Big Picture in Focus: ULOa.

Explain the different phenomena such as

earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Metalanguage
In this section, the most essential terms relevant to the study of the development of the Learners
at various stages: Pre-natal, Infancy, Toddlerhood, and Early Childhood to demonstrate ULOa
will be operationally defined to establish a common frame of refence as to how the texts work in
your chosen field or career. You will encounter these terms as we go through the study of this
topic. Please refer to these definitions in case you will encounter difficulty in understanding
certain scientific concepts.

1. Endoderm. The inner layer of the cell that develops into the digestive and respiratory
systems.
2. Ectoderm. The outermost layer which becomes the nervous system, sensory
receptors, and the skin parts.
3. Mesoderm. The middle layer which becomes the circulatory, skeletal, muscular,
excretory, and reproductive systems.
4. Myelinization. The process by which the axons are covered and insulated by layers of
fat cells.
5. Holophrases. One-word utterances used by infants.
6. Language Acquisition Device. A metaphorical organ that is responsible for language
learning.
7. Temperament. A word that “captures the ways that people difference, even at birth, in
such things as their emotional reactions, activity level, attention span, persistence, and
ability to regulate emotions.
8. Gender Typing. The process of forming gender roles, gender-based preferences and
behaviors accepted by society.

Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the second three (3) weeks of
the course, you need to fully understand the following essential knowledge that will be laid down
in the succeeding pages. Please note that you are not limited to exclusively refer to these
resources. Thus, you are expected to utilize other books, research articles and other resources
that are available in the university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.com etc.

PRE-NATAL PERIOD

Human life begins at conception

That which is in the mother's womb is indeed a developing human being. An unborn baby of
eight (8) weeks is not essentially different from one of eighteen (18) weeks or twenty - eight (28)
weeks. From conception the zygote, the embryo and the fetus are undeniably human life.

Human life begins from the moment of conception. All that we have and all that we are have
been there at the moment of conception! The fact that you hay brown eyes and black, straight, or
curly hair and the fact that you will tum bald at age 50 have been there already at the moment of
conception. What were added in the process of development is nutrition.

I remember the film on abortion that I once saw. "The Silent Scream". The mother submitted
herself to a medical doctor for abortion in her third month of pregnancy. When the abortionist
inserted his scalpel into the woman's womb to crush the head of the fetus, very clearly in that
film. the fetus had his/ her mouth open like he was screaming for help as he evaded the deadly
scalpel of the abortionist. That's why the film was given the title " The Silent Scream ". This only
means that the developing being in the womb is a human being not just a conglomeration of
cells or tissues.

Based on these facts, it is wrong to do abortion. The womb is supposed to be the safest of all
places for human development. Unfortunately, however, with the scourge of abortion, it has
become a tomb!

The development that takes place in 3 stages proves that the developing embryo in a mother's
womb is truly a human being.
The Stages of Prenatal Development

Prenatal development is divided into three (3) periods – germinal, embryonic, and fetal

1. Germinal Period (First 2 weeks after conception). This includes the a creation of the
zygote,
b) continued cell division and c) and the attachment of the zygote to the uterine wall.

The following are the details of development during this period:

a) 24 to 30 hours after fertilization the male (sperm) and female (egg) chromosome unite
b) 36 hours - the fertilized ovum, zygote, divides into two (2)
c) 48 hours (2days) - 2 cells become 4 cells
d) 72 hours (3 days) - 4 cells become a small compact ball of 16-32 cells
e) 96 hours (4 days) - hollow ball of 64-128 cells
f) 4-5 days - inner cell mass (blastocyst) still free in the
g) 6-7 days - blastocyst attaches to the wall of uterus
h) 11-15 days - blastocyst invades into uterine wall and becomes implanted in it (implantation)

In the germinal period, the differentiation of cells already begins as inner and outer layers of the
organism are formed. The blastocyst, the miner layer of cells that develops during the germinal
period, develops later into the embryo. The trophoblast the outer layer of cells that develops also
during the germinal period, later provides nutrition and support for the embryo (Nelson, Textbook
of Pediatrics. 17th ed. 2004).

2. Embryonic Period (2-8 weeks after conception). In this stage, the name of the mass cells.
Zygote, becomes embryo. The following developments take place:

a) cell differentiation intensifies

b)life support systems for the embryo develop and

c)organs appear

As the zygote gets attached to the wall of the uterus, two layers of cells are formed. The
embryo's endoderm, the inner layer of cells, develops into the digestive and respiratory systems.
The outer layer of cells is divided into two parts - the ectoderm and the mesoderm. The ectoderm
is the outermost layer which becomes the nervous system, sensory receptors (eyes, ears, nose)
and skin parts (nails, hair). The mesoderm is the middle layer which becomes the circulatory,
skeletal, muscular, excretory, and reproductive systems. This process of organ formation during
the first two months of pre - natal development is called organogenesis.

As the three layers of the embryo form, the support systems for the embryo develop rapidly.
These life – support systems are the placenta, the umbilical cord, and the amnion. The placenta
is a life - support system that consists of a disk - shaped group of tissues in which small blood
vessels from the mother and the offspring intertwine but do not join. The umbilical cord contains
two arteries and one vein that connects the baby to the placenta. The amnion is a bag or an
envelope that contains a clear fluid in which the developing embryo floats. All these embryo life -
support systems develop from the fertilized and not from the mother's body.

3. Fetal period (2 months to 7 months after conception) – Growth and development continue
dramatically during this period. The details of the developmental process are as follows
(Santrock, 2002):

a) 3 months after conception - fetus is about 3 inches long and weighs about 1 ounce; fetus has
become active, moves its arms and legs, opens and closes its mouth, and moves its head; the
face, forehead, eyelids, nose, chin can now be distinguished and also the upper arms, lower
arms, hands, and lower limbs; the genitals can now be identified as male or female.
b) 4 months after conception - fetus is about 6 inches long and weighs 4 to 7 ounces; growth
spurt occurs in the body's lower parts; pre - natal reflexes are stronger, mother feels arm and
leg movements for the first time.
c) 5 months after conception - fetus is about 12 inches long; weighs close to a pound; structures
of the skin (fingernails, toenails) have formed; fetus is more active.
d) 6 months after conception- fetus is about 14 inches long and weighs one and half pound; eyes
and eyelids are completely formed; fine layer of head covers the head; grasping reflex is
present and irregular movements occur;
e) 7 months after conception - fetus is about 16 inches long and weighs 3 pounds; and
f) 8 and 9 months after conception. fetus grows longer and gains substantial weight about 4
pounds.

Teratology and Hazards to Prenatal Development

Teratology is the field that investigates the causes of congenital (birth) defects. A teratogen is
that which causes birth defects. It comes from the Greek word " tera " which means " monster.

Below are clusters of hazards to pre - natal development:

1) Prescription and nonprescription drugs. These include prescription as well as non -

prescription drugs. Antibiotic is an example of a prescription drug that can be harmful Examples
of harmful nonprescription drugs are diet pills. aspirin, and coffee.

Remember the thalidomide tragedy in 1961? Many pregnant women took in thalidomide, a
tranquilizer, to alleviate their morning sickness that gave rise to several deformed babies.

Cocaine exposure during pre - natal development is associated with reduced birthweight, length
and head circumference (Hurt, et al. 1999 cited by Santrock, 2002). Impaired motor development
(Arendt. et al, 1999 cited by Santrock, 2002). impaired - information processing (Singer. et al.
1999 cited by Santrock, 2002) and poor attention skills (Bandstra, 2000 cited by Santrock, 2002)

2.) Psychoactive drugs. These include nicotine. caffeine and illegal drugs such as marijuana,
cocaine, and heroin.

Researches found that pregnant women who drank more caffeinated coffee were more likely to
have preterm deliveries and newborns with lower birthweight compared to their counter parts
who did not drink caffeinated coffee (Eskanazi. et al. 1999) quoted by Santrock. 2002).

Heavy drinking by pregnant women results to the so – called fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)
which is a cluster of abnormalities that appears in the children of mothers who drink alcohol
heavily during pregnancy. These abnormalities include facial deformities and defective limbs.
face and heart (Santrock. 2002). Most of these children are below average in intelligence and
some are mentally retarded (Olson, 2000 and Burgess. 1996 quoted by Santrock, 2002).

Fetal and neonatal deaths are higher among smoking mothers. There are also higher incidences
of preterm bins and lower birthweights among children with smoking mothers (Wang. et al. 2000
quoted by Santrock, 2002). On the average, maternal heroin addicts deliver smaller than
average size babies with more incidence of toxemia. premature separation of placenta, retained
placenta, hemorrhaging after birth and breech deliveries (http://www.yale.edu/yhti/ curriculum
units/ 1980/ 8/ 800503.html

3) Environmental hazards. These include radiation in jobsites and X-rays environmental

pollutants, toxic wastes, and prolonged exposure to beat in saunas and bathtubs.

