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INITAO COLLEGE Course Code: EDUC 1

Jampason, Initao, Misamis Oriental Course Title: The Child and Adolescent
1st Semester, S.Y. 2022 - 2023 Learners and Learning Principles
Unit: 3 (Lecture)
Instructor: Subject Schedule:
Monday and Thursday
WAREN S. ABAYABAY
(10:30am-12:00pm)
Mobile Number:
Facebook Group Page:
09076307048 Educ 1 The Child and Adolescent Learners and
e-mail address: Learning Principles (BEED-1)

warenabay2x@gmail.com
Contact Schedule:
Monday – Friday
(8:00am-5:00pm)
Hand-outs 3

Topic: Desired Learning Outcomes:

Development of the Learners during the:  Trace one’s own physical development from
• Prenatal Period-Conception to birth pre-natal period to Toddlers
• Development of Infants & Toddlers  Become more appreciative of the gift of life
Physical, Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Development manifested in an anti-abortion stand.
 Discuss the role adults can play in supporting
Duration: 3 hrs the social-emotional skills of infants and
toddlers.
 Discuss what to do if you are concerned about
the social-emotional development of an infant
or toddler in your care.
INTRODUCTION

Think about the miraculous development that occurs during childhood in order for a tiny zygote to grow into a
walking, talking, thinking child. Newborn infants only weigh about 7.5 pounds but their physical, cognitive, and
psychosocial skills grow and change as they move through developmental stages. In this section, you’ll learn about
many of these changes.

ABSTRACTION

As discussed at the beginning of this hand-out, developmental psychologists often divide our development into
three areas: physical development, cognitive development, and psychosocial development. Mirroring Erikson’s stages,
lifespan development is divided into different stages that are based on age. We will discuss prenatal, infant, child,
adolescent, and adult development.

ANALYSIS

Development of the Learners during the:

Prenatal Period-Conception to birth and Development of Infants & Toddlers

Prenatal Development

How did you come to be who you are? From beginning as a one-cell structure to your birth, your prenatal
development occurred in an orderly and delicate sequence.

There are three stages of prenatal development: germinal, embryonic, and fetal. Let’s take a look at what
happens to the developing baby in each of these stages.

Germinal Stage (Weeks 1–2)

In the discussion of biopsychology earlier in the book, you learned about genetics and DNA. A mother and
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father’s DNA is passed on to the child at the moment of conception. Conception occurs when sperm fertilizes an
egg and forms a zygote. A zygote begins as a one-cell structure that is created when a sperm and egg merge.
The genetic makeup and sex of the baby are set at this point. During the first week after conception, the zygote
divides and multiplies, going from a one-cell structure to two cells, then four cells, then eight cells, and so on. This
process of cell division is called mitosis. Mitosis is a fragile process, and less than one-half of all zygotes survive
beyond the first two weeks (Hall, 2004). After 5 days of mitosis there are 100 cells, and after 9 months there are
billions of cells. As the cells divide, they become more specialized, forming different organs and body parts. In the
germinal stage, the mass of cells has yet to attach itself to the lining of the mother’s uterus. Once it does, the next
stage begins.

Embryonic Stage (Weeks 3–8)

After the zygote divides for about 7–10 days and has 150 cells, it travels down the fallopian tubes and
implants itself in the lining of the uterus. Upon implantation, this multi-cellular organism is called an embryo. Now
blood vessels grow, forming the placenta. The placenta is a structure connected to the uterus that provides
nourishment and oxygen from the mother to the developing embryo via the umbilical cord. Basic structures of the
embryo start to develop into areas that will become the head, chest, and abdomen. During the embryonic stage,
the heart begins to beat and organs form and begin to function. The neural tube forms along the back of the
embryo, developing into the spinal cord and brain.

Fetal Stage (Weeks 9–40)

When the organism is about nine weeks old, the embryo is called a fetus. At this stage, the fetus is about
the size of a kidney bean and begins to take on the recognizable form of a human being as the “tail” begins to
disappear.

