PRELIM

PART 1 – INTRODUCTION
UNIT 1 Learner-Centered Psychological Principles (LCP)

INTRODUCTION
The learner is the center of instruction. The world of instruction
revolves around the learner. This module introduces you to the fourteen (14)
learner-centered principles which shall be used throughout this book as a
guide in determining appropriate pedagogy for learners at different life
stages.
Advance Organizer

Cognitive Motivationa
and l and
Metacogniti Affective
ve Factor (6 Factors
principle 14 (3
Learner-Centered
Principles

andDevelop Individu
mental and al
Social Differenc
Factors e Factors
(2 principles) (3

Analysis

Go back to each word and

Examine the title,
write phrases about why
“Learner- Centered
you think the word can be
principles”. Quickly, jot
associated with LCP.
down at least
Analysis
Share your responses. Summarize your responses.

I think that Learner-Centered

Principles focus on

Abstract/Generalization
LEARNER-CENTERED PYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
Learner centered psychological principles were put together by the
American Psychological Association. The following 14 psychological
principles pertain to the learner and a learning process. The 14 principles
have the following aspects:
 They focus on psychological factors that are primarily internal to and
under the control of the learner rather than conditioned habits or
psychological factors. However, the principles also attempt to
acknowledge external environment or contextual factors that interact
with these internal factors.

 The principles are intended to deal holistically with learners in the

context of real-world learning situations. Thus, they are best
understood as an organized set of principles; No principles should be
viewed in isolation.
  The 14 principles are divided into those referring to (1) cognitive and
metacognitive, (2) motivational and affective, (3)
developmental and social, and (4) individual difference factors
influencing learners and learning.

 Finally, the principles are intended to apply to all learners – from

children, to teachers, to administrators, to parents, and to community
members involved in our educational system.

COGNITIVE and METACOGNITIVE FACTORS

1. Nature of the Learning Process
The learning of complex subject matter is most effective when it is an
intentional process of constructing meaning from information and
experience.
 There are different types of learning process, for example, habit
formation in motor learning; and learning that involves the generation
of knowledge, or cognitive skills and learning strategies.
 Learning in schools emphasizes the use
of intentional processes that students
can use to construct meaning from
information, experience, and their own
thoughts and beliefs.
 Successful learners are active, goal-
directed, self-regulating, and assume
personal responsibility for contributing
to their own learning.

2. Goals of the Learning Process

The successful learner, over time and with support and instructional
guidance, can create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge.
 The strategic nature of learning requires students to be goal-directed.
  The construct useful representations of knowledge and to acquire the
thinking and learning strategies necessary for continued learning
success across the life span, students must generate and pursue
personally relevant goals. Initially, students’ short -term goals and
learning may be sketchy in an area, but over time their understanding
can be refined by filling gaps, resolving inconsistencies, and
deepening their understanding of the subject matter so that they can
reach longer-term goals.
 Educators can assist learners in creating meaningful learning goals
that are consistent with both personal and educational aspirations and
interests.

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. The nature of these links can take a variety of
forms, such as adding to, modifying, or
reorganizing existing knowledge or skills.
How these links are made or develop may
vary in different subject areas, and among
students with varying talents, interests, and
abilities. However, unless new knowledge
becomes integrated with the learner’s prior
knowledge and understanding, this new
knowledge remains isolated, cannot be
 used most
effectively in new tasks, and does not transfer readily to new situations.
  Educators can assist learners in acquiring and integrating knowledge
by several strategies that have been shown to be effective with
learners of varying abilities, such as concept mapping and thematic
organization or categorizing.

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 strategic thinking in their approach to
learning, reasoning, problem solving, and concept learning.
 They understand and can use a variety of strategies to help them
reach learning and performance goals, and to apply their knowledge
in novel situations.
 They also continue to expand their repertoire of strategies by
reflecting on the methods they used to see which work
well for them, by receiving guided
instruction and feedback, and by
observing or interacting with
appropriate models.
 Learning outcomes can be
enhanced if educators assist
learners in developing, applying,
and assessing their strategic
learning skills.

5. Thinking about Thinking

Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental operations
facilitate creative and critical thinking.
 Successful learners can reflect on how they think and learn, set
reasonable learning or performance goals, select potentially
appropriate learning strategies or methods, and monitor their
progress toward these goals.
  In addition, successful learners know what to do if a problem occurs or
if they are not making sufficient or timely progress toward a goal.
They can generate alternative methods to reach their goal (or
reassess the appropriateness and
utility of the goal).
 Instructional methods that focus on
helping learners develop these higher
order (metacognitive) strategies can
enhance student learning and personal
responsibility for learning.

6. Context of Learning
Learning is influenced by environmental factors, including culture, technology,
and instructional practices.
 Learning does not occur in a vacuum. Teachers play a major
interactive role with both the learner and the learning environment.
 Cultural or group influences on students can impact many
educationally relevant variables, such as motivation, orientation
toward learning, and ways of thinking.
 Technologies and instructional practices must be appropriate for
learners’ level of prior knowledge, cognitive abilities, and their
learning and thinking strategies.
 The classroom environment, particularly the degree to which it is
nurturing or not, can also have significant impacts on student
learning.

Motivational and Affective Factors

7. Motivational and Emotional influences on Learning
What and how much is learned is influenced by the learner’s
motivation. Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced by the individual’s
emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking.
  The rich internal world of thoughts, beliefs, goals, and expectations for
success or failure can enhance or interfere with the learner’s quality of
thinking and information processing.
 Students’ beliefs about themselves as learners and the nature of
learning have a marked influence on motivation. Motivational and
emotional factors also influence both the quality of thinking and
information processing as well as an individual's motivation to learn.
 Positive emotions, such as
curiosity, generally enhance
motivation and facilitate
learning and performance.
Mild anxiety can also enhance
learning and performance by
focusing the learner’s
attention on a particular
task. However, intense negative emotions (anxiety, panic, rage,
insecurity) and related thoughts (worrying about competence,
ruminating about failure, fearing punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing
labels) generally detract from motivation, interfere with learning, and
contribute to low performance.

8. Intrinsic Motivation to Learn

The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural curiosity all
contribute to
motivation to learn. Intrinsic
motivation is stimulated by task of
optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant
to personal interests, and providing for
personal choice and control.

 Curiosity, flexible and insightful

thinking, and creativity are major
indicators of the
 learner’s intrinsic motivation to learn, which is in large part a function
of meeting basic needs to be competent and to exercise personal
control.
 Intrinsic motivation is facilitated on task that learners perceive as
interesting and personally relevant and meaningful, appropriate in
complexity and difficulty to the learner’s abilities, and on which they
believe they can succeed.
 Intrinsic motivation is also facilitated on task that are comparable to
real-world situations and meet needs for choice and control.
 Educators can encourage and support learners’ natural curiosity and
motivation to learn by attending to individual differences in learners’
perceptions of optimal novelty and difficulty, relevance, and personal
choice and control.

9. Effects of Motivation on Effort

Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires extended learner
effort and guided practice. Without learners’ motivation to learn, the
willingness to exert this effort is unlikely without coercion.
 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 overtime.
 Educators need to be concerned with facilitating motivation by
strategies that enhance learner effort and commitment to learning
and to achieving high standards of comprehension and understanding.
 Effective strategies include purposeful learning activities, guided by
practices that enhance positive emotions an intrinsic motivation to
learn, and methods that increase learners’ perceptions that a task is
interesting and personally relevant.
Developmental and Social Factors
10. Developmental Influences on Learning
As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints
for learning. Learning is most effective when differential development
within an across physical, intellectual, emotional, and social domains is
taken into account.
 Individuals learns best when
material is appropriate to their
a developmental level and is
presented in an enjoyable and
interesting way.
 Because individual
development varies across
intellectual, social, emotional,
and physical domains,
achievement in different
instructional domains may also
vary.
 Overemphasis on one type of developmental readiness such as
reading readiness, for example, may preclude learners from
demonstrating that they are more capable in other areas of
performance.
 The cognitive, emotional, and social development of individual
learners and how they interpret life experiences are affected by prior
schooling, home, culture, and community factors.
 Early and continuing parental involvement in schooling, and the
quality of language interactions and two-way communications
between adults and children can influence these developmental areas.
 Awareness and understanding of developmental differences among
children with and without emotional, physical, or intellectual
disabilities, can facilitate the creation of optimal learning contexts.
11. Social Influences on Learning
Learning if influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relations,
and communication with others.
 Learning can be enhanced
when the learner has an
opportunity to interact
and to collaborate with
others on instructional
tasks.
 Learning settings that
allow for social
interactions, and that
respect diversity,
encourage flexible
thinking and social
competence.
 In interactive and collaborative instructional contexts, individuals have
an opportunity for perspective taking and reflective thinking that may
lead to higher levels of cognitive, social, and moral development, as
well as self-esteem.
 Quality personal relationships that provide stability, trust, and caring
can increase learners’ sense of belonging, self-respect and self-
acceptance, and provide a positive climate for learning.
 Family influences, positive interpersonal support an instruction in self-
motivation strategies can offset factors that interfere with optimal
learning such as negative beliefs about competence in a particular
subject, high levels of test anxiety, negative sex role expectations,
and undue pressure to perform well.
 Positive learning climates can also help to establish the contexts for
healthier levels of thinking, feeling, and behaving. Such contexts help
learners feel safe to share ideas, actively participate in the learning
process, and create a learning community.
Individual Differences Factors
12. Individual Differences in Learning
Learners have different strategies, approaches, and capabilities for
learning that are a function of prior experience and heredity.
 Individuals are born with and develop their own capabilities and talents.
 In addition, through learning and social acculturation, they have
acquired their own preferences for how they like to learn and the pace
at which they learn. However, these preferences are not always useful
in helping learners reach their learning goals.
 Educators need to help students to examine their learning preferences
and expand or modify them, if necessary.
 The interaction between the learner differences and curricular and
environmental conditions is another key factor affecting learning
outcomes.
 Educators need to be sensitive to individual differences, in general. The
also need to attend to learner perceptions of the degree to which these
differences are accepted and adapted to by varying instructional
methods and materials.

13. Learning and Diversity

Learning is most effective when differences in learners’ linguistic, cultural, and
social
backgrounds are taken into account.

 The same basic principles of

learning, motivation, and effective
instruction apply to all learners.
However, language, ethnicity, race,
beliefs, and socioeconomic status
all can influence learning. Careful
attention to these factors in the
instructional setting
 enhances the possibilities for designing and implementing appropriate
learning environments.
 When learners perceive that their individual differences in abilities,
backgrounds, cultures, and experiences are valued, respected, and
accommodated in learning tasks and contexts, levels of motivation and
achievement are enhanced.

14. Standards and Assessment

Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and assessing the
learner as well as learning progress – including diagnostic, process, and
outcome assessment – are integral parts of the learning process.

 Assessment provides
important information to
both the learner and teacher
at all stages of the learning
process.
 Effective learning takes
place when learners feel
challenged to work towards
appropriately high goals;
therefore, appraisal of the
learner’s cognitive strengths
and weaknesses, as well as
current
knowledge and skills, is important for the selection of instructional
materials of an optimal degree of difficulty.
 Ongoing assessment of the learner’s understanding of the curricular
material can provide valuable feedback to both learners and teachers
about progress toward the learning goals.
 Standardized assessment of the learner progress and outcomes
assessment provides one type of information about achievement
levels both within and across individuals that can inform various
types of programmatic decisions.
  Performance assessment can provide other sources of information
about the attainment of learning outcomes.
 Self-assessment of learning progress can also improve students’ self-
appraisal skills and enhance motivation and self-directed learning.

Alexander and Murphy gave a summary of the 14 principles and distilled

them into five areas:
1. The Knowledge Base.
 One’s existing knowledge serve as the foundation of all future learning.
 The learner’s previous knowledge will influence new learning
specifically on how he represents new information, makes
associations, and filters new experiences.
2. Strategic processing and control.
 Learner’s can develop skills to reflect and regulate their thoughts and
behaviors
in order to learn more effectively (metacognition).
3. Motivation and affect.
 Factors such as intrinsic motivation (from within), 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.

Application
The application of the 14 principles will be done as you explore the
succeeding modules. For now, keep the 14 principles in mind as you explore the
rest of the modules.
Always try to relate these principles to the concepts you will learn, especially
when you do the 5-minute non-stop writing at the end of each module.

Research Connection
Read a research study related to Learner-Centered Psychological Principles
(LCP).
Fill out the matrix below.
Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry for mat)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-stop Writing begins…. NOW!

From the Module on LCP, I realized that…

 Unit 2 – Basic Concepts and Issues on Human Development

Introduction
Every living creature is cold to become what it is meant to be. The
Caterpillar is meant to become a butterfly; a seed into a full-grown herb,
Bush or tree; and a human baby into a mature person, the person “who is
fully alive, the glory of God” in the words of St. Irenaeus.
How this development happens is what we learn in our biology class.
We have seen it to be a fantastic process. So wonderful a process that we
can't help but experience a feeling of awe for the Power or the Force or the
Principle.
The process of development involves beginnings and endings. What
was this Organism then? What will this Organism be?
Several researchers on human development have been conducted. A
lot of theories on human development have been forwarded. Researches on
human development continue as existing theories get corrected,
complemented, or replaced. Up to the present several issues on human
development are unresolved and so the research for explanations continues.
In this unit, you will be acquainted with human development as a
process, the developmental task that come along with each developmental
stage and relevant issues that are raised about human development.
 Human Development: Meaning, Concepts and
Approaches
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD
MODULE
1
“All the world’s stage, and all the men and women
merely players; they have their exits and entrances,
and one man in his time plays many parts.”
- William Shakespeare

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Define human development in your own words.
 Distinguish between the traditional And lifespan approach of development.

Introduction
As you read this textbook, you are undergoing the process of
development. How does this development take place? What do experts say
about development? These are the concerns of this module.

Activity
1. Here are pictures of a seven-year old Naschielle and three-year old Kenn.
Each one is bundle of possibilities. Describe what they were before birth
(their point of origin) and who they will possibly be after birth unto
adulthood. What will they possibly become? Expound your answers.
Analysis
After listening to the predictions given by each member of the group, answer
the following questions:
1. When you gave your own predictions as to the kind of child, adolescent
and adult Naschielle and Kenn may become hypothesized on who they
once were, you were referring to human development. What then is
development? Translate the meaning of development in your Mother
Tongue.
2. Will three-year old Kenn be able to do all that seven-year old Naschielle
can do? Why or why not?
3. Will there be anything common in the pattern of development of
Naschielle and Kenn? If yes, what?
4. Will there be differences in their development, e.g. pace or rate of
development? What and why?
5. Will the process of development take place very fast or gradually?
Expound your answer.
6. Do you believe that Naschielle and Kenn will continue to develop even in
adulthood? Or will they stop developing in adulthood?

Abstraction
Two approaches to Human Development
If you believe that Nikki and Kenn will show extensive change from
birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood and decline in late old
age, your approach to development is traditional. In contrast, if you believe
that even in adulthood development change takes place as it does during
childhood, your approach is termed life-span approach.

What are the characteristics of human development from a life-span

perspective?
Paul Baltes, an expert in life-span development, gives the following characteristics:
1. Development is lifelong. It does not end in adulthood. Ken and Nikki
will continue developing even in adulthood.
2. Development is plastic. Plasticity refers to the potential for change.
Development is possible throughout the life-span. No one is too old to
learn. There is no such thing as “I AM TOO OLD FOR THAT…” Neither Kenn
nor Nikki will be too old to learn something.
Aging is associated with declines in certain intellectual abilities. This
decline can be prevented or reduced. In one research study, the
reasoning abilities of older adults were improved through retraining.
3. Development is multidimensional. Development is consisting of
biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional dimensions. Development as
a process is complex because it is the product of biological,
cognitive and socioeconomical processes.

Biological processes involve changes in the individual’s physical nature.

The brains of Naschielle and Kenn develop. They will gain height and
weight. They will experience hormonal changes when they reach the
period of liberty, and cardiovascular decline as they approach late
adulthood. All these show the common biological processes and
development.

Development is relatively orderly.

(http://www.cdipage.com/development.htm) Naschielle and Kenn will learn to
sit, crawl, then walk before they can run. The muscular control of the trunk
and the arms comes earlier as compared to the hands and fingers. This is the
proximodistal pattern. During infancy, the greatest growth always occurs
at the top - the head - with physical growth in size, weight and future
differentiation gradually working its way down from top to bottom (for
example, neck, shoulders, middle trunk and so on). This is the cephalon-
caudal pattern. These development patterns are common to Nascheille and
Kenn.
Development takes place gradually.
(http://www.cdipage.com/development.htm) Naschielle and Kenn won't
develop into pimply teenagers overnight. It takes years before they become
one. In fact, that's the way of nature. The bud does not blossom suddenly.
The seed does not germinate overnight night. While some changes occur in
flash of insight, more often it takes weeks, months, or years for a person to
undergo changes that result in the display of developmental characteristics.

Cognitive processes involved changes in the individual’s thought,

intelligence, and language. Naschielle and Kenn develop from mere sounds
to a word becoming two words, the two words becoming a sentence. They
would move on to memorizing their first prayer, singing “Lupang Hinirang” in
every flag ceremony to imagining what it would be like to be a teacher or a
pilot, playing chess and solving a complex math problem. All these reflect
the role of cognitive processes and development.

Socioemotional processes include changes in the individual’s relationship

with other people, changes in emotions and changes in personality. As
babies, Naschielle and Kenn responded with a sweet smile when
affectionately touched and frowned when displeased an even showed temper
tantrum when they could not get or do what they wanted. From aggressive
children, they may develop into a fine lady and gentlemen or otherwise,
depending on a myriad of factors. They may fall in love and get inspired for
life or may end up betrayed, deserted, and desperate afterwards. All these
reflect the role of socioemotional processes in development.

These biological, cognitive, and socioemotional processes are

inextricably intertwined. While these processes are studied separately, the
effect of one process or factor on one person’s development is not isolated
from the other processes. If Kenn and Naschielle were undernourished and
troubled by the thought of father and mother about to separate, they could
not concentrate on their studies and consequently would fail and repeat. As
a consequence, they may lose face and drop out school, revert to illiteracy,
become unskilled, unemployed, and so on. See how a biological process, affects
the cognitive process which in turn, affects the socioemotional process.

4. Development is contextual. Individuals are changing beings in a

changing world. Individuals respond to and act on contexts. These
contexts include the individual’s biological make up, physical
environment, cognitive processes, historical, social, and cultural contexts.
Naschielle’s and Kenn’s biological make up, social and cultural contexts
may vary and therefore make them develop differently from each other.
5. Development involves growth, maintenance, and regulation.
Growth, maintenance, and regulation are three (3) goals of human
development. The goals of individual vary among developmental stages.
For instance, as individual’s reach middle and late adulthood, concern with
growth gets into the backstage while maintenance and regulation take
the center stage.

Application
1. State five characteristics of human development from a life-span
perspective and their implications to childcare, education, and
parenting.
Characteristic of human Educational implication to Child
development Care,
from a life-span perspective Education and Parenting
1. Development is lifelong.
2.
3.
4.
5.

2. “Growth is an evidence of life” or “development is an evidence of life”.

What does this mean? What does this imply to a person’s development?
3. Below are the principles of child development and learning which are the
bases of developmentally appropriate practice in early childhood
program. They affirm the
characteristics of life-span development approach we just discussed. Find
out which one is a re-statement of the principles of human development
by stating the characteristic of human development from life-span
perspective in the second column.

Principles of Human Development Characteristics of Human

(NAEC, 2009) Development from Life-Span
Perspective

All the domains of development and

learning – physical, social, and
emotional, and cognitive – are Development is
important, and they are closely multidimensional
interrelated. Children’s
development and learning in one
domain influence and are
influenced by what takes place in
other domains.

Many aspects of children’s learning

and development follow well
documented sequences, with later
abilities, skills, and knowledge
building on those already acquired.

Development and learning proceed

at varying rates from child to child,
as well as at uneven rates across
different areas of a child’s individual
functioning.
 Development and learning result
from a dynamic and continuous
interaction of biological maturation
and experience.

Early experiences have profound

effects, both cumulative and
delayed, on a child’s
development and learning; and
optimal periods exist for certain
types of development and
learning occur.

Development proceeds toward

greater complexity, self-regulation,
and symbolic or representational
capacities.

Children develop best when they

have secure, consistent relationships
with responsive adults and
opportunities for positive
relationships with peers.

Development and learning occur in

and are influenced by multiple social
and cultural contexts.
 Always mentally active in seeking to
understand the world around them,
children learn in variety of ways; a
wide range of teaching strategies and
interactions are effective in
supporting all these kinds of learning.

Play is an important vehicle for

developing self-regulation as well as
for promoting language, cognition,
and social competence.

Development and learning advance

when children are challenged to
achieve at a level just beyond their
current mastery, and also when they
have many opportunities to practice
newly acquired skills.

Children’s experiences shape

their motivation and approaches
to learning, such as persistence,
initiative, flexibility; in turn, these
dispositions and behaviors affect
their learning and development.
Test Your Understanding
1. Do the following to ensure mastery of the big ideas presented in this Module.
a) Give the meaning of human development

2. Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

Patterns of development
a) The direction of growth following the cephalocaudal pattern is from
the to the
.
b) The direction of growth following the proximodistal pattern is from
to the .
3. Differences between the traditional and life-span approaches to human
development.
4. Characteristics of human development from a life-span perspective.

Characterist
ic of human
developmen
t

5. Discuss the meaning of the quotations “All the world’s a stage, and all
the men and women merely players; they have their exits and
entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts…” and “By virtue
of being born to humanity, every human being has a right to
development and fulfillment of his potentialities as a human being.”.
Relate the quotation to your life. Childcare, education, and parenting.
Research Connection
View on Youtube of Helen Pearson: Lessons the longest study on human
development. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
1. You are a bundle of responsibilities. You are meant to develop like any
other living thing or else you will rut. Remember “Growth is an evidence
of life.” If you are alive, then you must be growing and developing. Are
you on your way to development?
2. Like you, each of your future student is also a bundle of responsibilities.
How should you look at them in terms of development? Write down your
reflections. There is no wrong answer.

Write Here!
 The Stages of Development and
Developmental Tasks
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD
MODULE
2
“Who are you?, asked the caterpillar. Alice replied
rather shyly, “I, I hardly know, Sir, just at present – at
least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I
must have changed several times since then.”
- Lewis Carroll

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Define developmental tasks in your own words.
 Describe the developmental tasks in each development stage.
 Come up with research abstracts/summaries of researches on
developmental tasks.

Introduction
For every developmental stage, there is an expected developmental
task. What happens when the expected developmental tasks are not
achieved at the corresponding developmental stage? How can you help
children achieve these developmental tasks?

Activity
Study the pictures and the descriptions below each set of pictures from
pages 26- 33, then answer the following questions.
1. Do the pictures suggest the respective developmental stages?
2. Symbolize each developmental stage. Give a symbol that stands for the
developmental task for each stage.
3. If you were given a chance, which developmental stage would you like to be in?
Why?
Pre-natal Period
Referring to pre-natal development,
Santrock (2002) asked the following questions
succinctly:
How from so simple beginning to endless forms
develop and grow and mature? What was this
Organism, what is it now, and what will it
become? Birth’s fragile moment arrives, when
the newborn is on a threshold between two
worlds.”

