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Assignment No.2

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING (8610)

Q.1: Describe emotional characteristics of elementary level students.

Answer: EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LEARNERS AT ELEMENTARY

LEVEL

Learners at elementary level may exhibit the following characteristics:

 Difficulty in starting things but will continue to end

 Worries related to school performance

 Beginning of empathy sees others view point

 Sense of humor expressed in riddles, practical jokes, and nonsense words

 Discrimination between good and bad but still immature

 Is sensitive gets hurt easily

 Has sense of possession and takes care of possession (makes collections)

Activities to promote emotional health at elementary level

A teacher can promote social-emotional development in classroom if he is sensitive to children’s

needs, helps them feel secure and confident, and acts as a model for effective social behavior
(Fei & Li, 2018).

Following activities can be used to develop emotional skills among learners:

Tone of voice

Learning Objective: To help children, recognize that how things are said can be just as important
as what is said.

Skill: Emotional communication, self-awareness

Ask the students what they think" tone of voice” means. write down all of the ideas on board.
Give examples of different voice tones.

Explain to the students:

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The tone of your voice--- how you actually are saying something--- communicates what you feel.
Often your tone of voice can give stronger message than your words. Sometimes, how you say
something can change the meaning of what you are saying. It can even give the message that you
don't really mean what you are saying.

Ask the children to sit in a the circle, Going around circle, ask them to give examples of voice
tone that can change meaning of what's the being said or communicate the wrong feeling.

Example 1: The first child in the circle says, “I love ice cream” in a bored voice. The next child
then says, “I love ice cream” as though she really does love it.

Example 2: The next child says, “I have to do so much homework!” in a happy voice. The next
child says the same sentence in a tone he thinks appropriate, such as unhappy or angry.

Provide every child a chance to participate in the activity.

i. Facial expressions

Learning Objective: To teach children the difference between facial expressions; to identify
possible causes for these expressions

Skill: Emotional communication, self-awareness

Ask the children, “When you look at people’s faces, what do their expression tell you?”
Brainstorm ideas and write them on the board.

Tell them:

People’s facial expressions show how they feel. The way their faces look can tell you more than
what they are saying. You can often tell whether a person is angry, sad, or happy, even if you
can’t hear her words.

When someone is talking to you, it’s important for you to use an appropriate facial expression. If
she is saying something funny, you would probably smile; sad, you might look serious; fearful. If
you look bored, that person probably will not continue talking with you.

What to do: Distribute an activity sheet to students which displays various facial expressions.

• Happy • Disappointed • Confused

• Angry • Surprised • Proud

• Uncertain • Satisfied • Shocked

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Ask children to make their guess about the facial expressions and raise hand to answer. Support
the concept that they can tell how each child is feeling even without any words being said. When
asked the reason for each child’s feelings, children can invent situations by themselves.

Talking about your feelings

Learning Objective: To teach children that stating their feelings can help in dealing with them.

Skill: Emotional communication

Tell your students:

It is important to recognize how you are feeling at different times. Moreover you should express
your feelings appropriately. If you are angry, it is better to tell someone than to keep it secret. If
you are feeling happy share your excitement with others.

Expressing your feelings will help you deal with them. If you tell someone your feelings, it
always makes you feel better. When you know about your feeling, it is usually easier for you to
deal with others.

Ask the children to tell how they would feel in the situations below, and why:

 If your mother gets angry because you came late from park
 If you got a bad grade on a test even after working very hard
 If you got a bad grade on a test you hadn’t studied for
 If you got 100% on a test
 If your best friend couldn’t come to your birthday party
 If you lost your pocket money in school
 If your teacher asked you a question, and you didn’t know the answer

Then, have the children think of their own examples, and again tell how they would feel, and
why.
______________________________________________________________________________

Q.2 Suggest some activities which may promote moral development at elementary school level.

