EV681 – session 1Julie canavan (jc145@brighton.ac.uk)

To date…..• Pippa has introduced - Play and using technology

through play• Sue L looking at physical development• Last week behaviour lecture• Week 1 teaching and learning – dispositions to

learning and characteristics of effective learning.

Today• Child development• Theories of learning• How does this link to assessment?• observation

Why study child development?

• Time of most rapid growth and change• Milestones• Informs our role• Understanding learning• Interpretation of theorists• Teaching style. . . and research tells us that teachers with a

sound knowledge here are good teachers!

EYFS (DCSF, 2008)

Effective Practice: Child Development

“Development is the process from conception to birth and beyond, in which the body, brain, abilities and behaviour of the infant, child and adult become more complex, and continue to mature through life”

“Learning is the acquisition of knowledge, abilities and skills; early learning is closely linked with growth and development”

Holistic Development – The whole Child

Emotional Developmen

t

Language Developmen

t

Physical Development

Social Develop

ment

Spiritual Developmen

t

IntellectualDevelopme

nt

What are the determining factors?

• Development is a holistic process where all areas are integrated and interact

• This interaction results in individuality• Children develop as part of a system – a family

within a culture and which is part of society. This has a profound effect on emotional and social development

The genetic theory• We are born with a personality which

determines how we respond and behave. This is inherited, as are our temperament, sociability, emotional responses and intelligence

• This is sometimes affected by chemical changes in the body

• Our disposition and development are pre-determined

Socio-cultural theory• We learn, and so develop, according to our

experiences• Babies are born with primitive reflexes but not

with any instinctive, automatic behaviour• The environment is of the greatest importance

in determining how children develop emotionally

Powerful maturational timetables

Emergence of languagePowerful

internal force to learn

Attachment, temperament?

Diet, exercise, exploration, safe

environmentStimulation and encouragement

Influence of the environment, relationships, security, basic

needs

Motor

Cognitive Affective

Nu

rtu

re

Natu

reResearch

Embodiment theories

Emotional Regulation...

• Very early on babies cannot manage their own feelings, they just feel.

• They learn that they can rely on primary carer to have their needs met and therefore learn ways to wait for awhile

• Children will become more able to regulate emotions, but they will also test the boundaries with their increasing need for independence

• It will still be challenging for children to deal with different expectations around how to express emotions in different contexts (home/school)

and links to the development of attention

• Stage 1 – 1st year – high level of distractibility towards dominant stimuli.

• Stage 2 – 2nd year – rigid attention on task of their own choice. Resistant to interference.

• Stage 3 – 3rd year (Single channelled attention). Attention must be fully obtained to shift to a different task.

• Stage 4 – 4th year (Early integrated attention). Children can control their own focus of attention – need to look towards the carer to listen.

• Stage 5 – 5th year (Mature integrated attention) Can perform an activity while listening to the carer/teacher giving instructions

Understanding others’ feelings

• Requires both cognitive skill and social information

• Need to identify body signals, including facial expressions

• Need to understand various kinds of emotions and that it’s possible for people to feel several emotions at the same time

Stages in the development of Empathy

(Hoffman in Bee and Boyd, 2010: )

• Global Empathy – observed during 1st year – matched emotions.

• Egocentric Empathy – 12-18 months – when children have developed a sense of themselves - respond with same emotion, but may try to ‘cure’ the problem with something that would work to comfort them.

• Empathy for another’s feelings – age 2-3 years – children note other’s feelings, partially match them and respond.

“If we want children to develop . . . a strong moral code for themselves then their behaviour must come from the pull of their own conscience rather than simply from complying with being told to do something.”

Dowling, M (2000, p89)

Behaviour - Key principles

• Behaviour can change

• Behaviour has a function

• What we do affects what children do

Challenging behaviour or . . . ?

• Anxiety - almost always present within children who present as a challenge

• Speech and Language Difficulties - 95% of challenging children will have a speech and language difficulty

• Mental Health Difficulties – increase in diagnosis in under 5s

• Alienation - a young child who feels that they are different or do not belong will find it very hard to form solid friendships.

Creating a

positive learning environment

RewardsRespectRoutines

RulesRelationships

Good g

irl

You tr

ied

real

ly h

ard

ther

e – w

ell d

one

Dweck: intrinsic motivation

Attachment(see Bowlby; Ainsworth; Main; etc)

Key factors

Attachment

Proximity maintenanc

e

Safe haven

Secure base

Separation distress

Attachment• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnFKaaOSPmk

&feature=related

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js2XdP9FL5Q&feature=fvwrel

Psychosocial development(Erikson, 1968)

Resilient children

“Resilient children are better equipped to resist stress and adversity, cope with change and uncertainty, and to recover faster and more completely from traumatic events or episodes.”

(Newman and Blackburn, 2004)

What helps us understand children’s

learning and development?

