
MILESTONES CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS

Young Approx Age: 20-40 yrs Autonomous 1. Use problem Explore emotional,
Adulthood old Self directed centered focus financial, and
Use of personal 2. Draw on meaningful physical support
Cognitive stage: experience experiences system
Formal Operations Intrinsic Motivation 3. Focus on Assess motivational
Able to analyze immediacy of level for involvement
Psychosocial stage: critically application Identify potential
Intimacy vs Isolation Make decisions about 4. Encourage active obstacles and
personal or participation stressors.
occupational, social 5. Organize material
roles. 6. Recognize social
role
7. Apply new
knowledge through
role playing.
LEARNER AGE GROUP AND GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
MILESTONES CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS

Middle Aged Approx Age: 41- 64 Sense of Self ell- 1. Focus on maintain Explore emotional,
Adulthood developed independence and financial, and
Cognitive stage: Concerned with reestablishing physical support
Formal Operations physical changes normal life patterns system
At peak in career 2. Assess positive and Assess motivational
Psychosocial stage: Explore alternative negative past level for involvement
Generativity vs Self lifestyles experience with Identify potential
Absorption and Reflects on learning obstacles and
stagnation contributions to family 3. Assess potential stressors.
and society sources of stress
Reexamines goals and due to midlife
values midlife crisis issues
Questions 4. Provide information
achievements and to coincide with life
successes concerns and
Has confidence in problems
abilities
Desires to modify
unsatisfactory aspects
of life.
LEARNER AGE GROUP GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
AND CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS
MILESTONES
Older Approx Age: 65 Cognitive Changes 1. Use concrete Involve principal care
Adulthood yrs old Decreased the ability to think to examples givers
And above think abstractly, process 2. Build on past life Encourage
information
Decrease short term memory
experiences participation
Cognitive stage: Increased reaction time 3. Make information Provide resources for
Formal Increased rest anxiety relevant and support
Operations Stimulus persistence meaningful Assess coping
Focus on past life experiences 4. Present one mechanisms
Psychosocial concept at a time Provide written
stage: Ego Sensory / Motor Deficit 5. Avoid written instructions for
Auditory Changes
integrity vs. Hearing loss especially high
exams reinforcement
despair pitched tones 6. Keep explanation Provide anticipatory
Visual changes brief problem solving
Farsighted 7. Speak slowly
Lenses become opaque 8. Face the client
Smaller pupil size when speaking
Decreased peripheral 9. Avoid glare, use
perception
white soft light
10. Increase safety
precautions
LEARNER AGE GROUP GENERAL TEACHING NURISNG
AND CHARACTERISTICS STRATEGIES INTERVENTIONS
MILESTONES
Older Approx Age: 65 Yellowing of lenses 1. Ensure accessibility
Adulthood yrs old Distorted depth perception and fit of prosthesis
And above Fatigue or decreased energy 2. Keep sessions short
Pathophysiology 3. Provide for frequent
rest periods
Cognitive stage: Psychosocial changes 4. Allow for extra time to
Formal Decreased risk taking perform
Operations Selective learning 5. Establish realistic short
Intimidated by formal learning. term goals
Psychosocial 6. Give time to reminisce
stage: Ego 7. Identify and present
pertinent material
integrity vs. 8. Use informal teaching
despair sessions
9. Demonstrate relevance
of information to daily
life
10. Assess resources
11. Identify past positive
experiences
12. Integrate new
behaviors
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Infancy and Toddlerhood
▪ Children at this stage have short attention spans, are easily distracted are egocentric in their thinking and
are not amenable of correcting their own ideas.

▪ Asking questions is the hallmark sign of this group.

▪ They can respond to to simple step by step commands.

▪ Parents should be encouraged to foster the development of the child by talking and listening to them.

TEACHING STRATEGIES

▪ Patient education for infancy through toddlerhood need not be illness related.

▪ When a child is ill, the first priority for teaching interventions would be to assess the client and patient’s
anxiety and how they can cope with them.

▪ Health teaching should take place in an environment that is familiar to the child

▪ When sick, the environment should be kept safe and secure

▪ Movement is an important mechanism by which toddlers would communicate

▪ Developing rapport will elicit cooperation.