Answer: Classroom Activities to Develop Moral Development:

Majority of childhood education experts agree that building a child's character must begin at
preschool age. During this period, children can be easily molded and guided to learn about what
is right and what is wrong, and to learn to live a value-filled life. They can easily absorb and
follow what they see and hear from the adults in their surroundings.
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Thus, teaching positive values such as honesty, courage, responsibility, sympathy, honesty, self-
discipline, self-reliance, kindness, friendliness, tolerance, respect, love, justice and pity will
likely be more effective when the youngsters are at preschool age than when they are at
adolescent age (Turiel, 2015).

At this level teacher can use the following classroom activities to promote moral development.

1. Telling and Reading Stories:

All children enjoy listening to and reading folk tales, fairy

tales, and stories where animals are the main characters. Teachers can select such story books in
Urdu or in mother tongue

2. Learning and Singing Songs:

Most children love learning and singing songs. Adolescents

and adults also like songs and singing, especially if they can identify with the music. Through
poems and songs moral values can be indorsed.

3. Role-playing a Story

Majority of children like to wear particular dress and acting out the
roles of different characters. For teaching the value of hard work, truth, empathy teacher can use
role playing in classroom.

4. Group Games
One way to encourage moral development is to teach children to play
fairly. They should understand that rules are important because of ethical reasons. They
should play by the rules because it is the right thing to do and not to avoid being
punished.

5. Individual Games
Children can also learn about individual's rights by participating apart
from other children. For instance, each child can have a brown paper bag full of crafts,
with different types of material including cloth, glue, crayons, markers, buttons, and yarn.
Instruct the children to make an inspirational work of art.

It should be noted that elementary children will test boundaries as part of their moral
development. They are exploring where the line falls. This requires the adults in their world to
follow rules which are put in place. Failure to do so results in moral ambiguity which the
elementary child quickly picks up on, learning that we don’t really mean what we say. Not ideal
when these children are forming their sense of morality.
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Teacher can help in moral development of students by inculcating moral values through
classroom activities. Some of the ideas are presented here; you can innovate your own ways.

Thinking about rules

Objective: To teach children that some rules are inflexible, while other rules can be changed.

Skill: Respect, creating agreement

Ask the group, “What does it mean to follow rules? What would happen if people didn’t follow
them?” Write down their answers on the board or a large sheet of paper.

Tell them:
Rules tell us how to behave. Some rules should always be followed so that people don’t get
unhappy or have something bad happen. “Don’t steal,” “Don’t cheat,” and “Tell the truth” are all
rules that should always be followed. In a group like this one, there are certain rules that we
follow so that everyone can participate. Some of the rules are: don’t disturb others, don’t use bad
language, and don’t say things that will be unkind to others. If we didn’t have these rules, it
would be very difficult for us to live together in a society. Other rules are more flexible. If your
sleep time is fixed, your mother might change the rule and allow you to stay awake later
sometimes. Rules can only be changed only if no one gets hurt.

Q.3 What is language development? Explain the transition and signs of language development.

Answer: Language Development:

Language development is the process by which children
come to understand and communicate language. From birth up to the age of five, children
develop language at a quick pace. The phases of language development are wide-ranging among
people. On the other hand, the age and the pace of language development vary from child to
child at which they achieve every landmark.
As far as the language development in children is concerned, it should be compared to the
standards and not with their fellow children. Usually the rate of language in girls is speedier as
compared to the boys. As compared to some other aspects of development, it mirrors the growth
and development of mind. After the age of five it generally turns out to be much difficult for the
children to learn it. Receptive language develops quickly than expressive language development.
Two unique styles of language development are as under

Referential language development:

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Children at first express only words and afterward join

them together, at first into sentences comprising of two-word and later into sentences comprising
of three-word. It is a style of right time learning of language in which children use language for
the most part to label objects. This style is useful to young children because this way extends
their understanding of vocabulary.

Expressive language development:

Kids first utter sounds like babbles that copy the rhythm
and beat speech. Most kids utilize a blend of these styles. Another commonly known style
involved in language learning is expressive style. In this style little children apply language to
discuss their specific emotions and requirements (McCarthy, 1946).

Transitions in language development

There are several transitions that help to explain
kid’s acquisition regarding language development.
First transition occurs when first year ends and it proceeds in the school year with the
emergence of words into essential vocabulary.