Infancy (from birth to 2 years)

As newborns, we were not empty-headed organisms. We cried, kick,
coughed, sucked, saw, heard, and tasted. We slept a lot and occasionally
we smile, although the meaning of our smiles was not entirely clear. We
crawled and then we walked, a journey
of 1000 miles beginning with a single step. Sometimes we conformed,
sometimes others conformed to us. Our development was a continuous
creation of complex forms, and our helpless kind demanded the meeting
eyes of love. We split the universe into two halves: “me and not me”. And
we juggled the need to curb our own will with becoming what we could
freely. Santrock (2002)

Early Childhood (3 to 5 years)

In early childhood, our greatest untold poem was being only four
years old. We skipped, played, and ran all day long, never in our lives so
busy, busy becoming something we had not quite grasped yet. Who knew
our thoughts, which worked up into small mythologies all our own. Our
thoughts and images and drawings took wings. the
blossoms of our heart, no wind could touch. Our small world widened as
we discovered new refuges and new couple. When we said “I” we meant
something totally unique, not to be confused with any other.” Santrock
(2002)

Middle and Late Childhood (6 to 12 years)

“In middle and late childhood, we were on a different plane,
belonging to a generation and a feeling properly our own. It is the wisdom
of human development that at no other time we are more ready to learn
than at the end of early childhood's period of expansive imagination. Our
thirst was to know and to understand. Our parents continued to cradle our
lives, but our growth was always also being shaped by successive
choirs of friends. We did not think much about the future or the past but
enjoyed the present.” (Except for a few words, the paragraph is taken from
Santrock 2002)

Adolescence (13 to 18 years)

“In no order of things was adolescence, the simple time of life for us.
We clothed ourselves with rainbows and went brave as the Zodiac, flashing
from one end of the world to the other. We tried on one face after another,
searching for a face of our own. We wanted our parents to understand us
and hoped they would give up the privilege of understanding them. We
wanted to fly but found the first we had to learn to stand and walk and
climb and dance. In our most pimply and awkward moments we became
acquainted with sex. We played furiously at adult games but were
confined to a society of our own peers. Our generation was the fragile
cable by with the best and the worst of our parent’s generation was
transmitted to the present. In the end, there were two but lasting bequests
our parents could leave us – one being roots, the other wings.” Santrock
2002)
Early Adulthood (19 to 29 years)
Early adulthood is a time for work and a time for love, sometimes
leaving little time for anything else. For some of us, finding our place in
adult society and committing to a more stable life take longer than we
imagine. We still ask ourselves who we are and wonder if it isn't enough
just to be. Our dreams continue and our thoughts are bold but at some
point, we become more pragmatic. Sex and love are powerful passions in
our lives at times angels of light, at other times of torment. And we
possibly will never know the love of our parents until we become parents
ourselves. Santrock (2002)
Middle Adulthood (30 to 60 years)
In middle adulthood what we have been forms what we will be. For
some of us, Middle Age is such a foggy place, a time when we need to
discover what we are running from and to and why. We compare our life
with what we vowed to make it. In middle age, more time stretches
before us and some evaluations have to be made, however reluctantly. As
the young or old polarity greets us with special force, we need to join the
daring of youth with the discipline of age in a way that does justice do
both. As middle- aged adults we come to sense that the generations of
living things pass in a short while and like runners’ hand on the torch of
life. Santrock (2002)
Late Adulthood (61 years and above)
The rhythm and meaning of human development eventually went
their way to late adulthood, when each of us stands alone at the heart of
the earth and “suddenly it is evening” We shed the leaves of youth and
are stripped by the winds of time down to the truth. We learned that life is
lived forward but understood backward. We traced the connection
between the end and the beginning of life and try to figure out what this
whole show is about before it is over. Ultimately, we come to know that
we are what survives of us. Santrock (2002)

Analysis
1. How many developmental stages were described? How do these stages
compare to
Havighurst’s developmental stages given below?
Havighurst has identified six major age periods:
 Infancy and early childhood (0-5 years)
 Middle childhood (6-12 years)
  Adolescence (13-18 years)
 Early adulthood (19-29 years)
 Middle adulthood (30-60 years)
 Later maturity (61+)
2. What is an outstanding trait or behavior of each stage?
3. What task/s is/are expected of each developmental stage?
4. Does a developmental task in a higher level require accomplishment of
the lower level developmental task?
5. Refers to Havighurst’s developmental tasks given in the table on the next
page. Match the descriptions given by Santrock. Are Havighurst and
Santrock saying the same things?
Developmental Tasks
Infancy and early childhood Middle childhood (6-12 years) Adolescence (13-18 years)
(0-5 years)
 Learning to walk  Learning physical skills  Achieving mature
 Learning to take solid necessary for ordinary relationships with
foods games both sexes
 Learning to talk  Building a wholesome  Achieving a masculine
 Learning to control attitude toward and feminine social
the elimination of oneself role
body wastes  Learning to get along  Accepting one’s
 Learning sex with agemates physique
differences and sexual  Learning an  Achieving emotional
modesty appropriate sex role independence of
 Acquiring  Developing adults
concepts and fundamental skills in  Preparing for
language to reading, writing, and marriage and family
describe social and calculating life
physical reality  Developing concepts  Preparing for an
 Readiness for reading necessary for economic career
 Learning to distinguish everyday living  Acquiring values and
right from wrong and  Developing an ethical system to
developing a conscience, morality, guide behavior
conscience and a scale of values  Desiring and achieving
 Achieving personal socially responsible
independence behavior
 Developing acceptable
attitudes toward
society
 Early adulthood (19-29 years) Middle adulthood (30-60 Later maturity (61+)
years)
 Selecting a mate  Helping teenage  Adjusting to
 Learning to live with children to become decreasing strength
a partner happy and responsible and health
 Starting a family adults  Adjusting to
 Rearing child  Achieving adult social retirement and
 Managing a home and civic responsibility reduced income
 Starting an occupation  Satisfactory career  Adjusting to death
 Assuming civic achievement of spouse
responsibility  Developing adult  Establishing relations
leisure time activities with one’s own age
 Relating to one’s group
spouse as a person  Meeting social
 Accepting the and civic
physiological changes obligations
of middle age  Establishing
 Adjusting to aging satisfactory living
parent quarters.

Abstraction
Concept of Developmental Tasks
In each stage of development, a certain tasks or tasks are expected of
every individual. Robert Havighurst defines development task as one that
“arises at a certain period in our life, the successful achievement of which
leads to happiness and success with later tasks while failure leads
unhappiness, social disapproval, and difficulty with later tasks.” Havighurst
(1972).

Developmental Stages
There are 8 developmental stages given by Santrock. The 8 developmental
stages cited by Santrock are the same with Havighurst’s 6 developmental
stages only that Havighurst did not include prenatal period. Havighurst
combined infancy and early childhood while Santrock mentioned them as
two separate stages. These developmental stages are described more in
detail in the next paragraphs.
The Developmental Tasks (Santrock, 2002)
Let’s describe the developmental tasks and outstanding trait of each stage
as
described by Santrock and compare them to those listed by Havighurst himself.
1. Prenatal Period (from conception to birth) – it involves tremendous
growth- from single cell to an organism complete with brain and
behavioral capabilities.
2. Infancy (from birth to 18-24 months) – a time of extreme dependence on
adults. Many psychological activities are just beginning – language,
symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination, and social learning.
3. Early childhood (end of infancy to 5-6 years (Grade 1) – These are the
preschool years. Young children learn to become more self-sufficient and
to care for themselves, develop school readiness skills and spend many
hours in play with peers.
4. Middle and Late Childhood (6-11 years of age, the elementary school
years) – The fundamental skills of reading, writing and arithmetic are
mastered. The child is formally exposed to the larger world and its
culture. Achievement becomes a more central theme of the child’s world
and self-control increases.
5. Adolescence (10-12 years of age ending up to 18-22 years of age) –
Begins with rapid physical changes – dramatic gains in height and weight,
changes is body contour, and the development of sexual characteristics
such as enlargement of the breasts, development of pubic and facial hair,
and deepening of the voice. Pursuit of independence and identity are
prominent. Thought is more logical, abstract, and idealistic. More time is
spent outside of the family.
6. Early Adulthood (from late teens or early 20s lasting through the 30s) – it
is a time of establishing personal and economic independence, career
development, selecting a mate, learning to live with someone in an
intimate way, starting a family and rearing child.
7. Middle Adulthood (40-60 years of age) – it is a time of expanding personal
and social involvement and responsibility; of assisting the next generation
in becoming competent and mature individuals; and of reaching and
maintaining satisfaction in a career.
8. Late Adulthood (60s above) – it is a time for adjustment to decreasing
strength and health, life review, retirement, and adjustment to new social
roles.

Application
1. Answer this question with a learning partner. What are the implications of
these developmental tasks to your role as a teacher and or parent? Let’s
pay attention to each of the developmental stages – prenatal, infancy,
early childhood, middle and late childhood, and adolescence.
Preschool period – what are pregnant others supposed to do to ensure the
birth of a normal and healthy baby?
Infancy – what should mothers and babysitters do and do not do to help
infants develop normally and healthily?

Early Childhood
Help them develop readiness for school and not to be
too academic in teaching approach. They ought to give
much time for preschoolers to play. Or perhaps help
preschoolers develop school readiness by integrating
children’s games in school activities.

Middle and Late Childhood

Elementary teachers ought to help their students by….

Parents ought to help their teenage children by…..

Adolescence

High School Teachers ought to help their students by….

Parents ought to help their teenage children by…..
 Early Adulthood

Teachers ought to help their students by….

Parents can help their children who are now young
adults by….

Middle Adulthood

What should adults do to obtain satisfaction in their

career?
What should schools teach for students to be prepared
for middle adulthood?

Late Adulthood

In their retirement, adults should…..

2. How should children relate to their parents in their late adulthood stage?
What should teachers teach to students on how they should treat and
relate to parents, grandparents in their late adulthood?
3. Come up with an object to symbolize each period or stage of development.

Reflection
 Reflect on your early childhood, middle and late childhood days. Were
you able to acquire the developmental tasks expected of early,
middle, late childhood and
 adolescence? What facilitated your acquisitions of the ability to
perform such tasks? Write your reflections.

 Having mastered the developmental tasks of early childhood, middle

and late childhood, and adolescence, reflect on what you should do as
a teacher to facilitate your students’ acquisition of these
developmental tasks. Write down your reflections.
 Issues on Human Development
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD
MODULE

3
“The interaction of heredity and environment is so
extensive that to ask which is more important,
nature or nurture, is like asking, which is more
important to a rectangle, height or with.”
- William Greenough

Learning Outcome
At the end of this module, you should be able to take research-based
position on the three (3) issues on development.

Introduction
Each of us has his/her own informal way of looking at our own and
other people’s development. These paradigms of human development while
obviously lacking in scholastic vigor, provide us with a conceptual framework
for understanding ourselves and others. Scholars have come up with their
own models of human development. Back up by solid research, they take
stand on issues on human development.

Activity
(This is to be assigned at least more than one week before the scheduled
debate) Here are the topics and issues:
CONTINUITY vs. DISCONTINUITY
Does development involve
gradual, cumulative change
(continuity) or distinct changes
(discontinuity). Is our
development like that of a
seedling gradually growing into
an acacia tree? Or it is more like
that of a caterpillar becoming a
butterfly?
 STABILITY vs. CHANGE
NATURE vs. NURTURE
Is development best described
Which has a more significant
as involving change? Are we
influence on human what are our first experiences
development? Nature refers have made of us or do we
to an individual’s biological develop into someone
inheritance. Nurture refers to different from who we were at
environmental experiences. an earlier point in
development?

Analysis
After a small debate presentation, the teacher facilitates the whole
class discussion and asks the following:
1. Who are pro-nature? Pro-nurture? Are there additional reasons you can
give in favor of nature/nurture? Who are neither for nature/nurture?
Why?
2. Who go for continuity? Discontinuity? Can you give additional
arguments to defend continuity/discontinuity? Who are in between the
two? Why?
3. Who claims stability is more correct that change? Or vice versa?

Abstraction
The issues presented can be translated into questions that have
sparked animated debate among developmentalists. Are girls less likely to
do well in math because of their “feminine” nature or because of society's
“masculine” bias? How extensively can the elderly be trained to reason more
effectively? How much, if at all, does our memory decline in old age? Can
techniques be used to prevent or reduce the decline? For children who
experienced a world of poverty, neglect by parents, and poor schooling in
childhood,
can enriched experiences in adolescence remove the “deficits” that they
encountered earlier in their development (Santrock, 2002)?

Based on the presentations, each one has his/her own explanations for
his/her stand on the developmental issues. What is the right answer? Up to
this time, the debate continues. Researches are on-going. But let me tell you
that most lifespan developmentalists recognize the extreme positions on
these issues are unwise. Development is not all nature or all nurture, not all
continuity or discontinuity and not all stability or all change (Lerner, 1998 as
quoted by Santrock, 2002). Both nature and nurture, continuity and
discontinuity, stability and change characterize our life-span development.
The key to development is the interaction of nature and nurture rather than
either factor alone (Rutter, 2001 as quoted by Santrock, 2002). In other
words, it is a matter of “both-and” not “either-or”. Just go back to the quote
beneath the title of this lesson and the message gets crystal.
To summarize, both genes and environment are necessary for a person
even to exist. Without genes, there is no person; Without environment, there
is no person (Scarr and Weinberg, 1980, quoted by Santrock, 2002). Heredity
and environment operate together – or cooperate and interact - to produce a
person's intelligence, temperament, height, weight - ability to read and so
on.

If heredity and environment interact, which one has a greater influence

or contribution, heredity, or environment? The relative contributions of
heredity and environment are not additive. So, we can't say 50% is a
contribution of heredity and 50% of environment. Neither is it correct to say
that full genetic expression happens once, around conception of or birth,
after which we take our genetic legacy into the world to see how far it gets
us. Genes produce proteins throughout the lifespan, in many different
environments. Or they don't produce these proteins, depending on how
harsh or nourishing those environments are. (Santrock, 2002)
Application
Let’s find out where you can apply what you learned from a discussion of
these
developmental issues. Interview a parent and ask what is written below:

How crucial the role of the parents to the development of their

children? Remember the heredity is already fixed. Their children
have been born and they have passed on these inherited traits at
conception and that they cannot do anything anymore to change
them.
So, concentrate on how they can contribute to their children’s
favorable development by creating the environment conducive to
development. Like heredity, environment is complex. It includes
nutrition as early as conception, parenting, family dynamics,
schooling, neighborhood quality and biological encounters such as
viruses, birth complications, and even biological events in cells.
 How the First Nine Months Shape the Rest of your Life
What makes us the way we are? Why are some people predisposed to be anxious,
overweight, or asthmatic? How is it that some of us are prone to heart attacks, diabetes, or
high blood pressure?

There's a list of conventional answers to these questions. We are the way we are
because it's in our genes. We turn out the way we do because of our childhood
experiences. Or our health and well-being stem from the lifestyle choices we make as
adults.

They are powerful source of influence you may not have considered: your life as a
fetus. The nutrition you received in the womb; the pollutants, drugs and infections you
were exposed to during gestation; Your mother's health and state of mind while she was
pregnant with you - all these factors shaped you as a baby and continued to affect you to
this day.

This is the provocative contention of a field known as fetal origins, whose pioneers
assert that the nine months of gestation constitute the most consequential period of our
lives, PERMANENTLY (Underscoring, mine) influencing the wiring of the brain and the
functioning of organs such as the heart, liver, and pancreas. In the literature on the
subject, which has exploded over the past ten years, you can find references to the fetal
origins of cancer, cardiovascular disease, allergies, asthma, hypertension, diabetes,
obesity, mental illness. At the farthest edge of fetal origins research, scientists are
exploring the possibility that intrauterine conditions influence not only our physical health
but also our intelligence, temperament, even our sanity.

As a journalist who covers science, I was intrigued when I first heard about fetal
origins. But two years ago, when I began to delve more deeply into the field, I had a more
personal motivation: I was newly pregnant. If it was true that my actions over the next nine
months would affect my offspring for the rest of his life, I needed to know more.

Of course, no woman who is pregnant today can escape hearing the message that
what she does affects her fetus. She here said at doctors’ appointments, sees it in the
pregnancy guidebooks: do not eat this, don't drink that, be vigilant but never stressed.
Expectant mothers could be forgiven for feeling that pregnancy is just a nine-month slog,
full of guilt and devoid of pleasure, and this research threatened to add to the burden.

But the scientists I met were not full of dire warnings but of the excitement of
discovery - and the hope that their discoveries would make a positive difference. Research
on fetal origins is prompting a revolutionary shift in thinking about where human qualities
come from and when they begin to develop. It's turning pregnancy into a scientific
frontier: the National Institutes of health embarked last year on a multi decade study that
will examine its subjects before they are born. And it makes the womb a promising target
for prevention, raising hopes of conquering public health score just like obesity and heart
disease through interventions before birth. - Time Magazine, Oct.4, 2010
Test your Understanding
Read, analyze, and then answer the following questions:
 Does the article agree that heredity, environment, and individual’s
choice are the factors that contribute to what a person may become?
Read that paragraph that tells so.
 Read the 4th paragraph again. Focus your attention on the highlighted
word, “PERMANENTLY”. Relate this to the issue on stability versus
change issue. Does the word “PERMANENTLY” convince you that we
are what our first experiences have made of us (stability)? Explain your
answer.

Research Connection
Read a research related to issues on human development.Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
Relate what you learned here to your personal development. Reflect on
your own personal development. What has helped you become the person
that you are now? Is what you have become a product of the mere
interaction of heredity and environment? Or is what you have become a
product of both heredity and environment interacting and what you have
decided or determined yourself to become? (Self-determination or freedom is
a third factor). Write your reflections

Write
Here!
 Research in Child and Adolescent Development
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE
“Research is to see what everybody else has seen and
4 to think what nobody else has thought.”
- Albert Szent – Gyorgi, Hungarian Biochemist

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Explain the basic principles of research. Demonstrate appreciation of
the role of teachers as consumers and producers of developmental
research.
 Read researchers on child and adult sent development an make simple
research abstracts out of researchers read.

Introduction
You may have a separate 3-unit course on research. This module is not
intended to be substituted for that three-unit course. It is simply meant to
supplement what you got or will still get in the Research course.
As you may have noticed, most if not all of what is presented about the
development of the child and adolescent are products of research period it
might interest you to know how these concepts or theories were arrived at.
Or after having been exposed to a number of researchers cited in this
course, hopefully, you may be so inspired that you, too, would like to start
conducting research as on your own or join a group of research.

Activity
Read each statement below. Do you agree or disagree with each statement?
Put a check mark ✓ to indicate your answer.
 Stateme Yes No
nt
1. Research is only for those who plan to take master’s degree or
doctorate
degrees.
2. Research is easy to do.
3. Research is all about giving questionnaires and tallying the
responses.
4. Research with one or two respondents is not a valid research.
5. Teachers, because they are busy in their classrooms, are
expected to use
existing research rather than conduct their own research in the
classroom.
6. There is no need to go into research because a lot of
researches have
already been conducted.
7. Students are mere users of knowledge arrived at by research.
It is not
their task to conduct research.
8. Students do not possess the qualifications to conduct research.
9. It is not worth conducting research considering the time and
money it
requires.

Analysis
Share your answers among classmates. The teacher will read each
statement and the students will “shake their body” if they answer YES, and
“wave the body” if they answer NO. The teacher will process each question
by encouraging students to explain their answers.

Abstraction
Your answers to the questionnaire indicate your basic attitude about
research. As a pre- service teacher, it is important to have a positive regard
for research. Best practices in education are usually borne out of research.
Research informs practice.
 All of the topics discussed in this book are, in one way or another, a
product of research. Research is a very reliable means for teachers to learn
about child and adolescent development. When conducted in an appropriate
and accurate manner it becomes a strong basis for making decisions about
the things you will do as an effective teacher.

Teacher as Consumers/End Users of Research

Research gives teachers and also policy-makers important knowledge
to use in decision-making for the benefit of learners and their families. Well-
informed teachers can use and integrate the most authoritative research
findings. Research enables teachers to come up with informed decision on
what to teach and how to teach. This involves decisions related to
educational policies, curriculum, effective teaching-learning processes, and
even those involving research, too. It can help us, teachers, to be more
knowledgeable about how to fit our teaching with the developmental levels
of our learners.

Teachers as Researchers
The conduct of research does not only belong to thesis and dissertation
writers. It is for the students and teachers, too. Let us learn how to conduct a
research by finding out the different research principles and the research
methods and designs with focus on child and adolescent development.

The Scientific Method

One important principle in research is adherence to the scientific
method, since research is a systematic and a logical process. As such,
researchers basically follow the scientific method. Dewey gave us 5 steps of
the scientific method. They are as follows:
1. Identify and define the problem
2. Determine the hypothesis
3. Collect and analyze data
 4. Formulate conclusions
5. Apply conclusions to the original hypothesis

Simply explained, identifying the research problem is the first step. This is
followed by stating a tentative answer to the research problem called the
hypothesis. The hypothesis is also referred to as an “educated guess”. How
correct is your “educated guess” or “hypothesis?” if your research problem
id concerned with determining the cause of an effect or a phenomenon you
have to gather and analyze data derived from an experiment. This is true
with experimental research. However, if your research problem is concerned
with describing data and characteristics about the subjects or phenomenon
you are studying, you do not need to perform an experiment. This is
descriptive research. After analyzing the data, you formulate your
conclusions.

Compare your conclusions to your original hypothesis to find out if your

original hypothesis is correct or not. If your original hypothesis jibes with
your finding and conclusions, affirm your hypothesis. If your original
hypothesis does not jibe with your finding and conclusions, reject your
original hypothesis.

Research Design
Researches that are done with high level of quality and integrity
provide us with valuable information about child and adolescent
development. To be able to conduct quality research, it is important that you
know various research designs and different data-gathering techniques
used by developmental researchers. Some are given and described below:
Research Description Strengths Weaknesses
Design
1. Case Study An in-depth look at It provides Need to exercise
an individual information caution when
about an generalizing from
individual’s the information;
fears, hopes,
 fantasies, the subject of a
traumatic case study is
experiences, unique, with
upbringing, genetic make-up
family and experiences
relationships, no one else
health and shares; involves
anything that judgment of
helps unknown
psychologist reliability, in that
understand that usually no check
person’s is made to see if
development other
(Santrock, 2002) psychologists
agree with other
observations
(Santrock, 2002)
2. Correlational A research design Useful because Because
Study that determines the more correlational
associations strongly two research does
events are not involve the
correlated, the manipulation of
more we can factors, it is not
predict one from a dependable
the other way to isolate
cause
(Kantowitz, et al,
2001 cited by
Santrock, 2002)
3. Experimental A research design The only true experimental
that
reliable method research is
determines
of limited to what
cause- and-
is
effect
relationships. The establishing observable,
experimental cause and effect testable and
method involves manipulable.
manipulating one Failure to
variable to achieve
determine if randomization
changes in one may limit the
variable cause extent to which
changes in another the study
variable. This sample is
method relies on representative
controlled of the parent
methods, random population and,
assignment and with it,
the manipulation of generalizability
variables to test a of the findings
hypothesis. of the study.

Experimentation
with humans is
subject to a
number of
external
influences that
may dilute the
study resolves
(Donnan, 2000).

A further
limitation of
experimental
research is that
subjects may
 change their
behavior or
respond in a
specific manner
simply because
of awareness of
being observed -
Hawthorne
effect (Haughey,
1994;
Clifford, 1997)
4. A research design one of the The
Naturalistic that focuses on advantages of disadvantages of
Observation children's this type of naturalistic
experiences in research is that observation
natural settings. it allows the include the fact
researcher to that it can be
This does not directly observe difficult to
involve any the subject in a determine the
intervention or natural setting. exact cause of a
manipulation on behavior and the
the part of the experimenter
researcher. This cannot control
technique involves outside
observing subjects variables.
in their natural
environment. This
type of research is
often utilized in
situations where
conducting lab
research is
unrealistic,
 cost prohibitive or

would unduly affect

the subject’s
behavior.
5. Longitudinal This research allows them to they are
design studies and record and expensive and
follows through a monitor time consuming.
single group over a developmental
period of time. The trends. The longer the
same individuals study lasts, the
are studied over a more subjects
period of time, drop out -- they
usually several move, get sick,
years or more. lose interest,
etc.
Subjects can bias
the outcome of a
study, because
those who
remain may be
dissimilar to
those who drop
out.
6. Cross- A research strategy allows them to It gives no
in
Sectional which individuals of record and information about
monitor
different ages are developmental how individuals
compared at one trends. The change or about
time. researcher does the stability of
not their
have to wait for characteristics
the
individuals to (Santrock, 2002).
grow
up or become
 older.

