CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is a basic course on child and development focusing on current

research and theory on biological, linguistic, cognitive, social, and
emotional dimensions of development, and the factors that affect the
progress of development.
The coverage of the course is structured to cover the key dimensions
of the development of children and adolescents: physical, linguistic,
cognitive, and socio-emotional development.
The coverage of these is intended to provide the future teacher w/
broad yet fairly detailed understanding of the development processes
that students undergo and do that such an understanding may be used to
guide all dealings w/ the students.
 COURSE OBJECTIVES
At the end of the course, the students should be able to:
1. Compare and contrast, organize, and synthesize the different researches
and theories related to the four broad dimensions of child and adolescent
development.
2. Observe and reflect on the applicability of the theories to children and
adolescent in their local context.
3. Articulate in their own views and ideas on how children and adolescents
grow.
4. Appreciate, value and respect the difficult and complex processes that
students of different ages go through.
5. Express one’s insights regarding how teaching and learning processes
should take into consideration the various forms of knowledge regarding
child and adolescent development.
 MODULE 1

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: MEANING, CONCEPTS and APPROACHES

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they
have their exits and entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts…

William Shakespear
Childhood – refers to the time or state of being a child, early stage in the existence or
development of something.
- as an evolving series of steps, usually constant, towards adulthood shaped by an
extensive array of forces and ideas, from ethnicity to class, region to religion and
from gender to politics.
- connotes a time of innocence, where one is free from responsibility but
vulnerable to forces in his environment.
- a period where one enjoys closeness with parents and shared expectations.

CHANGING PATTERN OF CHILDHOOD

The historical arc shows several long, gradual and not necessarily linear shifts.
“Typical” free child belonged to a homogeneous society where he had to contend w/ similar
values, common religious precepts and expectations, opportunities from a characteristically
rural setting.
In the 20th century – “typical child” is confronted w/ more
complex forces in the environment and in particular in a
society that offers varied rules and choices and
institutions.
Adolescence – from Latin word “adolescentia, from
adolescere w/c means “to grow up” – is the period of
psychological and social transition between childhood and
adulthood.
- defined as the transitional stage of human development
in w/c a juvenile matures into an adult. The transition
involves biological, social, and psychological changes.
Modern cultural and social phenomenon “adolescence”
and its end-points are not tied to physical milestones.
The word is derived from the Latin noun “dolor” meaning pain. The stage
where the person experiences dramatic changes in the body along with
developments in his psychology and career.