• Theorists• Ideologies/theories• Research• Assessment (observation)• Experience

behav

iouri

stCONSTRUCTIVIST

Social constructivist

Social learning theory

behaviourists• Pavlov• Experiments with Dogs saliva and the digestion of food• ‘classical conditioning’.. Learning is equated with changes in

behaviour

• Skinner• Pigeons ..light switches and food .• Here the learning is based on a reaction to the environment and

as such has more useful links to a learning situation

• Thorndike• Cats learning to escape from a box ‘Trial and error’ learning • Extinction occurs when a response decreases in frequency

because it no longer leads to reinforcement (Ormrod, 2008,p67)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b-NaoWUowQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhvaSEJtOV8&feature=related

Summary • Environment is key to learning• Reinforcement is achieved by rewarding

appropriate/desired behaviour• Concept of reinforcement central to Behaviourist

approaches and likened to motivation

• Therefore in a behaviourist world motivation by definition is external where learning gets encouraged by an external reward i.e. extrinsic motivators

Social Learning Theory

• How much of what we learn, do and feel is influenced by other people close to us?

• Albert Bandura (1961) was a social psychologist who was interested in this process and set about trying to explain it.

http://psychology.about.com/od/profilesofmajorthinkers/p/bio_bandura.htm

Social Learning Theory

• Bandura felt that behaviour is learnt from the environment through the process of observational learning.

• Bandura documentary and explanation of Bobo doll experiment:

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zerCK0lRjp8

Cognitive overview• Active learner who participates in the learning

process• Acknowledgment of learners prior knowledge• Use of teaching strategies to organise learning• New ideas introduced through series of building

blocks

Cognitive developmental psychologist

• For Piaget, assimilation, accommodation and equilibration are the “engines” of intellectual development

• Assimilation – children absorb experiences into what they already know

• Accommodation – children need to change and adjust what they already know in order to take in something

that does not fit (Bruce, 2005)

Piaget (1896 – 1980)

Developing schema

Beaver p133

assimilation & accommodation

Adaptation

Equilibrium

disequilibrium

Adaptation

Accommodation & assimilation

Disequilibrium

Schema Equilibrium Schema

Equilibrium Bricks are wooden & cuboid

Arch shaped bricks

Experiments with arch Shaped bricks

Includes arch shaped bricks in play

Bricks are wooden, cuboid& arch shaped

Plastic bricks

Experiments with plastic bricks in play

Includes plastic bricks in play

Bricks are wooden,Arch shaped,cuboid &plastic

• More recent neuroscience studies have shown how the brain is more active when mistakes are made – more learning taking place?

Stages of Development

The sensorimotor period birth to about 24 months

Pre-operational thought

24 months to 7 years

Concrete operational period 7 to 12 years

Formal operational period

12 years onwards

Object permanence• Piaget said not fully

formulated 12-18 months

• Baillargeon, DeVos and Graber (1989) found object permanence in babies aged 5 and a half months

Pre- operational Stage (2 – 7 Years) Four main characteristics

• Ego-centricism –• Rigidity of thought eg lack of conservation• Semi logical reasoning or animistic thinking• Limited social reasoning

meme

me

Egocentrism• 2 and 3 year olds will adapt play and language to

suit understanding of younger or less able peers in play (Brownwell 1990, Guralnick & Paul-Brown 1984)

• 4 and 5 year olds understand that another person will feel sad if she fails and happy if she succeeds ( Flavell, Green and Flavell,1990)

Pre-operational Period

Conservation Problems

Conservation• Some studies have shown that it is possible to

teach conservation (Beilin, 1978)-So operational thought may be present here• More recent research suggests that children’s

thought is far more complex at this stage than Piaget would suggest

Vygotsky• Vygotsky believed play has a

central role in the transmission of culture through social interaction and communication

• He saw learning in early childhood as a complex process

• Unlike Piaget he believed learning leads development

• Social interaction between

peers and adults serves to create meaning, making sense and conveying culture

• Central to learning is language!

…every function in a child’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and later, on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological)’ .

(Vygotsky, 1978: 57)

Three Zones of Development

• Vygotsky suggested that children (and adults) have three zones of development.– The Zone of Actual Development;– The Zone of Proximal Development;– The Zone of Future Development. (potential?)

Vygotsky and ZPD

“The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”

(Vygotsky in Wood and Attfield, 1996)

THE ZONE OF PROXIMAL DEVELOPMENT

diffi

cu

lty o

f ta

sk

competence of the child

involve

ment

fear o

f

failu

re

boredom

depress

ion

Piagetian model V’s Vygotskian model?

For Piaget the child is a little scientist measuring and assessing the world.

For Vygotsky the child is an apprentice, learning to do things in the social sphere with teachers and peers and later internalising this knowledge.

While Piaget’s emphasises independent development, Vygotsky emphasises the social nature of development

and sees learning as a collaborative process

Bruner• This man is not merely one of

the foremost educational thinkers of the era; he is also an inspired learner and teacher. His infectious curiosity inspires all who are not completely jaded.

Gardner, H. (2001)

• “scaffolding”.