7. Sequential Is the combined allows them to It is complex,

cross-sectional record and expensive, and
and longitudinal monitor time consuming
approaches to developmental
learn about life- trends. It
span development provides
(Schaie, 1993 information that
cited by is impossible to
Santrock, 2002). obtain from
This starts with a cross- sectional
cross- sectional or longitudinal
study that includes approaches
individuals of alone (Santrock,
different ages. A 2002).
number of months
or years after the
initial assessment,
the same
individuals are
tested again this is
the longitudinal
aspect of the
design. At this later
time, and you
group of subjects is
assessed at each
grade level.
8. Action action research is a appropriate in a typically takes
Research reflective process of particular setting place in one
progressive problem when the organization only
solving led by purpose of study at the particular
individuals working is to create time and could
with others in teams changes and not be
gain interpreted within
information on

or as part of a processes an different

community of outcome of the organizations in
practice to improve strategies used the same way.
the way they (Hunt, 1987). Therefore,
address issues and research findings
solve problems. Uses different are hard
methods, can get (Impossible) to
In the context of the best out of generalize.
teaching, action the different
researchers of methods If research
teachers stem employed, if participants do
from their own done well. not feel they
questions about Stakeholders are understand and
and reflections on included own the
their everyday throughout and research project,
classroom so researchers this could lead
practice. are more likely to a potential
to make a conflict of
difference. interest between
the researcher
and those
participating in
the organization,
but also
between the
researcher with
some
participants, on
one hand and
other members
of the
organization,
on the other.
Data-Gathering Techniques
Data- Definition/
Gathering Description
Technique
1. Observation Observations can be made in either laboratories or
natural
settings. In naturalistic observation, behavior is
observed in the real world like classrooms, home in
neighborhood.
2. Physiological Certain indicators of children's development such as,
Measures among others, heart rate, hormonal levels, bone
growth, body weight,
and brain activity are measured.
3. Standardized These are prepared test that assess individuals’
performance in different domains. These tests are
administered in a consistent
manner.
4. Interviews and Involve asking the participants to provide information
Questionnaires about themselves based on the interview or
questionnaire given by the researcher.

Gathering of data may be conducted through a printed

questionnaire, over the telephone, by mail, in person, or
online.

Information is obtained by utilizing standardized

procedures so that every participant is asked the same
questions in the same manner. It entails asking
participants for information in some
structured for month.
5. Life-History These are records of information about a lifetime
Records chronology of events and activities. They often involve
a combination of data records on education, work,
family, and residence. These include public records or
historical documents or interviews with
respondent.
Ethical Principles
To serve the genuine purpose of research, feature researchers are
subject to ethical principles. Just as we have the Code of Ethics that governs
the behavior of teachers, there also exist ethical standards that guide the
conduct of research. These ethical standards serve as reminders that as
researchers, we should strive to protect the subjects of our study and to
maintain the integrity of our research period details of these ethical
principles are found in documents such as the following:
1. Ethical standards of the American Educational Research Association
http://www.aera.net/uploadedFiles/About_AERA/Ethical_Standards/Ethica
lStanda rds.pdf
2. Ethical standards for Research with Children – Society for Research in
Child Development

(USA)
http://www.srcd.org/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=68Itemid=1 10
3. Standards of the American Psychological Association Concerning
Research http://www.lcsc.edu/policy/Policy/1.112a.PDF
WE INVITE YOU TO READ AND REFLECT ON THEM.

Common among the three standards given above are the following
consideration for research is conducted with young children and other
vulnerable population which are enumerated by the National Association for
the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Some key points are:
1. Research procedures must never harm children, physically or psychologically.
2. Children and their families have the right to full information about the
research in which they may participate, including possible risks and
benefits. Their decision to participate must be based on what is called
“informed consent”. There must be informed consent procedures
with research participants.
 3. Children's questions about the research should be answered in a
truthful manner and in ways that children can understand. Researchers
must be honest and clear in their communication.
4. There should be respect for privacy. Information obtained through
research with children should remain confidential. Researchers should
not disclose personal information or the identity of participants in
written or oral reports and discussions.

The Data Privacy Act of 2012 (R.A. 10173)

This law was passed in the Philippines in 2012 “to protect the
fundamental human right of privacy of communication while ensuring free
flow of information to promote innovation and growth.”
The law states that the collection of personal data “must be a declared,
specified, and legitimate purpose and pause that… consent is required prior
to the collection of all personal data.”
For more details, read R.A 10173.

Impact of Teacher’s Research Involvement on Teachers

Research itself has proven that teachers have everything to gain and
nothing to lose when they get involved in the research process. Evidence
suggests that:
1. Teachers who have been involved in research may become more
reflective, more critical analytical in their teaching, and more open and
committed to professional development (Oja & Pine 1989; Henson
1996; Keyes 2000; Rust 2007)
2. Participating in teacher research also helps teachers become more
deliberate in their decision-making and actions in the classroom.
3. Teacher research develops their professional dispositions of lifelong
learning, reflective and mindful teaching, and self-transformation (Mills
2000; Stringer 2007).
 4. Engaging in teacher research at any level may lead to rethinking and
reconstructing what it means to be a teacher or teacher educator and,
consequently, the way teachers relate to children and students.
5. Teacher research has the potential to demonstrate to teachers and
prospective teachers that learning to teach is inherently connected to
learning to inquire (Borko, Liston, & Whitcomb 2007).

Application
1. Except this module on Research, divide the modules in this book among
the group. Go over the modules of the Unit assigned to you and look for
statements of research findings. If the research design and data gathering
techniques were not identified, identified to the best of your ability what
must have been used in the researches. The table below can make your
task easier.
Unit/Module Statement Pag Research Data-
e
of Design gatherin
Research Used g
Finding techniqu
e
2. A Research Abstract – A research abstract is a brief summary that
appears at the beginning of the article. It has the following parts:
 Title
 Researchers
 Date of research
 Introduction
 Methods
 Findings results of the study
 Conclusions and recommendations
 References
The first three (3) are self-explanatory and so need no further explanation.
The introduction, as the title implies, introduces the problem or issue that is
being studied. It includes a concise review of research relevant to the topic,
theoretical ties, and one or more hypotheses to be tested. The method
section consists of a clear description of the subjects evaluated in the study,
the measures used and the procedures that were followed. The results
section reports that analysis of the data collected. The conclusions and
recommendations state the author/s’ answers to the specific problems of the
study and suggestions on the next steps based on the findings and
conclusions of the study. Methods, Findings/Results of the Study and
Conclusions and recommendations constitute the Body of the Abstract. The
last part of the abstract is the references. These include bibliographic
information for each source cited in the research report.

Test your Understanding

Write T if the statement is CORRECT and F if the statement is WRONG.
1. Quality research adheres to the scientific method.
2. For research on child and adult and development to serve its ultimate
purpose, researchers must be governed by ethical principles.
3. Which research design and data gathering technique to use has nothing
to do with the nature of the research problem and objective/s of the
research.
4. Teachers are both producers of knowledge when they conduct research
and are consumers or end users of knowledge when they utilize research
findings to improve instruction.
5. Research has a transformative effect on teachers’ self-understanding and
on their classroom practice. It enables teachers to develop a better
understanding of themselves, their classrooms, and their practice through
the act of reflective inquiry.
6.
Research Connection
Surf the Internet for samples of research abstracts/researches on child
and adolescent development. Select one research abstract then using the
matrix given below right the problem, the research methodology, the
findings, and conclusions.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teacher?

Reflection
It is said that because teachers are overloaded with work, they usually
frown on the conduct of research. Reflect on the consequences of this
attitude. What can be done to prevent this? Write your reflections here.

Write your reflections here.

 MIDTERM

Unit 3 – Developmental Theories and Other Relevant Theories

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory
-Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE
“The EGO is not master in its own house.”
5 - Sigmund Freud

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Explain Freud’s views about child and adolescent development
 Draw implications of Freud’s theory to education.

Introduction
Freud’s views on human development are more than a century old. He
can be considered the most well-known psychologist because of his very
interesting theory about the unconscious and also about sexual
development. Although a lot of his views were criticized and some consider
them debunked, (he himself recanted some of his earlier views). Freud’s
theory remains to be one of the most influential in psychology. He's theory
sparked the ideas in the brilliant minds of other theorists and thus became
the starting point of many other theories, notable of which is Erickson’s
psychosocial theory in module 7.
Activity
1. Recall a recent incident in your life when you had to make a decision.
Narrate the situation below. Indicate what the decision was about, the
factors that were involved and how you arrived at your decision.

Write Here!

Elaborate on your answer.

What factors influenced

Which of the following did
you in making your
you consider most in
decision?
making your decision?

What will make you feel

satisfied, what is most
beneficial or practical, or
what you believed was the
most moral thing to do?

Abstract/Generalization
As a person grows, the personality is also formed. Many psychologists
present different views about how personality develops. As mentioned, Freud
presents a very interesting theory about the personality, its components and
development. Read on and hopefully it will also somehow lead you to
understand more your own personality.
 As you read through Freud’s theory, fill out the graphic organizer below to
highlight
the important concepts:
Oral Erogenous Zone
Erogenous zone. Stage Description of the stage
A specific area Fixations
that becomes
the focus of Phalic
Anal Erogenous Zone
pleasure needs. Stage Description
Description of
of the
the stage
stage
Stage
This may be the Fixations
Fixations
mouth, anus,
and genitals.

Fixation. Results
from failure to
satisfy the needs Erogenous Zone
Latency
of a particular Stage Description of the stage
Fixations
psychosexual
stage.
Erogenous Zone
Genital Description of the stage
Stage Fixations

Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development

Freud is the most popular psychologist that studied the development of
personality, also probably the most controversial. His theory of psychosexual
development includes five distinct stages. According to Freud, a person goes
through the sequence of these five stages and along the way there are
needs to be met. Whether these needs are met or not, determines whether
the person will develop a healthy personality or not. The theory is quite
interesting for many because Freud identified specific erogenous zones for
each stage of development. These are specific “pleasure areas” that
becomes focal points for the particular stage. If needs are not met along the
area, a fixation occurs. As an adult, the person will now manifest behaviors
related to this erogenous zone.

Oral Stage (birth to 18 months). The erogenous zone is the mouth.

During the oral stage, the child is focused on oral pleasures (sucking).
Too much or too little
satisfaction can lead to an oral fixation or oral personality which is shown in
an increased focus on oral activities. This type of personality may be oral
receptive, that is, have a stronger tendency to smoke, drink alcohol,
overeat, or oral aggressive, that is, with a tendency to bite his or her nails, or
use curse words or even gossip. As a result, these persons may become too
dependent on others, easily fooled, and lack leadership traits. On the other
hand, they may also fight these tendencies and become pessimistic and
aggressive in relating with people.

Anal Stage (18 months to 3 years). The child's focus of pleasure in

this stage is the anus. The child finds satisfaction in eliminating and retaining
feces. Through society’s expectations, particularly the parents, the child
needs to work on toilet training. Let us remember that between one year and
a half to three years the child’s favorite word might be “NO!”. Therefore, a
struggle might exist in the toilet training process when the child retains feces
when asked to eliminate or may choose to defecate when asked to hold
feces for some reason. In terms of personality, fixation during this stage can
result in being anal retentive, an obsession with cleanliness, perfection,
and control; or anal expulsive where the person may become messy and
disorganized.

Phallic Stage (ages 3 to 6). This pleasure or erogenous zone is the

genitals. During the preschool age, children become interested in what
makes boys and girls different. Preschoolers will sometimes be seen fondling
their genitals. Freud’s studies led him to believe that during this stage boys
develop unconscious sexual desires for their mother. Boys then see their
father as a rival for her mother’s affection. Boys may fear that their father
will punish them for these feelings, thus, the castration anxiety. These
feelings comprise what Freud called “Oedipus Complex”. In Greek Mythology,
Oedipus unintentionally killed his father and married his mother Jocasta.
Psychoanalysis also believed that girls may also have a similar
experience, developing unconscious sexual attraction towards their father.
This is what is referred to as the Electra complex.
 According to Freud, out of fear of castration and due to the strong
competition of their father, boys eventually decide to identify with them
rather than fight them. By identifying with their father, the boys develop
masculine characteristics and identified themselves as males and repressed
their sexual feelings toward their mother. A fixation at this stage could result
in sexual deviances (both overindulging and avoidance) and weak or
confused sexual identity according to psychoanalysts.
Latency Stage (age 6 to puberty). It is during this stage that sexual
urges remain repressed. The children's focus is the acquisition of physical
and academic skills. Boys usually relate more with boys and girls with girls
during this stage.
Genital Stage (puberty onwards). The fifth stage of psychosexual
development begins at the start of puberty when sexual urges are once
again awakened. In the earlier stages, adolescents focus their sexual urges
towards the opposite sex peers, with the pleasure centered on the genitals.

Freud’s Personality Components

Freud described the personality structures as having three
components, the id, the ego, and the superego. For each person, the first
to emerge is the id, followed by ego, and last to developed is the superego
While reading about the three components, use the graphic organizer
below to put your notes and questions about them.

eg
o supergo
i
d

One’s
Personality
 The id. Freud says that, a child is born with the id. The id plays a vital
role in one's personality because as a baby, it works so that the baby's
essential needs are met. The id operates on the pleasure principle. It
focuses on immediate gratification or satisfaction of its needs. So, whatever
feels good now is what it will pursue with no consideration for the reality,
logicality or practicality of the situation. For example, a baby is hungry. Its id
wants food or milk. . . so the baby will cry. When the child needs to be
changed, the id cries. When the child is uncomfortable, in pain, too hot, too
cold, or just wants attention, the id speaks up until his or her needs are met.
Nothing else matters to the id except the satisfaction of its own needs.
It is not oriented towards considering reality nor the needs of others. Just see
how babies cry any time of the day and night! Absolutely no regard of
whether mommy is tired, or daddy is sleeping. When the id wants something,
it wants it now and it wants it fast!

The Ego. As the baby turns into a toddler and then into a preschooler,
he or she relates more with the environment, the ego slowly begins to
emerge. The ego operates using the reality principle. It is aware that others
also have needs to be met. It is practical because it knows that being
impulsive or selfish can result in negative consequences later, so it reasons
and considers the best response to situations. As such, it is the deciding
agent of the personality. Although it functions to help the id meet its needs,
it always takes into account the reality of the situation.

The superego. Near the end of the preschool years, or the end of the
phallic stage, the Superego develops. The Superego embodies a person's
moral aspect. This develops from what the parents, teachers and other
persons who exert influence impart to be good or moral. The Superego is
likened to conscience because it exerts influence on what one considers right
and wrong.
The Three (3) Components and Personality Adjustment
Freud said that a well-adjusted person is one who has strong ego, who
can help satisfy the needs of the id without going against the Superego while
maintaining the person's sense of what is logical, practical, and real. Of
course, it is not easy for the ego to do all that and strike a balance. If the id
exerts too much power over the ego, the person becomes too impulsive and
pleasure-seeking behavior takes over one’s life. On the opposite direction,
one may find the Superego so strong that the ego is overpowered. The
person becomes so harsh and judgmental to himself and others’ actions. The
person's best effort to be good may still fall short of the Superego’s
expectations.
The ability of a learner to be well-adjusted is largely influenced by how
the learner was brought up. His experiences about how his parents met his
needs, the extend to which he was allowed to do things he wanted to do, and
also how he was taught about right and wrong, all figures to the type of
personality and consequent adjustment that a person will make. Freud
believed that the personality of an individual is formed early during the
childhood years.

Topographical Model
The unconscious. Freud said that most what we go through in our
lives, emotions, beliefs, feelings, and impulses deep within are not available
to us at a conscious level. He believed that most of what influence us is our
unconscious. The Oedipus and Electra Complex mentioned earlier were both
buried down into the unconscious, out of our awareness due to the extreme
anxiety they caused. While these complexes are in our unconscious, they still
influence our thinking, feeling, and doing in perhaps dramatic ways.
The conscious. Freud also said that all that we are aware of is stored
in our conscious mind. Our conscious mind only comprises a very small part
of who we are so that, in our everyday life, we are only aware of a very small
part of what makes up our personality; Most of what we are is hidden and
out of reach.
 The subconscious. The last part is the preconscious or subconscious.
This is the part of us that we can reach if prompted but is not in our active
conscious. It's right below the surface, but still “hidden” somewhat unless we
search for it. Information such as our telephone number, some childhood
memories, or the name of your best childhood friend is stored in the
preconscious.
Because the unconscious is so huge, and because we are only aware of
the very small conscious at any given time, Freud used the analogy of the
iceberg to illustrate it. A big part of the iceberg is hidden beneath the water’s
surface.
The water, may represent all that we are not aware of, have not
experienced, and that has not been made part of our personalities, referred
to as the nonconscious.

Application
Freud used the case study method to gather the data he used to
formulate his theories. Among the many case studies, five really stood out as
bases of his concepts and ideas. Do further reading of these case studies and
write a reaction paper on one of these case studies focusing on how he
explained the personality development of the individuals in the case studies.
From your internet search engine, just type Freud’s Case Studies. It will be
easy
to find to find a pdf file which you can readily download.
Synapse Strengtheners
Visit the Library of Congress in Washington DC, through its virtual
museum. Visit the walls that contain very interesting pictures, documents,
and information about the most controversial psychologist of all the time,
Sigmund Freud!
Follow the steps:
1. Go to www.loc.gov
2. Click “Exhibitions”
3. Click “View all Exhibits”
4. Go to “Sigmund Freud: Conflict and Culture”
5. Seat back and enjoy the virtual tour! The pictures and write-ups
are so interesting!!!
As in any visit to a museum, it would be good to take some notes. Make notes on
the
following and add your own ideas and comments as well…
Describe Freud’s Family background. Describe the composition of his family.
What
do you think was it like for Freud growing up in this family?

Answer:

Reflection
From the Module on Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory, I learned that……

From the Module on Freud’s

Psychoanalytic Theory, I
learned that……
 Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE
“The principle goal of education is to create men who
6 are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating
what other generations have done – men who are
creative, inventive and discovers.”
- Jean Piaget

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Describe Piaget’s stages in your own words.
 Conduct a simple Piagetian Task interview with children.
 Match learning activities to the learner’s cognitive stage.

Introduction
Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory of development is truly a classic in the
field of educational psychology. This theory fueled other researchers and
theories of development and learning. Its focus is on how individuals
construct knowledge.

Activity
Read the situations below. The class may choose each situation before analysis is
done.
1. It's Christmas and Uncle Bob is giving “aguinaldo” to the children.
Three-year old Karen did not want to receive the one-hundred-peso bill
and instead preferred to receive four 20-peso bill. Her ten-year-old
cousin are telling her it’s better to get one-hundred-peso bill, but they
failed to convince her.
2. Siblings, Tria, 10; Enzo, 8; and Riel, 4 were sorting out their stuffed
animals. They had 7 bears, 3 dogs, 2 cows and 1 dolphin. Mommy, a
psychology teacher, enters and said, “Good thing you are sorting
those. Do you have more stuffed animals or more bears?” Tria and
Enzo say “stuffed animals”, Riel says, “Bears”
 3. While eating on her high chair, seven-month old Liza accidentally
dropped her spoon on the floor. She saw mommy pick it up. Lisa again
drops her new spoon; she does this several times more on purpose.
Mommy didn’t like it at all, but Liza appeared to enjoy dropping the
spoons the whole time.

Analysis

On Situation 1
On Situation 2
Why do you think did Karen
Why do you think Riel
prefer the 20-peso bills? answered “bears?” What does
this say about how she
thought to answer the
question?

On Situation 3

What do you think baby

Liza appeared to enjoy
dropping the spoons?

Abstraction
The children in the situations presented above were of different ages
and so also should appear differences in the way they thought. They were in
different stages of cognitive development. Perhaps no one has influenced the
field of cognitive development more than Jean Piaget. As you read through
this module you will come to understand cognitive development of children
and adolescents and also identify ways of applying this understanding in the
teaching learners.
For sixty years, Jean Piaget conducted research on cognitive
development. His research method involved observing a small number of
individuals as they responded to cognitive tasks that he designed. These
tasks were later known as Piagetian Tasks.
Piaget called his general theoretical framework “genetic epistemology”
because he was interested in how knowledge developed in human
organisms. Piaget was initially into
biology, and he also had a background in philosophy. Knowledge from both
these disciplines influenced his theories and research of child development.
Out of his researches, Piaget came up with the stages of cognitive
development.
Piaget examined the implications of his theory not only to aspects of
cognition but also to intelligence and moral development. His theory has
been applied widely to teaching and curriculum design specially in the
preschool and elementary curricula.

Basic Cognitive Concepts

SCHEMA
 Piaget used the term “schema” to refer to the cognitive structures
by which individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their
environment.
 It is an individual’s way to understand or create meaning about a
thing or
experience.
 It is like the mind has a filling cabinet and each drawer has folders
that contain files of things he has had an experience with. For
instance, if a child sees a dog for the first time, he creates his own
schema of what a dog is. It has four legs and a tail. It barks. It’s
furry. The child then “puts this description of a dog, he “pulls” out

ASSIMILATION
 This is the process of fitting a new experience into an existing or
previously created cognitive structure or schema.
 If the child sees another dog, this time a little smaller one, he
would make a sense of what he is seeing by adding new
information (a different-looking dog) into his schema of a dog.

ACCOMMODATIO
N
 This is the process of creating a new schema.
 If the same child now sees another animal that looks a little bit like
a dog, but somehow different. He might try to fit it into his schema
of a dog, and say, “look mommy, what a funny looking dog. Its bark
is funny too!”. Then the mommy explains, “that is not funny looking
dog. That is a goat!”. With mommy’s further descriptions, the child
will now create a new schema, that of a goat. He now adds a new
sparking on EQUILIBRATION
Google
 Piaget believed that the people have the natural need to
understand how the world works and to find order, structure, and
predictability in their life.
 Equilibration is achieving proper balance between
assimilation and accommodation.
 When our experiences did not match our schemata (plural of
() schema) or cognitive structures, we experience cognitive
disequilibrium. This means there is a discrepancy between what I
perceived and what is understood. We then exert effort through
assimilation and accommodation to establish equilibrium once

Cognitive development involves a continuous effort to adapt to the

environment in terms of assimilation and accommodation. In this sense,
Piaget’s theory is similar in nature to other constructivist perspective of
learning like Bruner and Vygotsky.

Piaget’s Stage of Cognitive Development

Sensori-motor Stage
 Birth to infancy
 When a child who is initially reflexive in grasping, sucking, and
reaching becomes more organized in his movement and
activity.
 The term sensori-motor focuses on the prominence of the senses
and muscle movement through which the infants comes to learn
about himself and the world.
 In working with children in the sensori-motor stage, teachers
should aim to provide a rich and stimulating environment with
appropriate objects to play with.
Object Permanence – the ability of the child to know that an
object still exits even when out of sight. This ability is attained in
the sensory motor stage.
a
Pre-operational
Stage  From about two to seven years old, roughly
corresponding to the preschool years.
 Intelligence at this stage is intuitive in nature.
 In this stage, the child can now make mental representations
and is able to pretend, the child is now ever closer to the use of
symbols.
 This stage is highlighted by the following:

Symbolic Function – the ability to represent the objects and

events. A symbol is a thing that represents something else. A
drawing, a written word or a spoken word comes to be understood
as representing a real object like a real MRT train. Symbolic function
gradually develops in the period between 2 to 7 years old. Riel, a
two-year old may pretend that she is drinking from an empty glass.
Though she already pretends the presence of water, the glass
remains to be a glass. At around 4 years of age, however, Nico, may,
after pretending to drink from an empty glass, turn the glass into a
rocket ship or a telephone. By the age of 6 or 7, the child can
pretend play with objects that exist only in his mind. Enzo, who is
six, can do a whole ninja turtle routine without any costume nor
props. Tria, who is seven can pretend to host an elaborate princess
ball only in her mind.

Egocentrism – this is the tendency of the child to only see his

point of view and to assume that everyone also has his same point
of view. The child cannot take the perspective of others. You see
this in five-year-old boy who buys a toy truck for his mother's
birthday. Or a 3-year-old girl who cannot understand why her
cousins called her daddy “uncle” and not daddy.

Centration – refers to the tendency of the child to only focus on

one aspect of a thing or event and exclude other aspects. Example,
when a child is presented with two identical glasses with the same
amount of water, the child will say they have the same amount of
water. However, once water from one of the glasses is transferred to
an obviously taller but narrower glass, the child might say that there
is more water in the taller glass. The child only focused or centered
only one aspect of the new glass, that it is a taller glass. The child
was not able to perceive that the new glass is also narrower. The
child only centered on the height of the glass and excluded the
width in determining the amount of water in the glass.

Irreversibility – pre-operational children still have the inability to

reverse their thinking. They can understand that 2 + 3 is 5 but
cannot understand that 5 - 3 is 2.

Animism – this is the tendency of children to attribute human like

traits or characteristics to inanimate objects. When at night, the
child is asked, where the sun is, she will reply, “Mr. Sun is asleep.”

Transductive Reasoning – this refers to the pre-operational

child’s type of reasoning that is neither inductive nor deductive.
Reasoning appears to be from particular-to-particular, example if A
causes B, then B causes A. For example, since her mommy comes
home every day around 6:00 o'clock in the evening, when asked
why it is already night, the child will say “because my mom is
already home.” (for more notes on the cognitive development of the
toddler, refer to the unit 2)
Concrete-  This stage characterized by the ability of the child to think
Operational logically but only in terms of concrete objects.
Stage
 This covers approximately ages between 8 to 11 years or the
elementary school years.
 This stage is marked by the following:

Decentering – refers to the ability of the child to perceive the

different features of objects and situations. No longer is the child
focused or limited to one aspect or dimension. This allows the child
to be more logical when dealing with concrete objects and
situations.

