Tuguegarao Archdiocesan Schools System

Saint Joseph’s College of Baggao, Inc.

Baggao, Cagayan, Philippines
Transforming Lives, Shaping the Future

Module No. 1
Human Development: Meaning Concepts and Approaches

Course Title The Child and Adolescent Learners and Course Code EDUC102
Learning Principles
Instructor Melchor S. Baniaga Jr. Term and AY 1st Sem, AY 2020-2021

I. Overview
What aspects of ourselves change and develop as we journey through life? We move through significant
physical, cognitive, and psychosocial changes throughout our lives—do these changes happen in a systematic
way, and to everyone? How much is due to genetics and how much is due to environmental influences and
experiences (both within our personal control and beyond)? Is there just one course of development or are there
many different courses of development? In this module, we’ll examine these questions and learn about the
major stages of development and what kind of developmental tasks and transitions we might expect along the
way.

II. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

At the end of this module, you should be able to:
a. Describe human development and its three domains: physical, cognitive, and psychosocial
development
b. Explain key human development issues about the nature of change: continuous/discontinuous, one
course/multiple courses, and nature/nurture

III. Learning Resources and References

Corpuz B, Lucas M, Borado, H and Lucido P, (2018) The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning
Principles, Philippines.

IV. Lecture Content/Summary of Lesson

Two approaches to human development
1. Traditional – a belief that there are extensive changes from birth to adolescence, little or no change in
adulthood and decline in late old age
2. Life-span – a belief that even in adulthood developmental change takes place as it does during
childhood

What are the characteristics of human development from a life- span perspective? Paul Baltes (Santrock,
2002), an expert in life-span development, gives the following characteristics:
1. Development is lifelong. It does not end in adulthood. Ken and Naschielle will continue developing even
in adulthood.
2. Development is plastic. Plasticity refers to the potential for change. Development is possible throughout
the life-span. No one is too old to learn. There is no such thing as "I am too old for that..."
Aging is associated with declines in certain intellectual abilities. These declines can be prevented or
reduced. In one research study, the reasoning abilities of older adults were improved
through retraining (Willies & Schose, 1994 cited by Santrock J., 2005)

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 3. Development is multidimensional. Development consists of biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional
dimensions. Development as a process is complex because it is the product of biological, cognitive and
socioemotional processes (Santrock, 2002).
Biological processes involve changes in the individual's physical nature. The brains of every person
develops. They will gain height and weight. They will experience hormonal changes when they reach the period
of puberty, and cardiovascular decline as they approach late adulthood. All these show the common biological
processes in development.
Development is relatively orderly. (http://www.cdipage.com/development.htm) Babies will learn to sit,
crawl then walk before they can run. The muscular control of the trunk and the arms comes earlier as compared
to the hands and fingers. This is the proximodistal pattern. During infancy, the greatest growth always occurs
at the top - the head - with physical growth in size, weight and future differentiation gradually working its way
down from top to bottom (for example, neck, shoulders, middle trunk and so on). This is the cephalo-caudal
pattern. These development patterns are common to all.

Development takes place gradually. (http://www.cdipage.com/development.htm) Children won't develop

into pimply teenagers overnight. It takes years before they become one. In fact, that's the way of nature. The
bud does not blossom suddenly. The seed does not germinate overnight. While some changes occur in a flash of
insight, more often it takes weeks, months, or years for a person to undergo changes that result in the display of
developmental characteristics.
Cognitive processes involve changes in the individual's thought, intelligence, and language. Children
develop from mere sounds to a word becoming two words, the two words becoming a sentence. They would
move on to memorizing their first prayer, singing Lupang Hinirang in every flag ceremony to imagining what it
would be like to be a teacher or a pilot, playing chess and solving a complex math problem. All these reflect the
role of cognitive processes in development.
Socioemotional processes include changes in the individual's relationships with other people, changes in
emotions, and changes in personality. Babies respond with a sweet smile when affectionately touched and
frowned when displeased and even showed temper tantrum when they could not get or do what they wanted.
From aggressive children, they may develop into a fine lady and a gentleman or otherwise, depending on a
myriad of factors. They may fall in love and get inspired for life or may end up betrayed, deserted and desperate
afterwards. All these reflect the role of socioemotional processes in development.
These biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes are inextricably intertwined. While these
processes are studied separately, the effect of one process or factor on a person's development is not isolated
from the other processes. If children were undernourished and troubled by the thought of father and mother
about to separate, they could not concentrate on their studies and consequently would fail and repeat. As a
consequence, they may lose face and drop out of school, revert to illiteracy, become unskilled, unemployed and
so on and so forth. See how a biological process, affects the cognitive process which in turn, affects the
socioemotional process.