BrunerThe Spiral

Curriculum:• Learning is not a

forward progression • Young children have

bursts of learning and progress and may then plateau or even regress

• Learning is impacted by capabilities, intentions and needs

Sustained Shared Thinking (SST)

• ‘Sustained shared thinking’ occurs when two or more individuals ‘work together’ in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend the understanding.

http://eppe.ioe.ac.uk/eppe/eppepdfs/RBTec1223sept0412.pdf

HumanistKey theorists

• Rogers: facilitative learning• Maslow

Key concepts:• Self• Self esteem/self concept (change)• Meaningful student centred teaching and learning • Andragogy• Self actualisation/natural eagerness to learn

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1970)

Humanist overview• Need to view learning from the viewpoint of the

student (contrast with Behaviourist: viewpoint from the teacher).

• Students' feeling important• Teacher creates growth environment • Learning linked to self-actualisation• Student centred/directed• Acknowledgement of past/personal experience

What does the EYFS review say?

https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00023-2012

• Personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves, and others; to form positive relationships and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn how to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviour in groups; and to have confidence in their own abilities.

• What is the role of the adult?

• What role does assessment play?

• Activity?

Observation“Observation is the foundation of education in the early years. It is through recording and reflecting on children’s activities and interests that we can gather the information necessary for the construction of an appropriate curriculum for them. Observation is also the way in which we can gather the material from which to make informed professional judgements about children’s progress, and about how to help them best. Observation, assessment and the development of an appropriate curriculum all fit together”Hurst, 1991

• Observe AVA

• 3 prime areas

• Feedback

• Key issues? Parents/carers, gathering a breadth of ‘evidence’

revised EYFS 2012On-going formative assessment is at the heart of effective early years practice.Practitioners can:• Observe children as they act and interact intheir play, everyday activities and plannedactivities, and learn from parents about whatthe child does at home (observation).

(Early Education, 2012)

Why do we observe children?Looking, listening and noting is important because it helps you to:• get to know a child better and develop positive

relationships with children and their parents;• plan appropriate play and learning experiences

based on the children’s interests and needs, and identify any concerns about a child’s development;

• further develop your understanding of a child’s development;

• develop a systematic and routine approach to using observations;

• use assessment to plan the next steps in a child’s developmental progress and regularly review this approach

(DCSF, 2008)

Observation, assessment and planning cycle

Reflect

Evaluate

What do you think

is important to record?

What to record‘the focus of the assessment depends on its

purpose’ (Dunphy 2008: p3)

As early years pedagogues we have to make the case for what is to be assessed and how it is to be done

• Accountability – govt, school league tables, parents/carers,

• Raising standards• Children’s progress

Katz (2011)• Knowledge and understanding• Skills• Dispositions• feelings

Keating (2002): p153

• recording Significant achievements – where a child has

• achieved something for the first time• has consolidated a concept after

demonstrating proficiency on several occasions

• Demonstrated clear understanding of a process

• What the child him/herself feels is significant

“So Progress is a bit like going up a mountain – if you don’t sit down and enjoy the view at intervals, there’s not much point in doing it” (Thomas, 2008)

What sort of observations?• Target Child – observing and recording a particular

child• Movement and flow charts – use a plan of the

environment to record a child’s movement from one activity to another

• Frequency sampling – observing and recording a particular behaviour

• Duration observation – observing and recording how much time is spent at a particular activity

• Time sampling – observing and recording at regular intervals over a set period of time

• Group observation – observing and recording a group of children taking part in an activity – and the learning taking place

Observations...• Should be for a reason – are purposeful • Should focus on what a child CAN do• Should record what actually happens• Should be objective and unbiased – the

observer should stand back from personal values and beliefs (avoiding value-laden emotional language)

• Observers should try to avoid ‘influencing’ the child

What do you see? The power of our language...

• ‘He was kicking-off as always because he wanted his own way.’

• ‘His mum just threw him in the door because she’s a working mum.’

• ‘She was whining.’

• ‘She’s arrived dirty in the same clothes she always wears.’

Some useful research links• http://

www.education.gov.uk/childrenandyoungpeople/earlylearningandchildcare/evidence/a0068162/effective-provision-of-pre-school-education-eppe EPPE 2004

• http://www.ttrb3.org.uk/effective-pre-school-and-primary-education-3-11-project-eppe-3-11-influences-on-childrens-cognitive-and-social-development-in-year-6/ EPPE 2008

• http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/early-intervention-next-steps.pdf Allen report

• http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110120090128/http:/povertyreview.independent.gov.uk/media/20254/poverty-report.pdf Field report

• http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/attachment-supporting-young-childrens-emotional-wellbeing-2358 Attachment theory

Some useful reading• Gerhardt, S (2006) Why Love Matters• Bomber, L (2007) Inside I’m Hurting• Dowling, M (2010) Young Children’s Personal,

Social and Emotional Development• SEAL materials: http://

webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110809101133/nsonline.org.uk/node/87009

• SEAD materials: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110809091832/teachingandlearningresources.org.uk/collection/24946