Research found that chromosomal abnormalities are higher among the offspring of fathers
exposed to high levels of radiation in their occupations (Schrag and Dixon, 1985 cited by
Santrock 2002). Radiation from X - rays also can affect the developing embryo and fetus, with
the most dangerous time being the first several weeks after conception when women do not yet
know that they are pregnant (Santrock, 2002).

Researchers found that toxic wastes such as carbon monoxide. mercury and lead caused
defects in animals exposed to high doses. For instance, early exposure to lead affects children's
mental development. (Markowits, 2000 cited by Santrock, 2000). Remember the action of the
U.S.A. for the children's toys with high lead content manufactured in China?

Prolonged exposure of pregnant mothers to sauna or hot tubs raises the mothers ' body
temperature creating fever that endangers the fetus The high temperature due to fever may
interfere with cell division and may cause birth defects or even fetal death of the fever occurs
repeatedly for prolonged periods of time (Santrock, 2002).
4) Other maternal factors such as Rubella (German Measles), syphilis genital herpes,
AIDS, nutrition, high anxiety and stress, age. (too early or too late, beyond 30)

A rubella (German measles) in 1964-65 resulted in 30,000 pre - natal and neonatal (newborn)
deaths and more than 20,000 affected infants were born with malformations, including mental
retardation, blindness, deafness, and heart problems (Santrock, 2002).

Syphilis damages organs after they have formed. These damages include eye lesions, which
can cause blindness, and skin lesions. When syphilis is present at birth other problem involving
the central nervous system and gastrointestinal tract, can develop.

About one - third of babies delivered through herpes - infected time canal die another one -
fourth become brain – damaged.

A mother can infect her child in three ways: D during gestates across the placenta. 2) during
delivery through contact with maternal blood or fluids, and 3) postpartum (after birth) through
breast – feeding.

Studies show that increased stress during pregnancy leads to pro mature birth and reduced birth
weight. Other studies have shown that increased stress during pregnancy is related to ADHD
even schizophrenia later in life.

Admittedly, more research on the effects of emotional states and stress needs to be conducted
for more conclusive findings. It is recognized that maternal malnutrition during pregnancy may
result to inadequate growth in the fetus. If a fetus does not receive enough nourishment, the rate
of cell division is seriously hampered. An extremely deprived fetus may have 20 % fewer brain
cells than normal. If an infant has been malnourished both in utero and infancy, the brain may be
as much as 60 % smaller than that of the normal child.

Folic acid is necessary for pregnant mothers. Folic acid can reduce the risk of having a baby with
a serious birth defect of the brain and spinal cord, called the 'neural tube'. A baby with spina
bifida, the most common neural tube defect is born with a spine that is not closed. The exposed
nerves are damaged, leaving the child with varying degrees of paralysis and sometimes mental
retardation.

As maternal age increases the risks for numerical chromosomal abnormalities increase.
Maternal age effect.

The mortality rate of infants born to adolescent mothers is double that of infants born to mothers
in their twenties. A baby with Down syndrome rarely is born to mother an under age 30 but the
risk increases after the mother reaches 30. By age 40, the probability is slightly over 1 in 100,
and by age 50 it is almost in 10. The risk is also higher before age 18. (Santrock. 2002)

5) Paternal factors - Fathers' exposure to lead, radiation, certain pesticides, and petrochemicals
may cause abnormalities in sperm that lead to miscarriage or diseases such as childhood
cancer.

As in the case pf older mothers, older fathers also may place their offspring at risk for certain
defects (Santrock, 2002).

INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

Physical Development

Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal Patterns

The cephalocaudal trend is the postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when the head
grows more than the body. This cephalocaudal trend of growth that applies to the development
of the fetus also applies in the first months after birth. Infants learn to use their upper limbs
before their lower limbs. The same pattern occurs in the head area because the top parts of the
head – the eyes and the brain – grow faster than the lower parts such as the jaw.

The proximodistal trend is the pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus grows
from the inside of the body outwards. This also applies in the first month after birth as shown in
the earlier maturation of muscular control of the trunk and arms, followed by the hands and
fingers. When referring to motor development, the proximodistal trend refers to the development
of motor skills from the center of the body outward.

Height and Weight

• It’s normal for newborn babies to drop 5 -10 percent of their body weight within a couple
of weeks of birth. That is 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 bottle-fed babies through the first six months.
After six months, breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottlefed babies. • In general,
an infant’s length increases by about 30 percent in the first five 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 two years of life are 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 pre-natally and continues after birth. The process increases
the speed at which information travels through the nervous system.

• At birth, the newborn’s brain is about 25 percent 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
(Santrock, 2002). The infant’s brain is literally waiting for experiences to determine how
connections are made. Depressed brain activity has been found in children who grew up
in a depressed environment (Circhetti, 2001, cited by Santrock, 2002).

Motor Development

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 will generally subside within a few months as the baby grows and
matures.

• There are many different reflexes. Some of the most common reflexes that babies have
are:

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 a 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 rooting 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. Whichever 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 out the cabinet, to chase the ball and to walk away from parent.

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills, are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the hand,
fingers. 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 involve activities that involve precise eye-hand coordination.
The development of reaching and grasping becomes more refined during the first two 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 fore-finger.

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. Ideally as he she advances physically his/her sensory and
perceptual abilities also develop.

What are some research findings regarding newborns Visual perceptions? Can newborns see?

• 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. (Banks & Salapatek. 1983 cited by Santrock, 2002)

• 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 (Santrock,
2002).

Among the first few things that babies learn to recognize is their mother's face, as mother
feeds and nurses them.

Can newborns 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. How soothing it must have been for you to listen to your mother
's lullaby.

• 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 they were 6 days
old. This preference did not show 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 (Taddio, et al, 1997 cited by Santrock. 2002).
• Babies respond to touch. In the earlier part of this Module on motor development, you
learned that a newborn automatically sucks an object placed in his/her mouth, or a touch
of the cheek makes the newborn turn 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 hour old, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour, and bitter solutions (Rosentein and Oster,
1988, cited by Santrock. 2002)
• 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? In short, 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
1/2 months old, infants looked more at their mother when they also heard her voice and
long 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.

Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor stage

• An analysis of the 6 substages of the sensorimotor stage of Piaget's cognitive

development shows that development begins from reflexive behaviors to more refined and
more coordinated activities. Cognitive development of infants evolves in orientation from
becoming focused on themselves to becoming object or world-oriented, from one that is
action-based to one that is mentallybased, from one that does not involve much of
coordination of schemes to one involving intentionality, novelty and curiosity and from a
thinking that is purely sensorimotor to a symbolic one.
• 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. Circular reactions serve as the building blocks for intelligence (Pasek, P., and
Golinkoff. R, 2003).
• 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 a primary circular reaction: 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 and. after many
attempts, eventually succeeds in doing it again. Gradually, she learns how to do it at will
(Pasek. K., and R., Golinkoff, 2003).

• Secondary circular reactions are repetitive actions that involve recreating events which
410 month old babies observe outside of their own bodies, Such as making their mobile
crib shake by kicking their legs (Pasek, K and R.Golinkoff, 2003).

• Tertiary circular reactions. Seen from approximately 10 to 18 months, is when a baby

does things over and over again. Just a little differently each time. e.g When a baby
 seems to enjoy dropping the spoon over and over again in any different ways, a proof of
the creation of novel variations in events Piaget described the baby at this stage as "the
scientist" When parents don't understand their child's behavior, they see this act as
abusive and get frustrated.

• From dropping the spoon many times in many different ways, the baby discovers a
pattern “objects fall down not up” They create the patterns with their repetitive actions and
then evaluate them. Babies are born pattern seekers (Pasek, K and R. Golinkoff, 2003).

• Acquiring the sense of object permanence is one of the infant's most important
accomplishments, according to Piaget." Object permanence is the understanding that
objects continue to exist even when the objects are not immediately perceptible through
the senses. Before the infant's acquisition of the sense of object permanence, the
principle that applies is "out of sight, out of mind”.

Learning and Remembering

Do infants learn and remember?

Yes! Pavlov's classical conditioning and Skinner's operant conditioning have been proven to
apply to infants. We’ll ask you to research on researches that prove this.

All of us experience infantile amnesia. the inability to recall events that happened when we were
very young (Spear, 1979). Generally. We can remember little or nothing that has happened to us
before the age of about 5 years, and it 1s extremely rare for someone to recall many memories
before age 3 years. Reports of childhood memories usually involve memories of significant
events (e.g. birth of a sibling or the death of a parent: Fivush and Hammond, 1991). For
example, some adults have recalled their own hospitalization or the birth of a sibling as far as
back as age 3 years (Usher and Neisser, 1993).