Reversibility – during the stage of concrete operations, the child

can now follow that certain operation can be done in reverse. For
example, they can already comprehend the commutative property
of addition, and that subtraction is the reverse of addition. They can
also understand that a ball of clay shaped into a dinosaur can again
be rolled back into a ball of clay.

Conservation – ability to know that certain properties of objects

like number, mass, volume, or area do not change even if there is a
change in appearance. Because of the development of a child’s
ability of decentering and also reversibility, the concrete operational
child can now judge rightly that the amount of water in a taller glass,
but narrower container is still the same as when the water was in the
shorter but wider glass. The children progress to attain conservation
abilities gradually being a pre-conserver, a transitional thinker and
then a conserver.

Seriation – refers to the ability to order or arrange things in a

series based on one dimension such as weight, volume, or size.

Formal  Final stage covering ages between 12 to 15 years

Operation  Thinking becomes more logical
al Stage  They can now solve abstract problems and can be hypothesize.
 This stage is characterized by the following:

Hypothetical Reasoning – ability to come up with different

hypothesis about the problem and to gather and weigh data into
order to make a final decision or judgement. This can be done in
the absence of concrete objects. The individuals can now deal with
“what if” questions.

Analogical Reasoning – ability to perceive the relationship in one

instance and then use that relationship to narrow down possible
answers in another similar situation or problem. The individual in the
formal operations stage can make an analogy. If United Kingdom is
to Europe, then Philippines is to .
The individual will reason that since the UK is found in the continent
of Europe then the Philippines is found in what continent? Then Asia
is his answer.
Though reflective thought and even in the absence of concrete
objects, the individual can now understand relationships and do
analogical reasoning.

Deductive Reasoning – ability to think logically by applying a

general rule to a particular instance or situation. For example, all
countries near the north pole have cold temperatures. Greenland is
near the North Pole. Therefore, Greenland has cold temperature.
From Piaget’s findings and comprehensive theory, we can derive the following
principles:
1. Children will provide different explanations of reality at different
stages of cognitive development.
2. Cognitive development is facilitated by providing activities or
situations that engage learners and require adaptation (like
assimilation and accommodation).
3. Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level
of motor or mental operations for a child of given age; Avoid asking
students to perform tasks that are beyond their current cognitive
capabilities.
4. Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges.

Application
This activity focuses on a story involving the interaction of family
members. Choose a story you want to use for this activity. It can be from a
story you have read or a movie or “telenovela” that you watched or plan to
watch. Use the matrix below to relate the characters to Piaget's stages of
cognitive development.

TITLE OF STORY/MOVIE:
Write a brief summary of the story:

Character Description Piagetian Connection

FATHER

What is his stage of cognitive Development?

Ex. Cite instances why you say he is in this stage. (What he
thought of, how he thought, his reactions and attitudes)
MOTHER

What is her stage of cognitive Development?

Ex. Cite instances why you say she is in this stage. (What
she thought of, how she thought, her reactions and
attitudes)

CHILD

What is his stage of cognitive Development?

Ex. Cite instances why you say he is in this stage. (What he
thought of, how he thought, his reactions and attitudes)

CHILD

What is her stage of cognitive Development?

Ex. Cite instances why you say she is in this stage. (What
she thought of, how she thought, her reactions and
attitudes)

OTHER CHARACTER

What is his/her stage of cognitive Development?

Ex. Cite instances why you say he/she is in this stage.
(What he/she thought of, how he/she thought, his/her
reactions and attitudes)
Synapse Strengtheners
Virtual Talk show. Four students volunteer (or teacher will be
assigned) to act as Piaget. The students acting as Piaget should master the
stages assigned to them to enable them to answer questions from
classmates. (3 groups with 5 members must try)
The student should use the pronoun YOU when they ask the question and the
four students acting as Piaget must use the pronoun I when they answer the
questions.

Reflection

From the module on Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive

Development, I realized that…
 Erikson’s Psycho-Social Theory of Development
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE
7 “Healthy children will not fear life if their
elders
have integrity enough not to fear death.”
- Erik Erikson

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Explain the 8 Stages of Life to someone you care about.
 Write a short story of your life using Erikson’s stages as framework.
 Suggest at least 6 ways on how Erikson’s Theory can be useful for you as a
future
teacher.

Introduction
Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development is a very relevant, highly
regarded and meaningful theory. Life is a continuous process involving
learning and trials which help us to grow. Erikson’s enlightening theory
guides us and helps to tell us why.

Activity
Erik Erikson’s Stage Theory of Development Questionnaire
This contains selected items from Rhona Ochse and Cornelis Plug’s
self-report questionnaire assessing the personality dimensions associated
with Erikson’s first 5 stages of psychosexual development. It can serve to
make the stages personally relevant to you. Indicate how often each of these
statements applies to you by using the following scale:
0 = never applies to you
1 = occasionally or seldom applies to you
2 = fairly often applies to you
3 = very often applies to you Read the instructions at the end before putting
scores her
 Read the
instructions at
the end
before putting
scores here.
Stage 1: Trust Versus Mistrust (Infancy and Early Childhood) Score
1. I feel pessimistic about the future of humankind.
2. I feel the world's major problems can be solved.
3. I am filled with admiration for humankind.
4. People can be trusted.
5. I feel optimistic about my future.
Total Score Stage 1

Stage 2: Autonomy Versus Shame & Doubt (Infancy & Childhood) Score
6. When people try to persuade me to do something I don't
want to,
I refuse.
7. After I have made a decision, I feel I have made a mistake.
8. I am unnecessarily apologetic.
9. I worry that my friends will find fault with me.
10. When I disagree with someone, I tell them.
Total Score Stage 2
Stage 3: Initiative Versus Guilt (Infancy & Childhood) Score
11. I am prepared to take a risk to get what I want.
12. I feel hesitant to try out a new way of doing something.
13. I am confident in carrying out my plans to a successful
conclusion.
14. I feel what happens to me is the result of what I have
done.
15. When I have difficulty in getting something right, I give
up.
Total Score Stage 3

Stage 4: Industry Versus Inferiority (Infancy & Childhood) Score

16. When people look at something I have done, I feel
embarrassed.
17. I get a great deal of pleasure from working.
18. I feel too incompetent to do what I would really like to do
in life.
19. I avoid doing something difficult because I feel I would
fail.
20. I feel competent.
Total Score Stage 4
Stage 5: Identity Versus Identity Diffusion (Adolescence) Score
21. I wonder what sort of person I really am.
22. I feel certain about what I should do with my life.
23. My worth is recognized by others.
24. I feel proud to be the sort of person I am.
25. I am unsure as to how people feel about me.
Total Score Stage 5

Stage 6: Intimacy Versus Isolation (Early Adulthood) Score

26. I feel that no one has ever known the real me.
27. I have a feeling of complete togetherness with someone.
28. I feel it is better to remain free than to become
committed to
marriage for life.
29. I share my private thoughts with someone.
30. I feel as though I am alone in the world.
Total Score Stage 6

Scoring:
Items on the questionnaire were derived from Erikson’s statements about each
stage.
Scores for each subscale range from 0 to 15, with high scores reflecting
greater strength on a particular personality dimension.

The response to item 1 should be reversed (0 = 3, 1 = 2, 2 = 1, 3 = 0) and then added to

the numbers given in response to items 2, 3, 4, and 5 to obtain a trust score.
Responses to items 7, 8, and 9 should be reversed and added to item 6 and 10 to
assess autonomy. Answers to 12 and 15 should be reversed and added two items 11,
13, and 14 to measure initiative. Answers to 16, 18, and 19 should be reversed and
then added to 17 and 20 to calculate industry.
Responses to 21 and 25 must be reversed an added to 22, 23, and 24 to obtain a
measure of identity Answers to 26, 28, and 30 are reversed and added to 27 and 29 to
give intimacy.

Analysis
What did you discover about yourself in this questionnaire?

Have these scores in mind as you read about Erikson’s stages and see how the
stages
can guide you in self-understanding and in understanding others as well.

Abstract/Generalization
Introduction to the 8 Stages:

1. Erikson’s “psychosocial” term is derived from the two source words - namely
psychological (or the root, ‘psycho’ relating to the mind, brain, personality, etc.) and
social (external relationships and environment), both at the heart of Erikson’s theory.
Occasionally you’ll see the term extended to biopsychosocial, in which “bio” refers to
life, as in biological.

2. Erikson’s theory was largely influenced by Sigmund Freud. but Erickson extended
the theory and incorporated cultural and social aspects into Freud’s biological and
sexually-oriented theory.

3. It is also interesting to see how his ideas developed over time, perhaps aided by his
own journey
through the “psychosocial crisis” stages model that underpinned his work.

4. Like other influential theories, Erikson's model is simple and well designed. The
theory is a basis for broad or complex discussion and analysis of personality and
behavior, and also for understanding and for facilitating personal development - of self
and others. It can help the teacher in becoming more knowledgeable and at the same
time understanding of the various environmental factors on and his students’
personality and behavior.

5. Erikson’s eight stages theory is a tremendously powerful model. It is very

accessible and obviously relevant to modern life, from several different perspectives
for understanding and explaining how personality and behavior develops in people. As
such Erikson’s theory is useful for teaching, parenting, self-awareness, managing and
coaching, dealing with conflict, and generally for understanding self and others.
6. Various terms are used to describe Erikson’s model, for example Erikson’s
biopsychosocial or bio- psycho-social theory (bio refers to biological, which in this
context means life); Erikson’s human development cycle or life cycle, and variations of
these. All refer to the same eight stages psychosocial theory, it being Erikson’s most
distinct work and remarkable model.

7. The Epigenetic Principle. As Boeree explains, “this principle says that we

develop through a predetermined unfolding of our personalities in eight stages. Our
progress through each stage is in part determine by our success, or lack of success,
in all the previous stages. A little like the unfolding of a rosebud, each petal opens up
at a certain time, in a certain order; which nature, through its genetics, has
determined. If we interfere in the natural order of development by pulling a petal
forward prematurely or out of order, we ruined the development of the entire flower.”
Erikson's theory delved into how personality was formed and relieved that the earlier
stages served as a foundation for the later stages. The theory highlighted the
influence of one's environment, particularly on how early your experiences gradually
build upon the next and resolved into one's personality.

8. Each stage involves a psychosocial crisis of two opposing emotional forces. A

helpful term used by Erickson for these opposing forces is “contrary dispositions”.
Each crisis stage relates to a corresponding life stage and its inherent challenges.
Erickson used the words “syntonic” for the first-listed “positive” disposition in each
crisis (ex. Trust) and “dystonic” for the second-listed “negative” disposition (ex.
Mistrust). To signify the opposing or conflicting relationship between each pair of
forces or dispositions, Erikson connected them with the word “versus”.

9. If a stage is managed well, we carry away a certain virtue or psychosocial strength

which will help us through the rest of the stages of our lives. Successfully passing
through each crisis involves achieving a healthy ratio or balance between the two
opposing dispositions that represent each crisis.

10. On the other hand, if you don't do so well, we may develop maladaptation and
malignancies, as well as endanger all our future development. A malignancy is the
worse of the two. It involves too little of the positive and too much of the negative
aspect of the task, such as a person who can’t trust others. A maladaptation is not
quite as bad and involves too much of the positive and too little of the negative, such
as a person who trusts too much.
 11. The crisis stages are not sharply defined steps. Elements tend to overlap and
mingle from one stage to the next and to the preceding stages. It is a broad
framework an concept, not a mathematical formula which replicates precisely across
all people and situations.

12. Erikson was keen to point out that the transition between stages is “overlapping”.
Crisis stages connect with each other like interlaced fingers, not like a series of neatly
stock boxes. People don't suddenly wake up one morning and be in a new life stage.
Changes don't happen regimented clear- cut steps. Changes are graduated, mixed-
together and organic.

13. Erikson also emphasized the significance of “mutuality” and “generativity” in his
theory. The terms are linked. Mutuality reflects the effect of generations on each
other, especially among families, and particularly between parents and children and
grandchildren. Everyone potentially affects everyone else experiences as they pass
through the different crisis stages. Generativity, actually a named disposition within
one of the crisis stages (generativity versus stagnation, stage 7
), reflects the significant relationship between adults and the best interests of
children - one's own children, and in a way everyone else's children - the next
generation, and all following generations.

Now you are ready to go over the eight stages. As you read, enjoy filling up
the concept map we made come up found at the beginning of each stage.
This will help you remember the important terms in each stage and how
these terms are interrelated. Use the side margins to write your thoughts
about the stage and how they connect to your own life now and as a future
teacher.
The Eight Psychosocial Stages of Development
Too much Too much
Stage 1

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue
Stage 1
Psychosocial
Crisis
 Infancy – first year or year and a half
 Crisis is trust versus mistrust
 The goal is to develop trust without completely eliminating the
capacity for mistrust.
 If the primary caregivers, like the parents can give the baby a sense of
familiarity, consistency, and continuity, then the baby will develop the
feeling that the world is a safer place to be, that people are reliable
and loving. If the parents are unreliable and inadequate, if they reject
the infant or harm it, if other interests cause both parents to turn away
from the infant's needs to satisfy their own instead, then the infant will
develop mistrust. He or she will be apprehensive and suspicious
around people.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 Please understand that this doesn't mean that the parents have to be
perfect. In fact parents who are overly protective of the child, who are
there the minute the first cry comes out, will lead the child into the
maladaptive tendency which Erikson calls sensory maladjustment:
Overly trusting, even gullible, this person cannot believe anyone would
mean them harm, and will use all the defenses at their command to
find an explanation or excuse for the person who did him wrong.
Worse, of course, is the child whose balance is tipped way over on the
mistrust side. They will develop the malignant tendency of
withdrawal, characterized by depression, paranoia, and possibly
psychosis.

Virtue
 If the proper balance is achieved, the child will develop the virtue of
hope, the strong belief that, even when things are not going well, they
will work out well in the end.
  One of the signs that a child is doing well in the first stage is when the
child isn't overly upset by the need to wait a moment for the
satisfaction of his or her needs. Mom or dad doesn't have to be perfect;
I trust them enough to believe that, if they can't be here immediately,
they will be here soon; Things may be tough now, but they will work
out. This is the same ability that, in later life, get us through
disappointments in love, our careers, and many other domains of life.

Stage 2
Too much Too much
Stage 2

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue

Stage 2
Psychosocial
Crisis
 The second stage is early childhood from 18 months to 3 or 4 years old.
 The task is to achieve a degree of autonomy while minimizing shame and
doubt.
 If mom and dad, or caregiver permits the child will develop a sense of
autonomy or independence. The parents should not discourage the
child, but neither should they push.
 A balance is required.
 People often advise new parents to be firm but tolerant at this stage,
and the advice is good. This way, the child will develop both self-
control and self-esteem. On the other hand, it is rather easy for the
child to develop instead a sense of shame and doubt. If the parents
come down hard on any attempt to explore Ann be independent, the
child will soon give up where the belief that he or she cannot
 and should not act on his or her own. We should keep in mind that
even something as innocent as laughing at the toddler's efforts can
lead the child to feel deeply ashamed and to doubt his or her abilities.
 There are other ways to lead children to shame and doubt. If you give
children unrestricted freedom and no sense of limits, or if you try to
help children do what they should learn to do for themselves, you will
also give them the impression that they are not good for much. If you
aren't patient enough to wait for your child to tie his or her shoelaces,
your child will never learn to tie them, and will assume that this is too
difficult to learn.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 Nevertheless, a little “shame and doubt” is not only inevitable, but
beneficial. Without it, you will develop the maladaptive tendency
Erikson called it “impulsiveness”, a sort of shameless willfulness that
leads you, in later childhood and even adulthood, to jump into things
without proper consideration of your abilities. Worse, of course, is too
much shame and doubt, which leads to the malignancy Ericson calls
“compulsiveness”.
 The compulsive person feels as if their entire being rides on everything
they do, and so everything must be done perfectly. Following all the
rules precisely keeps you from mistakes, and mistake must be avoided
at all costs. Many of you know how it feels to always be ashamed and
always doubt yourself. A little more patience and tolerance with your
own children may help them avoid your path. And give yourself a little
slack, too!

Virtue
 If you get the proper, positive balance of autonomy and shamed and
doubt, you will develop the virtue of willpower or determination.
One of the most admirable and frustrating things about two - and -
three year old is their
 determination. “Can do” is their motto. If we can preserve that “can
do” attitude (with appropriate modesty to balance it) we are much
better off as adults.

Stage 3
Too much Too much
Stage 3

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue

Psychosocial Crisis
 is the early childhood stage, from three or four to five or six.
 The task is to learn initiative without too much guilt.
 Initiative means a positive response to the world challenges,
taking on responsibilities, learning new skills, feeling purposeful.
 Parents can encourage initiative by encouraging children to try out their
ideas.
 We should accept and encourage fantasy and curiosity and imagination.
 This is a time for play, not for formal education.
 The child is now capable, as never before, of imagining a future
situation, one that isn't a reality right now.
 Initiative is the attempt to make that non-reality a reality.
 If children can imagine the future, if they can plan, then they can be
responsible as well, and guilty.
 If my two-year-old flushes my watch down the toilet, I can safely
assume that there were no “evil intentions”. It was just a matter of
shiny object going around an round and down.
  If my 5-year-old does the same thing, well, she should know what is
going to happen to the watch, what's going to happen to the daddy’s
temper and what's going to happen to her. She can be guilty of the act
and she can begin to feel guilty as well. The capacity for moral
judgment has arrived.
 Erikson is, of course, a Freudian, and as such, he includes the Oedipal
crisis involves the reluctance a child feels in relinquishing, his or her
closeness to the opposite sex parent.
 A parent has the responsibility, socially, to encourage the child to grow
up – “you're not a baby anymore!” But if this process is done too
harshly and too abruptly, the child learns to feel guilty about his or her
feelings.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 Too much initiative and two little guilt means a maladaptive tendency
Erickson calls ruthlessness. To be ruthless is to be heartless or
unfeeling or be “without mercy”.
 The ruthless person takes the initiative alright.
 They have their plans, whether it is a matter of school or romance or
politics or career.
 It is just that they don't care who they step on to achieve their goals.
 The goals are the only things that matter, and guilty feelings and
mercy are only signs of weakness. The extreme form of ruthlessness is
sociopathy.
 Ruthlessness is bad for others, but actually it relatively easy on the ruthless
person.
 Harder on the person is the malignancy of too much guilt, which Erikson
calls
inhibition.
 The inhibited person will not try things because “nothing ventured,
nothing lost and, particularly, nothing to feel guilty about. They are so
afraid to start and take a lead on a project. They fear that if it fails,
they will be blamed.
Virtue
 A good balance leads to the psychosocial strength of purpose. A sense
of purpose is something many people crave for in their lives, yet many
do not realize that they themselves make their purposes, through
imagination and initiative. I think an even better word for this virtue
would have been courage, the capacity for action despite a clear
understanding of your limitations and past failings.

Stage 4
Too much Too much
Stage 4

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue

Psychosocial Crisis
 Stage four is the school-age stage when the child is from about six to twelve.
 The past is to develop a capacity for industry while avoiding an
excessive sense of inferiority.
 Children must “tame the imagination” and dedicate themselves to
education and to learning the social skills their society requires of
them.
 There is a much broader social sphere at work now.
 The parents and other family members are joined by teachers and
peers and other members of the community at large.
 They all contribute. Parents must encourage, teachers must care,
peers must accept.
  Children must learn that there is pleasure not only in conceiving a plan,
but in carrying it out. They must learn the feeling of success, whether it
is in school or on the playground, academic or social.
 A good way to tell the difference between a child in the third stage and
one in the fourth stage is to look at the way they play games.
 Four-year old may love games, but they will have only a vague
understanding of the rules, may change them several times during the
course of the game, and be very unlikely to actually finish the game,
unless it is by throwing the pieces at their opponents.
 A seven-year-old, on the other hand, is dedicated to the rules,
considers them pretty much sacred, and is more likely to get upset if
the game is not allowed to come to its required conclusion.
 If the child is allowed to little success, because of harsh teachers or
rejecting peers, for example, then he or she will develop instead a
sense of inferiority or incompetence. Additional sources of inferiority,
Erickson mentions, our racism, sexism, and other forms of
discrimination. If a child believes that success is related to who you are
rather than to how hard you try, then why try?

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 Too much industry leads to the maladaptive tendency called narrow
virtuosity.
 We see this in children who are not allowed “to be children”, the ones
that parents or teachers push into one area of competence, without
allowing the development of broader interests.
 These are the kids without a life; child actors, child athletes, child
musicians, child prodigies of all sorts. We all admire their industry, but
if we look a little closer, it is all that stands in the way of an empty life.
 Much more common is the malignancy called inertia.
 This includes all of us who suffer from the “inferiority complexes”
Alfred Adler talked about.
  If at first you don't succeed, don't ever try again! Many of us didn't do
well in mathematics, for example, so we’d die before we took another
math class. Others were humiliated instead in the gym class, so we
never try out for a sport or play a game of basketball. Others never
developed social skills -- the most important skills of all -- and so we
never go out in public. We become inert.
Virtue
 A happier thing is to develop the right balance of industry an inferiority
-- that is, mostly industry with just a touch of inferiority to keep us
sensibly humble. Then we have the virtue called competency.

Stage 5
Too much Too much
Stage 5

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue

Psychosocial Crisis
 Stage five is adolescence, beginning with puberty and ending around
18 to 20 years old.
 The task during adolescence is to achieve ego identity and avoid roll
confusion.
 It was adolescence that interested Ericson first and most, and the
patterns he saw here were the basis for his thinking about all the other
stages.
 Ego identity means knowing who you are and how you fit into the rest
of society. It requires that you take all you have learned about life and
yourself and mold it into a unified self-image, one that your community
finds meaningful.
  There are a number of things that makes things easier: First, we should
have a mainstream adult culture that is worthy of the adolescent’s
respect, one with good adult role models and open lines of
communication.
 Further, society should provide clear rites of passage, certain
accomplishments and rituals that help to distinguish the adult from the
child. In primitive and traditional societies, an adolescent boy may be
asked to leave the village for a period of time to live on his own, hunt
some symbolic animal, or seek an inspirational vision. Boys and girls
may be required to go through certain test of endurance, symbolic
ceremonies, or educational events. In one way or another, the
distinction between the powerless, but irresponsible, time of childhood
and the powerful and responsible time of adulthood, is made clear.
 Without these things, we are likely to see a role confusion, meaning an
uncertainty about one’s place in society and the world. When an
adolescent is confronted by role confusion, Erickson says, he or she is
suffering from an identity crisis. In fact, a common question
adolescent in our society ask is a straight-forward question of identity:
“Who am I?”
 One of Erikson’s suggestions for adolescence in our society is the
psychosocial moratorium. He suggests you take a little “time out”.
If you have money, go to Europe. If you don't, bum around the
Philippines. Quit school and get a job. quit your job and go to school.
Take a break, smell the roses, get to know yourself. We tend to want to
get to “success” as fast as possible, and yet few of us have ever taken
the time to figure out what success means to us. A little like the young
Oglala Lakota, perhaps we need to dream a little.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 There is such a thing as too much “ego identity”, where a person is
so involved in a particular role in a particular society or subculture that
there is no room left for tolerance. Erikson calls this maladaptive
tendency fanaticism. A fanatic believes that his way is the only way.
Adolescents are, of course, known for their
 idealism, and for their tendency to see things in “black and white”.
These people will gather others around them and promote their beliefs
and life-styles without regard to others’ rights to disagree.
 The lack of identity is perhaps more difficult still, and Erickson refers to
the malignant tendency here as repudiation. The repudiate is to
reject. They reject their membership in the world of adults and, even
more, they reject their need for an identity. Some adolescents prefer to
go to groups that go against the norms to form their identity: religious
cults, militaristic organizations, groups founded on hatred, groups that
have divorced themselves from the painful demands of mainstream
society. They may become involved in destructive activities -- drugs, or
alcohol - or they may withdraw into their own psychotic fantasies. After
all, being “bad” or being “nobody” is better than not knowing who you
are!