Second transition happens when children change from saying one word at once to joining words
into expressions and basic sentence about the end of school year.

Third transition happens when kids move afar utilizing simple sentences to express one thought
to complex sentences communicating different thoughts and the relationship between them
(Hirsh-Pasek, Michnick Golinkoff, & Hollich, 1999).

Signs of language development:

Children everywhere throughout the world pursue alike model of
language development. Several milestones of which are as follows

Babbling and gestures: Children dynamically make sounds from birth to onward years to attract
attention. These continue till the mid of the first year.
 Crying: Infants even cry during childbirth which can indicates trouble but these
sounds indicate many other things also.
 Cooing: Children first utter murmuring sounds which are pronounced from backside
of the throat and generally convey delight on interaction with the care giving persons.
 Babbling: Amid center of the first year children babble, that is they deliver series of
consonants.
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 Gestures: Newborn children begin utilizing motions. They may wave bye-bye, node
their head to signify "yes".

Q.4 Explain the associative theories of learning.

Answer: Associative Theories of Learning:

Psychologists have developed two principle types
of learning theories to explain how individual learn: behavioral or associative and cognitive.
Behavior learning theories tend to emphasize observable behavior, such as classroom behavior or
new skills or knowledge that can be demonstrated. Behavioral learning theorist is particularly
interested in the way pleasurable or painful consequences of behavior change the individual’s
behavior over time. A major goal of the behaviorist is to determine the laws governing learning.
The concern about the nature of learning has dominated academic psychology for most of this
century. A number of ideas contributed to the behavioral view. The Greek philosopher
Aristotle’s concept of the association of ideas is one important origin of behaviorism (Iran-
Nejad, 1989).

1. Associationism:
Suppose when Bomb-Blasts you remember the event of Ojri-
Camp. The whole thought process reflects the concepts of association of ideas. Two events can
become associated with each other; thus when you think of one event, you automatically recall
the other. Aristotle proposed that in order for an association to develop, the two events must be
contiguous (Temporally Paired) and either similar to or opposite to each other.

As Aristotle said that learning is the result of association of two components, the “Conditioning”
becomes synonymous with association.

2. Conditioning:
Conditioning is considered by many psychologists to be the fundamental
form of learning underlying the development of some of the earliest response patterns in
newborn infants. Conditioning has been demonstrated to occur even before birth. Through
conditioning the organism’s responses to a great variety of stimulus situations are changed.

3. Classical Conditioning:
Classical conditioning may be defined as the formation (or
strengthening) of an association between a conditional stimulus and a response through the
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repeated presentation of the conditional stimulus in a controlled relationship with an

unconditioned stimulus that originally elicits that response.

4. Extinction and Recovery:

Two other important phenomena discovered in Pavlov’s
investigations were experimental extinction and spontaneous recovery. As long as the dog was
given food after the sound of the bell, his salivary response to the bell continued. But repeated
soundings of the bell without reinforcement (the presentation of food) resulted in the gradual
disappearance of the contained response, a phenomenon known as experimental extinction.
When the dog was allowed to rest for a day after intense extinction training, however, salivation
again occurred at the sounding of the bell. The conditioned response was recovered
“spontaneously”. But on this second day, with continued lack of reinforcement, the point of zero
salivation was reached in fewer frails; and within a few more days. The unrewarded trails
resulted in permanent extinction of the conditioned response. Without such extinction training, a
dog might retain the conditioned response for three or four months with little decrease in its
strength.

5. Conditioning Paradigms:
Five different paradigms have been used in conditioning
studies. These procedures, representing the varied ways in which a conditioned stimulus can be
paired with the unconditioned stimulus, are not equally effective. The delayed conditioning
paradigm usually is the most effective; the backward conditioning, the least effective.

6. Connectionism Theory by E.L. Thorndike:

Thorndike viewed learning as a series of
stimulus-response (S-R) connection, or bonds. His theories of learning describe the ways in
which these (S-R) connections could be strengthened or weakened. He felt that learning was
basically a trial-and-error enterprise, and he paid little attention to the possibility of concept
formation or thinking.