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
abilities even from an early age (Marcus, Vijayan. Bandi Rao and Vishton. 1999; Pinker 1997,
1999 cited by Sternberg. Robert. 2003). Within the first years of life, we humans seem to
progress through the following stages in producing language (Sternberg. 2005):

1. Cooing. which comprises largely vowel sounds

2. Babbling. which comprises 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
3. One-word utterances: these utterances are limited in both the vowels and the consonants
they utilize (Ingram. 1999 cited by Sternberg 2003)

4. Two-word utterances and telegraphic speech

5. Basic adult sentence structure (present by about age 4 years) with continuing vocabulary
acquisition.

The infant utters his/her first word- followed by one or two more, and soon after, yet a few more.
The infant uses these one-word utterances termed holophrases-to convey intentions. desires
and demands. Usually, the words ae nouns describing familiar objects that the child observes
(e.g. book, ball, baby) or wants (e.g. Mama. Dada).

By 18 months of age, children typically have vocabularies of 3 to 100 words (Siegler. 1986).
Because the young child's vocabulary is very limited at this point in the development process,
the child overextends the meaning of words in his/her existing lexicon to cover things and Ideas
for which a new word is lacking. For example, the general term for any kind of four-legged animal
may be "doggie". In linguistics this is called overextension error.

Gradually between 1.5 and 2.5 years of age. children start combining single words to produce
twoword utterances. These two-word or three-word utterances with rudimentary syntax but with
articles and prepositions missing are referred to as telegraphic speech.
Vocabulary expands rapidly, more than tripling from about 300 words at about 2. years of age to
about 1,000 words at about 3 years of age. At about 4 years, incredibly children acquire the
foundations of adult syntax and language structure (Sternberg. 2003).

It is clear that no toddler blossoms all of a sudden into one capable of telegraphic speech. As the
5 stages above show, the acquisition of language comes in stages beginning with cooing. then
babbling to one-word utterances, to two- or three-word utterances or even more but without
articles and prepositions thus called telegraphic speech.

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

Noam Chomsky (1965, 1972), noted linguist. claims that humans have an innate language
acquisition device (LAD). This LAD is a "metaphorical organ that is responsible for language
learning. Just as a heart is designed to pump blood this language acquisition devices
preprogrammed to learn language, whatever the language community children find themselves
in." This means that we, humans seem to be biologically preconfigured to be ready to acquire
language. Indeed. Children seem to have a knack for acquiring an implicit understanding of the
many rules of language structure, as well as for applying those rules to new vocabulary and new
contexts. This may partly explain why children are said to learn language fast. Professor Laura-
Ann Petito of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire and her colleagues conducted a
recent study that concluded that "by 5 months of age. babies are already specializing by using
the left side of their brains for language sounds and the right side for expression emotion. We all
speak out from the right side of our mouths...Babies babble out from the right side of their
mouths. The right side of the body is controlled by the left side of the brain while the left side of
the body is controlled by the right side of the brain (connections in the brain are contralateral or
crossed). Babies use the right side of their mouths for babbling, then babbling is language
function controlled by the left side of the brain.

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Much has been said about the importance of the first three years in human development. They
are so-called the formative years that is why, parents and other caregivers at this stage of
human development play a significant role in the development of infants and toddlers.

Attachment

For healthy socio-emotional development, the infant needs to establish an enduring emotional
bond characterized by a tendency to seek and maintain closeness to a specific figure,
particularly during stressful situation. This is the social phenomenon of attachment.

According to Dr. John Bowly, the father of attachment theory, the beginnings of attachment occur
within the first 6 months of baby's life with a variety of built-in signals that baby uses to keep her
caregiver engaged. The baby cries, gazes into her mother's eyes, smiles, etc. n the next few
months, the baby develops in her degree of attachment to her parents. She smiles more freely at
them than at any stranger whom she seldom sees. This is what Bob Greene must have
experienced.

The key to a good start in the social development of the baby is a lot of responsive interaction
with the baby (K.Pasek and R.Golinkoff, 2003). Babies thrive on social interaction when it is in
response to their social bids. Babies seem to let us know when they want to interact or not. The
timing of the caregiver's response to the baby is important.

Temperament

Another factor related to the infant's socio-emotional development is temperament.

Temperament is a word that "captures the ways people differ, even at birth, in such things as
their emotional reactions, activity level, attention span, persistence, and ability to regulate their
emotions" (K. Pasek and R. Golinkof. 2003). Every baby expresses personality traits we call
temperament. How a child responds emotionally to objects, events, and people is a reflection of
his individual temperament.

2. Researchers Thomas, Chess, and Birch described nine different temperament categories
(Honig, 2010, Secure Relationships: Nurturing Infant-Toddler Attachments in Early Care
Settings.)

These include:
Activity level

Mood

Threshold for distress

Rhythmicity

Intensity of response

Approach-Withdrawal

Distractibility

Adaptability

Persistence

To determine a child's temperament, make the following observations

Activity level. Some babies are placid or inactive. Other babies thrash about a lot and, as
toddlers, are always on the move. At this stage, they must be watched carefully.

The mood. Some babies are very smiley and cheerful. Although securely attached emotionally
to their teachers, others have a low-key mood and look more solemn or unhappy.

Child's threshold for distress. Some babies are very sensitive. They become upset very easily
when stressed. Other babies can more comfortably wait when they need a feeding or some
attention. The rhythmicity of children. Some babies get hungry or sleepy on a regular and
predictable basis. Other babies sleep at varying times, urinate, or have bowel movements at
unpredictable times, and get hungry at different times. they are hard to put on a schedule."

The intensity of response in each baby. When a baby's threshold for distress has been
reached, some babies act restless. Others act cranky or fret just a little. Still others cry with
terrific intensity or howl with despair when they are stressed. They shriek with delight and
respond with high energy when reacting to happy or challenging situations.

Approach to new situations. Some infants are very cautious. They are wary and fearful of new
teachers, being placed in a different crib, or being taken to visit a new setting. Other infants
approach new persons, new activities, or new play p0sSibilities with zest and enjoyment.

Distraction. Some children can concentrate on a toy regardless of surrounding bustle or noise in
a room. Others are easily distracted.

Adaptability of each child. Some children react to strange or difficult Situations with distress
but recover fairly rapidly. Others adjust to new situations with difficulty or after a very long period.

Child's attention span. Some children have a long attention span. They continue with an
activity for a fairly long time. Others flit from one activity to another.

Based on these temperament traits, psychiatrists Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess studied
babies temperament and clustered temperaments into 3 basic types 1) the easy child; 2) the
difficult child; and 3) the slow-to-warm-up child and those that did not fall under any of the 3
basic types. The "easy child" easily readily establishes regular routines, is generally cheerful,
and adapts readily to new experiences. The "difficult child" is irregular in daily routines, is slow to
accept new experiences and tends to react negatively and intensely to new things while the
"slow-to warm-up-child" shows mild, low-key reactions to environmental changes, is negative in
mood, and adjusts slowly to new experiences.

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. Once children can recognize themselves as entities. they
become capable of self-evaluation and self-description against a set of standards. In the
research conducted by Professor Deborah Stipek and her colleagues at the University of
California, Los Angeles, (Pasek, K. and R. Golinkoff) about 50% of the 19-to-24 month-olds and
80 % of the 25to-29 months old and almost all 30-to-40-month-olds are capable of self-
evaluation. These age groups of babies therefore have a sense of morality.

Children who aren't capable of self-evaluation and self-description don't have the capacity to
experience a sense of shame and remorse. Moral behavior cannot occur when children do not
recognize themselves as social beings whose behavior can be evaluated against some
standard." (Pasek, K and R. Golinkoff, 2003)

It is not then surprising why some babies show their parents they have done something wrong
sometimes even with laughter or at other times with no particular emotion. It is not because they
are bad babies. It is simply because 'they are not yet able to hold a standard in mind and
evaluate situations in terms of these standards.

The development of emotions

Here are the milestones of the baby and the toddler's emotional development and social
development:

Early infancy (birth-six months)

It is not clear whether infants actually experience emotions, or if adults, using adult facial
expressions as the standard, simply superimpose their own understanding of the meaning of
infant facial expressions.

Between six and ten weeks, a social smile emerges, usually accompanied by other
pleasureindicative actions and sounds. Including cooing and mouthing. This social smile occurs
in response to adult smiles and interactions.

As infants become more aware of their environment, smiling occurs in response to a Wider
variety of contexts. They may smile when they, see a toy they have previously enjoyed.
Laughter, which begins at around three or four months, requires a level of cognitive development
because it demonstrates that the child can recognize incongruity. That 15, laughter is usually
elicited by actions that deviate from the norm, such as being kissed on the abdomen or a
caregiver playing peek-a-boo. Because it fosters reciprocal interactions with others. laughter
promotes social development.

Later infancy months (7-12)

During the last half of the first year. infants begin expressing fear, disgust, and anger because of
the maturation of cognitive abilities. Anger often expressed by crying is a frequent emotion
expressed by infants. Although some infants respond to distressing events with sadness, anger is
more common.