Virtue
 If you successfully negotiate this stage, you will have the virtue Erickson
called
fidelity.
 Fidelity means loyalty, the ability to live by society's standards despite
their imperfections and incompleteness and inconsistencies. We are
not talking about blind loyalty, and we are not talking about accepting
the imperfections. After all, if you love your community, you will want
to see it become the best it can be. But fidelity means that you have
found a place in that community, a place that will allow you to
contribute.
Stage 6
Too much Too much
Stage 6

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue
Psychosocial Crisis
 If you have made it this far, you are in the stage of young adulthood,
which lasts from about 18 to about 30.
 The ages in the adult stages are much fuzzier than in the childhood
stages, and people may differ dramatically.
 The task is to achieve some degree of intimacy, as opposed to
remaining in isolation.
 Intimacy is the ability to be close to others, as a lover, a friend, and as
a participant in society. Because you have a clear sense of who you
are, you no longer need to fear “losing” yourself, as many adolescents
do.
 The “fear of commitment” some people seem to exhibit is an example
of immaturity in this stage. This fear is not always obvious. Many
people today are always putting off the progress of their relationships:
I'll get married (or have a family or get involved in important social
issues) as soon as I finish school, as soon as I have a job, as soon as I
have a house, as soon as…. If you have been engaged for the last ten
years, what's holding you back?
 Neither should the young adult need to prove him or herself anymore.
A teenager relationship is often a matter of trying to establish identity
through “couple-hood.” Who am I? I’m her boyfriend. The young adult
relationship should be a matter of two independent egos wanting to
create something larger than themselves. We intuitively recognize this
when we frown on a relationship between a young adult and a
teenager:
 We see the potential for manipulation of the younger member of the
party by the older.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 Erikson calls the maladaptive tendency form promiscuity, referring
particularly to the tendency to become intimate too freely, too easily,
and without any depth to
 your intimacy. This can be true of your relationships with friends and
neighbours and your whole community as well as with lovers. The
malignancy he calls exclusion, which refers to the tendency to isolate
oneself from love, friendship, and community, and to develop a certain
hatefulness in compensation for one's loneliness.

Virtue
 If you successfully negotiate this stage, you will instead carry with you
for the rest of your life the virtue of psychosocial strength Erickson
calls love. Love, in the context of his theory, means being able to put
aside differences and antagonisms through mutuality of devotion. It
includes not only the love we find in a good marriage, but the love
between friends and the love of one's neighbor, co-worker, and
compatriot as well.

Stage 7
Too much Too much
Stage 7

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue

Psychosocial Crisis
 The seventh stage is that of middle adulthood.
 It is hard to pin a time to it, but it would include the period during
which we are actively involved in raising children. For most people in
our society, this would put it somewhere between the middle twenties
and the late fifties.
  The task here is to cultivate the proper balance of generativity and
stagnation.
 Generativity is an extension of love into the future. It is a concerned
for the next generation and all future generations. As such, it is
considerably less “selfish” than the intimacy of the previous stage:
Intimacy, the love between lovers or friends, is a love between equals,
and it is necessarily mutual. With generativity, the individual, like a
parent, does not expect to be repaid for the love he gives to his
children, at least not as strongly. Few parents expect a “return on their
investment” from their children; if they do, we don’t think of them as
very good parents!
 Although the majority of people practice generativity by having and
raising children, there are many other ways as well. Erikson considers
teaching, writing, invention, the arts and sciences, social activism, and
generally contributing to the welfare of future generations to be
generativity as well – anything, in fact, that satisfies that old “need to
be needed”. Stagnation, on the other hand, is self- absorption, caring
for no-one. The stagnant person stops to be productive member of
society.

Maladaptation/Malignancy
 It is perhaps hard to imagine that we should have any “stagnation” in
our lives, but the maladaptive tendency Erickson calls overextension
illustrates the problem: some people tried to be so generative that
they no longer allow time for themselves, for rest and relaxation. The
person who is overextended no longer contributes well. I'm sure we all
know someone who belongs to so many clubs, or is devoted to so
many causes, or tries to take so many classes or hold so many jobs
that they no longer have time for any of them!
 More obvious, of course, is the malignant tendency of rejectivity. Too
little generativity and too much stagnation and you are no longer
participating in or contributing to society. And much of what we call the
“meaning of life” is a matter of how we participate and what we
contribute.
  This is the stage of the “midlife crisis”. Sometimes men and women
take a look at their lives and ask that big, bad question “what am I
doing all this for?” Notice the question carefully: because their focus is
on themselves, they ask what, rather than whom, they are doing it for.
In their panic up getting older and not having experienced or
accomplished what day imagined they would when they were younger,
they try to recapture their youth. Men are often the most flambouyant
examples: They leave their long-suffering wives, quit their humdrum
jobs, buy some “hip” new clothes, and start hanging around singles’
bars. Of course, they seldom find what they are looking for, because
they are looking for the wrong thing!

Virtue
 But if you are successful at this stage, you will have a capacity for
caring that will serve you through the rest of your life.

Stage 8
Too much Too much
Stage 8

Maladaptation Malignancy
Psychosocial Crisis

Virtue

Psychosocial Crisis
 The last stage, referred to delicately as late adulthood or maturity, or
less delicately as old age, begins sometimes around retirement, after
the kids have done, say somewhere around 60.
 Some older folks will protest and say it only starts when you feel old
and so on, but that’s an effect of our youth-worshipping culture, which
has even old people avoiding any acknowledgement of age. In
Erikson’s theory, reaching this stage is a good stage, and not reaching
it suggests that earlier problems retarded your development!
 The task is to develop ego integrity with a minimal amount of despair.
This stage seems like the most difficult of all. First comes a
detachment from society, from a sense of usefulness, for most people
in our culture. Some retire from jobs they have held for years; others
find their duties as parents coming to a close; most find that their input
is no longer requested or required.
 Then there is a sense of biological usefulness, as the body no longer
does everything it used to. Women go through a sometimes-dramatic
menopause. Men often find they can no longer “rise to the occasion”.
Then there is the illness of old age, such as arthritis, diabetes, heart
problems, concerns about breast and ovarian and prostate cancers.
There are come fears about things that one was never afraid of before
– the flu, for example, or just falling down. Along with these illnesses
come concerns of death. Friends die. Relatives die. One’s spouse dies.
It is, of course, certain that you, too, will have your turn. Faced with all
this, it might seem like everyone would feel despair.
 In response to this despair, some older people become preoccupied
with the past. After all, that's where things were better. Some becomes
preoccupied with their failures, the bad decisions they made, and
regret that (unlike some in the previous stage) they really don't have
the time or energy the reverse them. We find some older people
become depressed, spiteful, paranoid, hypochondriacal, or developing
the patterns of senility with or without physical bases.
 Ego integrity means coming to terms with your life, and thereby
coming to terms with the end of life. If you are able to look back and
accept the course of events, the choices made, your life as you lived it,
as being necessary, then you need not fear death. Although most of
you are not yet at this point in life, perhaps you can
 still sympathize by considering your life up to now. We've all made
mistakes, some of them pretty nasty ones; Yet, if you hadn't made
these mistakes, you wouldn't be who you are. If you had been very
fortunate, or if you had played it safe and made very few mistakes,
your life would not have been as rich as is.
Maladaptation/Malignancy
 The maladaptive tendency in stage eight is called presumption. This
is what happens when a person “presumes” ego integrity without
actually facing the difficulties of old age.
 The person in old age believes that he alone is right. He does not
respect the ideas and views of the young.
 The malignant tendency is called disdain, by which Erikson means a
contempt of life, one’s own or anyone's. The person becomes very
negative and appears to hate life.

Virtue
 Someone who approaches death without fear has the strength Erikson
calls wisdom. He calls it a gift to children because healthy children will
not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death.
 He suggests that a person must be somewhat gifted to be truly wise.
But I would like to suggest that you understand “gifted” in as broad as
fashion as possible. I have found that there are people of very modest
gifts who have taught me a great deal, not by their wise words, but by
their simple and gentle approach to life and death, by their “generosity
of spirit”.

Application
Write your own life story using the stages of psychosocial development
as a framework. Go through each of the stages that apply to you (most
probably, stages 1 to 5 or 6). Ask information from your parents and other
significant persons in your life. Look
at old baby books and photo albums. Also, include the results of your
questionnaire in the activity section. Write a narrative for each stage.
You may choose to have this project in PowerPoint slides or in
scrapbook style printouts. For every psychosocial stage include pictures of
yourself and significant persons in your life. Discuss your own psychosocial
development using Erikson’s theory. Consider the crisis,
maladaptations/malignancies and the virtues.

Research Connection
Read a research that is related to Erikson’s theory. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!

From the module on Erikson’s

Stages pf Psycho-social Theory of
Development, I realized that…
 Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development
- Maria Rita D. Lucas. PhD

MODULE
“Right action tends to be defined in terms of general
8 individual rights and standards that have been critically
examined and agreed upon by the whole society.” -
Lawrence Kohlberg

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Explain the stages of moral development.
 Analyze a person's level of moral reasoning based on his responses
to moral dilemmas.
 Cite how the theory of moral development can be applied to your work
as a teacher later on.

INTRODUCTION
Individuals, when confronted by situations where they need to make
moral decisions, exercise their own ability to use moral reasoning. Lawrence
kohlberg was interested in studying the development of moral reasoning. He
based his theory on the findings of Piaget in studying cognitive development.
Our ability to choose right from wrong is tied with our ability to understand
and reason logically.

ACTIVITY
Read the moral dilemma below.
Ryan, 17, Hawaii has been saving up money to buy a ticket for this
concert of rock band. His parents have discouraged him from going as the
concert will surely be with rowdy crowd. The band is notorious for having
out-of-control audience who somehow managed to get drunk and stoned
during the concert. Ryan agreed not to watch anymore. But a day before the
concert, Nic, 15-year-old brother of Ryan, saw a corner of what
appeared to be a concert ticket showing in the pocket of Ryan’s bag. Nic
examined it and confirmed it was indeed a ticket. Looking at Ryan's bag, Nic
also found an extra shirt and two sticks of marijuana. So he figured Ryan will
go to the concert after all. That night, Ryan told his parents that he was
spending tomorrow night at a classmate’s house for a school requirement.
Then later that evening, he told Nic of his plan to go to the concert. Nik didn't
say anything, but he found it difficult to sleep that night, thinking whether to
tell their parents or not.
1. If you were Nik, what would you do?

2. Why would you choose to do that? What were the things you considered in
deciding what to do?

ANALYSIS
Examine the answers you gave. Compare it with the responses provided
below in which of these responses is your answer most similar?
Stage 1 – “Yes I will tell our parents. Because if they found out later that I knew,
for sure
they will get angry and most likely punish me.”
“No. I will not tell because Ryan will make my life difficult and also
punish me for telling.”

Stage 2- “Yes. I will tell my parents because they will reward me for it. I
will subtly ask for that new I Pod that I'm wishing to have.”
“No. I will not tell. Ryan will surely grant me a lot of favors for not
telling. He’ll not also squeal on me.”
Stage 3 – “Yes. I will tell so my parents will think I am such an
honest boy.” “No I will not tell. Ryan will think of me as a
really cool brother!”

Stage 4 – “Yes I will tell because we should follow the rules that our
parents say.” “No, because it's been our rule to keep each
other secrets.”

Stage 5 – “Yes. I will tell because he might be hurt or get in trouble and his
welfare is
stopped most priority.”
“No, Because he is big enough to question my parents decision not to
let him
go.”

Stage 6 – “Yes, I will tell because lying is always wrong, and I want to be true to
what I
believe in.”
“No, because I believe brothers watch out for each other. If he trusted me
with
this, I should stay true to him and not say anything.”

In what level of moral development did your response to the dilemma

fall? Reflect about what this indicates about your moral reasoning in this
moral dilemma.

As you continue to read this module, you will get to know more about
the different levels of moral reasoning is posed by Kohlberg.

ABSTRACTION/GENERALIZATION
Lawrence Kohlberg built on Piaget’s work and set the groundwork for
the present debate within psychology on moral development. Like Piaget, he
believed that children form ways of thinking through their experiences which
include understandings of moral concepts such as justice, rights, equality,
and human welfare. Kolberg followed the
development of moral judgment and extended the aegis covered by Piaget
I’m and found out that the process of attaining moral maturity took longer an
accord slower than Piaget had thought.
If Piaget designed specific tasks (Piagetian task) to learn about the
cognitive development of children, Kohlberg utilized moral dilemmas
(Kohlberg dilemmas). The case you read in the Activity part of this module
was written for this module but was based on how Kohlberg wrote his
dilemmas. Like Piaget, he presented these dilemmas to the individuals in his
research and asked for their responses. He did not aim to judge whether
their responses were right or wrong. He was interested in analyzing the
moral reasoning behind the responses.
From his research, Kohlberg identified six stages of moral reasoning
grouped into three major levels. Each level represents a significant change in
the social-moral reasoning or perspective of the person.

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

According to Kohlberg, moral development occurs in six stages:
Leve Stage Descriptio
l n
Preconventional Level 1 Punishment/Obedience.
Moral reasoning is based on One is motivated by fear of punishment period
the consequence/ result of the she will act in order to avoid punishment.
act, not on the weather the 2 Mutual benefit. One is motivated to work by
act itself is good or bad. the benefit that one may obtain later period you
scratch my
back, I'll scratch yours.
Conventional 3 Social approval. One is motivated by what
Moral reasoning is based on others expect in behavior-good boy, good girl.
the conventions or “norms” of The person asks because he/she values how
society. This may include he/she will appear to others. He/she gives
approval of others, law, and important on what people will think
order. or say.
4 Law and Order. One is motivated to act in
Post-conventional
order to
Moral reasoning is based uphold law and order. The person will follow the
on injuring or law because it is the law.
consistent principles. It
is not just recognizing the law, 5 Social Contract. Laws that are wrong can be
but changed.
the principles behind the law. One will act base on social justice and common
good.

6 Universal Principles.
This is associated with the development of
One's
conscience. Having a set of standards that drives
one to
possess moral responsibility to make societal
changes
regardless of consequences to oneself.
Example of
persons are Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King,
Jr.
APPLICATION
Identify the stage of moral development shown in the following.

Joy allows her Karen decides to return

classmates to copy her the wallet she found in
homework so that they the canteen so that
will think she is kind and people will praise her
will like her to be their honesty and think she's
friend. such a nice girl.

Ricky does everything John decides to

to get passing grades return the wallet he
because his mom will found in the canteen
take his play station because he believes
away if he gets bad
it's the right thing to
grades.
do.

Civic action group protests A jeepney driver looks

the use of pills for family
planning, saying that
if there's a policeman
although the government around before he U-
allows this, it is a murder turns in a no U-turn
because the pills are spot.
abortifacient (causes
abortion).

Jinkee lets Hannah Lisa volunteers to

copy during their tutor children-at-risk
Math test because children in her
Hannah agreed to let community for free so
they will learn to love
her copy during the
school and stay in
sibika test.
school.
 Laika wears her ID Little
Riel behaves
inside campus
so well to get a
because she likes to
follow the school star stamp from
rules and regulations. her teacher.

SYNAPSE STRENGTHENERS
1. Read the moral dilemma discussion guide found in
(http://tigger.uic.edu/~1nucci/MoralEd/pratices/practice31indtex.html). Try
out these guidelines with a moral dilemma.
2. Research on the views of Eliot Turiel (Domain Theory) and Carol Gilligan
(Moral
Reasoning and Gender). Relate them with Kohlberg’s Theory.

RESEARCH CONNECTION
Read a research that is related to Kohlberg’s theory. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!

From the module on

Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral
Development, I realized
that…
 Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural Theory
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE “What a child can do in cooperation today,

tomorrow he/she will be able to do alone”
9
– Lev Vygotsky

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Explain why Vygotsky's theory is called “socio-cultural” theory.
 Differentiate Piaget and Vygotsky's views on cognitive development.
 Explain how scaffolding is useful in teaching a skill
Introduction
The key theme of a Vygotsky theory is that social interaction plays a
very important role in cognitive development. He believed that individual
development could not be understood without looking into the social and
cultural context within which development happens. Scaffolding is
Vygotsky’s term for the appropriate assistance given by the teacher to assist
the learner accomplish a task. Learn more about it as you do the activity.
Activit
y
As a child, recall a skill that you
wanted to learn and eventually
What made you interested
learned well, through the help of
another person. (swimming, to learn the skill?
riding a bike, playing the piano,
skating)

Describe how you went

Who taught or assisted about learning the skill.
you? Describe what steps or
actions the person did in
order to help you learn.
Analysis
 What factors in the environment influenced you to learn the skill?
 Did the person who taught or assisted you make use of scaffolding?
If yes, how?

Abstract/Generalization
When Vygotsky was a young boy, he was educated under a teacher
who used the Socratic method. This method was a systematic question and
answer approach that allowed Vygotsky to examine current thinking and
practice higher levels of understanding. This experience, together with his
interest in literature and his work as a teacher, led him to recognize social
interaction and language as two central factors in cognitive development.
His theory became known as the socio-cultural theory of development.

Piaget and Vygotsky

Vygotsky worked on his theory around the same time as Piaget in
between the 1920’s and 1930’s but they had clear differences in their views
about cognitive development. Since Piaget was taken up already in the
preceding module, it would be easier now to see how his views compare with
Vygotsky’s.

Piaget Vygotsky
More individual in More social in
focus. focus Did not
Believed that propose stages
there are but emphasized
universal stages on cultural
of cognitive factors in
development cognitive
Did not give developme
much nt
emphasis on Stressed the role
of language in
Social Interaction.
Piaget’s theory was more individual, while Vygotsky
was more social. Piaget’s work on Piagetian’s tasks
focused heavily on how individual’s cognitive
development became evident through the
individual’s own processing of the tasks.
Vygotsky, on the other hand, gave more weight on the social interactions
that contributed to the cognitive development of individuals. For him, the
social environment or the community takes on a major role in one’s
development.

Vygotsky emphasized that effective learning happens through

participation in social activities, making the social contacts of learning
crucial. Parents, teachers and other adults in the learner’s environment all
contribute to the process. They explained, model, assist, give directions and
provide feedback to the learner. Peers, on the other hand, cooperate and
collaborate and enrich the learning experience.

Cultural Factors. Vygotsky believed in the crucial

role that culture played on the cognitive
development of children. Piaget believed that as the
child develops and matures, he goes through
universal stages of cognitive development that
allows him to move from simple explorations with
senses and
muscles to complex reasoning. Vygotsky, on the other hand, looked into the
wide range of experiences that a culture would give to a child. For instance,
one culture’s view about education, how children are trained early in life all
can contribute to the cognitive development of the child.
 Language. Language opens the door for learners
to acquire knowledge that others already have.
Learners can use language to know and understand
the world and solve problems. It serves a social
function, but it also has an important individual
function. It helps the learner regulate
and reflect on his own thinking. Children talk to themselves. Observe
preschoolers play and you may hear, “Gagawin ko itong airplane (holding a
rectangular block), tapos ito ang airport (holding two long blocks).” For
Vygotsky, this “talking-to-oneself” is an indication of the thinking that goes
on in the mind of the child. This will eventually lead to private speech.
Private speech is a form of self-talk that guides the child’s thinking and
action.
Vygotsky believed in the essential role of activities in learning. Children
learn best through hands-on activities that when listening passively. Learning
by doing is even made more fruitful when children interact with
knowledgeable adults and peers.

Zone of Proximal Development

When a child attempts to perform a skill alone, she may not be
immediately proficient at it. So, alone she may perform at a certain level of
competency. We refer to this as the zone of actual development.
However, with the guidance of a More Knowledgeable Other (MKO),
competent adult or a more advanced peer, the child can perform at a higher
level of competency. The difference between what the child can
accomplish alone and what she can accomplish with the guidance of
another is what Vygotsky referred to as zone of proximal development. The
zone represents a learning opportunity where an knowledgeable adult such
as a teacher or parent or a more advanced peer can assist the child's
development. See the illustration on the next page. The support or
assistance that lets the child accomplish a task he cannot accomplish
independently is called “scaffolding”. Scaffolding is not about doing the
task for the child while he watches. It is not about doing shortcuts for the
child. Unzipping the lunch bag, opening the food container, and putting
straw in the child’s tetra pack juice
for him is not scaffolding. Scaffolding should involve the judicious assistance
given by the adult or peer so that the child can move from the zone of actual
to the zone of proximal development. When the adult unzips the zipper an
inch or two, and then holds the lunch bag still so that the child can continue
to unzip the lunch bag is still scaffolding. Loosening the food container lid
just a bit and letting the child open the lid himself is scaffolding. Leading the
straw to the hole and letting the child put the straw through the tetra pack
hole is scaffolding.
The examples given above shows how a right amount of assistance can
allow the child to accomplish the task. The instructor should scaffold in such
a way that the gap is bridged between the learner’s current skills levels and
the desired skill level. As learners, become more proficient, able to complete
tasks on their own that they could not initially do without assistance, the
guidance can be withdrawn. This is called “scaffold and fade- away
technique”. Scaffolding, when done appropriately can make a learner
confident and eventually he can accomplish the task without any need for
assistance.
When the MKO scaffolds, the process moves in four levels:
1. I do, you watch. 3. You do, I help.
2. I do, you help. 4. You do, I watch.
Learning will depend in the skill of the MKO, and the learners readiness
and ability to learn and the difficulty of the skill being learned.
Application
An exercise in scaffolding:

Choose a skill you are good in. Teach the skill to the individual.

Identify an individual to whom you Determine how you will use

can teach this skill. Somebody who scaffolding. Describe the specific
will benefit from scaffolding. actions you will do to scaffold.

Break down the steps you will take Describe how the learning activity
in teaching the skill. went.

Research Connection
Read a research that is related to Vygotsky’s theory. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!

From the module on

Vygotsky’s Socio-cultural theory,
I realized that…
 Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE
“Children need people in order to become human.”
10 - Urie Bronfenbrenner

Learning Outcomes
At end of this module, you should be able to:
 Describe each of the layers of Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model.
 Identify factors in one’s won life that exerted influence on one’s development.
 Use the bioecological theory as a framework to describe the factors
that affect a child and adolescent development.

Introduction
Bronfenbrenner came up with a simple yet useful paradigm showing the
different factors that exert influence on an individual's development. It points
out the ever- widening spheres of influence that shaped every individual,
from his or her immediate family to the neighborhood, the country, even the
world.

Activity

“Looking Back”
Read the following questions. Recall your childhood. You
may also ask your parents for some information. Write
your answers on the graphic organizer below. Answer the
following sentence completion items.
 1. When I was 5 years old, my parents .
2. As a child, my unforgettable playmates were .
3. When I was in elementary, I regularly watched the television show .
4. When I was growing up, we went to church in .
5. I cannot forget my teacher who .
6. When I was growing up, I was away from .
7. When I was in high school, I was close to .
8. As a child, I can recall this big news about .
9. The most serious challenge our family experienced was .
10. The most important thing that I learned from my elementary school was .

Analysis
Write each answer you gave n the Activity on the circle where it belongs.

Culture subculture
Social class

Extended Family

Family, church,
school

Me!
Abstraction
Bronfenbrenner’s model also known as the “Bioecological Systems”
theory presents child development within the context of relationship systems
that comprise the child's environment. It describes multipart layers of
environment that has an effect on the development of the child. Each layer is
further made up of different structures. The term “bioecological” points out
that a child’s own biological make-up impacts as a key factor in one’s
development.

Through the child’s growing and developing body and the interplay
between his immediate family/community environment, and the societal
landscape fuels and steers his development. Changes or conflict in any one
layer will ripple throughout other layers. To study a child’s development
then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but
also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.

Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Model: Structure of Environment

The Microsystem.
 Is the layer nearest the child. Comprises
structures which the child directly interacts with.
Such as, one’s family, school, and neighborhood.

 Microsystem covers the most basic relationships and

interactions that a child has in his/her immediate
environment.

 Does the child have strong and nurturing

relationships with the parents and family? Are
his/her needs met? In this layer, relationships effects
happen in two directions – both away from the child
and toward the child. This means that the child is
affected by people whom he interacts, and in turn
these people are also affected by the child.

 For example, a mother's deep affection for the child

moves her to answer to the baby's needs and keep
the baby safe. In turn the baby’s smiles and coos
bring the mother feelings of warmth and an
affirmation that indeed she is a good mother. The
child is affected by the behavior and beliefs of the
parents; however, the child also affects the behavior
and believes of the parents. Bronfebrenner calls
these bi- directional influences, and he shows
how they occur among all levels of environment.
This is quite similar to what Erikson termed as
  Bronfenbrenner’s theory looks into interaction of
structures within a layer and interactions of
structures between layers.