Human development – is the pattern of movement or change that begins at

conception and continues through the life span.
- it includes growth and decline – meaning development can be positive
or negative
Growth – is an increase in some quantity over time (height, size)
Development- is systematic and orderly change, organisms experience as
they live and either gain or lose abilities.
General pattern of growth and development:
1. Physical structure or physique – it involves changes in terms of height, weight,
body proportions and general physical appearance
2. Internal organs – it involves changes in the functions of glands, nervous system,
circulatory, digestive, muscular, reproductive etc.
Principles of Growth and Development
1. Continuity – growth and development is a continues process from conception to
death, in the early years of life, development consists of changes that lead the child
to maturity not only of body size and functioning but also of behavior.
- even after maturity has been attained development does not end.
- changes continue which lead to the period of life known as senescence.
2. Sequentiality – it follows a pattern of development peculiar to it and in
general is the same for all individuals.
- Social and Behavioural scientists increasingly have come to see development as
a relationship between organism and environment in a transaction or collaboration
3. Generality to Specificity
- development proceeds from general to specific
Ex. The fetus moves its whole body but incapable of making specific
responses.
4. Differentiality – tempo of development is not even, individuals differ in the
rate of growth and development.
- there are periods of great intensity and equilibrium and there are
periods of imbalance
- development achieves a plateau and this may occur at any level or
between levels.
5. Development proceeds from head downward – this principle describes the
direction of growth and development
- the head region starts growth at first, following by which other organs
starts developing
6. Development proceeds from the centre of the body outward
- directional sequence of development during both prenatal and
postnatal stages may either be (i) from head to foot or (ii) from the central
axis to the extremities of the body.
ex. Spinal cord develops before outer parts of the body.
Childs arms develops before the hands, hands and feet develops
before the fingers and toes.
7. Development depends on maturation and learning
Maturation – refers to the sequential characteristic of biological growth and
development.
- changes in the brain and nervous system account largely for maturation
and help children to improve in thinking and motor skills.
- children mature to a certain point before they can progress to new skills
8. Development proceeds from the simple to more complex
- children use their cognitive and language skills to reason and solve
problems.
ex. Children at first are able to hold the big things by using both arms. In the
next part able to hold things in a single hand, then only able to pick small
objects like cereals, peas etc.
9. Growth is a personal matter – children should be permitted to
grow at his/her own rate.
- if we expects too much, he/she does even less than he/she
is able to do.
10. Growth comes from within – one or surrounding environment
can encourage or can hinder the energy of a child, but the
drive force that pushes a child to grow is carried inside him.
Thus parents and teacher’s job is to clear the track, guide the child
with loving acceptance and then relax and enjoy.
11. Growth has certain characteristics common at particular
stages
12. Growth is gradual and orderly but uneven.
Major Principles of Human Development
1. Development is relatively orderly
• Proximodistal pattern – proceeds from the center of the body outwartd
• Cephalocaudal pattern – proceeds from the head downward
2. While the pattern of development is likely to be similar, the outcomes
of development processes and rate of dev’t. are likely to vary among
individuals.
3. Development takes place gradually.
4. Development as a process is complex because it is the product of
biological, cognitive & socio-emotional processes.
Approaches to human development
1. Traditional – believes that individuals will show extensive change
from birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood and
decline in late old age.
2. Life-span approach – believes that even in adulthood, developmental
change takes place as it does during childhood.
Characteristics of the life-span perspective :
 Development is lifelong – it does not end in adulthood. No
developmental stage dominates development.
Development is multidimensional – development consists of
biological, cognitive & socio-emotional dimensions
Development is plastic – is possible throughout the lifespan.
Development is contextual – individuals are changing beings in a
changing world.
Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation
 The Stages of Development and Developmental Task
For every development stage, there is an expected developmental
task. What happens when the expected developmental task are not
achieved at the corresponding developmental stage? How can you
help children achieve these developmental tasks?
Stages of Human Development
1. Pre – natal period
3 phases
 germinal stage – first 2 weeks (conception, implantation of
placenta
 embryonic stage – 2 weeks – 2 months (formation of vital organs
and systems
Fetal stage – 2 months – birth (bodily growth continues, movement
capacity begins, brain cells multiply age of viability – having
attained such form and development as to be normally capable of
surviving outside the mother’s womb.
 - it involves tremendous growth – from a single cell to an organism
complete with brain and behavioural capabilities
Infancy (birth – 2 years)
 Extreme dependence on adults
 Beginning psychological activities:
language, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination and social
learning
 Language of newborn is the cry
 Usually eats every 2 to 3 hours
 Uncoordinated movements
 Toothless
 Poor vision (focusing range 8 to 12 inches)
 Usually doubles weight by 9months
 Respond to human voice & touch
Infancy (1 year old)
a. change from plump body to leaner more muscular toddler
b. begins to walk and talk
c. ability for passive language (better understanding of what’s
being said)
d. tentative sense for independence
e. determined explorer
Infancy (2 years old)
a. begins to communicate verbally (name)
b. can usually speak in 3 to 4 word sentences
c. famous for negative behavior “NO” to everything!
temper tantrums
d. will play side by side other children, but does not actively play
with them
e. great imitators
Characteristics of Babyhood
- is the true foundation age
many behavior patterns, attitudes and emotional
expressions are established.
a critical period in setting the pattern for personal &
emotional adjustments
- is an age of rapid growth & development
a. grow physically & psychologically
change in height & weight
can develop interest & attitude
b. development of body control(sitting, standing, walk)
c. increase independence & individuality
begins to do things
rebellion against being treated as baby
 protest comes in forms of angry outburst
d. period of creativity, sex role & socialization for adjustment
in future life
e. ability to recognize and respond people & objects in the
environment
f. baby is able to understand many things & communicate its
needs & wants
Areas of development in Babyhood
1. Motor
2. Cognitive
3. Emotional
4. Language
5. Moral-spiritual development
Developmental tasks - is a task that arises at or about a certain
period in life. (Havighurst, Robert)
Motor development – cephalocaudal – head to foot
- proximodistal – center to outlying parts
Cognitive development – in infancy, they don’t understand that
objects exist even when hidden from view
- during the second year of life, a child acquires “object
permanence” & start to search for objects in different places
- more curious and if the new object they find is better than
the old one, it holds their attention.
Emotional development – baby starts to show emotion
- learns love when they’re cradled in their mothers arms
- they show negative behavior when separated from their
mother
Language development – first language is crying, cooing,
babbling, syllable word languages
Moral-spiritual development – 3rd month baby starts to respond
voices, 6th month baby smile to familiar faces and show fear
of strangers, 15th month interested in familiar faces & wants to
be w/ them, likes to play w/ babies, and as they grow older, they
start to share and nicer.
EARLY CHILDHOOD (3 – 5 years old)
3 years old
 wants to be just like parents
Vocabulary & pronunciation continue to expand
Climbs stairs with alternating feet
Can briefly stand on one foot
4 years old
 sentences are more complex; speaks well enough for strangers t
understand
Imagination is vivid; line between what is real & imaginary is often
indistinct
Develops fears (darkness, animals, fear of death)
5 years old
 can hop on one foot & skip
Can accurately copy figures