From 9–12 weeks, the sex organs begin to differentiate. At about 16 weeks, the fetus is approximately 4.5
inches long. Fingers and toes are fully developed, and fingerprints are visible. By the time the fetus reaches the
sixth month of development (24 weeks), it weighs up to 1.4 pounds. Hearing has developed, so the fetus can
respond to sounds. The internal organs, such as the lungs, heart, stomach, and intestines, have formed enough
that a fetus born prematurely at this point has a chance to survive outside of the mother’s womb. Throughout the
fetal stage the brain continues to grow and develop, nearly doubling in size from weeks 16 to 28. Around 36
weeks, the fetus is almost ready for birth. It weighs about 6 pounds and is about 18.5 inches long, and by week 37
all of the fetus’s organ systems are developed enough that it could survive outside the mother’s uterus without
many of the risks associated with premature birth. The fetus continues to gain weight and grow in length until
approximately 40 weeks. By then, the fetus has very little room to move around and birth becomes imminent.

Hazards to Prenatal Development:

Teratogens

Teratogens are any agents from the environment that can cause harm to the developing fetus.

• Many harmful agents cause damage only if exposure occurs during a sensitive period of prenatal
development.

• Critical factors that influence the degree of harm a teratogen will cause:

– The amount and length of exposure – Individual differences in susceptibility

Miscarriage

• About 45% or more pregnancies end in miscarriage, that is, spontaneous abortion.

• Most miscarried fetuses have severe defects, such as missing chromosomes that make further
development impossible.

• Ninety percent of fetuses that survive the danger of miscarriage are born normal.

Risk Factors

• Age • Nutrition • Exercise • Stress

A. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Infant – a very young child than can neither walk nor talk
Toddlers – a young child who is learning to walk

CEPHALOCAUDAL
 The postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when the head grows more than the body.
 The greatest growth always occurs at the top –the head.
 The infants learn to use their ‘’UPPER LIMBS ‘’before their ‘’LOWER LIMBS ‘’.
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 The same pattern occurs in the head area.

 The top parts of the head= the eyes and the brain- grow faster than the lower parts such as the jaw.

PROXIMODISTAL
 The pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus grows from the inside of the body outwards.
 The muscular control of the trunk and the arms comes earlier as compared to the hands and fingers.

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
 Refers to the development of motor skills from the center of the body outward.

HEIGHT & WEIGHT

 Its normal for new born babies to drop 5 to 10 percent of their body weight within a couple of weeks of
birth (due to the baby’s adjustment to neonatal feeding/ once they adjust to sucking, swallowing and
digesting, they grow rapidly).
 Breastfed babies are typically heavier than the bottle-fed babies through the first 6 months. After 6
months, breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottle-fed babies.
 In general, an infant’s length increases by about 30% in the first 5 months.
 A baby’s weight usually triples during the first year but slows down in the second year of life.
 Low percentages are not a cause for alarm as long as infants progress along a natural curve of steady
development.

Brain Development Among the most dramatic changes in the brain in the first 2 years of life is the spreading
connections of dendrites to each other. (Remember neurons, dendrites, axon, and synapses).

Myelination or myelinization
 The process by which the axons are covered and insulated by layers of fat cells begins prenatally and
continues after birth.
 The process of MYELINATION or MYELINIZATION increases the speed at w/c information travels
through the nervous system.

At birth, the newborn’s brain is about 25% of its adult weight. By the second birthday, the brain is
about 75% of its adult weight.  Shortly after birth, a baby’s brain produces trillions more connections
between neurons than it can possibly use. The brain eliminates connections that are seldom or never used.
The infant’s brain is literally waiting for experiences to determine how connections are made.

Along this aspect of motor development, infants and toddlers begin from reflexes, to gross motor skills and
fine motor skills.

REFLEXES
 The newborn has some basic reflexes which are, of course automatic, and serve as survival
mechanisms before they have the opportunity to learn. Many reflexes which are present at birth
with generally subside within a few months as the baby grows and matures.