 At the microsystem level, the child is most

affected by these bi-directional influences.
However, interactions at outer layers still
influence the structures of the micro

The Mesosystem.
 This layer serves as the connection
between the structure of the child's
microsystem.

 For example, the message system will

include the link or interaction between
the parents and teachers, or the parent
and health services or the community
and the church.

The Exosystem.
 This layer refers to the bigger social system in
which the child does not function directly.

 This includes the city government, the

workplace, and the mass media.

 The structures of this layer may influence the

child's development by somehow affecting some
structure in the child's microsystem.

 This includes the circumstances of the parents

work like the location, schedules.

 We see a change in the children's routine when

for example the mother works in a call center.
That was seen in that burger chain commercial
where the mom and the children meet up at the
fast food for breakfast just before the children go
to school and the mom going home from work in
a call center. The child may not interact directly
with what is in the exosystem, but he is likely
feel the positive or negative impact this system
creates as it interacts with the child zone system.
The Macrosystem.
 This layer is found in the outermost part in
the
Child’s environment.

 It includes the cultural values, customs, and

laws.

 The belief system contained in one's

macrosystem permits all the interactions in
the other layers and reaches the individual.

 For example, in Western countries like the

US, most of the young people are expected
to be more independent by the time they
end their teen-age years, while in Asian
countries like ours, parents are expected to
support or at least want to support their
children for a longer period of time. It is not
uncommon to see even married children
still living with their parents.

 In China and also in other parts of the

world, sons are more valuable than
daughters. This may pose challenges for

The Chronosystem.
 Covers the elements of time as it relates to the
child's environment. It involves “patterns of
stability and change” in the child's life.

 It involves whether the child’s characterized by

an orderly predictable pattern, or whether the
child is subjected to sudden changes in routine.

 We can also look into the pace of the child’s

everyday
life. Is it a hurried or relaxed pace?

 This system can affect or influence the child

externally, like the timing of other siblings
coming or the timing of parental separation or
even death.

 Effect can also be internal, like in the bodily

changes that occur within the developing child,
like the timing of menstrual onset for girls.

 As children get older, they may react differently

to environmental changes. The children may
have also acquired the ability to cope and
decide to what extent they will allow changes
 No longer NATURE versus NURTURE, but NURTURING nature!
The long debate may be coming to an end. For decades, if not for
centuries, there was a long-drawn debate on which had more impact on child
development, nature or nurture. Another way of putting it is, is it heredity or
environment that influences child development more. More and more
research now point out that both a child's biology and his environment play a
role in the child's growth and development. Development theories now stress
on the role played by each and the extent to which they interact in ongoing
development. See module 3.

The ecological systems theory focuses on the quality and context of

the child’s environment. Bronfenbrenner pointed out that as a child
develops, the interplay within the layers of environment systems becomes
more complex. This dynamic interaction of the systems happens meantime,
while the child’s physical and cognitive structures also grow and mature. This
bioecological theory helps us determine how the different circumstances,
conditions and relationships in the world affect the child as he/she goes
through the more or less predictable sequence of natural growth and
development.

The ROLE
OF
SCHOOLS
AND
TEACHERS

Bronfenbrenner co-founded Head Start, the publicly funded early

childhood program in the US. He concluded that the “instability and
unpredictability of family life is the most destructive force to a child’s
development”. Researches tell us that the absence or lack of children’s
constant mutual interaction with important adults has negative effects on
their development. According to bioecological theory, “If the relationships
in the
immediate microsystem break down, the child will not have the tools to
explore other parts of his environment. Children looking for the affirmations
that should be present in the child/parent relationship look for attention in
inappropriate places. These deficiencies show themselves especially in
adolescence as anti-social behavior, lack of self-discipline, and inability to
provide self-direction.”
Bronfenbrenner’s theory reminds the school and the teachers of their
very important role. If there is a lack of support, care and affection from the
home, if there is a serious breakdown of the basic relationships in a child’s
life, what can the school, the teachers in particular do? This theory helps
teachers look into very child’s environmental systems in order to understand
more about the characteristics and needs of each child, each learner. The
schools and the teachers can contribute stability and long-term relationships,
but only to support and not to replace the relationships in the home.
Bronfenbrenner believes that, “the primary relationship needs to be with
someone who can provide a sense of caring that is meant to last a lifetime.
This relationship must be fostered by a person or people within the
immediate sphere of the child’s influence.”
Schools and teachers’ crucial role is not to replace the lack in the home
if such exists, but to work so that the school becomes an environment that
welcomes and nurtures families. Bronfenbrenner also stressed that society
should value parents, teachers, extended family, mentors, work supervisors,
legislators.

Application
Looking at your answers in the ACTIVITY
phase of this module. Describe how
these people or circumstances have
Your thoughts!
influenced your attitudes, behavior, and
habits. Write your thoughts inside the
heart shape.
Research Connection
Read a research or study related to Bronfenbrenner’s theory. Fill out the matrix
below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

 PART II – DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEARNERS AT VARIOUS
STAGES UNIT 1 – PRE-NATAL PERIOD

Pre-Natal Development
MODULE - Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD
11

“The history of man for nine months preceding his birth

would probably, be far more interesting, and contain
events of greater moment than all three scores and ten
years that follow it.”
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
English Poet, Essayist, 19th Century
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Trace the course of the pre-natal developmental process that you went
through.
 Explain the most hazards to prenatal development.
 Become more appreciative of the gift of life manifested in an anti-abortion
stand.

Introduction
All the developmental theories which we lengthily discussed dwelt on
the developmental process after birth. None of them was concerned with
what development went on before birth. To make the description of human
development complete, it may be good to understand the beginnings of the
child and the adolescent, the learners.

In Unit 1, Module 1 you met Naschielle and Kenn. You were asked what
they were before they have become what and who they are at present. This
is the concern of this Unit and module – pre-natal or antenatal development.
Activit
y
Life Before Birth
The Development of the unborn
child
The development of human
life in the womb was once
a mystery, but science and
medicine have changed
that. Abortion advocates
still try to dehumanize the
developing baby in the
womb by speaking of the
child as a “blob of tissue”
or “uterine contents.”
But
ultrasound images, prenatal surgery and other advances in obstetrics are
shattering the blob-of-tissue myth.

Dr. Paul Rockwell, a New York physician, made these profound

observations after his amazing encounter with a tiny unborn baby boy:
“Eleven years ago while I was giving an anesthetic for a raptured ectopic
pregnancy (at two months gestation), I was handed what I believe was the
smallest living human ever seen. The embryo sac was intact and
transparent. Within the sac was a tiny human male swimming extremely
vigorously in the amniotic fluid, while attached to the wall by the umbilical
cord.”

This tiny human was perfectly developed, with long, tapering fingers,
feet and toes. It was transparent, as regards the skin, and the delicate
arteries and veins were prominent to the ends of the fingers. “The baby was
extremely alive and swam about the sac approximately one time per second,
with a natural swimmer’s stroke. This tiny human did not look at all like the
photos and drawings and models of “embryos” which I have seen, nor did it
look like a few embryos I have been able to observe since then, obviously
because this one was alive!
 “When the sac was opened, the tiny human immediately lost its life
and took on the appearance of what is accepted as the appearance of an
embryo at this stage (blunt extremities, etc)”
“It is my opinion that if the lawmakers and people realize that this very
vigorous life is present, it is possible that abortion would be found more
objectionable than euthanasia.”

The point at which Dr. Rockwell witnessed this unborn baby -- 8 weeks
after conception -- is during the period that a majority of abortionists
describe as most desirable for performing an abortion.

1. What are your reactions and feelings about what you read?
2. Do you agree that which is developing in the womb is a mere “blob of
tissue” or “uterine contents” as abortionists claim? Share your
explanation.
3. Why are pregnant mothers advised not to smoke, not to drink alcoholic
drinks, not to take medication without doctor’s advice? Share your
answers thru virtual.

Analysis
Her are questions for further discussion.
1. Is it more reasonable to believe that
which is developing in the mother's
womb is a human being?
2. What are proofs that which is
developing in the mother's womb is a
living human being?
3. Has any realization from today's
discussion change your stand on
abortion? Explain.
4. What are the effects of alcohol, caffeine,
and nicotine on the developing embryo
or fetus?
Abstraction
The Stages of Pre-natal Development

Germinal Period. (First 2 weeks after conception)

 This includes the a) creation of the zygote, b) continued cell
division and, c) 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 hrs. – the fertilized ovum, zygote, divides into two (2); 2 cells
c) 48 hrs. (2 days) – 2 cells become 4 cells
d) 72 hrs. (3 days) – 4 cells become a small compact ball of
16-32 cells
e) 96 hrs. (4 days) – hollow ball of 64-128 cells
f) 4-5 days – inner cell mass (blastocyst) still free in the uterus
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 inner layer of cells that develops during
the germinal period, develops later in 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, 17 th ed., 2004).
Embryonic Period. (2-8 weeks after conception) – in this stage,
the name of the mass cells, zygote, become embryo. The
following developments take place:
 Cell differentiation intensifies
 Life-support systems for the embryo develop and
 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, is 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
offspring intertwined 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 developed from the fertilized egg
and not from the mother's body.
 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; Prenatal reflexes are stronger; Mother feels arm
and leg movements for the first time.
c) 5 months after the 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 - this is about 14 inches long
and weighs 1 and half pound; how eyes and eyelids are
completely formed; Find 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
f) eight and nine 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 nonprescription drugs. Antibiotic is an example of prescription
drugs 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 prenatal development is associated with

reduced birth weight, 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 or drank more caffeinated coffee

were more likely to have preterm deliveries and newborns with lower
birthweight where do their counterparts 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. It
includes 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).
 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/ynhti/curriculum/units/1980/5/80.05.03.x.html1#f)

3. Environmental hazards – These include radiation in jobsites and X-rays,

environmental pollutants, toxic wastes, and prolonged exposure to heat in
saunas and bathtubs. Research found that chromosomal abnormalities
are higher among the offspring of fathers exposed to high levels of
radiation in their occupants (Schrag and Dixon, 1985 cited by Santrock,
2002). Radiation from X-rays also can affect the development 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, 2002). 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

mother’s 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 if 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 add more than 20,000 affected infants
who 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 lessons, which can cause blindness, and skin lesions. when syphilis is
present at birth, other problems involving the central nervous system and
gastrointestinal tract, can develop.

About 1/3 of babies delivered a herpes-infected birth canal die; another

1/4 become brain-damage.

A mother can infect her child in three ways; 1) during gestation across the
placenta,
2) during delivery through contact with maternal blood or fluids, and 3)
postpartum (afterbirth) through breast feeding.

Studies show that increased stress during pregnancy leads to premature

birth and reduce birth weight. Other studies have shown that increased
stress during pregnancy is related to ADHD even schizophrenia later in
life. (familyanatomy.com/2009/04/20/the-effects-of-stress-during-
pregnancy)

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.
 (Vore, David. Prenatal Nutrition and Postnatal Intellectual Development,
Merrill- Palmer Quarterly, 1973, 19:253-260
cited in
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1980/5/80.05.03.x.htm1#f)
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 damage, leaving the child with varying degrees of paralysis
and sometimes mental retardation.
(http://www.squidoo.com/folicacidpregnant)

As maternal age increases, the risks for numerical chromosomal

abnormalities increase. (https://en.wikipedia.org.wiki/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 under age 30 but
the risk increases after the mother reaches 30. By the age 40, the
probability is slightly over one in 100, and by age 50 it is almost 1 in 10.
The risk is also higher before age 18. (Santrock, 2002)
5. Paternal factors- fathers’ exposure to lead, graduation, certain
pesticides and Petro chemicals may cause abnormalities in sperm that
lead to miscarriage or diseases such as childhood cancer.
Ask in the case of older mothers, older fathers also may please their
offspring at risk for certain defects. (Santrock, 2002)

Human Life Begins at Conception

That which is in the mother's womb is indeed a developing human
being. Unborn baby of 8 weeks is not essentially different from one of 18
weeks or the 28 weeks. From conception the zygote, the embryo and the
photos are undeniably human life.
 Human life begins from the moment of conception. All that we have an
old that we have been there at the moment of conception! the fact that you
have brown eyes and black, straight or curly hair and the fact that you will
turn 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 a version 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 photos, very clearly that in film, the
factors 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 woman 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 three stages proves that the developing
embryo in a mother's womb is truly a human being.

Application
A letter for my unseen Mother.
Pretend you are “Junior,” 4 months old in the
womb. Your Mother is concentrating on doing
abortion. Write her a letter convincing her that
you are a human being developing contrary to
what she and other pro- abortionists are
thinking. Describe to her the development that
has already taken place in four
 months. Reflect what you learned on prenatal development in this
module. Give your letter this title “A Letter from Junior” (or you may
want to write your name).

TEST YOUR UNDERSTANDING

1. Here are 3 boxes for you to write the stages of pre-natal development.

2. Give some hazards of pre-natal development. Use the given graphic organizer.

Prenatal
Development
- Zygote,
Embryo,
Fetus
Research Connection
Read a research that is related to one of the big ideas on prenatal
development. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
Look at yourself! You are perfectly made. The cells of your lips are at your
lips, your mouth is close to your nose. You can breathe normally. Did it ever
occur to you that it could have been otherwise? Any feeling of gratitude?
Write down your real reflexions here.

Write down your real reflections

here.
SEMIFNALS
Unit 2 – INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD

Physical Development of Infants and Toddlers

MODULE
12 “A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on.”
- Carl Sandburg
American Historian, Poet & Novelist

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Trace the physical development that you have gone through as
infants and toddlers.
 Identify factors that enhance/impede the physical development of
infants and toddlers
 Present your own or others’ research on the physical development of
infants and toddlers
 Draw implications of this principles and processes to childcare,
education and parenting.

Introduction
We have just traced the developmental process before birth. We shall
continue to trace the developmental process by following the infant or the
baby who is just born up to when he reaches age 2. The period that comes
after prenatal or antenatal stage is infancy which, in turn, his followed by
toddlerhood. Infancy and toddlerhood span the first two years of life.
 ACTIVITY
Look closely at the changes in the sizes of the human body parts as a
person
grows
.

Analysis
Guide Questions:

What do you notice about Does physical

the size of the head in development begin from
relation to the other parts the top or below? From
the side to the center?
of the body as a person
Explain your
grows older?

Abstraction
Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal Patterns
As you learned in unit 1, module 1, the Cephalocaudal trend is the post
Natal
growth from conception to five 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 proper 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 five months to birth when
the fetus grows from the inside of the body
outwards. This also applies in the first months
after birth as shown in the earlier maturation
of muscular control of trunk and arms,
followed by that of 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.

HEIGTH AND WEIGHT

 It is normal for newborn babies to drop 5 to 10% 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 up rapidly

 Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle-fed babies

through the first six months. After six months, breastfed babies
usually weigh less than battle fed babies.

 In general, an infant's length increases by above 30% in the

first five months.
 A babies sweet usually triples during the first year but slows
down in the second year of life.

 Low percentage is not 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 are the spreading connections of dendrites to each other.

 Remember neurons, dendrites, axon, synapses? You discussed

them in your General Psychology class.
 MYELINATION or MYELINIZATION is The process by which the
axons are covered an insulated by layers of fat cells, begins
prenatally and continues after birth. The process of myelination or
myelinization increases the speed at which information travels
through the nervous system.
 At birth, the newborn's brain is about 25% of its adult weight.
By the 2nd birthday, the brain is about 75% of its adult weight.

 Shortly after birth, a baby's brain produces trillions more

connections between neurons that it cannot 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.

 A study on rats conducted by mark in 1969 revealed that the

brains of rats that grew up in the “enriched environment”
developed better than the brains of the animals reared in
standard or isolated conditions. The brains of the enriched
animals weighed more, had thicker layers, had more neuronal
connections and had higher levels of neurochemical activity.
Such finding implies that enriching the lives of infants who lived
in impoverished environment can produce positive changes in
their development (Santrock, 2002).

 Depressed brain activity has been found in children who grew

up in a depressed environment (Circhetti, 2001, cited by
Santrock, 2002)

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
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 we 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:

A. SUCKING. is initiated when something touches the roof of an

infant’s mouth. Infants have strong sucking reflex which helps to
ensure they can latch onto a bottle or breast. The sucking reflex is
very strong in some infants, and they may need to suck on a pacifier
for comfort.
 B. ROOTING. 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
an opening their mouth for feeding.

C. GRIPPING. 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.

D. CURLING. When the inner sole of a baby's foot is stroked, the infant
responds by curling his or her toes. When the outer sole of the baby's
foot is stroked, the infant will respond by spreading out their toes.

E. STARTLE/MORO. 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.

G. GALANT. Shown when an infant 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.

H. TONIC NECK. Is demonstrated in infants who are placed on their

abdomens. Whichever side the child's head is facing, the limbs on
that side will strengthen, while the opposite
limbs will curl.
(http://www.mamashealth.com/child/inreflex.asp)

GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

Study te figure below. See how you developed in your 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 of
the cabinet, to chase the ball and to walk away from parent.

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 involved 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 an
elbow movement, but later they show wrist movements, hand
rotation.

What are some research findings regarding newborns visual

perceptions?
Can newborn, see?
 Newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30 times
lower than normal adult vision. By six months of
age, vision becomes better and by the 1st
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 a 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 mothers 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 heart beats, 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.
 Infant sensory threshold is 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 six 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 and 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 in 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 Newborn 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 ½
months old, infants
looked more at their mother when they also heard her voice and longer
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.

A SUMMARY OF WHAT INFANTS AND TODDLERS CAN DO PHYSICALLY

 DOMAIN: Physical Health, Well-being and Motor
Development PHYSICAL HEALTH
Standards 1: The child demonstrate adequate growth (weight, height, head
circumference).
Standards 2: The child has adequate sensory system to participate in daily
activities.
0 - 6 months
 Startles to loud sounds
 Visually follows a moving object from side to side
 Visually follows a moving object up and down
 Reacts to pain by crying
 Withdraws or cries when in contact with something hot
 Withdraws or reacts with surprise when in contact with sth cold
 Reacts with pleasure/smiles or relaxed expression when he/she tastes
something delicious.
 Reacts by making a face/frowns/grimaces when he/she tastes sth.
He/she does not like
7 - 12 months
 Reacts with pleasure when he/she smells something nice
 Reacts by making a face when he/she smells something foul
13 - 18 months
 Plays without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates
 Participates actively in games, outdoor play and other exercises
19 - 24 months
 Sustains physical activity (dancing, outdoor games, swimming) for
at least 3-5 minutes

MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (GROSS MOTOR SKILLS)

Standards 1: The child grows control and coordination of body movements
involving large muscle groups.
 Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed
on and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 Holds head steadily
 Moves arms and legs equally to reach at dangling object
 Rolls over
 Bounces when held standing, briefly bearing weight on legs
 Sits with support
 Starting to crawl but not yet very good at this
7 - 12 months
 Sits alone steadily without support
 Creeps or crawls with ease as a primary means of moving around
 Stands without support
 Stands from a sitting position without any help
 Stands from standing position with ease
 Squats from standing position with ease
 Bends over easily without falling
 Stands from a bent position without falling
 Walks sideways by holding onto the sides of crib or furniture (cruises)
 Walks with one handheld
13 - 18 months
 Walks without support
 Walks backwards
 Walks up the stairs with handheld, 2 feet on each step
 Walks down the stairs with handheld, 2 feet on each step
 Jumps in place
 Climbs onto a steady elevated surface (bed, adult chair or bangko)
 Kicks a ball but with little control of direction
 Throws a ball but with little control of direction’
 Throws a ball but with little control of speed
 Runs without tripping or falling
  Maintains balance (walking on a low, narrow ledge; between 2
lines) without assistance
 Moves with music when he hears it
 Can move body to imitate familiar animals
 Can move body to imitate another person/TV character
19 - 24 months
 Walks up the stairs with alternating feet, without help
 Walks down the stairs with alternating feet, without help
 Kicks a ball with control of direction
 Throws a ball with control of direction
 Throws a ball with control of speed

MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (FINE MOTOR SKILLS)

Standards 1: The child can control and coordinate hand and finger movements.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on the
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 Hands open most of the time
 Brings both hands together towards dangling object/toy
 Uses either hand interchangeably to grasp objects
 Uses all 5 fingers in a raking motion to get food/toys placed on a flat surface
 Grasps objects with the same hand most of the time (hand preference
emerging)
7 - 12 months
 Pulls toys by the string
 Bangs 2 large blocks together
 Picks up objects with thumb and index fingers
 Grasps and transfers objects from hand to hand
 Grasps objects with the same hand all the time (definite hand
preference established)
13 - 18 months
 Puts small objects in/out of container
 Unscrews lids
 Unwraps candy/food
 Holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip
 Scribbles spontaneously
19 - 24 months
 Colors with strokes going out of the lines

PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE (ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING)

Standards 1: The child participates in basic personal care routines.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 Sucks and swallows’ milk from breast/bottle
 Begins to take complementary or semi-solid foods by the end of 6 months
 Keeps reasonably still while being dressed, undress bathed and
while diaper is being changed.
7 - 12 months
 Holds a feeding bottle by himself
 Helps hold cup for drinking
 Chews solid foods well
 Feeds self with finger foods
 Scoops with a spoon with spillage
13 - 18 months
 Feeds self with assistance
 Feeds self-using fingers to eat rice/viands with spillage
 Feeds self-using spoon with spillage
 No longer drinks from feeding bottle
  Drinks from cup unassisted
 Participates when being dressed by lifting arms or raising legs
 Pulls down gartered short pants/underpants or panties
 Removes shoes/sandals
 Informs caregiver of the need to move his bowels so he/she can be
brought to comfort room
 Takes a bath with assistance
 Brushes teeth after meals with assistance from adult
 Washes and dries hands under adult supervision
 Washes and dries face with the assistance of an adult.
19 - 24 months
 Gets drink for self-unassisted
 Removes loose sando and removes socks
 Informs caregiver of the need to urinate
 Goes to the designated place to urinate but sometimes wets his/her pants
 Goes to designated place to move his/her bowels but sometimes still
soils his/her pants
 Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but needs help
with wiping and washing
 Brushes teeth after meals and washes and dries face under supervision
(Source: The Philippines Early Learning and Development Standards formulated by the Child and Welfare Council
now merged with the Early Childhood Care and Development Council)

Application
1. Which statement on physical development of infants and toddlers is
true? Analysis The Cephalocaudal Growth pattern shows .
a. development of the upper limbs before the lower limbs
b. development of the lower limbs before the upper limbs
c. simultaneous development of the upper and lower limbs
d. development of muscular control of trunk and arms before the fingers
2. As a normal infant and toddler, which physical development did you go
through? –
Application
a. Development of motor skills from the body outward to the center
b. development of motor skills from the center of the body outward
c. development of the lower limbs before the upper limbs
d. simultaneous development of the limbs and trunk body
3. which factor according to research can impede the physical development
of infants and toddlers? – Understanding
a. depressed environment
b. early brain stimulation
c. being the only child
d. being a member of a big family
4. For healthy physical development of a toddler which should parents do? –
Application
I. Encourage your child to sit when eating.
II. Encourage free play as much as possible to develop motor skills.
III. Check toys for loose or broken parts.
a. II and III c. I and II
b. I and III d. I, II, and III
Research Connection
Read a research that is related on physical development of infants and
toddlers. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions
How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
Having learned the physical development of infants and toddlers and Maslow’s
hierarchy
of needs, as a future parent or as caregiver of children, reflect on:
 what you should do more often for infants and toddlers
 what you should refrain from doing to facilitate their growth and development

Write down your real reflections

here.
 Cognitive Development of Infants and Toddlers
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD

MODULE

13 “Infants and toddlers are born ready to learn. They learn

through listening to language, trying out sounds, tasting
foods and exploring their environment in countless ways
every day.”
- Khalil Gibran
Learning Outcomes
In this module, you are challenged to:
 Trace the cognitive development of infants and toddlerd.
 Identify factors that enhance/impede the cognitive development of
infants and toddlers.
 Present your own or others' research on the cognitive development of
infants and toddlers.
 Draw implications of cognitive development concepts to child care,
education and parenting.

Introduction
Cognitive development in infancy refers to development in a way a baby
thinks. This includes his/her language, communication, and exploration skills.
Examples of cognitive activities include paying attention, remembering'
learning to talk, interacting with toys and identifying faces.