MIDDLE and LATE CHILDHOOD (6 to 12 years old)

 both large & small muscles well-developed
developed complex motor skills
from independent activities to same sex group activities
acceptance by fears very important
parental approval still important
May begin to read
Socialize w/ other children their age
Characteristics of late childhood – they are many names
parents - troublesome age
educators – elementary school age, critical period – habit
of being achievers, working above or below their
capabilities
psychologists – gang age, age of conformity, creative age,
play age
Developmental Task in terms of physical development
height: increase annual 2 to 3 inches
weight: more variable than height
 body proportions: mouth & jaw becomes larger forehead
flattens, chest broadens & abdomen flattens, arms, legs elongated
teeth: at onset of puberty 28-32 permanent teeth
Skills of late childhood
 acquisition of skills is dependent on environment, opportunities,
body build, in trend in peers, socio-economic class
 sex difference: in play skills also in level of perfection
 girls surpass boys in fine motor skills – painting, sewing, weaving
 boys surpass girls in gross muscle – throwing a basketball
kicking football
4 types of skills : self help skills, social help skills, school skills,
play skills
Handedness left handed children become ambidextrous by late
childhood
Speech improvement: etiquette, colour, number, money, time
vocabulary, slang word, content of speech, egocentric to
socialized speech, boasting
Emotions, emotional expression in late childhood – outbursts &
babyish, withdrawal reactions to fear as cowards, jealousy as
poor sportsmanship, anxiety, fear, fun gangs, members are
popular, rarely have members of both sexes, same age same
interest, and same abilities.
Adolescence (13 to 18 years old)
- traumatic life stage for child & parent
- puberty occurs
- extremely concerned w/ appearance
- trying to establish self-identity
- confrontations w/ authority
Developmental tasks of adolescence: 13 to 18
1. Learning to get along w/ friends of both sexes
2. Accepting one’s physical body & keeping it healthy
3. Becoming more self- sufficient
4. Making decisions about marriage & family life
5. Preparing for a job or career
6. Acquiring a set of values to guide behavior
7. Becoming socially responsible.
Developmental task of early adulthood: 19 to 29
8. Selecting a mate
9. Learning to live w/ a partner
10.Starting a family, rearing children, managing a home
11.Starting an occupation & assuming civic responsibility.
Developmental tasks of middle adulthood: 30 to 60
1. Helping teenage children to become happy & responsible
adults.
2. Achieving adult social & civic responsibility.
3. Satisfactory career achievement
4. Developing adult leisure time activities
5. Relating to one’s spouse as a person
6. Accepting the physiological changes of middle age.
7. Adjusting to aging parents.
Developmental tasks of old age: 61 & above
8. Adjusting to decreasing strength & health.
9. Adjusting to retirement & reduced income.
10.Adjusting to death of spouse.
11.Establishing relations w/ one’s own age group.
12.Establishing satisfactory living quarters.
 MODULE 3
Issues on Human Development