Fear also emerges during this stage as children become able to compare an unfamiliar event
with what they know. Unfamiliar situations or objects often elicit fear responses in infants. One of
the most common is the presence of an adult stranger, a fear that begins to appear at about
seven months. A second fear of this stage is called separation anxiety. Infants seven to twelve
months old may cry in fear if the mother or caregiver leaves them in an unfamiliar place.

Socialization of emotion begins in infancy. It is thought that this process is significant in the
infant's acquisition of cultural and social codes for emotional display. teaching them how to
express their emotions, and the degree of acceptability associated with different types of
emotional behaviors.

Another process that emerges during this stage is social referencing. Infants begin to recognize
the emotions of others and use this information when reacting to novel situations and people. As
infants explore their world, they generally rely on the emotional expressions of their mothers or
caregivers to determine the safety or appropriateness of a particular endeavor.

Toddlerhood years (1-2)

During the second year, infants express emotions of shame or embarrassment, and pride. These
emotions mature in all children and adults contribute to their development.
Emotional understanding

During this stage of development, toddlers acquire language and are learning to verbally express
their feelings. This ability. rudimentary as it is during early toddlerhood, is the first step in the
development of emotional self-regulation skills. In infancy, children largely rely on adults to help
them regulate their emotional states. If they are uncomfortable, they may be able to
communicate this state by crying. but have little hope of alleviating the discomfort on their own.

In toddlerhood, however, children begin to develop skills to regulate emotions with the
emergence of language providing an important tool to assist in this process. Being able to
articulate an emotional state in itself has a regulatory effect in that it enables children to
communicate their feelings to a person capable of helping them manage their emotional state,
Speech also enables children to self-regulate, using soothing language to talk themselves
through difficult situations.

Empathy, a complex emotional response to a situation, also appears in toddlerhood, usually by

age two. he development of empathy requires that children read others emotional cues,
understand that other people are entities distinct from themselves, and take the perspective of
another person (put themselves in the position of another).

Erikson's Psychosocial theory

The first two stages (of the 8 stages of a person's psychosocial development) apply at the
periods of infancy and toddlerhood, that is why they are discussed below:

Hope: Trust vs. Mistrust (Infants, 0 to 1 year)

Psychosocial Crisis: Trust vs. Mistrust

Virtue: Hope

The first stage of Erik Erikson's centers around the infants basic needs being met by the parents.
The infant depends on the parents, especially the mother, for food, sustenance, and comfort.
The child's relative understanding of world and society come from the parents and their
interaction with the child. If the parents expose the child to warmth, regularity. and dependable
affection, the infant's view of the world will be one of trust. Should the parents fail to provide a
secure environment and to meet the child's basic need a sense of mistrust will result. According
to Erik Erikson, the major developmental task in infancy is to learn whether or not other people,
especially primary caregivers regularly satisfy basic needs. If caregivers are consistent sources
of food, comfort, and affection, an infant learns trust- that others are dependable and reliable. If
they are neglectful, or perhaps even abusive, the infant instead learns mistrust- that the world is
in an undependable, unpredictable, and possibly dangerous place.

Will: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt (Toddlers, 2 to 3 years)

Psychosocial Crisis: Autonomy vs. Shame & Doubt

Main Question: "Can do things myself or must I always rely on others?"

Virtue: Will

As the child gains control over eliminative functions and motor abilities, they begin to explore
their surroundings. The parents still provide a strong base of security from which the child can
venture out to assert their will. The parents’ patience and encouragement help foster autonomy
in the child. Highly restrictive parents, however, are more likely to instill the child with a sense of
doubt and reluctance to attempt new challenges. As they gain increased muscular coordination
and mobility, toddlers become capable of satisfying some of their own needs. They begin to feed
themselves, wash and dress themselves, and use the bathroom. If caregivers encourage self-
sufficient behavior, toddlers develop a sense of autonomy- a sense of being able to handle many
problems on their own. But if caregivers demand too much too soon, refuse to let children
perform tasks of which they are capable, or ridicule early attempts at self-sufficiency, children
may instead develop shame and doubt about their ability to handle problems.
EARLY CHILDHOOD (The Preschooler, 3-5 years of age)
Physical Development

Big ideas about the Physical Development of Preschoolers

1. There are significant changes in physical growth of preschooler.

2. The pre-schoolers physical development is marked by the acquisition of gross and fine motor
skills.
3. Preschoolers can express themselves artistically at a very early age.
4. Proper nutrition and the right amount of sleep are very important for the preschoolers.
5. Caregivers and teachers can do a lot in maximizing the growth and development of
preschoolers.
6. Preschoolers with special needs in inclusive classrooms cam thrive well with the appropriate
adaptations made in the classrooms, materials and activities.

Significant Changes in Physical Growth

Physical growth increases in the preschool years, although it is much slower in pace than in
infancy and toddlerhood. At around 3 years of age, preschoolers move. from the remaining
baby-like features of the toddler, toward a slenderer appearance of a child. The trunk, arms and
legs become longer.

The center of gravity refers to the point at which body weight is evenly distributed. Toddlers have
their center of gravity at a high level, about the chest level. This is why they have difficulty doing
sudden movements without falling down. Preschoolers on the other hand, have their center of
gravity at a lower level, right about near the belly button. This gives them more ability to be
stable and balanced than the toddler. The preschooler moves from the unsteady stance of
toddlerhood to a steadier bearing. They no longer toddle, that wobbly way that toddlers walk.
This also allows the preschooler to move more success fully than the toddler. Some say that the
later part of the preschooler years at around 5 or 6 is the best time to begin learning skills that
require balance like riding a bike or skating.

By the time the child reaches three years old. all primary or deciduous, or what are also called
baby or milk teeth are already in place. The permanent teeth which will begin to come out by age
six are also developing. The preschooler years are therefore a time to instill habits of good
dental hygiene.

Gross and Fine Motor Development

Gross motor development refers to acquiring skills that involve the large muscles. These gross
motor skills are categorized into three: locomotor, non-locomotor and manipulative skills.
Locomotor skills are those that involve going from one place to another, like walking, running,
climbing. skipping, hopping. creeping, galloping, and dodging. Non-locomotor ones are those
where the child stays in place, like bending, stretching. turning and swaying. Manipulative skills
are those that involve projecting and receiving objects, like throwing, striking, bouncing, catching,
and dribbling.

Preschoolers are generally physically active. Level of activity is highest around three and
becomes a little less as the preschooler gets older. Preschoolers should be provided with a
variety of appropriate activities which will allow them to use their large muscles. Regular physical
activity helps preschoolers build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints, control weight
and build lean muscles, prevent or delay hypertension, reduce feelings of depression and
anxiety and increase capacity for learning.

Fine motor development refers to acquiring the ability to use the smaller muscles in the arm,
hands and fingers purposefully. Some of the skills included here are picking squeezing,
pounding. and opening things. holding and using a writing implement. It also involves self-help
skills like using the spoon and fork when eating. buttoning, zipping, combing, and brushing.

By the end of the preschool years most children manage to hold a pencil with their thumb and
fingers, draw pictures, write letters, use scissors, do stringing and threading activities. They can
also do self-help skills like eating and dressing up independently. Significant progress in fine
motor skills can be expected of preschoolers especially if they are aptly supported and
appropriate activities are provided for them.
Handedness, or the preference of the use of one hand over the other, is usually established
around 4 years of age. Earlier than this, preschoolers can be observed to do tasks using their
hands interchangeably. We can observe a preschooler shifting the crayon from left to right and
back again while working on a coloring activity.

Preschoolers’ Artistic Development

At the heart of the preschooler years is their interest to draw and make other forms of artistic
expressions. This form of fine motor activity is relevant to preschoolers. Viktor Lowenfeld
studied this and came up with the stages of drawing in early childhood:

Stage 1. Scribbling stage. This stage begins with large zig-zag lines which later become circular
markings. Soon, discrete shapes are drawn. The child may start to name his/her drawing towards
the end of this stage.

Stage 2. Preschematic stage. May already include carly representations (This also becomes
very significant when we discuss about cognitive development). At this point adults may be able
to recognize the drawings. Children at this stage tend to give the same names to their drawings
several times. Drawings usually comprise of a prominent head with basic elements. Later, arms,
legs, hands and even facial features are included.

Stage 3. Schematic stage. More elaborate scenes are depicted. Children usually draw from
experience and exposure. Drawings may include houses, trees, the sun and sky and people.
Initially, they may appear floating in air but eventually drawings appear to follow a ground line.

Cognitive Development

Preschoolers Symbolic and Intuitive Thinking

There are two substages of Piaget's preoperational thought, namely, symbolic substage and
intuitive substage. In the symbolic stage, being able to draw objects that are not present, by
their dramatic increase in their language and make-believe play. In the intuitive substage,
preschool children begin to use primitive reasoning and ask a litany of questions. The
development in their language ability facilitates their endless asking of questions. While
preschool children exhibit considerable cognitive development, their improved cognitive
processes still show some aspects of immaturity or limitations.