Strategies (Short term)

▪ Read simple stories from books with lots of pictures

▪ Use of dolls and puppets
▪ Use of simp
▪ e videotapes with music and cartoons.
▪ Perform a procedure on a teddy bear to help child anticipate how the experience
would be like.
▪ Keep teaching sessions brief
▪ Cluster teaching sessions close together
▪ Avoid analogies
▪ Individualize the pace of teaching.
Strategies (Long term)

▪ Focus on rituals, imitation and repetition of information.

▪ Use reinforcement as an opportunity for children to achieve to achieve permanence
of learning
▪ Employ the teaching methods of gaming and modeling as a means to learn about
the world.
▪ Encourage parents to act as role models.
Early Childhood (3-5 yrs old)

▪ Sense of identity becomes clearer

▪ Learning during these times occurs through interaction , mimicking, modeling behaviors from
playmates and parents.

▪ Fine and gross motor skills become refined and coordinated

▪ Pre- operational period of cognitive development where the child’s inability to think things
through logically without acting it out.

▪ Begins to develop the capacity to recall experiences and anticipate future events.

▪ Animistic thinking- they think they can influence natural phenomena and they endow
inanimate objects with life.

▪ Limited sense of time

▪ Children's fear of pain and bodily harm is uppermost in their minds.

Strategies (short term)

▪ Provide physical and visual stimuli because language ability is still limited.
▪ Keep teaching sessions short
▪ Relate information needs to activities and experiences
▪ Encourage the child to participate in selecting between a limited number of teaching
learning options
▪ Arrange small group sessions with peers
▪ Give praise and approval
▪ Give tangible rewards
▪ Allow the child to manipulate equipment
▪ Use storybooks to emphasize the humanity of healthcare.
Strategies (Long Term)

▪ Enlist the help of parents who can play a vital role in modeling a variety of health
habits
▪ Reinforce positive health behaviors
Middle and Late Childhood

▪ They have progressed in all aspects to a point where they begin formal training in
structured school systems.
▪ Children at this level are motivated to learn because of their natural curiosity and their
desire to understand.
▪ The gross and fine motor skills are more refined
▪ Physical growth during this time is highly variable with the rate of development differing
from each child.
▪ The ability to reason inductively and deductively develop. They are intellectually
capable of determining cause and effect
▪ Children passing through elementary and middle school have developed the ability to
concentrate
▪ Children in this cognitive stage can make decisions and can act in accordance to how
events are interpreted.
▪ Illness is related to cause and effect and are aware of the fact that germs cause
sickness
▪ The school environment contributes to building their sense of responsibility.
▪ Important to involve them in patient education efforts because they already have the
ability to comprehend information
▪ It is also right to infirm parents what has been taught to their children.
▪ Education for health promotion is most likely to occur in the school system through
a nurse.
▪ The school nurse stands in a excellent position to coordinate with the efforts of all
other providers.
Strategies (short term learning)
▪ Allow school age to take responsibility of own health care
▪ Teaching sessions can be extended to last as long as 30 mins
▪ Use diagrams, models, pictures, video-tapes, and printed materials as adjuncts to
various teaching methods
▪ Choose audiovisual and printed materials that show peers undergoing similar
procedures or facing similar situations.
▪ Clarify any scientific terminology and medical jargon used.
▪ Use analogies as an effective means of providing information in meaningful terms
▪ Provide time for clarification, validation and reinforcement of what is being learned.
▪ Select individual instructional techniques that provide opportunity for privacy, an
increasingly important concern for this group of learners,
▪ Encourage participation in planning for procedures and events
Strategies ( Long Term)

▪ Help school-aged children acquire skill that they can use to assume self-car
responsibility for carrying out therapeutic treatment regimens.
▪ Assist them in learning to maintain their own well-being and prevent illnesses from
occurring.
Adolescence (12–18 Years of Age)