The interaction of heredity & environment is so extensive

that to ask w/c is more important, nature or nurture, is like
asking w/c is more important to a rectangle, height or width.

William Greenough
Nature – refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that
influence who we are – from physical appearance to our
personality characteristics.
Nurture – refers to all the environmental variables that
impact who we are, including our early childhood
experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships,
and our surrounding culture.
Plato and Descartes – said that certain things are inborn, or
that they occur naturally regardless of environmental
influence.
Nativist – says that all or most behaviors & characteristics
are the results of inheritance.
John Locke – believed in what is known as “tabularasa”, w/c
suggests that the mind begins as a blank slate. Meaning
everything that we are & all our knowledge is determined by
our experience.
Traits Theories – believed that personality is composed of
dispositions(usual attitude) that are stable over time.

Allport proposed that personality traits could be categorised at

three levels:
 Cardinal traits (traits that dominate an individuals’ life)
 Central traits (general characteristics that form from the basic
foundations of personality, ex. Intelligent, honest)
 Secondary traits (traits related to attitudes/preferences that
only appear in certain situations, ex. Impatience when in queue)
Eysencks’ personality theory:
Introversion/extroversion(directing attention to inner
experiences versus focusing attention outwards on people
Neuroticism/emotional stability(become upset)
Psychoticism – difficulty dealing w/ reality,(antisocial)
Empiricists – take the position that all or most behaviors &
characteristics result from learning.
Behaviourism – believe that all actions & behavior are the
results of conditioning.
John Watson – believed that people could be trained to do &
become anything, regardless of their genetic background.
Francis Galton – coined both the terms nature versus nurture
and eugenics and believed that intelligence was the result of
genetics. He believed that intelligent individuals should be
encouraged to marry and have many children, while less
intelligent individuals should be discouraged from
reproducing.
Social Cognitive Theory – personality develops via the
observation and modelling of people in the environment
(reinforcement & punishment)
 Big Five Model (Newest trait theory)w/c represents five
core traits that interact to form personality:

Openness – to new experiences

Consciousness – being careful and self-disciplined
Extraversion – being assertive and seeking out excitement
Agreeableness – a tendency towards being pleasant and
accommodating
Neuroticism – a tendency towards negative emotional
states
Freud – believed that personality development is the result of
conflicts resolved in childhood & how we learns to satisfy our
impulses in dealing w/ societal pressures.
Continuity versus Discontinuity

development is a continuous process that is gradual and

cumulative.
development pass through
stages of life that are qualitatively
Different from each other.
 MODULE 4

Research in Child and Adolescent

“Research is to see what everybody else has seen and to

think what nobody else has thought.”

