+

Theories, Theorists and ResearchEDUC 30014August 22. 2012

+eCollege

What’s there

How to use it

+3 Areas of Development

Physical

Cognitive

Social and Emotional

+Periods of Development

Prenatal: Conception to birth

Infancy and Toddlerhood: Birth to 2 years

Early Childhood: 2 – 6 years

Middle Childhood: 6 – 11 years

Adolescence: 11 – 18 years

Emerging Adulthood: 18 – 25 years

Adulthood: 25+

+Categories of Theories

Continuous vs. Discontinuous Development

One Course of Development vs. Many

Genetic Influences vs. Environmental Influences

+Theories: What we think we know

How do we know we know what we know?

A theory is an orderly, integrated set of statements that describes, explains and predicts behavior.

Describes: Under normal conditions, what do humans do in certain circumstances?

Explains: How and Why does the human do this?

Predicts: How does this affect future circumstances? What happens under different, or similar, circumstances?

+Research: How we “prove” what we think we know

There certain METHODS of researching human subjects which are accepted as … Rigorous Reliable and Replicable

Research Methods: How are data gathered to “prove” what we think we know?

Research Design: How do you structure the collection of data so you can do it again?

+Research Methods

Systematic Observations Naturalistic: observe human subjects in the natural

environment in which the behavior occurs Classroom Child Care Playground

Structured: observe humans in a laboratory situation that evokes the behavior of interest so that every subject as equal opportunity to respond Marshmallow Experiment Child-Parent interactions

+Research Methods

Self-Reports Clinical Interview

Structured Interview

Surveys

Questionnaires

+Research Methods

Cinical (Case Study) Method Developmental delays Learning Disabilities Gifted/Talented

Ethnography Immersion in a specific culture for an extended period in

order to understand a culture

+Research Designs

Correlational Gather information from natural life circumstances and

don’t alter their experiences The goal is to measure how to two (or more) factors are

related to each other. The closer the correlation to 1.0, the stronger the correlation.

Example 1: There is a strong correlation between student engagement and achievement.

Example 2: There is a strong correlation between parents who read to their children at a young age and reading ability later in life.

+Research Designs

Experimental Design: Test the effect of an INDEPENDENT VARIABLE on a DEPENDENT VARIABLE.

Requirements: Random assignment Treatment group Control group

Example: What is the effect of spelling lessons on a child’s ability to spell correctly? Treatment: Receives spelling lessons Control: Receives no spelling lessons Compare performance on spelling test

+Research Designs

Quasi-Experimental Design: Test the effect of an INDEPENDENT VARIABLE on a DEPENDENT VARIABLE, but in a natural or field setting.

Requirements: Control group Treatment group

Example: What is the affect of playing Mozart on a child’s cognitive development? Treatment group: Listens to Mozart Control group: No Mozart Compare performance on a cognitive task (e.g., word recognition)

+Research Designs

Longitudinal: study an individual or group of people over time Example: Determine if personality characteristics at a

young age persist into adulthood

Cross-Sectional: Observe or measure people at different developmental stages using the same instrument OR measure people in different groups at the same time.

+Research Designs

Sequential Design: mix of cross-sectional and sequential

Year born Year 1 Year 2 Year 3

1987 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade

1986 7th grade 8th grade 9th grade

1985 8th grade 9th grade 10th grade

+Famous Theorists

John Locke (1632-1704): Blank slate

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778): Novble Savages

Charles Darwin (1809-1882): Child development followed the same path as the development of the human species.

+Famous Theorists

G. Stanley Hall (1844-1924) and Arnold Gesell (1880-1961): Normative approach to development Large numbers of age-related averages are computed to

represent typical development

Alfred Binet (1857-1911): constructed the first successful intelligence test, which is still used today (Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale).

+Famous Theorists

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Developed the psychosexual theory. How parents manage their child’s sexual and aggressive

drives in the first few years is crucial for healthy personality development.

Erik Erikson (1902-1994): Developed psychosocial theory. Similar to Freud’s stages, but focused on social, not sexual,

stages

+Freud and Erikson

+Famous Theorists

Ivan Pavlov: the famous dog experiment

John Watson (1878-1958): Little Albert

B.F. Skinner (1904-1990): Operant Conditioning Theory Behavior can be modified by how it is rewarded and

punished

Albert Bandura (1925-Present): Social Learning Theory Children develop and learn by modeling after, or imitating,

a care-giver Over time, children develop personal standards and self-

efficacy

+Famous Theorists

Jean Piaget (1896-1980): Cognitive-Developmental Theory Children actively construct knowledge as they manipulate

and explore the world

+Famous Theorists

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934): Sociocultural Theory Knowledge, Skills, Values and Beliefs are socially

transmitted, or passed down, to each generation. Learning is socially mediated because children rely on

adults of more knowledgeable peers to learn new concepts and skills.

Zone of Proximal Development: The difference between what children can accomplish independently and with the help of an adult of expert peer.