Activity
Read the story of Laurent, Lucienne and Jacqueline, three children of Piaget
whom he observed. For reading and re-reading, make a summary outline of
the behaviors of the three children separately. Don't forget to indicate the
age of each child. This can help you in the next activity.
LAURENT, LUCIENNE AND JACQUELINE
The following provide a glimpse of Piaget's observations of his children's
cognitive development in infancy (Piaget, 1952). These are lifted from
Santrock 2002.
 At 21 days of age, Laurent finds his thumb after three attempts; once
he finds his thumb, prolonged sucking begins. But, when he is placed
on his back, he doesn't know how to coordinate the movement of his
arms with that of his mouth; his hands draw back, even when his lips
seek them.

 During the third month, thumb sucking becomes less important to

Laurent because of new visual and auditory interests. But, when cries,
his thumb goes to the rescue.

 Toward the end, Lucienne's thrusts her feet at the doll and makes it
move. Afterward, she looks at her motionless foot for a second, then
kicks at the doll again. She has no visual control of her foot because
her movements are the same whether she only looks at the doll and
misses, she slows her foot movements to improve her aim.

 At 11 months, while seated, Jacqueline shakes a little bell. She then

pauses abruptly so she can delicately place the bell in front of her foot;
then she kicks the bell hard. Unable to recapture the bell, she grasps a
ball and places it in the same location where the bell was. She gives
the ball a firm kick.

 At 1 year, 2 months, Jacqueline holds in her hands an object that is

new to her: a round, flat box that she turns over and shakes; then she
rubs it against her crib. She lets it go and tries to pick it up again. She
succeeds only in touching it with her index finger, being unable to fully
reach and grasp it. She keeps trying to grasp it and presses to the
edge of her crib. She makes the box tilt up, but in nonetheless falls
again. Jacqueline shows an interest in this result and studies the fallen
box.
  At 1 year, 8 months, Jacqueline arrives at a closed door with a blade of
grass in each hand. She stretches her right hand toward the doorknob
but detects that she cannot turn it without letting go of the grass, so
she puts the grass on the floor, opens the door, picks up the grass
again, and then enters. But, when she wants to leave the room, things
get complicated. She puts the grass on the floor and grasps the
doorknob. Then she perceives that, by pulling the door toward her, she
simultaneously chases away the grass that she had placed between
the door and the threshold. She then picks up the grass and places it
out of the door's range of movement.

Do you remember anything

about yourself when you
At what age were your
were two years old? first memories?

It is said that children learn language

faster than adults. Why is this so? Give
your hypothesis.

Analysis
Here are the six substages of the sensorimotor developmental stage (Santrock,
2002)

SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
Is the first of the four stages of
cognitive development.
In this stage, infants construct
an understanding of the world by
coordinating
 sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical, motoric
actions. Infants gain knowledge of the world from the physical actions
they perform on it. An infant progress from reflexive, instinctual action
at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward the end of the
stage.
Piaget divided the sensorimotor stage into six sub-stages:

Sub-Stage Age Descriptio

n
1. Simple Reflexes Birth - 6 Coordination of sensation and action
weeks through reflexive behaviors. Three primary
reflexes are described by Piaget: sucking of
objects in the mouth, following moving or
interesting objects with the eyes, and
closing of the hand when an object makes
contact with the palm. (palmar grasp). Over
the first six weeks of life, these reflexes
begin to become voluntary actions; for
example, the palmar reflex becomes
intentional grasping. (Remember the other
reflexes discussed in Module 12)

2. First Habits and 6 Coordination of sensation and two types of

weeks
primary circular schemes: habits (reflex) and primary
- 4
reactions phase circular reactions. Primary reaction because
months
the action focused on the infant's body.
Circular reaction because it is a repetition of
an action that initially occurred by chance.
As an example of this type of reaction,
infants might repeat the motion of passing
their hand before their face. Also at this
phase, passive reactions, caused by a
classical or operant conditioning, can begin.
Infants tend to repeat interesting
sensations.
3. Secondary 4 to Development of habits. Infants become
circular reactions 8 more object-oriented, moving beyond self-
phase months preoccupation, repeat actions that bring
interesting or pleasurable results. This stage
is associated primarily with the
development of coordination between vision
and prehension. Three new abilities occur at
this stage: intentional grasping for a desired
object, secondary circular reactions, and
differentiations between ends and means.

At this stage, infants will intentionally grasp

the air in the direction of a desired object,
often to the amusement of friends and
family. Secondary circular reactions, order
repetition of an action involving an external
object begin; For example, moving a switch
to turn on our light repeatedly. This means
that a secondary action is focused on an
object outside the body of an infant. The
differentiation between means and ends
also occurs. This is perhaps one of the most
important stages of a child's growth as it
signifies the dawn of logic.

4. Coordination of 8 to 12 Coordination of vision and touch-hand-eye

reactions stage months coordination; of schemes and intentionality.
secondary circular This stage is associated primarily with the
development of logic under coordination
between means and ends. This is extremely
important stage of development, holding
what Piaget calls the “first

proper intelligence”, also, this stage marks

 the beginning of goal orientation, the
deliberate planning of steps to meet an
objective. The action is directed towards a
goal.

5. Tertiary circular 12 to 18 Infants become intrigued by the many

reactions, novelty, months properties of objects and by the many
and curiosity things they can make happen to objects;
They experiment with new behavior. This
stage is associated primarily with the
discovery of new means to meet goals.
Piaget describes the child at this juncture as
the “young scientist” conducting pseudo
experiments to discover new methods of
meeting challenges.

6. Internalization of 18 to 24 Infants develop the ability to use primitive

schemes (invention months symbols and form enduring mental
of new means representations. This stage is associated
through mental primarily with the beginnings of insight, or
combination) true creativity. This marks the passage into
the preoperational stage.

Evidence of an internal representational

system. Symbolizing the problem-solving
sequence before actually responding.

By the end of sensorimotor period, objects are both separate from the self
and permanent. Object permanence is the understanding that objects
continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.
 Do all toddlers learn Is it safe to say that memory
language at the same pace? begins at age 3?

Based on the experiences

shared, it is more correct to
say that an infant does not
remember anything during
infancy?

Abstraction
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 will ask you to research on researchers
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
five years, and it is extremely rare for someone the recall many memories
before age three years. Reports on childhood memories usually involve
memories of significant events (birth of a sibling or the death of a parent).
For example, some adults have recalled their own hospitalization or the birth
of a sibling as far back as age 2 years, and the death of a parent or a family
moved may be recalled from as far back as age three years (Usher and
Neisser, 1993).

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
From day one, infants appear to be programmed to tune into 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, 2003).
1. Cooing, 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
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

Infant utters his or 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 - convey intentions, desires and demands. Usually, the words
are nouns describe bring familiar objects that the child observes (example
book, ball, baby) or wants (Mama or Dada)

By 18 months of age, children typically have vocabularies of three 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 or 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 maybe “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 two-word utterances. These two-word or three-
word utterances with
rudimentary syntax but with articles and prepositions missing are referred to
as
telegraphic speech.

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

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION DEVICE (LAD)

Noam Chomsky (1 1965, 1972), noted linguist, claims that humans
have an innate language acquisition device. 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.”
Means that we, humans seem to be biologically pre-configured 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 context. 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 five 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 a language function
controlled by the left side of the brain.
Application
A SUMMARY OF WHAT INFANTS AND TODDLERS CAN DO COGNITIVELY
Domain: Language, Pre-reading and Pre-math
Language (Receptive Language)
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 Watches primary caregiver intently as she speaks to him her
7 - 12 months
 Understands “no”
 points to family member when asked to do so
13 - 18 months
 points to five body parts on him or herself when asked to do so
 follows one-step instructions without need for gestures
19 – 24 months
 Points to five named picture objects when asked to do so

LANGUAGE (Expressive Language)

Standards 1: The child can use words and gestures to express his thoughts
and feelings Based on your experience, are these indicators
generally observed on and/or
performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 Makes gurgling, cooing, babbling or other vocal sounds
 uses gestures (stretching his or her arms, pointing) to indicate what
he or she wants
7 - 12 months
 repeat sounds produced by others
 says meaningful words like Papa, Mama, to refer to specific persons
 uses animal sounds to identify animals (meow meow for cat)
  uses environmental sounds to identify objects or events in the
environment (boom for thunder)
13 - 18 months
 Speaks in single words
 says yes and no appropriately
 uses words accompanied by gestures to indicate what he or she wants
 responds to simple questions with single words
19 – 24 months
 Uses pronouns
 uses possessive pronouns
 says what he or she wants without accompanying this with gestures
 attempts to converse even if he cannot be clearly understood

PRE-READING AND PRE-MATH (MATCHING)

Standards 1.1: The child is able to match identical objects, colors, shapes, symbols.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
7 - 12 months
 able to match 2 identical objects (2 spoons and 2 balls)
19 – 24 months
 matches identical objects
 matches identical pictures
PRE-READING AND PRE-MATH (ROTE SEQUENCING)
Standards 1.1: The child is able to recite the alphabet and numbers in sequence.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
19 – 24 months
 counts from 1 to 5 with errors, gaps or prompts
Domain: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
ATTENTION AND ACTIVITY LEVEL
Standards 1: The child is able to sustain attention and modulate his activity
at age- expected levels.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 Looks steadily at novel stimuli (rattle, dangling toy)
7 - 12 months
 Examines properties of toys for several minutes by handling these (pulling
apart)
 Looks with interest at picture books
 able to sit through an entire meal without fussing
13 - 18 months
 May be distracted but responds when made to re-focus
 resists interruption while engaged in play

HIGHER-ORDERED MENTAL ABILITIES (CONCEPT FORMATION)

Standards 1: the child develops basic concepts pertaining to object
constancy, space, time, quantity, seriation, etc. and uses these as the basis
for understanding how materials are categorized in his/her environment.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 experiments with new objects or toys by banging or putting them in his
mouth
 look in the direction of fallen object
7 – 12 months
 looks to partially hidden objects
 looks for completely hidden objects
13 - 18 months
 can tell whether something is hot or cold
 hands over 1 object when asked
19 – 24 months
 can tell which is shorter/taller/longer/bigger/nearer of 2 items

HIGHER-ORDERED MENTAL ABILITIES (CAUSE-EFFECT RELATIONSHIPS)

Standards 1: the child is able to understand the cause-effect relationships.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 acts on an object to achieve an objective (shakes rattle)
7 - 12 months
 uses an object to get something he/she wants (spoon to reach an object)
19 – 24 months
 asks “why” questions
 Understands reasons behind daily practices (washing hands before meals)
 understands reasons behind safety rules and practices at home (why
one must not play matches)
 Knows where to return most of his or her things
MEMORY (memory for experiences: EPISODIC MEMORY)
Standards 1: The child is able to recall people he has met, events, and
places that he has been to.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
0 - 6 months
 Child reacts, like smiling, in recognition of someone he/she has met
several times but who does not live in his/her home
13 - 18 months
 Child reacts, like smiling, in recognition of a familiar place besides his/her
home
19 – 24 months
 Child is brought somewhere and correctly recalls having been there before

MEMORY (MEMORY FOR CONCEPT-BASED KNOWLEDGE: SEMANTIC

MEMORY)
Standards 1: The child is able to store verbal information in short and long
term memory.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
19 – 24 months
 Hums a recognizable tune
 Memorizes some gestures of action songs

HIGHER-ORDERED MENTAL ABILITIES (CREATIVE THOUGHT)

Standards 1: the child is able to generate new ideas or concepts, or knew
associations between existing ideas or concepts.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on
and/or performed by a child on the specified age?
19 – 24 months
 Enjoys constructing objects or structures out of manipulative toys
(blocks, clay, sand, paper)
 Uses toys or objects as symbols in play (pretends empty milk can is a drum)
 Can use the same toy or object in more than one way (big empty box as
house)
 Language Learning
Studies show that when parents, teachers
and caregivers talk more to children and
ask any questions, they create more
stimulating language environments for
their children. What recommendations
can you give to parents for them to
provide stimulating language
environment? You may want to do some further research on this.

Research Connection
Read research that is related on cognitive development of infants and toddlers.
Give summary of the research by fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions
How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins… NOW!
Based on Piaget’s sensorimotor stage first year of pre-operational stage of
cognitive development, reflect on how you, as a future mother or nursery teacher
can:
1. Enhance infant and toddlers’ cognitive development or
2. impede infants and toddlers’ cognitive development

Write down your real reflections

here.
 Socio-emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers
- Brenda B. Corpuz. PhD

MODULE
“When you are drawing up your list of life’s miracles, you
14 might place near the top the first moment your baby smiles
at you. ‘Today, she looked right at me, and she smiled. Her
toothless mouth opened, and she scrunched her face up
and it really was a grin. The sleepless nights, the worries,
the crying-all of a sudden it was all worth it. She is no longer
just something we are nursing and carrying along
somewhere inside, part of her knows what is going on, and
that part of her is telling us that she is with us period”
- Bob Greene
Learning Outcomes
In this module, challenge yourself to:
 Describe the socio-emotional development of infants and toddlers.
 Identify factors that enhance or impede the socio-emotional
development of infants and toddlers.
 Draw implications of socio-emotional development concepts to child
care, education and parenting.
Simply put, socio-emotional development has something to do with the
development of a person's ability to master one's emotions and the ability to
relate to others. It necessarily includes temperament, attachments, and
social skills.

Activity
Read Nolte’s poem the
answer the following
Do you agree with D. Nolte’s
questions:
Poem?

Which line of the poem is the

most meaningful to you?
 Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to

condemn… if a child lives with hostility, he
learns to fight…
if a child leaves with fear, he learns to be
apprehensive…
If a child lives with pity, he learns to feel sorry for
himself…
If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be
shy… If a child leaves jealousy, he learns
to feel guilt BUT
If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be
patient… If a child lives with encouragement,
he learns to be confident…
If a child lives with grace, he learns to be
appreciative…
If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to
love…
If a child lives with honesty, he learns what
truth is…
If a child lives with fairness, he learns
justice…
If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith
in
Analysis

Based on Nolte’s poem, which plays a

very important role in the socio-emotional
development of children?

From what kind of home environment do

children who are well adjusted most
probably come? What about maladjusted
children?

State in a sentence what the poem is

saying about a child social emotional
development.

Abstraction
The FORMATIVE YEARS
Much has been said about the importance of the first three years in
human development. They're 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.

As the poem “Children Learn What They Live” express, the kind of
home and school environment that parents and teachers produce --
determines to a very great extent the quality of the development of children.

Let us discuss those elements that have something to do with the

wholesome socio-emotional development of children.
 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 in situation. This is a social
phenomenon of attachment.

 According to Dr. John Bowly, the father of attachment theory,

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

Temperament

 Is a word that “captures the ways that 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. Golinkoff, 2003). Every baby
expresses personality traits we called temperament. How a child
responds emotionally the objects, events, and people reflects his
individual temperament.
Researches Thomas, Chess, and Birch described 9 different
temperament categories (Honig, 2010, Secure Relationships:
Nurturing Infant-Toddler Attachments in Early Care Settings.). To
determine a child’s temperament, make the following
observation: These includes:

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 do 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.
RHYTHMICITY OF CHILDREN.
Some babies get hungry or sleepy on a fairly 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”.
INTENSITY OF RESPONSE IN EACH BABY.
When a baby’s threshold for distress has been reached,
some babies act restless. Others are 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 different crib, or being taken
to visit and you setting. Other infants approach new
persons, new activities, or new play possibilities 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, psychiatrist Alexander Thomas
and Stella Chess studied babies’ temperament and clustered
temperaments into 3 basic types: (1) the easy child; (2) the difficult
child; (3) the slow-to-warm 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 adjust slowly to new experiences.

The DEVELOPMENT OF EMOTIONS

Here are the milestones of the baby and toddlers’ emotional development and
social development:

EARLY INFANCY (birth to 6 months)

 It is not clear whether infants actually experience emotions, or if
adults, using adult facial expressions as the standard, simply
superimposed their own understanding of the meaning of infant facial
expressions.
 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 is,
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 to 12 months)

 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 7 to 12 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,
the generally rely on the emotional
expressions of their mothers or caregivers to determine the safety or
appropriateness of a particular endeavor.

TODDLERHOOD YEARS (1 to 2 YEARS)

 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 of their own.

EMPATHY, a complex emotional response to a situation, also appears in

toddlerhood, usually by age 2. The 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). (source:
http://psychology/jrank.org)

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 versus 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 the 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 infants 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 resolve. 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 -
those others are dependable and reliable. If they are neglectful, or perhaps
even abusive, the infant instead learns mistrust - the world is in an
undependable, unpredictable, and possibly a dangerous place.

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

 Psychosocial crisis: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
 Main question: “Can I do things myself or must I always rely on others?”
 Virtue: Will
As the child gains control over eliminative functions and motor abilities,
they began 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 in that child 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 began to feed
themselves, wash and rest 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 task 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. (en.wikipedia.org.wiki.Erikson’s-stages-of-pyschosocial-
development-)

Application
1. Illustrates what is needed and state your observations.

BABY AND ADULT

CAREGIVER

TODDLER AND ADULT CAREGIVER

Your Interpretation in the context of Erik Erikson’s

theory.
2. Guide Questions for Ideal Parenting and Caregiving
You must have experienced babysitting or serving as one at present.
Determine if your child care was/is ideal:

How ideal are you as a parent or caregiver? Try to answer these guide
questions to find out. Rate yourself from 1 to 4, 1as the lowest and 4 as the
highest.
1 2 3 4
1. Are you generally in good spirits and encouraging when
interacting with the child?
2. Do you smile often at the child?
3. Do you hug the child, pat the child on the back or hold the
child's hand?
4. Do you comfort the child?
5. Do you repeat the child’s words, comment on what the child
says or tries to say and answer the child’s questions?
6. Do you encourage the child to talk or communicate by asking
questions
that the child can answer easily, such as “yes or no questions”,
or asking about a family member or toy?
7. Do you talk in other ways such as praising or encouraging;
teaching by
having the child repeat phrases or naming shapes; Singing
songs; And telling stories?

Additional Activities
Two volunteered students from the class. one will do the rapping and one
will do the singing.
Compose your own version of
Nolte’s “Children Learn What
They Live”. Rap it or sing it.
Research Connection
Read a research that is related on socio-emotional development of infants
and toddlers. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions

How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
Based on stories you heard from your parents and grandparents about your
first two years in the world, reflect on the kind of micro system as explained
by Bronfenbrenner that you have had as an infant and as a child. How has it

Write down your real reflections

here.

affected you?
 UNIT 3 – EARLY CHILDHOOD (The Preschooler)

Preschoolers’ Physical Development

- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE
15
“A child reminds us that playtime is an essential part
of our daily routine.”
- Anonymous

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 describe preschool children's physical growth.
 Identify the different gross and fine motor skills.
 Draw implications on these concepts on physical development on
teaching preschoolers.

Introduction
The preschooler years is commonly known as the “years before formal
schooling begins.” it roughly covers three to five years of age. Although it is
known as the years before formal school, it is by no way less important than
the grade school years. The preschool years is very important as it lays
foundation to later development. At this stage, preschoolers achieve many
developmental milestones. As such, pre-service teachers who might be
interested to teach and care for preschoolers need to be knowledgeable
about them to be truly an intentional and effective teacher.
This module on the physical development of preschoolers focuses on
the acquisition of gross and fine motor skills, artistic expression, proper
nutrition and sleep, and what teachers and caregivers you do to maximize
the preschoolers’ development.
Activity
Examine the pictures below. Think about the physical characteristics of
preschoolers. Put a caption for the pictures.
Analysis

From the captions you wrote for

the pictures, what physical
characteristics of preschoolers
came out? Write them here!
Abstraction/Generalization
From the activity, you were able to see a glimpse of preschoolers’
physical development. They love to move. They enjoy being active. They are
also interested to work with their fingers, like with blocks. They have a more
balance stance than toddlers. Read on an you will learn more about the
typical physical development of preschoolers, the important concerns an
issues, and how teachers and caregivers can help maximize the
preschoolers’ growth and development.

BIG IDEAS ABOUT THE PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOLERS

1. There are significant changes in physical

growth of preschoolers.
2. The preschoolers’ physical development is
marked by the acquisition of growth 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
maximising the growth and development of
preschoolers.
6. Preschoolers with special needs in inclusive
classrooms can thrive well with the appropriate
SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN PHYSICAL GROWTH

Physical growth increases in the preschool years,

although it is much slower in base 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. Therefore they have difficulty doing
sudden movements without falling down.
 Preschoolers on the other hand, have their center of
gravity at the 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
allows the preschooler to move more “successfully”
than the toddler.
 Some say that the later part of the preschooler years
at around 5:00 or six is the best time to begin
learning skills that require balance like riding a bike
 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 ages 6 are also
developing. The preschooler years are there for a time
to instill habits of good dental hygiene.

GROSS AND FIN MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Gross Motor development refers to acquiring skills that involves

the large muscles. These gross motor skills are categorized into
three:
 LOCOMOTOR skills are those that involve going from one place
to another like walking, running, climbing, skipping, happy,
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 them a bouncing,
catching, and dribbling.

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 summer 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, coming and brushing
A QUICK LOOK AT WHAT PRESCHOOLERS CAN DO: (PHYSICAL SKILLS)
This bulleted list all preschoolers physical skills is lifted from the
physical domain component of the Philippine Early Learning and
Development Standards (ELDS). This set of standards was based on a study
commissioned by UNICEF and the Child Welfare Council (CWC). This is now
adopted for use by the Early Childhood Care and Development Council.
Gross Motor: 36-48 months
 Hops 1 to 3 steps on preferred foot
 Skips (with alternating feet)
 Jumps and turns
 Stands on one leg without falling for at least 5 seconds
 Throws a ball overhead with control of direction
 Throws a ball overhead with control of speed
 Kicks a ball with control of speed
Fine Motor Skills:
36-48 months
 Consistently turn pages of a picture or story book one page at a time,
looking at pictures with interest
 purposefully copies diagonal lines
 purposefully bisects a cross
 purposefully copies a square/triangle
 cuts with scissors following a
line 49-60 months
 Copies a simple pattern of different basic shapes
 Draws a human figure (head, eyes, mouth, trunk, arms, legs, etc) without
prompt
 Draws a house without prompts using geometric forms
 Colors with strokes staying within the lines
PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE (Self-Help Skills)
36-48 months
 Pours from pitcher without spillage
 Feeds self using spoon without spillage
 Dresses without assistance except for buttons and tying laces
 Puts on socks
independently 49-60 months
 Feeds self using fingers without spillage
 Prepares own food
 Dresses without assistance, including buttoning and tying
 wipes or cleans him or herself after a bowel movement
 brushes teeth after meals without having to be told
 Washes and rice face independently without having to be told
 takes a bath independently without having to be told

For all preschoolers:

a) Engage preschool children in simple games that involve running and walking.
b) Provide them with toys for catching and throwing such us soft large
bowls and bean bags.
 c) Have balancing activities for preschoolers. Use low balance beams and
lines on the classroom floor or playground. Montessori schools have
blue or red lines on their preschool classroom floors.
d) Allow opportunities for rough and tumble play like in a grassy area or
soft mats. Keen observational and monitoring is expected to keep
them safe from injury.
e) Ensure that preschoolers get enough rest and sleep. Setting a routine
for bedtime is ideal.
f) Model good eating habits to preschoolers. Encourage more fruits,
vegetables, water and fresh juices, rather than processed foods,
sugary snacks and sodas.
For 3-year-olds
g) Encourage development of hand eye coordination by providing large
buttons or old beads to string on a shoe lace.
h) Play ball. Show children how to throw, catch, and kick balls of different sizes.
i) Show children how to hop like a rabbit, tiptoe like a bird, waddle like a
duck, slither like a snake, and ran like a deer.
j) Encourage free expression in art projects. Avoid asking “what children
are drawing”. Three-year-old may not know or care, but simply enjoy
the process of drawing.
k) Provide a variety of art experiences. Make play dough. Create collages
from magazine pictures, fabric, wallpaper, and newsprint. Encourage
children to experiment with new media like wire and cork, soda straws,
string, or yarn. Teach children to mix different colors with paint.
For Four-year-old
l) Encourage physical development. Play follow the leader. Pretend to
walk like various animals.
m) Set up an obstacle course indorse with challenges such as crawling,
climbing, leaping, balancing, and running across stepping stones.
n) Encourage walking with a bean bag on the head.
For Five-year-old
o) Encourage body coordination and sense of balance by playing follow
the leader with skipping, galloping, and hopping. Skip or jump rope to
music, teach folk dances and games, provide a balance beam, a tree
for climbing, and knotted rope suspended from a sturdy frame.
p) Teach sack-walking and twist-em, statue, or free games to provide an
outlet for their drive for physical activity.
q) Play games that can teach right and left directions, like “hokey-pokey,”
“Looby- Loo”, and “Simon Says”
r) Help children learn to use a pair of scissors by letting them cut out coupons.