Common Reflexes
 Sucking Reflex (The sucking reflex is initiated when something touches the roof of an infant’s
mouth. Infants have a strong sucking reflex which helps to ensure they can latch unto bottle or
breast. The sucking reflex is very strong in some infants and they may need to suck on a
pacifier for comfort).
 Rooting Reflex (The roofing reflex is most evident when an infant’s cheek is stroked. The baby
responds by turning his or her head in the direction of the touch and opening their mouth for
feeding).
 Gripping Reflex (Babies will grasp anything that is placed in their palm. The strength of this grip
is strong, and most babies can support their entire weight in their grip).
 Curling Reflex (When the inner sole of a baby’s foot is stroked the infant respond by curling his
or her toes. When the outer sole of a baby’s foot is stroked, the infant will respond by
spreading out their toes).
 Startle/Moro Reflex (Infants will respond to sudden sounds or movements by throwing their
arms and legs out, and throwing their heads back. Most infants will usually cry when startled
and proceed to pull their limbs back into their bodies).
 Galant Reflex (The galant reflex is shown when an infant’s middle or lower back is stroked next
to the spinal cord. The baby will respond by curving his or her body toward the side which is
being stroked).
 Tonic Neck Reflex (The tonic neck reflex is demonstrated in infants who are placed on their
abdomens. Whenever side the child’s head is facing, the limbs on that side will straighten,
while the opposite limbs will curl).

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

 It is always a source of excitement for parents to witness dramatic changes in the infant’s first year
of life. This dramatic motor development is shown in babies unable to even lift their heads to being
able to grab things off the cabinet, to chase the ball and to walk away from parents.
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FINE MOTOR SKILLS

 Are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the hand, finger and thumb?
The development of these skills allows one to be able to complete tasks such as writing, drawing
and buttoning.
 The ability to exhibit fine motor skills involves activities that involve precise eye hand coordination.
 The development of reaching and grasping becomes more refined during the first 2 years of life.
Initially, infants show only crude shoulder and elbow movements, but later they show wrist
movements, hand rotation and coordination of the thumb and forefinger.

SENSORY and PERCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT

 The newborn senses the world into which he/she is born through his/her senses of vision, hearing,
touch, taste and smell. As he/she advances physically his/her sensory and perceptual abilities also
develop.

RESEACH FINDINGS regarding NEWBORN’S VISUAL PERCEPTION

 The newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30 times lower than normal adult vision. By 6 months of age, vision
becomes better and by the first birthday, the infant’s vision approximates that of an adult.
 Infants look at different things for different lengths of time. In an experiment conducted by Robert
Fantz(1963 cited by Santrock, 2002), it was found out that infants preferred to look at patterns such as
faces and concentric circles rather than at color or brightness. Based on these results, it is likely that
‘’pattern perception has an innate basis’’. Among the first few things that babies learn to recognize is
their mother’s face, as mother feeds and nurses them.

Can NEWBORN Hear?

 The sense of hearing in an infant develops much before the birth of the baby. When in the womb, the
baby hears his/her mother’s heartbeats, the grumbling of his/her stomach, the mother’s voice and music.
 Infants’ sensory thresholds are somewhat higher than those of adult which means that stimulus must be
louder to be heard by a newborn than by an adult

Can NEWBORNS differentiate Odors?

 In an experiment conducted by MacFarlane (1975) ‘’ Young infants who were breastfed showed a clear
preference for smelling their mother’s breast pad when the babies were only two days old. This shows
that it requires several days of experience to recognize their mother’s breast pad odor’’.

Can NEWBORNS feel pain? Do they Respond to touch?

 They do feel pain. Newborn males show a higher level of cortisol (an indicator of stress) after a
circumcision than prior to the surgery.
 Babies respond to touch. The newborn automatically sucks an object placed in his/her head toward the
side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck.

Can NEWBORNS distinguish the different tastes?

 In a study conducted with babies only two hours old, babies made different facial expressions when they
tasted sweet, sour and bitter solutions.
 When saccharin was added to the amniotic fluid of a near-term fetus, increased swallowing was
observed.
 This indicates that sensitivity to taste might be present before birth.

Do infants relate information through several senses? Or Are infants capable of intermodal perception?
 INTERMODAL PERCEPTION is the ability to relate, connect and integrate information about two or
more sensory modalities such as vision and hearing.
 In a study conducted by Spelke and Owsley (1979), it was found out that as early as at 3 ½ months old,
infants looked more at their mother when they also heard her voice and longer at their father when they
also heard his voice.
 This capacity for intermodal perception or ability to connect information coming through various modes
gets sharpened considerably through experience.

B. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Substage 1. Simple Reflexes (birth to 1 month)

Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors. Three primary reflexes are described by
Piaget. These are:
 Sucking of Objects in the mouth
 Moving or interesting objects with the eyes
 Closing of the hand when an object makes contact with the palm
First Habits and Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months)
It involves coordinating sensation and new schemas. In the first few months of life, infants’ behaviors
are focused almost exclusively on their own bodies (in Piaget’s terminology, the behaviors are primary) and are
repeated over and over again (i.e., they are circular). Infants also begin to refine their reflexes and combine them
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into more complex actions. For example: A child may such his or her thumb by accident and then later
intentionally repeat the action. These actions are repeated because the infant finds them pleasurable.

Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months)

In this stage the infants become more subject oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation repeat
actions that bring interesting or pleasurable results. This stage is associated primarily with the development of
coordination between vision and comprehension. Three new abilities occur at this stage: intentional grasping for
a desired object, secondary circular reactions and differentiations between ends and means.
At this stage, infants will intentionally grasp the air in the direction of a desired object, often to the
amusement of friends and family. Secondary circular reactions or the repetition of an action involving an external
object begin: for example, moving a switch to turn on a light repeatedly. This means that a secondary action is
focused on an object outside the body of an infant. The differentiation between means and ends also occurs.
This is perhaps one of the most important stages of a child’s growth as it signifies the drawn of logic.

Coordination of Reactions Stage Secondary Circular (8-12 months)

Coordination of vision and touch-hand-eye coordination; of schemes intentionally. This stage is
associated primarily with the development of logic and the coordination between means and ends. This is an
extremely important stage in development, holding what Piaget calls the “first proper intelligence”. Also, this
stage marks the beginning of goal orientation, the deliberate planning of steps to meet an objective. The action
is directed towards a goal.

Tertiary Circular Reactions, Novelty and Curiosity (12-18 months)

Infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things they can make
happen to objects; they experiment with new behavior.
This stage is associated primarily with the discovery of new means to meet goals. Piaget describes the
child at this juncture as the “young scientist” conducting pseudo experiments to discover new methods of
meeting challenges.
By the end of the sensorimotor period, objects are both separate from the self and permanent. Object
permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.

Internalization of Schemes (Invention of New Means through Mental Combination 18-24 months)
Infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental representations. This
stage is associated primarily with the beginnings of insight, or true creativity. This marks the passage into the
pre-operational stage. Evidence of an internal representational stage. Symbolizing the problem-solving
sequence before actually responding.
 Piaget’s substages are termed circular because the adaptive behavior to the world involves repeated
actions. Circular reactions are attempts to repeat an event that the baby likes.
 Primary circular reactions are oriented toward the infant’s own body, whereas secondary circular
reactions are aimed toward the environment including others. Here is an example of primary circular
reactions:
 At first, by accident, the baby gets her thumb in her mouth. But she doesn’t know how to do it again. She
waves her hand around & after many attempts, eventually succeeds in doing it again. Gradually, she
learns how to do it at will.
 Secondary circular reactions are repetitive actions that involve recreating events which 4-10 months old
babies observe outside of their own bodies, such as making their mobile crib shake by kicking their legs.
 Tertiary circular reactions, seen from approximately 10-18 months, is where baby does things over &
over again, just a little differently each time. When a baby seems to enjoy dropping the spoon over &
over again in many different ways, a proof of the creation of novel variations in events. Piaget describes
the baby at this stage as the “scientist”.

Acquiring the sense of object permanence is one of the infant’s most important accomplishments,
according to Piaget’s. Object permanence is the understanding that objects are not immediately perceptible
through the senses.