- Albert Szent, Gyorgi, Hungarian Biochemist

Read each statement below. Do you agree/disagree w/ each
statement? Write yes or no to indicate your answer.
1. Research is only for those who plan to take master’s /doctorate
degree.
2. Research is easy to do.
3. Research is all about giving questionnaires & tallying the
responses.
4. Research w/ 1 or 2 respondents is not a valid research.
5. Teachers, bec. they are busy in their class, are expected to use
existing research rather than conduct their own research in the
classroom.
6. There is no need to go into research bec. a lot of researches
have already been conducted.
7. Students are mere users of knowledge arrived at by research. It
is not their task to conduct research.
8. Students do not possess the qualifications to conduct research.
Research
- gives teachers & also policy-makers important knowledge
to use in decision-making for the benefit of the learners.
- enables teachers to come up w/ informed decision on
what to teach & how to teach.
- involves decisions related to educational policies,
curriculum, effective teaching-learning process.
- helps teachers to be more knowledgeable about how to
fit our teaching w/ the developmental levels of our learners.
- a systematic and logical approach
- one principle in research is adherence of the scientific
method.1
Dewey’s 5 steps in scientific method of research:
1. Identify and define the problem
2. Determine the hypothesis
3. Collect and analyse data
4. Formulate conclusions
5. Apply conclusions to the original hypothesis
Research Designs
6. Case study – in-depth look at an individual
7. Correlational study – determines associations
8. Experimental – determines cause-and-effect
9. Naturalistic observation – focuses on children’s experiences in
natural settings
10.Longitudinal – studies & follows through a single group over a
period of time
11.Cross-sectional – researches on different ages compared at one
time
7. Sequential – combined cross-sectional & longitudinal
8. Action research – reflective process of progressive problem
solving
Data-Gathering Techniques
1. Observation – either in laboratory or materialistic settings
2. Physiological measures
3. Standardized tests
4. Interviews and questionnaire
5. Life-history records
Ethical principles
In conducting research just like we have the Code of Ethics
that governs the behavior of a teachers, conducting a research
there is also code of ethics to follow.
1. Ethical standard of the American Educational Research
Association
2. Ethical Standards for Research w/ Children – Society for
Research in Child Development
3. Standards of the American Psychological Association
Concerning Research
Impact of teachers’ Research Involvement on Teachers
1. teachers who have been involved in research may become
more reflective, critical, analytical in teaching
2. participating in teacher research helps teachers become
deliberate in decision making
3. teacher research develops the professional dispositions of
lifelong learning, reflective & mindful teaching
4. lead to rethinking & reconstructing what it means to be a
teacher
5. has the potential to demonstrate to teachers & prospective
teachers that learning to teach is inherently connected to
learning to enquire.
 MODULE 5
Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud is the most popular psychologist that studied the
development of personality & the most controversial. Why?
Because Freud identify specific erogenous zones for each
stages of development.
• An erogenous zone (from Greek ἔρως, érōs "love" and
English -genous "producing" from Greek -γενής, -
genḗs "born") is an area of the human body that has
heightened sensitivity, the stimulation of which may
generate a sexual response, such as relaxation, the
production of sexual fantasies, sexual arousal and orgasm.
• Erogenous zones are located all over the human body, but
the sensitivity of each varies, and depends on
concentrations of nerve endings that can provide
pleasurable sensations when stimulated.
• The touching of another person's erogenous zone is regarded
as an act of physical intimacy. Some people may resent
stimulation in this manner while others may find it pleasing,
and this may also depend on the relationship between the
persons involved.
• Erogenous zones may be classified by the type of sexual
response that they generate. Many people are gently aroused
when their eyelids, eyebrows, temples, shoulders, hands, arms
and hair are subtly touched. Gently touching or stroking of
these zones stimulates a partner during foreplay and increases
the arousal level. Also, the gentle massage or stroke of the
abdominal area along with kissing or simply touching the navel
 can be a type of stimulation.
If needs are not met along the area, a fixation occurs.
Fixation -  the state in which an individual becomes obsessed
with an attachment to another human, an animal, or an
inanimate object.
1. Oral stage – the erogenous zone is the mouth(sucking) too
much or too little satisfaction can lead to an oral fixation
or oral personality w/c is shown in an increased focus on
oral activities. This type of personality may be oral
receptive, have strong tendency to smoke, drink alcohol,
overeat, or oral aggressive that is a tendency to bite his or
her nails.
2. Anal stage – the erogenous zone is the anus – child finds
satisfaction in eliminating & retaining feces. The fixation
in this stage is being anal retentive, an obsession w/
cleanliness, perfection, & control, or anal expulsive where
the person may become messy or disorganized.
3. Phallic stage – erogenous zone is the genitals. Oedipus
complex – in Greek Mythology, Oedipus unintentionally
killed his father & married his mother Jocasta.
Psychonalysts believed that girls may also have a similar
experience, develops unconscious sexual attraction towards
their father – we referred to as the Electra complex.
4. Latency stage – stage that sexual urges remain repressed.
The children’s focus is the acquisition of physical &
academic skills.
5. Genital stage – begins at he start of puberty when sexual
urges are once again awakened.
 Module 6
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
 MODULE 7
ERIK ERIKSON’S PSYCHO-SOCIAL THEORY OF
DEVELOPMENT

“Healthy children will not fear life if their elders have

integrity enough no to fear death”.