▪ How adolescents think about themselves and the world significantly influences many
healthcare issues facing them, from anorexia to diabetes.
▪ Teenage thought and behavior give insight into the etiology of some of the major
health problems of this group of learners.
▪ Adolescents vary greatly in their biological, psychological, social, and cognitive
development.
▪ Formal operational thought enables adolescents to conceptualize invisible
processes and make determinations about what others say and how they behave.
With this capacity teenagers can become obsessed with what others are thinking
and begin to believe that everyone is focusing on the same things.
▪ Adolescents are able to understand the concept of health and illness, the multiple
causes of diseases, the influence of variables on health status, and the ideas
associated with health promotion and disease prevention.
▪ These children indulge in comparing their self-image with an ideal image
▪ Adolescents find themselves in a struggle to establish their own identity, match their
skills with career choices, and determine their “self.”
▪ They work to emancipate themselves from their parents seeking independence and
autonomy so that they can emerge as more distinct individual personalities.
▪ Adolescents seek to develop new and trusting relationships outside the home but
remain vulnerable to the opinions of those they emulate.
▪ Adolescents demand personal space, control, privacy, and confidentiality. To them,
illness, injury, and hospitalization means dependency, loss of identity, a change in
body image and functioning, bodily embarrassment, confinement, separation from
peers, and possible death.
▪ Due to the many issues apparent during the adolescent period, the need for coping
skills is profound and can influence the successful completion of this stage of
development.
▪ The educational needs of adolescents are broad and varied. The potential topics for
teaching are numerous, ranging from sexual adjustment, contraception, and venereal
disease to accident prevention, nutrition, and substance abuse.
▪ Because of their preoccupation with body image and functioning and the perceived
importance of peer acceptance and support, they view health recommendations as
a threat to their autonomy and sense of control. Probably the greatest challenge to
the nurse.
▪ Adolescents with disfiguring handicaps, who as young children exhibited a great deal
of spirit and strength, may now show signs of depression and lack of will.
▪ Teenagers with chronic illnesses may stop taking prescribed medications because
the feel they can manage without them to prove to others that they are well and free
of medical constraints; other people with similar diseases need to follow therapeutic
regimens, but not them.
Strategies (Short Term)

▪ Use one-to-one instruction to ensure confidentiality of sensitive information.

Choose peer group discussion sessions as an effective approach to deal with health
topics as smoking, alcohol and drug use safety measures, and teenage sexuality.
▪ Use group discussion, role-playing, and gaming as methods to clarify values and
problem solve, which feed into the teenager’s need to belong and to be actively
involved.
▪ Employ adjunct instructional tools, such as complex models, diagrams, and specific,
detailed written materials, which can be used competently by many adolescents.
▪ Clarify any scientific terminology and medical jargon used. Share decision making
whenever possible because control is an important issue for adolescents.
▪ Include them in formulating teaching plans related to teaching strategies.
▪ Suggest options so that they feel they have a choice about courses of action.
▪ Give a rationale for all that is said and done to help adolescents feel a sense of
control.

▪ Approach them with respect, tact, openness, and flexibility to elicit their attention
and encourage their responsiveness to teaching–learning situations.

▪ Expect negative responses, which are common when their self-image and self
integrity are threatened.

▪ Avoid confrontation and acting like an authority figure.

Strategies (Long Term)

▪ Accept adolescents’ personal fable and imaginary audience as valid, rather than
challenging their feelings of uniqueness and invincibility.
▪ Acknowledge that their feelings are very real because denying them their opinions
simply will not work.
▪ Allow them the opportunity to test their own convictions.
THE DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES
OF ADULTHOOD
Introduction

▪ Andragogy, the term coined by Knowles (1990) to describe his theory of adult learning, is the
art and science of helping adults learn.
▪ The concept of andragogy has served for years as a useful framework in guiding instruction
for patient teaching and for continuing education of staff.
▪ A limitation of Knowles’s assumptions about child versus adult learners is that they are
derived from studies done on healthy people. It is important to keep in mind, however, that
illness and injury have the potential for significantly changing cognitive and psychological
processes used for learning.
▪ The emphasis for adult learning revolves around differentiation of life tasks and social roles
with respect to employment, family, and other activities beyond the responsibilities of home
and career.
▪ For adults, past experiences are internalized and form the basis for further learning.
▪ Adults already have a rich resource of stored information on which to build a further
understanding of relationships between ideas and concepts.
Basic assumptions About Knowles’s framework

▪ His or her self-concept moves from one of being a

dependent personality to being an independent, self-
directed human being.
▪ He or she accumulates a growing reservoir of previous
experience that serves as a rich resource for learning.
▪ Readiness to learn becomes increasingly oriented to the
developmental tasks of social roles.
▪ The perspective of time changes from one of postponed
application of knowledge to one of immediate application;
there is a shift in orientation of learning from being subject
centered to problem centered.
3 Categories Of General Orientation Of Adults
Toward Continuing Education

1. Goal-oriented learners engage in

educational endeavors to accomplish
clear and identifiable objectives.

2. Activity-oriented learners select

educational activities primarily to
meet social needs.

3. Learning-oriented learners view

themselves as perpetual students
who seek knowledge for knowledge
sake.
Young Adulthood (18–40 Years of Age)

▪ Young adulthood is a crucial period for the establishment of behaviors that help
individuals to lead healthy lives, both physically and emotionally.
▪ Health promotion is the most neglected aspect of healthcare teaching at this stage
of life.
▪ The nurse as educator must find a way of reaching and communicating with this
audience about health promotion and disease prevention measures.
▪ The motivation for adults to learn comes in response to internal drives, such as
need for self-esteem, a better quality of life, or job satisfaction, or in response to
external motivators, such as job promotion, more money, or more time to pursue
outside activities.
▪ Teaching strategies must be directed at encouraging young adults to seek
information that expands their knowledge base, helps them control their lives, and
bolsters their selfesteem.
Middle-Aged Adulthood (40–65 Years of Age)

▪ Skin and muscle tone decreases, metabolism slows down, body weight tends to
increase, endurance and energy levels lessen, hormonal changes bring about a variety
of symptoms, and hearing and visual acuity begin to diminish.
▪ The ability to learn from a cognitive standpoint remains at a steady state throughout
middle age as they continue in the formal operations stage of cognitive development.
▪ Midlife marks a point at which adults realize that half of their life has been spent. This
realization may cause them to question their level of achievement and success
▪ They offer an opportunity to feel a real sense of accomplishment from having cared for
others—children, spouse, friends, parents, and colleagues for whom they have served as
mentor
▪ When teaching members of this age group, the nurse must be aware of their potential
sources of stress, the health risk factors associated with this stage of life, and the
concerns typical of midlife. Misconceptions regarding physical changes such as
menopause are common
Older Adulthood (65 Years of Age and Older)

▪ Because many older persons did not have the educational opportunities that are
available to the young today, one-third of them have completed only eight years or
less of formal schooling, and 45% of them have less than a high school education.
▪ Ageism describes prejudice against the older adult. This term perpetuates the
negative stereotype of aging as a period of decline.
▪ Because our society values physical strength, beauty, social networking,
productivity, and integrity of body and mind, we fear the natural losses that
accompany the aging process.
▪ We must recognize that many older persons respond to these changes as
challenges rather than defeats.
▪ Given that the aging process is universal, eventually everyone is potentially
subjected to this type of prejudice.
▪ Physical, Cognitive, and Psychosocial Development With advancing age, so many
physical changes occur that it becomes difficult to establish normal boundaries
▪ The senses of sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell are usually the first areas of
decreased functioning noticed by older persons. Alterations in physiological
functioning can lead secondarily to changes in learning ability.
▪ The sensory perceptive abilities that relate most closely to learning capacity are
visual and auditory changes.
▪ Cognitive ability changes with age as permanent cellular alterations invariably occur
in the brain itself, resulting in an actual loss of neurons, which have no regenerative
powers.
▪ Crystallized intelligence is the intelligence absorbed over a lifetime, such as
vocabulary, general information, understanding social interactions, arithmetic
reasoning, and ability to evaluate experiences.
The decline in fluid intelligence results in the following specific
changes:

▪ Slower processing time

▪ Older persons need more time to process and react to information, especially as measured in terms of
relationships between actions and results

▪ Persistence of stimulus (afterimage)

▪ Older people can confuse a previous symbol or word with a new word or symbol just introduced.

▪ Decreased short-term memory

▪ Older people sometimes have difficulty remembering events or conversations that occurred just hours or
days before

▪ Increased test anxiety

▪ Older people are especially anxious about making mistakes when performing; when they do make an error,
they become easily frustrated

▪ Altered time perception

▪ For older persons, life becomes more finite, issues of the here and now are more important, and many
adhere to the philosophy of Scarlett O’Hara, “I’ll worry about that tomorrow.”

Despite the changes in cognition as a result of aging, most research supports the
premise that the ability of older adults to learn and remember is virtually as good as ever if
special care is taken to slow the pace of presenting information, to ensure relevance of
material, and to give appropriate feedback when teaching
The Most Common Psychosocial Tasks Of Aging

• Relocation to an
• The moving away of
• Retirement (often • Illness or death of unfamiliar environment
children,
mandatory at 70 years spouse, relatives, and such as a nursing
grandchildren, and
in this country) friends home or senior
friends
citizens center
▪ Separate from biological aging but closely related are the many sociocultural factors
that affect how older adults see themselves as competent individuals.
▪ Traits regarding personal goals in life and the values associated with them are
significantly related to motivation and learning.

Adequacy of
Social Coping
Independence personal
acceptability mechanisms
resources
▪ Health education for older persons should be directed at
promoting their involvement and changing their attitudes
toward learning

▪ The following are specific tips to abide by when teaching

older persons to create an environment for learning that
takes into account major changes in their physical,
cognitive, and psychosocial functioning
Physical Needs

▪ To compensate for visual changes, teaching should be done in an environment that

is brightly lit but without glare
▪ To compensate for hearing losses, eliminate extraneous noise, avoid covering the
mouth when speaking, directly face the learner, and speak slowly.
▪ To compensate for musculoskeletal problems, decreased efficiency of the
cardiovascular system, and reduced kidney function, keep sessions short, schedule
frequent breaks to allow for use of bathroom facilities, and allow time for stretching
to relieve painful, stiff joints and to stimulate circulation.
▪ . To compensate for any decline in central nervous system functioning and
decreased metabolic rates, set aside more time for the giving and receiving of
information and for the practice of psychomotor skills.
Cognitive Needs
▪ To compensate for a decrease in fluid intelligence, provide older persons with more
opportunities to process and react to information and to see relationships between
concepts.
▪ Be aware of the effects of medications and energy levels on concentration,
alertness, and coordination
▪ Be certain to ask what an individual already knows about a healthcare issue or
technique before explaining it.
▪ Convincing older persons of the usefulness of what you are teaching is only half the
battle in getting them motivated.
▪ . Arrange for brief teaching sessions, because a shortened attention span requires
scheduling a series of sessions to provide for sufficient time for learning
▪ Take into account that the process of conceptualizing and the ability to think
abstractly become more difficult with aging
Psychosocial Needs

▪ Assess family relationships to determine how dependent the older person is on

other members for financial and emotional support.
▪ Determine availability of resources.
▪ Encourage active involvement of older adults to improve their self-esteem and to
stimulate them both mentally and socially.
▪ Identify coping mechanisms
TO SUMMARIZE

▪ It is important to understand the specific and varied tasks associated with each
developmental stage to individualize the approach to education in meeting the
needs and desires of learners and their families.
▪ Assessment of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial maturation within each
developmental period is crucial in determining the strategies to be used to facilitate
the teaching–learning process.
▪ The younger learner is, in many ways, very different from the adult learner.
▪ Issues of dependency, extent of participation, rate of and capacity for learning, and
situational and emotional obstacles to learning vary significantly according to
phases of development.
▪ Readiness to learn in children is very subject centered and highly influenced by their
physical, cognitive, and psychosocial maturation.
▪ Motivation to learn in the adult is very problem centered and more oriented to
psychosocial tasks related to roles and expectations of work, family, and community
activities.
▪ For education to be effective, the nurse in the role of educator must create an
environment conducive to learning by presenting information at the learner’s level,
inviting participation and feedback, and identifying whether parental and/or peer
involvement is appropriate or necessary.
▪ Nurses, as the main source of health education, must determine what needs to be
taught, when to teach, how to teach, and who should be the focus of teaching in
light of the developmental stage of the learner.