LEARNING & REMEMBERING

Do infants learn & remember? Yes! Pavlov’s classical conditioning & skinner’s operant conditioning
have been proven to apply to infants. All of us experience infantile amnesia, the inability to recall events that
happened when we were very young. Generally, we can remember little or nothing that has happened to us
before the age of about 5 years, and it is extremely rare for someone to recall many memories before 3 years.
Reports of childhood memories usually involve memories of significant events
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LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
From day one, infants appear to be programmed to tune in to their linguistic environment with the
specific goal of acquiring language. Infants clearly have remarkably acute language learning activities even from
an early age.
Within the first years of life, we humans seem to progress through the following stages in producing
language:
1.) Cooing, which compromise consonant as well as vowel sounds. Infants produce soft vocalizations
around 3 months of age
2.) Babbling, which compromises consonant as well as vowel sounds; to most people’s ears, the babbling
of infants growing up among speakers from different language groups sounds very similar. Ex.
“bababababa” or “ nanananana”
3.) One-word utterances; these utterances are limited in both the vowels & the consonants they utilize. Ex.
Usually they refer to important people (“mama”, “dada”), animals (“doggie,” “kitty”), objects that move
(“ball,” “car”) , foods (“milk”, “apple”), familiar actions (“bye-bye”, “more”), or outcomes of familiar
actions (“wet”, “hot” )
4.) Two-word utterances & Telegraphic speech Ex. “ go car”, “mommy shoe”, “ door open” or “ where
daddy go?
5.) Basic adult sentence structure (present by about age 4 years ) with the continuing vocabulary
acquisition.

As children become more sophisticated in their language, overgeneralize rules in ways that are
inconsistent with common usage.
 Ex. “I come home” for “ I came home” (sometimes called creative grammar ). Holophrase- to
convey intentions, desires & demands usually, the words are nouns describing familiar objects
that the child observes
 Ex.( Book, ball & baby) The general term for any kind of four-legged animal may be “doggie”. In
linguistic this is called Overextension error. The two-word or three-word utterances with
rudimentary syntax but with articles & prepositions missing are referred to as Telegraphic
speech.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

The Language Acquisition Device is the innate biological ability of humans to acquire & develop
language. The LAD was developed by linguist Noam Chomsky who contributes to the field of cognitive
psychology through his language research. He challenged the prevailing behaviorist theory that language was
acquired through exposure to it in our environment. Our capacity for language is the same all over the world in
wildly different cultures and environments.

C. SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

It refers to the development capacity of the child from birth through five years of age to form close and
secure adult and peer relationships; experience, regulate and express emotions in socially and culturally
appropriate ways; and explore the environment and learn – all in the context of family, community and culture. It
necessarily includes temperament, attachments and social skills. Formative Years - It is the first three years of a
child wherein considered as of the important in human development.

Elements on the socio-emotional development of a children:

1. Attachment

It is a term used to describe the emotional relationship that develops between an infant and the primary
caregiver, during the infant’s first year of life. It is a relationship that develops over time and is the result of many
interactions and caregiving experiences, particularly those in response to the infant’s needs and bids for
attention, comfort and protection.

2. Temperament

A word that “captures the ways that people differ, even at birth, in such things as their emotional reactions,
activity level, attention span, persistence and ability to regulate their emotions”. The reactivity of the infant to the
environment.

Different Temperament Categories:

1. Activity Level 4. Rhythmicity 7. Distractibility
2. Mood 5. Intensity of response 8. Adaptability
3. Threshold for distress 6. Approach – Withdrawal 9. Persistence
Three basic types of babies’ temperament:
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1. The easy child

 Easily readily establishes regular routines
 Generally cheerful
 Adapts readily to new experiences

2. The slow-to-warm-up child

 Shows mild, low-key reactions to environmental changes
 Negative in mood
 Adjust slowly to new experience
3. The difficult child
 Irregular in daily routines
 Slow to accept new experiences
 Tends to react negatively and intensely to new things

The Emergence of the Moral Self

A sense of morality presupposes awareness of the existence of moral standards and the ability to evaluate
oneself against standards.
According to Professor Deborah Stipek and her colleagues about 50% of the 19 to 24 months olds (1 year
and 7 months to 2 years old) and 80% of the 25 to 29 months old (2 years old to 2.5 years old) and almost all 30
to 40 months (2 years and six months to 3 years and 4 months) olds are capable of self – evaluation.
Children who aren’t capable of self-evaluation and self- description don’t have the capacity to experience a
sense of shame and remorse.

ASSESSMENT

Instruction: In a 1 whole sheet of yellow paper, answer the following questions.

1. Does physical development begin from the top or below? From the side to the center? Explain your
answer.

2. It is said that children learn language faster than adults. Why is this so? Give your hypothesis.

3. Search and read the poem of Dorothy L. Nolte entitled “Children Learn What They Live”. Select 1
line from the poem that is most meaningful to you. Explain why.