--Erik Erikson
 MODULE 8

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

“Right action tends to be defined in terms of general

individual rights and standards that have been critically
examined and agreed upon by the whole society”.

-- Lawrence Kohlberg
Moral development - is the gradual development of an
individuals concept of right or wrong – conscious, religious
values, social attitudes and certain behaviour.
• This theory is a stage theory. In other words, everyone goes
through the stages sequentially without skipping any stage.

• However, movement through these stages are not natural,

that is people do not automatically move from one stage to
the next as they mature. In stage development, movement
occurs when a person notices inadequacies in his or her
present way of coping with a given moral dilemma.

• According to stage theory, people cannot understand moral

reasoning more than one stage ahead of their own. For
example, a person in Stage 1 can understand Stage 2
reasoning but nothing beyond that.
Reciprocal teaching – refers to an instructional activity in which
students become the teacher in small group reading sessions.
Four strategies: a. summarizing b. question generating
c. clarifying d. predicting
Reciprocal teaching is an instructional activity that takes the form of a dialogue
between teachers and students regarding segments of text for the purpose of
constructing the meaning of text. Reciprocal teaching is a reading technique
which is thought to promote students' reading comprehension. A reciprocal
approach provides students with four specific reading strategies that are
actively and consciously used to support comprehension: Questioning,
Clarifying, Summarizing, and Predicting. Palincsar (1986) believes the purpose
of reciprocal teaching is to facilitate a group effort between teacher and students
as well as among students in the task of bringing meaning to the text.
Reciprocal teaching is best represented as a dialogue between teachers and
students in which participants take turns assuming the role of teacher.
Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar
Cognitive Development
in Infants & Toddlers
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic
Epistemology

• Child is an active seeker of information

• Major Themes
• Method Clinique (clinical method)
• Constructivism
• Schemes (Schemata)
• Organization
• Adaptation
• Reflective Abstraction
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic
Epistemology
• Method Clinique
• Pose problem to the child
• Observe child’s attempt to solve the problem
• Probe with questions to determine underlying
strategy and information needed to solve the
problem
• Problems:
• With prelinguistic infants, inferences must be
made
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic
Epistemology
• Constructivism
• Each experience is represented in a unique
way by each individual
• Construction of representation is based on:
• History
• Strategy
• Social/Environmental support
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic
Epistemology
• Scheme (Schemata)
• Organized representation of
• Actions (e.g. reflexes)
• Thoughts (e.g. concepts)
• Processes (e.g. problem solving strategies)
• Schemata provide the framework with which we
interpret new experiences and construct new
schemata or integrate new information into existing
schemata
Piaget’s Theory of Genetic Epistemology

• Organization
• Across development Schemata are constantly
differentiated and integrated
• Schemata are organized into increasingly
complex systems
• Organizations may reflect hierarchical or
network organizations
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic
Epistemology
• Adaptation
• Tendency of the organism to modify itself to meet
environmental demands
• System seeks equilibrium with its environment through
two processes
• Assimilation
• Accommodation
• Process of reaching equilibrium is termed equilibration
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic Epistemology

• Reflective Abstraction
• Process of construction of an internal representation
from external stimuli
• Recognition or awareness of some external
stimulus
• Processing the stimulus in one’s working memory
(controlled)
• Modification (accommodation) of cognitive
structures (schemata) to form a representation of
experience
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic
Epistemology

• Stages of Cognitive Development

• Qualitatively different ways of knowing the world
• Sequence is universal
• Timing of onset of each stage is unique and
depends on
• Neurological maturation
• Experience with others and the outside world
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic
Epistemology

• Sensorimotor (Infancy-Early toddlerhood)

• Preoperational (Early childhood)
• Concrete Operational (Middle childhood)
• Formal Operational (Adolescence)
 Piaget’s Theory of Genetic Epistemology

• Characteristics of Sensorimotor Thought

• Knowledge is based on direct sensory and motor experience
• Mental representation is based on direct representation of sensory
and motor experience
• Symbolic representation emerges late in the stage
• Key accomplishments:
• Person permanence
• Object permanence
• Symbolic representation
• Sense of intentionality and primitive cause-effect
 Piaget’s Theory of
Genetic Epistemology
• Stages of Sensorimotor Thought
• Primary Reflexes
• Primary Circular Reactions
• Secondary Circular Reactions
• Coordination of Secondary Schemes
• Tertiary Circular Reactions
• Transition to Symbolic Thought
 Language Development in
Infancy & Toddlers
• What is language?
• Semanticity—symbolic representation of object, actions,
events, concepts
• Productive—seemingly infinite combinations of words
that lead to utterances that can be understood
• Displacement—allows reference to objects, actions,
events, and concepts in their absence
• Arbitrary—no direct relationship between the sound and
structure of a word and the object, action, event, or
concept it represents
 Language Development in Infancy & Toddlers

• Structures of Language
• Phonology/Grapheme
• Morphology
• Syntax
• Semantics
• Pragmatics
 Language Development in Infancy &
Toddlers

• Theories of Language Development

• Learning/Environmental Theories
• Skinner—Operant Conditioning
• Bandura—Vicarious Learning (modeling and
imitation)
• Nativist Theory
• Chomsky—Language Acquisition Device (innate
structure containing universals of language)
 Language Development in Infancy &
Toddlers

• Nativist Theory
– All physiologically intact humans have capacity to
develop language
– Unclear whether non-human animals develop language
– Physical structures specialized for language
• Wernicke’s area—comprehending words and producing
spoken and written langauge
• Broca’s area—production of speech
– Sensitive periods render the young child at an advantage
in learning language
 Language Development in
Infancy & Toddlers

• Nativists critiqued based on

• Lack of evidence of innate knowledge of
“universals of language”
• Lack of experimental studies to refute
nativists’ assumptions (depravation studies)
 Language Development in Infancy &
Toddlers

• Interaction Theories:
• Cognitive:
• Language and cognition are directly linked
• As cognitive development proceeds, children move
through increasingly complex representational systems
(e.g. object permanence to utterances)
• Connectionist or Network models seem to be most
persuasive for the cognitive approach; increased
complexity of networks are linked to increased facility
with language (support from empirical rsch and
computer simulations
 Language Development in Infancy &
Toddlers

• Social Interactionist
• Biopsychosocial Model of language development
• Interactions with others in the environment (ala
Vygotsky’s ideas)
• Appropriate stimulation during sensitive periods
• Corrections provide feedback and expansion
without negative demeanor
• Child’s gestures coupled with words are accepted
and recast
• Code-switching
 Language Development in Infancy &
Toddlers

• Precursors to Language Development in

Infancy
• Perceptual skills—auditory acuity and
discrimination
• Social interactions—opportunities to hear
the native language
• Shared attention to distinctive features
[directed by competent language user]
 Language Development in Infancy &
Toddlers

• Development of Language through Infancy and

Toddlerhood
• Pre-linguistic
• Neonates: reflexive, non-intentional sounds
• Young infants (roughly the first 2-4 months)
• Variation in cries
• Distinctive sounds indicating pleasure
• Gazing with apparent intent
 Language Development in Infancy &
Toddlers

• Development of Language through Infancy and

Toddlerhood
• Linguistic/Communicative
• Gestures coordinated with sounds (6 to 8months)
• Babbling with presence of syllables (consonant-
vowel repetitions; cross cultural)
• Echolalia (immediate repetition of words—8-12
months)
• Can begin to link gestures with one-word
utterances to establish communicative
competence
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH
SCHOOL LEARNER