DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNERS

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

 Jean Piaget
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- asserts that intelligence is represented by how an organism interacts with its environment
through mental adaptation.
- 4 stages of cognitive development theory:
o Sensorimotor– intelligence is based on physical and motor activity, but excludes the
use of symbols
o Pre-operational– Children in the pre-operational stage are able to mentally
represent objects and events, and at this point in development, memory and
imagination are developed
o Concrete operational– the child’s exposure to, and integration of, knowledge has
matured such that all three types of knowledge (physical, logical-mathematical, and
social) can be used by the child to interact with the environment to a relatively high
degree
o Formal operational– intelligence is shown through the logical use of symbols related
to abstract concepts that move the individual to a much broader perspective and
thinking beyond himself or herself.
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 Lev Vygotsky
- Sociocultural cognitive development theory
- asserted that the only way to understand how humans come to know is to study learning in
an environment where the process of learning rather than the product that is the result of
learning, is studied.
- The concept in Vygotsky’s (1978) theory that each person has an individual range of
potential for learning is called the zone of proximal development. This zone indicates that
at any point in development, there are three levels of ability that are possible: that which a
person can do without guidance or help, that which a person cannot do even if helped, and
that which a person can do with help.
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development/

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

 Erik Erikson
- asserts that people experience eight 'psychosocial crisis stages' which significantly affect
each person's development and personality.
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- asserts that humans continue to change and develop throughout their lives, and that
personality is not exclusively formed during early childhood years.
MORAL DEVELOPMENT

 Jean Piaget
- saw children as little logicians
- believed that observing children playing games and querying them about the rules provided
a realistic “lab on life” for understanding how morality principles develop.
- Stages of Moral Development
o Children’s Understanding of Rules – based from 4stages of cognitive dev
o Children’s Moral Judgments.
 Lawrence Kholberg
- Viewed children as moral philosophers
- believed that it was not possible to study moral understanding without also coming to grips
with philosophy, or more specifically, what could possibly be meant by “morality”
- Levels and Stages of Morality
o Level I: Preconventionl Morality
 Stage 1. This first stage has been called “punishment and obedience,” or
“might makes right.”
 Stage 2. This stage has been called “instrumentalism” or “look out for
number one” or “what’s in it for me.”
o Level II: Conventional Morality.
 Stage 3. Stage 3 can be called “interpersonal relationships” or “good
girl/boy.”
 Stage 4. Maintaining social conventions or “law and order” are brief but apt
descriptions of the fourth stage.
o Level III: Postconventional Morality
 Stage 5. This can be called the “social contract” stage.
 Stage 6. This is the stage of “universal ethical principles.”

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

- goes hand-in-hand with cognitive development

- the growth of one’s physique and motor skills

Committee on the Science of Children Birth to Age 8: Deepening and Broadening the Foundation for
Success; Board on Children, Youth, and Families; Institute of Medicine; National Research Council; Allen
LR, Kelly BB, editors. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying
Foundation. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2015 Jul 23. 4, Child Development and
Early Learning. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310550/#
Lutz, S., & Huitt, W. (2004). Connecting cognitive development and constructivism: Implications from theory for
instruction and assessment. Constructivism in the Human Sciences,9(1), 67-90.

Fleming , J. S. (2006). Piaget, Kohlberg, Gilligan, and Others on Moral Development. Retrieved from
https://uoit.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-440446-dt-content-rid-
1628115_1/courses/20130940587.201309/39-piaget-kohlberg-gilligan-and-others-on-moral-development.pdf
Erikson's Psychosocial theory of human development. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.businessballs.com/self-
management/eriksons-psychosocial-theory-of-human-development-120/