7. Edwin Guthrie: Behaviorist Associationist:

The last of the early associationists was
Edwin Guthrie. Guthrie was the behaviorist-associationist par excellence. Following directly in
Waston’s footsteps, he rejected any psychological concept that might have “mentalistic”
overtones. He postulated one law of learning: learning by association or, as he called it,
contiguity. According to Guthrie, if a certain stimulus (or pattern of stimuli) is followed by a
response, then the next time that stimulus appears, the same response will follow. That’s all there
is to it stimuli and responses in sequence. There is no need to call on reward, reinforcement, or
“effect” in order to explain how learning occurs. He also believed that learning occurs the first
time the stimulus and response become associated.
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Q.5 What do you mean by individual differences?

Answer: Individual Differences:

MEANING AND NATURE OF INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Experimental psychology has thrown adequate light on the nature and extent of individual
difference; the findings of modern psychological tests and measurements have amply
demonstrated that individual cannot fall into distinct categories in respect of any physical or
mental trait. On the other hands all measures of individual, whether they are physical, mental,
and emotional or some other show that they tend to distribute themselves according to the law of
the normal probability curve.

50% 50%
Normal Probability Curve

The normal curve is bell shaped and bilaterally symmetrical on each side of its central tendency
the mean. Just as many persons are above the average as are below it, starting with the lowest
score there is a gradually increasing number of persons making each next higher score gradually
decreases until the highest score is reached (Gustafsson & Undheim, 1996).

Areas of Individual Differences:

Individuals differ almost in every respect. They differ in
physical as well as psychological characteristics. Some of the major areas in which they differ
and which affect their personality growth to a large extent are age, height weight, sensory and
motor powers, intelligence aptitudes or specific abilities, interest attitudes, appreciations and
educational attainments. They also differ in their hereditary, family background and
environmental influences.

i. Chronological Age:
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One of the general factors of difference that influences

school grading is chronological age. A child enters school at a certain age, 6 years, and is
supposed to progress regularly in his schooling in terms of age factor. It is assumed moreover,
that all children should be able to profit similarly from instructions that are the same or nearly
the same in content and method of presentation for all learners on the respective grade levels.
Apparent in ability on the part of a learner to master study material is explained in terms of
factors such as laziness or stubbornness, that fail to take into consideration the factor that
learners differ in their ability to perform in any one or more areas of learning material and at any
one stage of development.

Chronological age as it represents the learners level of maturity and hence his possible education,
is and should be a factor of difference. No matter how superior mentally or physically a child of
three may be, he cannot be expected, because of difference in degree of maturity to engage in
learning activities that are suitable for the nine year old. Further, readiness to engage in a
particular learning situation may differ from individual to individual on any age level.

ii. Intellectual Abilities:

Views about the nature of intellectual abilities continue to
change. For many decades the idea of a general intellectual ability was very popular. Then, the
idea of a few primary mental abilities was added. Next, a structure of some specific abilities was
proposed. At present, a major attempt is being made to identify the basic mental processes and
learning strategies that underlie intellectual performances. The testing of intelligence began on a
widespread basis in 1916 in the United States when Terman (1916) adopted the earlier version of
an intelligence test by ‘Binet” and “Siman”. Terman thought of intelligence as the ability to carry
on abstract thinking Thorndike (1926) defined intelligence as the ability to make good responses
from the point of view of truth or fact.