4. Development is contextual. Individuals are changing beings in a changing world. Individuals respond to
and act on contexts. These contexts include the individual's biological make up, physical environment, cognitive
processes, historical, social and cultural contexts. (Santrock, 2002) Children’s biological make up, social and
cultural contexts may vary and therefore make them develop differently from each other.

5. Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation. Growth, maintenance and regulation are
three (3) goals of human development. The goals of individuals vary among developmental stages. For instance,
as individuals reach middle and late adulthood, concern with growth gets into the back stage while maintenance
and regulation take the center stage.

V. Learning Activities
Here is a question for further discussion.

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 1. “Growth is an evidence of life” or “development is an evidence of life.” What does this mean? What
does this imply to a person’s development?

VI. Supplemental Context

Defining Human Development
Human development refers to the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development of humans
throughout the lifespan. What types of development are involved in each of these three domains, or areas, of
life? Physical development involves growth and changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and
health and wellness. Cognitive development involves learning, attention, memory, language, thinking,
reasoning, and creativity. Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, and social relationships.

Physical Domain
Many of us are familiar with the height and weight charts that pediatricians consult to estimate if babies,
children, and teens are growing within normative ranges of physical development. We may also be aware of
changes in children’s fine and gross motor skills, as well as their increasing coordination, particularly in terms
of playing sports. But we may not realize that physical development also involves brain development, which not
only enables childhood motor coordination but also greater coordination between emotions and planning in
adulthood, as our brains are not done developing in infancy or childhood. Physical development also includes
puberty, sexual health, fertility, menopause, changes in our senses, and primary versus secondary aging.
Healthy habits with nutrition and exercise are also important at every age and stage across the lifespan.

Cognitive Domain
If we watch and listen to infants and toddlers, we can’t help but wonder how they learn so much so fast,
particularly when it comes to language development. Then as we compare young children to those in middle
childhood, there appear to be huge differences in their ability to think logically about the concrete world around
them. Cognitive development includes mental processes, thinking, learning, and understanding, and it doesn’t
stop in childhood. Adolescents develop the ability to think logically about the abstract world (and may like to
debate matters with adults as they exercise their new cognitive skills!). Moral reasoning develops further, as
does practical intelligence—wisdom may develop with experience over time. Memory abilities and different
forms of intelligence tend to change with age. Brain development and the brain’s ability to change and
compensate for losses is significant to cognitive functions across the lifespan, too.

Psychosocial Domain
Development in this domain involves what’s going on both psychologically and socially. Early on, the
focus is on infants and caregivers, as temperament and attachment are significant. As the social world expands
and the child grows psychologically, different types of play and interactions with other children and teachers
become important. Psychosocial development involves emotions, personality, self-esteem, and relationships.
Peers become more important for adolescents, who are exploring new roles and forming their own identities.
Dating, romance, cohabitation, marriage, having children, and finding work or a career are all parts of the
transition into adulthood. Psychosocial development continues across adulthood with similar (and some
different) developmental issues of family, friends, parenting, romance, divorce, remarriage, blended families,
caregiving for elders, becoming grandparents and great grandparents, retirement, new careers, coping with
losses, and death and dying.

As you may have already noticed, physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development are often interrelated, as
with the example of brain development. We will be examining human development in these three domains in
detail throughout the modules in this course, as we learn about infancy/toddlerhood, early childhood, middle
childhood, adolescence, young adulthood, middle adulthood, and late adulthood development, as well as death
and dying.

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Learner-Centered Psychological Principles
The following 14 psychological principles pertain to all learners and the learning process that were put together
by the American Psychological Association.. They are best understood as an organized set of principles; no
principle should be viewed in isolation.
The 14 principles are divided into those referring to:
– Cognitive and metacognitive
– Motivational and affective
– Developmental and social
– Individual difference factors

COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE FACTOR

1. Nature of the learning process
The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an intentional process of constructing
meaning from information and experience.
Successful learners are active, goal-oriented, self-regulating, and assume personal responsibility for
contributing to their own learning.
Message for Teachers:
Use techniques that aid students in constructing meaning from information, experiences, and their own
thought and beliefs.
2. Goals of the learning process
The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional guidance, can create meaningful,
coherent representations of knowledge.
The strategic nature of learning requires students to be goal directed. Students must generate and pursue
personally relevant goals.
Message for Teachers:
Create meaningful student learning goals consistent with their personal and educational aspirations and
interests.
3. Construction of knowledge
The successful learner can link new information with existing knowledge in meaningful ways.
Knowledge widens and deepens as student continue to build links between new information and experiences
and their existing knowledge base. Unless new knowledge become integrated with the learner’s prior
knowledge and understanding, this new knowledge remains isolated, cannot be used most effectively in new
tasks, and does not transfer readily to new situations.
Message for Teachers:
Assist learners in acquiring and integrating knowledge by using such strategies as concept mapping and
thematic organization or categorizing.
4. Strategic thinking
The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and reasoning strategies to achieve
complex learning goals.
Successful learners use strategic thinking in their approach to learning, reasoning, problem solving, and
concept learning. They understand and can use a variety of strategies to help them reach learning and
performance goals, and to apply their knowledge in novel situations.
Message for Teachers:
Assist learners in developing, applying, and assessing their strategic learning skills.
5. Thinking about thinking
Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations facilitate creative and critical
thinking.
Successful learners can reflect on how they think and learn, set reasonable learning or performance goals. select
potentially appropriate learning strategies or methods, and monitor their progress towards these goals.
Message for Teachers:
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 Use instructional methods that focus on helping learners develop these higher order strategies to enhance
learning and personal responsibility for learning.
6. Context of learning
Learning is influenced by environmental factor, including culture, technology, and instructional practices.
Learning does not occur in a vacuum. Cultural or group influences on students impact many educationally
relevant variables: motivation, orientation toward learning, and ways of thinking. Technologies and
instructional practices must be appropriate for learners’ level of prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and their
learning and thinking strategies.
Message for Teachers:
Make the classroom environment nurturing to have significant impacts on student learning.

MOTIVATIONAL AND AFFECTIVE FACTORS

7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning
What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner’s motivation. Motivation to learn, in turn, is
influenced by the individual’s emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking.
Students’ belief about themselves as learners and the nature of learning have a marked influence on
motivation. Positive emotions generally enhance motivation and facilitate learning and performance. Mid
anxiety can also enhance learning and performance by focusing the learner’s attention on a particular task.
Message for Teachers:
Help students avoid intense negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, panic, rage, insecurity) and related thoughts
(e.g., worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing
labels).
8. Intrinsic motivation to learn
The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all contribute to motivation to learn.
Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant to personal interests,
and providing for personal choice and control.
Curiosity, flexible and insightful thinking, and creativity are major indicators of the learners’ intrinsic
motivation to learn.
Message for Teachers:
Encourage and support learners’ natural curiosity and motivation to learn by attending to individual
differences in learners’ perceptions of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevance, and personal choice and
control.
9. Effects of motivation on effort
Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner effort and guided practice. Without
learners’ motivation to learn, the willingness to exert this effort is unlikely without coercion.
Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills demands the investment of considerable learner energy and
strategic effort, along with persistence over time.
Message for Teachers:
Facilitate motivation by using strategies that enhance learner effort and commitment to learning and to
achieving high standards of comprehension and understanding.

DEVELOPMENTAL AND SOCIAL FACTORS

10. Developmental influences on learning
As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning. Learning is most
effective when differential development within and across physical, intellectual, emotional, and social domains
is taken into account.
Individuals learn best when material is appropriate to their developmental level and is presented in an
enjoyable and interesting way.
Message for Teachers:

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 Be aware of and understand developmental differences among students with and without emotional,
physical, or intellectual disabilities, to facilitate the creation of optimal learning contexts.
11. Social influences on learning
Learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations, and communication with others.
Setting that allow for social interactions, and that respect diversity, encourage flexible thinking, and social
competence can enhance learning.

Message for Teachers:

Allow for interactive and collaborative instructional contexts to provide individuals an opportunity for
perspective taking and reflective thinking that may lead to higher levels of cognitive, social and moral
development, as well as self-esteem.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FACTORS

12. Individual differences in learning
Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for learning that are a function of prior
experience and heredity.
Individuals are born with and develop their own capabilities and talents.
Message for Teachers:
Help student examine their learning preferences and expand or modify them, if necessary.
13. Learning and diversity
Learning is most effective when differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural, and social backgrounds are
taken into account.
Language, ethnicity, race, beliefs, and socioeconomic status all influence learning.
Message for Teachers:
Paying careful attention to these factors in the instructional setting enhances the possibilities for designing
and implementing appropriate learning environments.
14. Standards and assessment
Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the learner as well as learning progress –
including diagnostic, process, and outcome assessment – are integral parts of the learning process.
Ongoing assessment of the learner’s understanding of curricular material can provide valuable feedback to
both learners and teachers about progress towards the learning goals.
Message for Teachers:
Use of varied types of assessment will provide a clearer picture of student learning.

VII. Assessment
Will the process of development take place very fast or gradually? Expound your answer.

VIII. Assignment
In the light of researches on human development, which of the two approaches is closer to the truth – traditional
or lifespan? Why?

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