Language Development

Young children’s understanding sometimes gets ahead of their speech. As children go through
early childhood, their grasp of the rules of language increases.

Symbolic thinking involves language, literacy and dramatic play. Children rapidly conclude that
sounds link together to make words and words represent ideas, people, and things. Throughout
the preschool years, children's language development becomes increasingly complex in the four
main areas: phonology (speech sounds), semantics (word meaning), syntax (sentence
construction), and pragmatics (conversation or social uses of language). As they advance in age
and as they continuously interact with people, preschool children expand rapidly in their
vocabulary through fast mapping, a process by which children absorb the meaning of a new
word after hearing it once or twice in conversation. Preschool children combine syllables into
words and words into sentences in an increasingly sophisticated manner .

Language and Social Interaction

Vygotsky believed that young children use language both to communicate socially and to plan.
guide, and monitor their behavior in a self-regulatory 1ashion called inner speech or private
speech (Santrock, 2002).

For P1aget. private speech is egocentric and immature, but for Vygotsky it is an important tool of
thought during early childhood. Full cognitive development requires social interaction and
language. Children must use 1anguage to communicate with others before they can focus on
their own thoughts (Santrock, 2002). This implies the importance of interaction of preschoolers
with caregivers for language development.
Vygotsky asserted that preschool children are unable to achieve their highest cognitive
development (language development included) on their own and that they can improve their
cognitive development through use of scaffolding from more-skilled children and adults. He
introduced the term Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) to refer to tasks too difficult for a child
to master alone but can be mastered with the guidance and assistance of adults or more skilled
children (Santrock, 2002). In short, the ZPD captures the preschool children’s cognitive skills that
are in the process of maturing. The ZPD has a lower limit and an upper limit. The lower limit of
the ZPD is "the level of cognitive development reached by the preschool child independently.
The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with assistance of an
able instructor (Santrock, 2002) Closely linked to the idea of ZPD in cognitive and language
development is the concept of scaffolding, a term that refers to the “changing support over the
course ol a teaching session, with the more skilled person adjusting guidance to it the child ‘s
current performance level” (Santrock, 2002). The more skilled person is also called More
Knowledgeable Other (MK0). Can you think of ways of scaffolding preschoolers to help them
reach optimum cognitive and language development?

Information Processing Theory-Attention and Memory

The Information Processing model is another way of examining and understanding how children
develop cognitively. This model conceptualizes children's mental processes through the
metaphor of a computer processing encoding, storing, and decoding data. The preschoolers'
attention span lasts longer than that of toddlers. The child's ability to pay attention changes
significantly during the preschool years.

But one deficit in attention during preschool years is that attention is focused only on aspects
that stand out at the expense of those that are relevant to solving a problem to performing well
on a task Preschool children recognize previously encountered information, recall old
information, and reconstruct it in the present. 1ry asking a preschooler what she did on
Christmas vacation when she returns to preschool after the holiday. She will be able to. Among
the interesting questions about memory in the preschool years are those involving short-term
memory In short-term memory (STM) information for up to 15-30 seconds, assuming there is no
rehearsal, which can help keep information in STM for a much longer period (Santrock, 2002).

Differences in memory span occur across the ages due to: a) rehearsal and b) speed and
efficiency of processing information. Older children rehearse items more than younger
children. On this count, preschool children may have shorter memory span than primary and
intermediate pupils. The speed with which a child processes information is an important aspect
of the child's cognitive abilities.

The Young Children's Theory of Mind

Theory of mind refers to individuals thoughts about how mental processes work (Santrock,
2002).

By the age of 2 or 3, children become aware that the mind exists. They refer to needs, emotions,
and mental states. When a preschool child says, forgot my doll", "I want my ice cream- these
imply that he/she is aware that a mind exists. Cognitive terms such as know, remember, and
think usually appear after perceptual and emotional terms, but are used by age 3 (Santrock,
2002). As their representation of the world and ability to remember and solve problems improve.
children start to reflect on their own thought processes. They begin to construct a theory of mind
or a set of ideas about mental activities (Preschoolers Cognitive Development, 2007). This
develops markedly between the ages of three and five. It includes awareness of one's own
thought processes, social cognition, understanding that people can hold false beliefs, ability to
deceive, ability to distinguish appearance from reality and ability to distinguish fantasy from
reality (Preschoolers Cognitive Development, 2007).

Socio-emotional Development

Preschoolers' Initiative

Erikson's view of initiative aptly portrays the emotional and social changes that happen during
the preschool years. Preschoolers deal with the psychological conflict of initiative versus guilt.
Initiative, the tendency of preschoolers to want to take action and assert themselves. They will
yearn to create, invent, pretend, take risks and engage in lively and imaginative activities with
peers. When parents, teachers and other adults support these attempts and provide a
stimulating environment, the preschooler's sense of initiative will grow. On the other hand, if the
adults show overprotection, extreme restriction and criticisms, the preschooler will develop guilt.

As preschoolers go through the conflict of initiative vs. guilt, they show so much energy in doing
imaginative play activities. Every place becomes a playground to explore, every single thing an
interesting piece to tinker with. Adults sometimes get exasperated over this behavior and begin to
see the preschooler as "naughty or "makulit. Some parents and teachers then become overly
restrictive, resorting to threats, intimidation and other scary tactics that disrespect the preschooler
just to establish "control". Consequently, the child may develop excessive guilt. Although a good
amount of guilt helps in making children take responsibility for their behavior, excessive guilt
hampers emotional growth. Preschoolers who are always punished and criticized end up
constructing a view of themselves as being salbahe (bad) “bobo” (dumb) or even “walang kwenta
(worthless). This is really sad because childhood years should be happy years. One poster says,
“You don’t have to hit to hurt. The message emphasizes that even the things we say and the way
we deal with preschoolers can already hurt them at this vulnerable stage.

The key thing to remember is to apply "judicious permissiveness." This involves setting realistic
boundaries that keep preschoolers safe and respectful of self and others, while allowing them
greater opportunity to explore, take risks and to engage in creative processes. Preschoolers will
develop a healthy sense of initiative in an affirming, encouraging and stimulating environment.

Self-Concept and the Preschooler

By the end of toddlerhood, preschoolers come out with a clear sense that they are a separate
and distinct person. With their ability to make representations, they can now think and reflect
about themselves. Self-concept refers to the way one sees himself, a general view about one's
abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. The preschooler's selfconcept mainly focuses on
observable characteristics and his/her usual beliefs, emotions, and attitudes. One will hear a
preschooler say, "Kaya ko na! (I can do it)" "Ako lang nagsuot ng shoes ko." (wore my shoes all
by myself.) An important aspect of self-concept is self-esteem, which specifically refers to one's
judgments about one's worth. Preschoolers are naturally positive. Usually they will tend to
evaluate their skills high and underestimate the tasks. They are confident to try again even if
they don't succeed with something. However, they may become negative because of repeated
frustration and disapproval. Preschoolers need a lot of patience and encouragement from adults.

Environmental Factors and Gender in the Preschoolers' Socio-emotional Development

As the preschooler's ability to create schemas develop, they become capable of gender typing,
the process of forming gender roles. gender-based preferences and behaviors accepted by
society. They come to form gender stereotypes. Preschoolers begin to associate certain things
like toys, tools. games. clothes, jobs, colors or even actions or behaviors as being only for boys"
or "only for girls. Consequently, they form their own gender identity, the view of oneself as being
masculine or feminine.

Parten’s stages of Play

1. Unoccupied. The child appears not to be playing but directs his attention on anything that
interests him.
2. Onlooker. The child spends time watching others play. He may talk to them but does not
enter into play with them
3. Solitary Play. The child plays independently.
4. Parallel Play. The child plays with toys similar to those near him, but only plays beside
and not with them. No interaction takes place.
5. Associate Play. the child plays with others. There is interaction among them, but no task
assignment, rules, and organization are agreed upon.
6. Cooperative. The child plays with others bound by some agreed rules and roles.

Caregiving Styles

Caregiving styles affect the socio-emotional development of the children. Caregivers here refer
to both parents and teachers and even other adults that care for the child. Baumrind gave a
model that describes the different types of caregiving styles. She identified varying degrees of
demandingness and responsiveness as determinants of four styles of caregiving.
Responsiveness refers to caregiver behaviors that pertain to expression of affection and
communication. It refers to how warm, caring, and respectful the adult is to the child. It involves
openness in communication and the willingness to explain things in ways that the child will
understand.

Demandingness refers to the level of control and expectations. This involves discipline and
confrontation strategies.

1. Authoritative: high demandingness/high responsiveness

2. Authoritarian: high demandingness/low responsiveness
3. Permissive: low demandingness/high responsiveness
4. Negligent: low demandingness/low responsiveness

Big Picture in Focus: ULOb. Discuss the development of the Learners at

various stages: Middle childhood, Late childhood, and Adolescence.

Metalanguage
For you to demonstrate ULOb, you will need to have an operational understanding of the following terms
below:

1. Coordination. Is a series of movements organized and timed to occur in a particular way

to bring about a particular result.
2. Balance. Is the child’s ability to maintain the equilibrium or stability of his/her body in
different positions.
3. Speed. The ability to cover a great distance in the shortest possible time.
4. Agility. One’s ability to quickly change or shift the direction of the body.
5. Power. The ability to perform a maximum effort in the shortest possible period.
6. Inductive logic. Involves thinking from a specific experience to a general principle.
7. Deductive logic. Using a general principle to determine the outcome of a specific event.
8. Hormones. Specialized chemical substances that interact with bodily cells.
9. Spermache. Signals the first sign of puberty and sexual maturity in boys.
10. Corpus collosum. A structure that joins and coordinates the two hemispheres of the
brain.

Essential Knowledge
Before we proceed further with the study of the development of the learners at various
stages: Middle childhood, Late childhood, and Adolescence, it is highly important to revisit the
terms and concepts related to this study to understand better its scope and limitation. As a
potential educator, you should have a commendable knowledge of these essential terms.
MIDLLE CHILDHOOD (The Primary Schooler, 6 – 12 years old)

Physical Development

Physical growth during the primary school years is slow but steady. During this stage. Physical
development involves: (1) having good muscle control and coordination (2) developing eye-hand
coordination, 6) having good personal hygiene and (4) being aware of good safety habits.

Height and Weight

In this development stage children will have started their elementary grades specifically their
primary years Grades 1 to 3.

This period of gradual and steady growth will give children time to get used to the changes in
their bodies. An average increase in height of a little over two inches a year in both boys and
girls introduce them to many different activities that they can now do with greater accuracy.

Weight gain averages about 6.5 pounds a year. Most children have slimmer appearance
compared to their preschool years because of the shifts in accumulation and location of their
body tats. A child's legs are longer and more proportioned to the body than they were before.
A number of factors could indicate how much a child grows, or how much changes in the body
will take place:

1. exercise
2. genes
3. food
4. medical conditions
5. climate
6. diseases/illnesses

Bones and Muscles

Childhood years are the peak bone-producing years. This is the best time to teach children of
good dietary and exercise habits to help them have strong, healthy bones throughout their lives.
Many lifestyle factors, like nutrition and physical activity, can substantially influence the increase
of bone mass during childhood. Because children’s bones have proportionately more water and
protein-like materials and fewer minerals than adults. Ensuring adequate calcium intake will
greatly help them in strengthening bones and muscles

Motor Development

Young school-aged children are gaining control over the major muscles of their bodies. Most
children have a good sense of balance. They like testing their muscle strength and skills. They
enjoy doing real life tasks and activities. They pretend and fantasize less often because they are
more attuned with everything that is happening around them. Children in this stage love to move
a lot they run, skip, hop jump, tumble, roll and dance. Because their gross motor skills are
already developed, they can now perform activities like catching a ball with one hand, tying their
shoelaces, they can manage zippers and buttons.

Performing unimanual (require the use one hand) and bi-manual (require the use of two hands)
activities becomes easier children’s graphic activities. such as writing and drawing, are no more
controlled but are still developing. They can print their names and copy simple designs, letters,
and shapes. They hold pencils, crayons utensils correctly with supervision. Motor development
skills include coordination, balance, speed, agility, and power.

Let us look into the definitions of the different motor skills. Coordination is a series of movements
organized and timed to occur in a particular way to bring about a particular result (Strickland,
2000). The more complex the movement is, the greater coordination is required. Children
develop eye-hand and eye-foot coordination when they play games and sports. Balance is the
child’s ability to maintain the equilibrium or stability of his/her body in different positions. Balance
is a basic skill needed especially in this stage when children are very active. During this time,
children have improved balancing skills. Static balance is the ability to maintain equilibrium in a
fixed position, like balancing on one foot moving (Owens. 2006). Dynamic balance is the ability
to maintain equilibrium while moving. Speed is the ability to cover a great distance in the
shortest possible time while agility is one's ability to quickly change or shift the direction of the
body. These skills are extremely important in most sports. Power is the ability to perform a
maximum effort in the shortest possible period.

All these motor skills are vital in performing different activities, games and sports. Development
of these skills may spell the difference between success and failure in future endeavors of the
child.

Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget’s concrete operational stage

Concrete operation is the third stage in Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. It spans from
ages 7 to approximately 11 years. In this developmental stage, children have better
understanding of their thinking skills. Children begin to think logically about concrete events,
particularly their own experiences, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical
concepts, thus most of them still have a hard time at problemsolving.

Logic. Concrete operational thinkers, according to Piaget, can already make use of inductive
logic but have great difficulty in using deductive logic.
Reversibility. One of the most important developments in this stage is an understanding of
reversibility, or awareness that actions can be reversed.

Cognitive Milestones

Elementary-aged children encounter developmental milestones. They develop certain skills

within a particular time frame. The skills they learn are in sequential pattern, meaning they
need to understand numbers before they can perform mathematical equations.

Specifically, young primary school-aged children can tell left from right. They are able to speak
and express themselves develops rapidly. In school, they share about themselves and their
families. During play, they practice using the words and language they learn in school. They start
to understand time and days of the week. They enjoy rhymes, riddles, and jokes. Their attention
span is longer They can follow more involved stories. They are learning letters and words. By
six, most can read words or combinations of words.

Information Processing Skills

Several theories argue that like the computer, the human mind is a system that can process
information through the application of logical rules and strategies. They also believe that the
mind receives information, performs operations to change its form and content, stores and
locates it and generates responses from it.

Socio-emotional Development

Erik Erikson’s Fourth stage of Psychosocial Development

Industry vs. inferiority is the psychosocial crisis that children will have to resolve in this stage.
Industry refers to a child's involvement in situations where long. patient work is demanded of
them, while inferiority is the feeling created when a child gets a feeling of failure when they
cannot finish or master their school work.

In this stage, children, will most likely, have begun going to school. School experiences become
the priority, with children so busy doing schoolwork. The encouragement of parents and caring
educators helps to build a child's sense of selfesteem, strengthening their confidence and ability
to interact positively in the world.

Primary school children's self-concept is influenced not only by their parents, but also by the
growing under of people they begin to interact with, including teachers and classmates. Children
have a growing understanding of their place in the world. They already know that they can
please their parents and teaches They are comfortable and show confidence in doing things they
are good at, but also show frustration in things that they find difficult.

School Years

In the transition from pre-elementary to primary school, children tend to become increasingly
self-confident and able to cope well with social Interactions. They are not focused on themselves
anymore but are also aware of the needs and desires of others ness and equality become
important to them as they learn to care for people who are not part of their families.
Characteristics like loyalty and dependability are being considered as well as responsibility and
kindness.

Building Friendships

Making friends is a crucial but very important part of children’s social and emotional growth. As
soon as they are able to walk and talk, they will tend to show natural inclination to be around
other children.

Children, during this stage, most likely belong to a peer group. Peer groups are characterized by
children who belong approximately to the same age group and same social economic status. It is
found along the stages of childhood through adolescence. but for children, until the age of seven
or eight, they think of themselves more than that others. They may play well with groups but may
need some time to play alone.
Anti-social Behavior

Some adult may perceive that some children’s behavior towards other children as antisocial.
When children poke, pull, hit, or kick other children when they are first introduced, it is fairly
normal. Parents and teachers can help children make friends. You can consider the following:

• Expose the children to kid-rich environments

• Create a play group in your class and let the children mingle with their classmates.
• When your children hit other children, remind them that their behavior hurts others.
• Coordinate with the parents and other teachers so that the children will have greater
opportunity to interact with other children.

Self-Control

Once children reach school age, they begin to take pride in their ability to do things and their
capacity to exert effort. They like receiving positive feedback from their parents and teachers.

LATE CHILDHOOD (The Intermediate Schooler)

Physical Development

Children in their late childhood stage always seem to be in a hurry. They get so busy with their
schoolwork, interacting with their friends, exploring other possible activities, but this period of
physical development seems to take on a leisurely place.

On the average, girls are generally as much as two years ahead of boys in terms of physical
maturity. Puberty may begin early. Budding breasts for girls, which is the initial sign of puberty.
Some girls may also start with their menstrual period as early as 8 and some as late 13.

Many of the bodily structures like the liver, muscles, skeletons, kidneys and face follow a normal
curve of development for both girls and boys. Other structures like the brain, intestines, and
other organs and bodily systems mature at their own time. thus, affecting growth patterns.
Children gain an average of 7 pounds in weight, and average of 2% inches in height and an
average of an inch in head circumference each year. Children at this stage have growth spurts
sudden boost in height and weight, which are usually accompanied by increase in appetite and
food intake.

Increase in body fats also occurs in preparation for the growth that occurs during adolescence.
The body fat increase occurs earlier in girls and is greater in quantity.

Girls appear to be chubby while boys tend to have more lean body mass per inch of height than
girls. These are all normal part of development. At this stage, children may become very
concerned about their physical appearance. Girls especially, may become concerned about their
weight and decide to eat less. Boys may become aware of their stature. These differences in
body composition become very significant

Since this stage can bring about insecurities, parents and teachers must be very conscious
about their dealings with these children. Appropriate activities must be designed so that children
will be guided into right direction.

Cognitive Development

Initial Cognitive Characteristics

Intermediate school children greatly enjoy the cognitive abilities that they can now utilize. Their
thinking skills have become more effective as compared during their primary years. Their
schoolwork is now more complicated. Reading texts have become longer, problem-solving has
become an everyday part of their lives.

Their ability to use logic and reasoning give them chances of thinking about what they want and
how to get it. They now become very interested in talking about the future or even their potential
careers. They develop special interest in collections, hobbies, and sports. They are even
capable of understanding concepts without having direct handson experiences.
Reading Development

Children in this stage, is marked by a wide application of word attack. Because of the presence
of previous knowledge, they now have a wide vocabulary. which enables them to understand the
meanings of unknown words through context clues (This is the "Reading to Learn" Stage in
reading development.) They are no longer into the fairy tales and magic type of stories but are
more interested in longer and more complex reading materials, e:g. fiction books and series
books.

Attention

Older children have longer and more flexible attention span compared to younger children. Their
span of attention is dependent on how much is required by the given task. In terms of
schoolwork. Older children can concentrate and focus more for longer period of hours especially
if they are highly interested in what they are doing.

Creativity

Children at this stage are open to explore new things

Socio-emotional Development

Understanding Self-Competence, Self-identity and Self-Concept

One of the most widely recognized characteristics of this period of development is the acquisition
of feelings of self-competence. This is what Erik Erikson referred to when he described the
developmental task of middle childhood the social crisis industry versus inferiority. Industry refers
to the drive to acquire new skills and do meaningful "work".

The child should have a growing sense of competence. The child's definitions of self and
accomplishment vary greatly according to interpretations in the surrounding environment. Varied
opportunities must be provided in order for children to develop a sense of perseverance. They
should be offered chances to both fail and succeed, along with sincere feedback and support.

During late childhood, children can now describe themselves with internal and psychological
characteristics and traits. They most likely employ more social comparison distinguishing
themselves from others. In dealing with other children, they show increase in perspective-taking.
This ability increases with age. Perspective taking enables the child to: (a) judge others’
intentions, purposes and actions, (b) give importance to social attitudes and behaviors and to (c)
increase skepticism of others claims.

Emotional Development

Similar to the other areas of development, children at this stage, show improved emotional
understanding, increased understanding that more than one emotion can be experienced in a
single experience. They may also show greater ability to show or conceal emotions, utilize ways
to redirect feelings and a capacity for genuine empathy.

Another milestone in this stage is the development of the children’s emotional intelligence (EQ),
which involves the ability to monitor feelings of oneself and others and use this to guide and
motivate behavior.

Emotional Intelligence has four main areas

Developing emotional self-awareness

Managing emotions (self-control)

Reading emotions (perspective taking)

Handling emotions (resolve problems)

Building Friendships

As children go through their late childhood, the time they spend in peer interaction increases. For
them, good peer relationships are very important. The approval and belongingness they receive
contribute to the stability and security of their emotional development. Peer size also increases
and less supervision by adults is required. At this stage children prefer to belong to same-sex
peer groups.

There are five types of Peer Status:

Popular- frequently nominated as the best-friend and one who is rarely disliked by peers.

Average- receives a number of positive and negative nominations from peers.

Neglected- very seldom nominated as best-friend but is not really disliked.

Rejected- infrequently nominated as a best-friend but one who is also disliked by peers.

Controversial- frequently nominated as a best friend but at the same time is disliked by peers

Popular children which peers find very positive have the following skills and as a result they
become the most favored in the group:

1. They give out reinforcement.

2 They act naturally.

ADOLESCENCE (The High School Learners)

Physical Development

Defining Adolescence

The period of adolescence begins with biological changes of puberty and ends with the role and
work of adult life. The specific ages for this period vary from person to person but distinct phases
have been identified. The advent of puberty may come early for some and late for some others.
But everyone goes through these stages. These stages are: early adolescence characterized by
puberty mostly occurring between ages 10 and 13; 2). middle adolescence characterized by
identity issues within the ages of l4 and 16; and 3). late adolescence which marks the transition
into adulthood at ages 17 and 20.

Adolescence is a period of transition in terms of physical, cognitive and socioemotional changes,

physical transition being particularly coupled with sexual transformation. This Module is focused
on physical development that takes place during adolescence. All the while, the aspect of
individuality in adolescent development is unique to each individual, although there are common
issues that depend on race and culture, inclusive of dependence versus independence, changes
in parent-adolescent relationship, exploration, need for more privacy and idealization of others.

Pubertal changes

In all cultures, biological change comprises the major transition from childhood to early
adolescence. This is manifested by a change in physical appearance, a more rapid ate of
development (next to the speed of growth of the fetus in the uterus) known as growth spurts he
phenomenon commonly results in a feeling of awkwardness and unfamiliarity with bodily
changes. In addition, alterations in sleeping habits and parentadolescent relationship may be
experienced accompanying puberty changes.

The growth spurts

Throughout life, the growth hormone conditions gradual increases body size, and weight but
hormone flooding occurs during adolescence causing an acceleration known as the growth
spurt. Body changes include change in body dimensions (leg length, shoulder width, trunk
length). In particular, spurt in height is ascribed to trunk growth rather than leg growth. In girls,
the growth spurt generally begins at age 10 reaching its peak at age 11 anda-half, and
decreasing at age 13, while slow continual growth occurs for several more years.

Boys begin their growth spurt later than girls at around age 12, reaching a peak at 14 and
declining at age 15 and-a-half. At age 16 and ¼, girls reach 98 percent of their adult height,
while boys do so at age 17 and 1/4. Growth in height is conditioned by stages h bone
maturation, The muscles also grow in terms of size and strength, while a similar spurt occurs for
weight, muscle size, head, and face maturation, and especially the development of the
reproductive organs. Briefly, all the muscular and skeletal dimensions appear to take part in the
growth spurt during adolescence.

Sexual maturity

The series of hormonal changes accompanying puberty is complex. Hormones are recognized to
be powerful and highly specialized chemical substances that interact with bodily cells. The
triggering by hormones of the hypothalamus glands on hormones of the pituitary glands signals
the entire process of sexual maturation. During the process, gonadotropic hormones are
secreted by the anterior pituitary, which lies beneath the base of the brain and are situated
approximately at the geometric center of the human head. Gonads, which are the ovaries in the
female and the testis in the male, are then stimulated by the gonadotropic hormones, in turn
stimulating their own hormones. When the male testis is stimulated by the gonadotropic
hormones, testosterone is secreted, while estrogen is secreted when the female ovary is
stimulated.

Secondary male sex characteristics are stimulated by testosterone, comprised by the growth of
the testis and scrotum (recognized to be the first sign of puberty), penis and first pubic hair, the
capacity for ejaculation, the growth spurt, voice change, facial hair development/ beard growth,
and continuing growth of pubic hair. The acceleration of the growth of the penis precedes the
growth spurt in height. Pubic hair growth precedes the first appearance of facial hair growth.
Occurring late in puberty, the lowering of the voice, caused by the enlargement of the larynx and
double lengthening of the vocal cords, is viewed to be the most obvious aspect of adolescent
development. In girls, estrogen secretion triggers the beginning of breast enlargement, the
appearance of pubic hair, the widening of the hips, a growth spurt, and menarche (first
menstruation). The elevation of the female breast is the first external sign of puberty in girls,
while the growth of the uterus and vagina accompanies continued enlargement of the breast.
Generally, girls achieve menarche beginning II to 11.5 years (5 percent), up to 12 and 12.5 years
(25 percent) and at age 13 (60 percent). There are, however, differences in reaching menarche
in accordance with ethnic differences. Studies show that African American and European
American girls may exhibit secondary sex activities as early as 8.87 years and 9.96 years;
menarche as early as 11.6 years and 12.4 years, respectively.

In contrast with menarche, spermache signals the first sign of puberty and sexual maturity in
boys. At about age 12 or 13, boys experience the enlargement of the testis and the manufacture
of sperms in the scrotum, most likely experiencing their first ejaculation of semen a sticky fluid
produced by the prostate gland. The need to discharge semen occurs more or less periodically
following pressure caused by the production of seminal fluid by the prostate gland. Nocturnal
emissions or "wet dreams" occur during sleep often caused by sexual dreams.

Masturbation or manipulation of physical sexual organs is caused by conscious fantasizing, both

among boys and girls. It is important to note that science and religion differ in their regard to
masturbation.

Modern medical science sees it as an inevitable transitional phenomenon among adolescents.

On the other hand, religion generally regards it as gravely sinful, ascribing sin even to sexual
fantasies. To view the issue objectively, a guilt complex on the matter is unhealthy to growth. On
the other hand, habitual masturbation is an aberration when it can the growing adolescent from
confidence in heterosexual (male- female friendship) relationship. In the end, while the growing
youth need not feel guilty about natural sexual urges, they need to be forewarned about
habitually giving in these urges. Outgrowing the acts of during adulthood when males and inhibit
masturbation is wholesome especially during adulthood when males and females need to relate
to each other in mature relationship.

Cognitive Development

Similarly remarkable as the physical changes in the transitional period of adolescence, are
changes in thinking patterns. These changes are marked by the acquisition of new cognitive
skills due to the brain's increasing in weight and refining synaptic connections (technically known
as the corpus collosum) which join and coordinate the two hemispheres of the brain. Another
brain development is the process of continuous concentration of the brain cells in the prefrontal
cortex and related temporal and parietal areas (technically known as myelination).
This second development covers the brain systems whose executive functions relate to
attention, verbal fluency, language and planning. Through brain scanning, three peaks in brain
maturation have been identified by neurological scientists and these are at age 12, age 15, and
age 18.5, coinciding with the operational thinking processes of logical reasoning. Accompanying
brain changes in cognitive capability, the adolescent begins to acquire spatial awareness and
formulate abstract or general ideas involving numbers, order, and cause-effect. All these
changes propel the adolescent from the world of the sensible and concrete thoughts to the world
of the possible and the universal (abstract ideas, such as on the generally good. true and
beautiful).

Piaget's Formal Operational Thinker

Piaget formulated the theory of Formal Operational Thinking which demonstrates how the
cognitive capacity of the adolescent allows him/her to go beyond the sensible and concrete to
dwell on what is abstract, hypothetical, multidimensional and possible. n this realm of thought,
the adolescent begins to attain subtlety in thinking, entering the sphere of possible. More
specifically, formal operational thinking consists in:

(a) propositional thinking- making assertions outside visual evidence, and stating what may
be possible in things not seen by the eyes (for example, whether an unseen object is red or
green, big or small, flat or round)
(b) relativistic thinking-subjectively making an opinion on facts involving one's own bias,
prejudice of distortion of facts-which may be either right or wrong (for example, arguing for or
against the superiority of the races, whether white, brown, yellow or black);
(c) real versus possible-examining a situation and exploring the possible in terms of situations
or solutions (e.g. possible success in implementing a student project or a school policy)

For Piaget one indication of the presence of formal operational thinking ability of the adolescent
thinker for combinational analysis which is his taking stock of the effects of several variables in a
situation, testing one variable at a time, and not randomly. An application of a situation which
requires combinational analysis is the School laboratory experiment activity wherein high school
students test chemical elements singly and in combination resulting in an understanding
chemical changes.

A new thought capacity, known as Hypothetico-Deductive Reasoning, emerges in the adolescent

reasoning from general facts/situations to a particular conclusion. The school pendulum
experiment is an example of deducing from variables and generating and recognizing a truth,
expressed by the transitional process of deriving a conclusion from a hypothesis.

Scientific evidence shows that while adolescents may obtain the capacity for formal operational
thinking, only experience and education will allow them to actually practice it. School math and
science courses, such as in performing Physics-type problems (balance scales, pendulums,
projections of images and shadows, etc.) certainly help in actualizing formal operational thinking,
although only 40 to 50 percent of adults in Western cultures have shown evidence of success in
formal cognitive thinking processes.

Outside formal operational thinking which can be developed by mathematical and science
studies, the adolescent enters into a new capability which makes him a Problem-Solving Thinker.
This involves identifying problems and seeking new and creative solutions for them. The
problemfinding thinker is one who is able to rethink and reorganize ideas and ask important
questions, even defining totally new problems not previously seen.

The adolescent may further experience an increase in depth of thought. Thus, he/she is able to
bring what is logically "best" for everyday life, whether or not this may be the objectively correct
solution or response to a situation or problem.

Socio-emotional Development

Self-Understanding

Physical and cognitive developments do not come in isolation but are accompanied by growth in
self-image and maturation of feelings among adolescents. The formation of a self-concept is of
paramount significance since this relates to enduring traits that make the person fully human.
Inhumanity, as sadly demonstrated by the egotistic, the cruel and the despotic (think of Herod,
Hitler, Stalin, etc.) have caused much suffering and sadness to mankind in human history
In early adolescence (10-13 years), the teen begins to acquire a reflective idea of one's self, not
only in terms of the immediate present which younger children also see, but in terms of their past
and their future. During adolescent years, the teen also begins to see his/her role and
importance to society. This development requires self-thought or introspective thinking along
generalized ideas, such as in thinking that one is bright, flexible, intelligent, etc. From self-image,
there is the all-important value known as self- esteem. This is an appreciation of who one is,
regardless of possible limitations or deficiencies in bodily and mental qualities. In the end, it
becomes useless and unhealthy to seriously compare ourselves with others in self-pity (e.g. not
being as good looking or not having high class grades as the other fellow). One can only think of
unlimited number of personages who are incomparable in physical traits (such as the beautiful
people of the celebrity world) and in intellectual acumen (Aristotle, Einstein, Bill Gates, etc.).
Since the growing youth ordinarily cannot be these people, making comparisons of self with
others is really a futile exercise.

Big Picture in Focus: ULOa. psychological principles. Discuss the

learner-centered

Metalanguage
For you to demonstrate ULOa, you will need to have an operational understanding of the
following terms pertaining to learner-centered psychological principles. Please refer to the
Essential Knowledge section for the definitions of these terms.

Essential Knowledge

Before we proceed further with the study of the learner-centered psychological principles, it is
highly important to revisit the terms related to this study to understand better its scope and
limitation. As a potential teacher, you should have a commendable knowledge of these essential
terms.

Learner-centered Psychological Principles

1. LCP focuses on psychological factors that are primarily internal to and under the control of
the learner rather than conditioned habits or physiological factors.
2. LCP also attempts to acknowledge external environment or con textual factors that
interact with these internal factors.

• Cognitive and Metacognitive Factors (6 principles)

• Motivational and Affective Factors (3 principles)
• Developmental and Social Factors (2 principles)
• Individual Differences (3 principles)

A. COGNITIVE AND METACOGNITIVE FACTOR 1. Nature of Learning

Process

the learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an international process of
constructing meaning from information and experience.

2. Goals of the Learning Process

the successful learner, over time and with support and instructional guidance, can create
meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge.

3. Construction of Knowledge

the successful learner can link new information with existing knowledge in meaningful ways.
Knowledge widens and deepens as students continue to build links between new information
and experiences and their existing knowledge base.

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 in their
approach to learning reasoning, problem solving, and concept learning.
5. Thinking about thinking

Successful learners can reflect on how they think and learn, set reasonable learning or
performances goals, select potentially appropriate learning strategies or methods, and monitor
their progress towards these goals.

6. Context of Learning

Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology and instructional

practices.

B. MOTIVATIONAL AND AFFECTIVE FACTOR

7. Motivational and emotional influences on learning the rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs,
goals, and expectation for success or failure can enhance or interfere with the learner’s

quality of thinking and information processing.

8. Intrinsic 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.

9. Effects of motivation on effort

Effort is another major indicator of motivation to learn. The acquisition of complex knowledge and
skills demands the investment of considerable learner energy and strategic effort, along with
persistence over time.

C. DEVELOPMENTAL AND SOCIAL FACTOR

10. Developmental influences on learning learning is most effective when differential

developmental 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.

11. Social influences on learning

Learning can be enhanced when the learner has an opportunity to interact and to collaborate
with others on instructional tasks.

D. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES FACTOR

12. Individual differences in learning

Individuals are born with and develop their own capabilities and talents. Educators need to help
students examine their learning preferences and expand or modify them, if necessary.

13. Learning and diversity the same basic principles of learning, motivation, and effective

instruction apply to all learners.

14. Standards and assessment

Assessment provides important information to both the learner and teacher at all stages of the
learning process.

Alexander and Murphy gave a summary of the 14 principles and distilled them into five areas:

1. The knowledge base

One’s knowledge serves as the foundation of all future learning.

2. Strategic processing and control

Learners can develop skills to reflect and regulate their thoughts and behaviors in order to learn
more effectively.

3. Motivation and affect

Factors such as intrinsic motivation, reasons for wanting to learn, personal goals and enjoyment
of learning tasks all have a crucial role in the learning process.

4. Development and Individual Differences

Learning is a unique journey for each person because each learner has his own unique
combination of genetic and environmental factors that influence him.

5. Situation or context

Learning happens in the context of a society as well as within an individual.