Wechsler (1958) developed on intelligence test to measure the aggregate or global capacity of
the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with the
environment. The Wechsler Scale included performance test as well as typical verbal and
mathematical test (Wechsler, 1958). Jone Miller and Moodie (1934) conceived of Intelligence as
in born whereas Hunt (1961) viewed it as almost totally determined by environmental condition.
“Terman” regarded Intelligence is determined almost solely by heredity. Accordingly, he
believed that the rate of intellectual development was fixed by heredity and therefore did not
change from birth onwards. Cattel (1971) proposed two kinds of general intelligence, fluid and
crystallized. Fluid Intelligence is genetically determined and sets the upper limit of the
individual’s ability. How well the inherited ability is used and what forms it takes depend on
cultural factors including learning.

iii. Crystallized Intelligence:

It is based on environmental factors, and its observable
expression is based on learning. Accordingly, Fluid ability is necessary, but it is not
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sufficient for the development of Crystallized intelligence. Moreover, Fluid intelligence

peaks at about age 25, but Crystallized intelligence continues to rise as long as person
continue to learn.
iv. Primary Mental Abilities:
Thurstone (1938) identified seven primary mental abilities,
and devised tests to measure them. The seven primary mental abilities are shown in table
1. Thurstone’s identification of primary mental abilities refutes the idea underlying
general intellectual ability that persons are equally able in all academic areas. Instead,
most individuals vary markedly in verbal, numerical, spatial and other abilities. For
example it is possible for a student to be in the top one-fourth of the students of the same
grade in one ability, such as spatial, or mathematical, and to be in the bottom one-fourth
of the same students in another ability such as word fluency or perceptual speed. The
primary abilities emerge and reach full functional maturity at different rates. For
example, perceptual seed approaches full functional maturity corresponding to that of
adult status by age 20, whereas word fluency and verbal comprehension only reach such
a level, respectively, of about 60% and 80% of adult status and by 20% our verbal growth
continues after we have peaked in perception; speed (Thurstone & Thurstone, 1938).
Table 1

S.N Ability Description

o
1 Verbal The ability to understand the meaning of words vocabulary
Comprehension test represents this factor
2 Word Fluency The ability to think of words rapidly, as in staving anagrams
or thing of words that rhyme.
3 Number The ability to work with numbers and perform computations
4 Spatial The ability to visualize space-from relationships, as in
recognizing the same figure presented in different
orientations.
5 Memory The ability to recall verbal stimuli, such as word pairs or
sentences.
6 Perceptual Speed The ability to grasp visual details quickly and to see
similarities and differences between pictured objects.
7 Reasoning The ability to find a general rule on the basis of presented
instance, as in determining how a number series in
constructed after being presented with only a portion of that
series.

Guildford proposes three types of intelligence, each associated with different contents.
Concrete intelligence involves figured content of mechanics, operators of machines,
architects, artists etc.
I. Abstract Intelligence:
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It requires the processing of symbolic and semantic

content. Learning to recognize words, to spell, to operate with numbers, and to
understand verbal and mathematical concepts involves abstract intelligence, the
present day tests measure abstract intelligence.
II. Social Intelligence:
It pertains to behavior content, that is awareness and feelings
regarding the behavior of other and oneself teachers, social workers and political leaders
require higher social intelligence than many other professional groups.

III. Special Abilities:

Since learning on the elementary levels is concerned with the
mastery of learning tools, the discovery of the extent to which a child may possess a
special ability or aptitude is not as important during the early years of his schooling as it
will be later. On the junior and senior high school and college levels provision needs to
be made for the development of whatever aptitudes the individual learners may possess
of music, art, physical education etc.

References:

1. Fei, H., & Li, H. (2018). The study of learners’ emotional analysis based on MOOC.
Paper presented at the International Conference on Cognitive Computing.
2. Gustafsson, J.-E., & Undheim, J. O. (1996). Individual differences in cognitive functions.
3. Hirsh-Pasek, K., Michnick Golinkoff, R., & Hollich, G. (1999). Trends and transitions in
language development: Looking for the missing piece. Developmental neuropsychology,
16(2), 139-162.
4. Iran-Nejad, A. (1989). Associative and nonassociative schema theories of learning.
Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 27(1), 1-4.
5. McCarthy, D. (1946). Language development in children.
6. Thurstone, L. L., & Thurstone, T. G. (1938). Primary mental abilities (Vol. 119):
University of Chicago Press Chicago.
7. Turiel, E. (2015). Moral development. Handbook of child psychology and developmental
science, 1-39.
8. Wechsler, D. (1958). The measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence.