Development

• Brain development


  1. Begins in the womb

  2. Continues throughout childhood and Adolescence
• Neural tube


  Simple structure that eventually develops into distinct brain regions with specialized functions
• Brain stem


  • Oldest and most primitive part of the brain
  • Controls essential functions like breathing, heart rate and digestion
  • These functions are automatic and do not require conscious effort
• Thalamus


  • Responsible for processing sensory information from the environment including touch, sound and vision
  • Acts as a relay station sending information to the appropriate regions of the brain for further processing
• Cerebellum


  • Located at the base of the brain
  • Responsible for coordinating movement and balance
  • Receives input from the sensory systems and the motor cortex
  • Uses this information to adjust and refine movement
• Cortex


  • Outermost layer of the brain
  • Responsible for higher level cognitive functions such as attention, memory, language and decision making
  • Divided into several regions each specialized for specific functions
• Brain development


  1. Different regions mature at different rates

  2. Brain stem, Thalamus and Cerebellum develop early in gestation

  3. Cortex continues to develop throughout childhood and Adolescence
• Development of brain


  1. Progression from simple reflexive behaviors

  2. To more complex and voluntary actions

  3. First basic motor skills like grasping and crawling

  4. As cortex matures, gain more refined motor skills and cognitive abilities
• Nature


  Genetic or innate factors that influence development
• Nurture


  Environmental factors that contribute to development
• Nature


  • Plays an important role in human development
  • Genetic makeup determines physical traits and influences cognitive abilities and personality traits
• Piaget's theory of cognitive development


  One of the most influential theories of child development
• Nurture


  • Plays a critical role in shaping human behavior and development
  • Parental factors such as upbringing, culture, education and experiences can influence cognitive, emotional and Social Development
• Piaget's stages of cognitive development

  • Sensory-motor stage (birth to 2 years)
  • Pre-operational stage (2 to 7 years)
  • Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years)
  • Formal operational stage (11 years and above)
• Genetic factors


  May interact with environmental factors such as stress or trauma to increase the risk of mental health problems
• Sensory-motor stage


  • Development of sensory and motor abilities, learning about the world through senses and actions, developing object permanence
• Factors such as smoking, infections (e.g. rubella) and alcohol

  Can influence the development of a baby in the womb and have an impact on the child's development as it grows up
• Pre-operational stage


  • Development of symbolic thinking and language skills, egocentrism (difficulty understanding others' perspectives)
• Concrete operational stage


  • Development of logical thinking, ability to understand concrete and tangible concepts, conservation (understanding that amount remains the same despite changes in appearance)
• Formal operational stage


  • Development of abstract thinking, ability to reason logically about hypothetical situations, systematic thinking and drawing conclusions based on abstract concepts
• Assimilation


  Incorporating new information into existing schema or mental framework
• Accommodation


  Modifying existing schema to fit new information
• Piaget's theory emphasizes the active role of children in constructing their own understanding of the world
• Piaget's theory suggests that educators should take into account the cognitive abilities of children at each stage of development
• Children progress through Piaget's stages through the process of aging, and cannot progress to the next stage until they are biologically ready
• Children can progress through the stages at slightly different paces, and educators should be aware of this
• McGarrigle and Donaldson's "Naughty Teddy" study

  Aimed to investigate children's understanding of conservation, comparing to Piaget's original findings
• The "Naughty Teddy" study found that the traditional method of testing conservation underestimated what children can do, with many nursery-aged children able to conserve at a younger age than Piaget originally said
• There was a difference in conservation skills between primary and nursery-aged children in the "Naughty Teddy" study
• Weaknesses of the "Naughty Teddy" study include using only primary-age children from the same school, and the possibility that children were distracted by the teddy and didn't notice the change in the rows
• Strengths of the "Naughty Teddy" study include acknowledging Piaget's original research and showing differences in his findings, suggesting he may have confused younger children with his questioning
• Hughes' "Policeman Doll" study

  Aimed to investigate children's reduction of egocentricity, building on Piaget's "Three Mountains" study
• The "Policeman Doll" study found that children aged 3 tended to hide the doll from their own viewpoint, but by age 4 were more likely to successfully take on the perspective of the second policeman
• Strengths of the "Policeman Doll" study include using a task more similar to everyday life than Piaget's "Three Mountains" task, and the researcher taking time to ensure children understood the task
• A weakness of the "Policeman Doll" study is the possibility that the researcher may have unconsciously hinted about the correct answer
• The "Policeman Doll" study challenges Piaget's original research, showing there are issues with how he set up and worded his research questions
• Fixed mindset


  People with a fixed mindset believed their abilities and intelligence are fixed and cannot be changed
• Fixed mindset


  • May be more likely to avoid challenges and give up easily when faced with obstacles because they believe that their abilities are predetermined and cannot be improved
• Growth mindset


  People with a growth mindset believe that their abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and learning
• Growth mindset


  • They are more likely to embrace challenges, persist through obstacles, and see failures as opportunities for growth