Application
1. Research on the recommended Food Guide for preschoolers or young
children. Interview a mother about what her preschooler eats in a week.
Write down the types of food and compare it with the recommended Food
Guide.

Write here!
2. Surf the net. make a collection of gross motor and fine motor activities for
preschoolers that caregivers and teachers can use to support their
development.

Write here!

Research Connection
Read a research that is related to one of the big ideas on the physical development
of preschoolers. Fill out the matrix below.

Problem Research Methodology

Source: (bibliographical entry format)

Findings Conclusions
How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
From this module on the physical development of preschoolers, I realize that

Write down your reflections here.

 Cognitive Development of the Preschoolers
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD
MODULE
16
“There are children playing in the street who could solve
some of my top problems in physics, because they have
modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago.”
- J. Robert Oppenheimer

Learning Outcomes
In this module, you should be able to:
 Describe the cognitive development that takes place among preschoolers.
 Apply concepts on preschoolers’ cognitive development in preschool teaching
and
in child care.
 Take an informed stand or position on current preschool teaching practices.

Introduction
Someone once wrote in his journal: “Childhood is a world of miracle an
wonder; As if creation rose, bathed in light, out of darkness, utterly new,
fresh and astonishing. The end of childhood is when things cease to astonish
us. When the world seems familiar, when one has got used to existence, one
has become an adult.”
Early childhood (preschool age) is just one stage of childhood. Do you
remember how you were as a preschooler? What do you remember most as
a preschooler? What did you enjoy doing?

Activity
below are behaviors or remarks from children. Your early childhood
experiences may help you arrive at the correct answer. Put a check ✅ on the
item that is true of preschoolers and an ❌ on the item does NOT apply to
preschoolers.
1. “Someone switched on the thunder”, a child remarked.
 2. Child silently nods on the telephone to answer his father who is on
the other side of the phone inquiring if Mom is around.
3. “That tree pushed the leaf and it fell down”, says a child.
4. A child is presented with two identical beakers each filled to the
same level with liquid. The child is asked if these beakers have the same
amount, and she says yes. The liquid from one beaker is bored into a third
beaker, which is taller and thinner than the first two. The child is then asked
if the amount of liquid in the tall, thin beaker is equal to that which remains
in one of the original beakers. The child says yes.
5. Child asks a series of “why” questions.
6. child is strongly influenced by the features of the task that stand
out, such as the flashy, attractive clown.
7. Child pays attention to the more relevant dimensions of the
task such as directions for solving a problem and not on the prominent
clown, for instance.
8. June does not realize that the juice in each glass can be poured
back into the juice box from which it came.
9. Mike did not like to share a piece of cake with his younger
sister. Mikey's younger sister was sick. Mike concludes that he made his
younger sister got sick.

Analysis
Give reasons for your answers. Bring in your childhood experiences as you
share your answers. Try to arrive at a consensus.
1. Which items are true of preschool children?
2. Which items are not true of preschool children?
Answering the item above made you think about your own views or
assumptions about the preschoolers’ cognitive development. You were also
once in that world of bursting curiosity wanting to know about the world
around you read through the module and you will surely understand the way
preschoolers think and learn. You will also learn about how as a future
teacher or parent, you can best contribute to the preschoolers’ cognitive
development.
Abstraction
Preschoolers Symbolic and Intuitive Thinking
All the behaviors and the remarks above exact items #4 and #7 are
true of preschool children. They are considered immature aspects or
limitations of preschool children's preoperational thought according to Piaget
There are two substages of Piaget’s preoperational thought, namely
symbolic substage and intuitive substage. In the symbolic substage,
preschool children show progress in their cognitive abilities by 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,
Items #1 their improved
“Someone cognitive
switched processes
on the stilland
thunder” show
#3some aspects
“That tree of
immaturity
pushed or
thelimitations.
leaf off and it fell down”, for example, indicate limitation
on preschool children's symbolic thought process.
The remarks indicate that preschool children believe that
inanimate objects have “lifelike” qualities and are capable of
action. This is referred to as animism (Santrock, 2002).

Preschool children who use animism fail to distinguish the

appropriate occasions for using human and non-human
perspectives.

However, the fact that they attribute the falling of the leaf and a
thunder to a “cause” proves that preschool children realized
that events have causes, although the perceived causes are not

Item #2, “Child silently nods on the telephone to answer his father
who is on the other side of the phone inquiring if Mom is around.” is
another limitation in preschool children's symbolic thought.
Piaget calls this egocentrism, the inability to distinguish
between one's own perspective and someone else perspective
(Santrock, 2002)

The child thinks that his father can see him just as he can see
Items #4
should apply to preschool children who had the child answered
“no” when asked if the amount of liquid in the tall, thin beaker
was equal to that which remained in the original beakers.

Preschool children are quite limited in their intuitive thought

process.

The amount of liquid that was transferred to the third beaker

which was taller but thinner than the original beaker remains
unchanged.

In this case, the focus is only the height of the beaker to the
exclusion of the width of the beaker which is clearly another
factor that should be taken into consideration. This is also
referred to as unidimensional thought. This is also evidence of
preschool children’s lack of conservation, the awareness that

Items #5 “Children asks a series of why questions”.

Preschool children asked a barrage of questions. This signal
the emergency show of the preschool children's interest in
reasoning and in figuring out why things are the way they are.
They are asking questions is a function of their unsatiable
curiosity coupled with the dramatic increase in language.

Items #6 and #7 have something to do with preschool children's

attention.
Between items #6 and #7 fine, #6 (strongly influenced by the
features of the task that stand out, such as the flashy, attractive
clown) applies to preschool children.

Because the preschool child pays more attention to the

strikingly conspicuous peripherals, they missed the more
relevant and more important features needed in problem
solving or in task performance.

This is obviously manifested when between two wrapped gifts,

one with a big, colorful ribbon and the other without, a
preschool child chooses the one with a prominent ribbon.
 Items #8 “Child did not realize that the juice in each glass can be
poured back into the juice box from which it came.”
Indicates irreversibility, Piaget’s term for a preoperational
child failure to understand that an operation can go in two or
more directions. Once Jun can imagine restoring the original
state of the water by pouring it back into the other glass, he will
realize that the amount of water in both glasses must be the
same.

Unfortunately, however, in this developmental stage he is not

yet capable of reversible thinking. He's not yet capable of
working backwards.
Items #9 “Mike did not like to share a piece of cake with his younger
sister. Mikey's younger sister was sick. Mike concludes that he made
his younger sister got sick.”
Shows that preschool children do not use deductive or inductive
reasoning; Instead, they jump from one particular to another
and see cause where none exists. That is transductive
reasoning.

Application
1. Surf the net and research the role of caregivers (parents and
teachers) in the cognitive development of preschoolers.

THE ROLE OF CAREGIVERS IN THE

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF
PRESCHOOLERS

FOR FOR FOR

THREE-YEAR-OLD FOUR-YEAR-OLD FIVE-YEAR-OLD
 2. Describe the behaviors to illustrate the preschooler’s: (Just give the
best thought you could describe each behavior. No need to write the
whole definition.)

Animism Egocentrism Centration

Lack of Irreversibility Transductive

Conservation Reasoning

Assignment
1. Read this excerpt from Albert Einstein's biography. Examine Albert
Einstein's preschool development in the light of in early childhood as
discussed. How different was his childhood from the average childhood?
(Language development, Einstein's lifelong memory of that compass,
parents’ and teachers’ underestimation of his cognitive ability?)
2. Critics argue that too many preschools are academically oriented and
stressful for young children. Do you agree? Explain
3. Does preschool matter? Doesn't preschool rob the child of his irretrievable
childhood? Defend your stand.
4. Explain the meaning of the quote beneath the title of this module.

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
From the module on the of preschooler, I realized that….

Write down your reflections here.

 Socio-Emotional Development of the Preschooler
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD

MODULE
17 “One test of the correctness of educational
procedure is the happiness of the child.”
- Maria Montessori

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Explain Erikson’s crisis of early childhood, initiative versus guilt.
 Explain the development of the preschoolers’ sense of self and self-esteem.
 Discuss how children develop gender identity.
 Describe the stages of play and how it impacts socio-emotional development.
 Have discussed the different caregiving styles and their effect on
preschoolers.
 Describe how significant relationships with parents, siblings and peers
affect the preschooler.

Introduction
Socio-Emotional Development is crucial in the preschool years. We
hear a lot of parents on teachers and preschool administrators say that
attending preschool is more for “socialization” than for formal academic
learning. There is wisdom in this. During the preschool years, children learn
about their ever-widening environment. Preschoolers now discover their new
rules outside their home. They become interested to assert themselves as
they relate with other people. A lot of a lot of very important social skills they
will learn during the preschool years will help them throughout life as adults.
These skills can even determine the individuals later social adjustment and
consequent quality of relationships in adult life.
Activity
Observe preschooler’s classroom playing in the playground or inside the
classroom. (but due to pandemic, just try to remember the last time you
have been to preschooler’s classroom). Note the following:

 Is there a conversation going on?

Describe the conversation that takes
place among and
between the children. What are they
talking about?
 Describe what they are playing/what the
play is
about?
 Describe the children's interaction.
Indicate if they are on their own,
working together or if
Analysis
Answer the following questions:

1. Were the children playing on their own or alone even

when they were with others?

2. Were there some children playing together with agreed

upon rules and rules? Describe.

3. If you observed conflicts between or among children,

how were they resolved? Did an adult intervene? Or did
they manage to resolve it by themselves?

4. What were the children polite? What polite words (thank

you, sorry, etc) or gestures did you observe?

Abstraction/Generalization
The observation you did provided, you have a glimpse of the world of
preschoolers. You were once in that world of wonder and fascination. Read
through this module and you will surely understand more why they manifest
that the social behaviors that you have observed.

Big Ideas on Preschoolers’ Socio-emotional

Development
 The development of initiative is crucial to the
preschooler.
 A healthy self-concept is needed for preschoolers to interact with others.
 Environmental factors influence gender identity in young children.
  Preschoolers’ social development is shown through the stages of play.
 The care giving styles of parents and teachers affect the
preschooler’s socio- emotional development.
 Preschoolers are interested in building friendships.

Preschoolers’
Initiative
 Erikson's view of initiative aptly portrays the
emotional and social changes that happen during
the preschool years. As discussed in module 7,
preschoolers deal with a psychological conflict of
initiative versus guilt.
 Erickson believed that healthy preschoolers
develop initiative, the tendency of preschoolers
to want to take action an assert themselves.
 They will yearn to create, invent, pretend, take risk and engage in
lively and imaginative activities with peers.
 As preschoolers go through the conflict of initiative versus 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 the greater
opportunity to explore, take risks 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 preschoolers’ self- concept mainly
focuses on observable characteristics and his or 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.” (I 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 an 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.

Environment Factors and Gender in the Preschoolers’ Socio-

emotional Development
As the preschoolers’ 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 formed their own gender identity, the view of oneself as
being masculine or feminine.
Gender typing and gender identity are influenced by
environmental factors such as family, teachers, peers, and the mass
media. This is where Bronfenbrenner's
model comes into play. Different
spheres of influence determine the
preschoolers’ development of a gender
schema. Differences in parental
expectations and behavior the towards
daughters and sons affect gender
typing and
gender identity. More often, boys are expected to show more emotional
control and be more competitive while girls are expected to be
warm and soft and demure. Parents also expect their children to play
with toys that are right for their gender. The expectations of other people
in the preschoolers lives also influenced their gender schema. This includes
their relatives, teachers, classmates and other playmates. Mass media and
ICT which include televisions, movies, the Internet, computer games also
offer various images of what it means to be a boy or girl. In the US, there is
growing debate about lesbian-gay-bi-sexual-transgender issues which is
collectively known as LGBT issues. Schools are in a tight situation or have to
do a balancing act on how to deal with these issues with children so that
schools are still able to be on the side of respect for diversity without
necessarily confusing children who are at the stage of
forming their own gender schemas.
Preschool teachers should think thoroughly on how to present notions
of what boys and girls can do especially in a discussion about occupations or
community helpers.

Parten’s Stages of Play

Play is the main agenda of the preschool years. It has a social dimension. As
the preschooler develops, social interaction with playmates increases.
Mildred Parten, in the 1930s did a study on children’s play behavior which
led to Parten’s stages of play.
Since then, numerous studies have
followed using these stages as framework.
The stage is described the play
development of children and a gradual
increase of social interaction as they go
through these stages. It begins with a very
young child's unoccupied stage, then
solitaire play, then parallel play,
associative and cooperative play.
Becomes an important venue for the child's development of social skills like
entering rejoining a play situation, taking turns, sharing, helping, saying
sorry, and working together. Play is indeed the child's major business!

Parten’s Stages of Play

Unoccupied The child appears not to be playing but directs

his attention on anything that interests
him.

Onlooker The child spends time watching others play. He may

talk to them but does not enter into play with
them.

Solitary Play The child starts to play on his own. He seems not to
notice other children playing nearby.

Parallel Play The child plays with toys similar to those near him,
but only plays beside and not with them. No
interaction takes place.

The child plays with others. There is interaction

Associative Play among them, but no task assignment, rules and
organization are agreed upon.

The child plays with others bound by some

cooperative agreed upon rules and roles. The goal is maybe
to make something, play a game, or act out
something.
Friendship in Preschool

As they continue to grow, preschoolers become interested in having

friends. This should be encouraged in the preschool years as friendships
benefit the preschooler’s development by providing stimulation, assistance,
companionship, social comparison and affection (Kostelnik, 2010). Through
friendships, preschoolers are able to practice different social roles like being
a leader, a follower, someone who takes risks and someone who helps out
and comforts. Friendships are very important because they provide a dead
sense of belongingness and security. In the preschool years, parents and
teachers must expose children to experiences that help them learn skills in
establishing friendships, maintaining positive relationships and resolving
conflicts. Parents and teachers, when seeing preschoolers in a fight, should
not just say “Tama na…ano ba yan..isa pa ha…tam ana…friends na kayo…
say sorry na…” responses like those do not foster social skills among
preschoolers. Parents and teachers need to take time and process with
children how to resolve conflicts.

Caregiving
Styles
Caregiving styles affect the
socio- emotional development of
the children. Caregivers here
refered to both parents and
teachers and even adults that care
for the child. Baumrind gave a
model that describes the
different types of
caregiving styles. This was based on a longitudinal study that looked into the
adult authority and the development of children that Baumrind conducted which
began in the
1960s. Decades later she identified varying degrees of demandingness an
responsiveness as determinants of four styles of caregiving. Marion (2007)
expounded on these determining factors.

Responsiveness reference 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.

Authoritative Permissi
high ve Low
demandingness/ demandingness/
high high
responsivene responsivene

Authoritarian Neglige
High nt Low
demandingness/ demandingness/
low low
responsivene responsivene
 Baumrind’s Caregiving Styles
And their effects on Children

Caregiving Descripcion Effect on the

style preschooler
caregivers/Parents/teachers
with this caregivers style has
the ff
descriptio
n:
Authoritative  expect behavior  makes the
(high appropriate to the age preschooler
demandingnes of the child feel safe and
s, high  maintain reasonable and secure
responsiveness fair limits  teaches the child
)  closely monitor the to take
activities of the child responsibility for
 warm and nurturing his or her actions
 have realistic  develops good
expectations of the child self- control
 Communicate messages  develops a
in a kind, firm, and realistic view of
consistent manner oneself
 discipline approach  builds the
focuses more on child's
teaching than capacity for
punishing empathy
 set subjective or  lead to
unreasonable limits aggressive
 strive to have behavior of the
strong child
psychological  brings about
 control poor self-
punishment, control
sarcasm,  results in poor
self-
withdrawal of love, threats
esteem
 not able to teach children a
better way to behave
authoritarian  permits the preschoolers  has difficulty
(high to regulate their own controlling
demandingnes behavior and make their his/her
s) own decisions even when impulses
preschoolers are not yet  tends to
ready to do so be
 do not set rules or very dependen
few if any t
 do not demand good  tends to be
behavior or task demanding of
accomplishment their caregivers
 may lack confidence in  tends not to
their ability to influence persist or easily
the child gives up on a
 maybe disorganized task
and ineffective in  does not
managing the family easily follow
and household/class  may be rebellious
 shows  does not
undemanding, handle
indifferent and frustration
rejecting action well
towards the child  has
 has little commitment do inadequate
 their roles as parents or emotional
caregivers control
 difficulties in
school
performance

when parents’
behavior is to the
extreme or if child
experiences this style
early, the child may
 Delete
cognitive
development
 poor social
and
emotional
skills
 delinquent
behavior
later in
adolescence

The ROLE OF CAREGIVERS IN THE SOCIO-EMOTIONAL

DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRESCHOOLER
1. Greet each child images with his or her names each day. Be
sincere and respectful to each child.
2. Read story books that deal about friendships and different feelings.
3. Develop routines in the home or school that encourage working
together and getting along.
4. Help children learn to make rules and play simple games by
providing opportunities for them to play in small groups.
5. Play games that involve social interaction and teamwork.
6. Observe how a child plays with other children. Teach him to
request, bargain, negotiate, and apologize.
7. Help children understand and cope with strong feelings by giving
them words that they can use to express how they feel. “I can see
you are sad about your pet, angry at your sister……”
8. Use dolls, puppets, or pictures to demonstrate to children how
to express feelings appropriately.
9. Acknowledge how the child feels. For example, one can say “you
seem sad that you did not go to the party”. When we do this, we are
able to model to the preschooler that it is important to listen and that
having feelings, even negative ones, are OK…
10. Read story books that deals about friendships.
 11. For teachers, have develop routines that encourage working
together an getting along.

Application
1. The best caregiving style is the
authoritative style period from all
that you have learned from this
module, make a list of 10 qualities
that an authoritative preschool

AUTHORITATIVE QUALITIES
1. 6.
2. 7.
3. 8.
4. 9.
5. 10.

teacher should have:

Reflection
5-Minute Non-Stop Writing begins….. NOW!
From the module on the Socio-emotional Development of Preschooler, I realized
that….

Write down your real reflections

here.
 UNIT 4 – MIDDLE CHILDHOOD (The Primary Schooler)
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD
Physical Development of Primary Schoolers

MODULE LEARNING OUTCOMES

18 In this module, challenge yourself to:

 describe the different physical characteristics
of early school-aged children in your own words.
 enumerate ideas on how you can apply the
concepts in this module in the teaching-learning process.
• discuss several ways on how to encourage an age-appropriate active
physical lifestyle to primary school children.

INTRODUCTION
Physical development involves many different factors: height, weight,
appearance, visual, hearing and motor abilities. Primary school children
undergo many different changes as they go through this stage of
development. This could be caused by different factors, both natural and
environmental.

Activity
Paste a picture of yourself when you were an
early- school age child (around Grade 1 to 3).
Write a description on the given areas.

Height
Weight
Body Shape
Activities you
could do
Analysi
s
Based on the observation you
have made, what can you What do you think are the
conclude are the general necessary skills that will help
physical characteristics of them to be physically ready
children in their primary for primary schooling?
school years?

Abstraction
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, (3) having good personal hygiene and
(4) being aware of good safety habits.

In this developmental stage, children will

have started their elementary grades,
specifically their primary years - Grades 1 to 3.

These children are extremely active.

Because most of the activities in traditional
schools are sedentary, they often release their
unusual amount of energy in some forms of
nervous habits including
fidgeting, nail biting and pencil chewing.

Primary-school age children get fatigued more easily because of

physical and mental exertions both at home and in school. Hence, activities
should be alternated between strenuous one and relaxing or quiet activities
(example: storytelling time after the Math period).
Height and Weight
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 will 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 will have slimmer appearance
compared to their preschool years because of the
shifts in accumulation and location of their body fat,
although girls tend to develop additional fat cells
relative to muscle cells. 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:
= Genes = exercise
= Food = medical
conditions
= Climate = diseases /
illnesses

Bones and Muscles

Childhood years are the peak bone-producing years - bones grow
longer and broader. This is the best time for parents and teachers to educate
children of good dietary and exercise habits to help them have strong,
healthy bones throughout their lives. Replacement of primary teeth, also
known as baby teeth, with permanent teeth occur around ages 6 to 7 years
and up until age 12, most children will have all their primary teeth replaced.
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.

Large muscle control is at bigger play over fine motor. Some may still
have difficulty holding a pencil properly or coloring inside the lines. We have
to limit writing time, since children may develop a negative attitude towards
writing. Bone and muscle growth are still not complete during this stage.
Most activities which use heavy pressure will be very difficult for growing
bones, muscles and ligaments. If students are engaging in too much
strenuous activities to test their strengths, teachers may suggest or provide
more coordinated physical activities or competition or rotate players during
sports or games.

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 in
tune with everything that is happening around them.

Children during 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
and tying their shoelaces. They can manage zippers and buttons.
 Performing unimanual (requiring the use of one hand) and bi-manual
(requiring the use of two hands) activities becomes easier. Children's
graphic activities, such as writing and drawing, are now 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. Dynamic Balance is the ability to maintain
equilibrium while moving (Owens, 2006). 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.
 Large scale body movements are key in this stage. Most of the time,
boys develop motor skills slightly faster than girls except for skills involving
balance and precise movements.

Here are some motor milestones of primary school-age children: (Bergin and
Bergin, Child and Adolescent Development in Your Classroom, Third Edition:
2018, Boston, MA, USA)

Fine Motor Skills Gross Motor Skills

 Zip zippers and lace shoes  Hop
 Able to learn piano or violin  Skip on alternating feet
 Control pencil with the finger  Jump rope
and thumb. Movement comes  Walk on a balance beam
from the elbow. Throwing, catching, and
 Write and draw with more kicking become smoother
control, but writing looks  Begin to participate in
choppy and uneven. Letters organized games (e.g.
are getting smaller. Uppercase hopscotch) and sports (e.g.
letters are somewhat basketball)
mastered, but lowercase  Skate, ski, bike and other
letters continue to be specialized skills with training
challenging through 3d grade,
especially letters with slants
and curves.
Some Issues Affecting Physical
Development

Obesity
This is becoming a major concern for parents and
health care providers, since it seems it becoming a trend.

According to the World Health Organization - Western

Pacific Region, "... the Philippines is not spared from this
scenario, and the results of national nutrition surveys
are showing slow but increasing childhood overweight
and obesity rates.

Prevalence of overweight among children 5-10 years old

has risen from 5.8% in 2003 to 9.1% in 2013."
 Childhood Nutrition
Malnutrition remains a major health issue in the
Philippines. This has been proven to have serious effect
on the physical and mental development of children.

For most Filipino children, poverty is the chief reason

why they do not get the nutrients and energy required
for their age.

School-age children's diet should include a good supply

of vitamins, minerals and protein found in most fruits
and vegetables to combat the trend of eating out and
eating too much which puts children at risk of
increased consumption of soft drinks, sugary and salty
snacks like crackers and chips.

Study the illustration below presented on the 7th National

Nutrition Survey, Food and Nutrition Research Institute in
2008.
 Sleep
Primary school-age children need 9 to 11 hours
of sleep every day (including daytime naps).
Sometimes, due to their schedule in school,
midday naps or siesta is not possible
anymore. Because of this, children may need
to go to bed earlier rather than nap.
Children's increased sports affiliation, extra-
curricular activities, TV, internet, computers
and sometimes, intake of caffeinated
products could result to difficulty in falling
asleep, disruptions in their sleep and
sometimes even nightmares.

Implications to Child Care, Education and Parenting

Two major ways to help primary school-age children to be physically healthy
is to
(1) provide them with good nutrition and (2) involve them in coordinated and
age- appropriate physical activities. Specifically, health care providers,
teachers and parents must do the following:
 Encourage children to join or enroll them in related programs during
summer or their free time, if children show interest in a particular
activity or sport.
 Advocate better nutrition in foods provided in the school canteen by
providing healthier options and accessible healthier products.
 Provide a balance between rigorous physical play activity and quiet
activities in designing classroom activities.
 Create an exercise plan for children. Not only does it promote motor
skills but also improves strength and endurance, builds healthy bones
and muscles, and increases positive emotions,
 Maintain a daily sleep schedule and consistent bedtime routine
  Make children's bedroom conducive for a peaceful sleep. If
possible, keep computers and TV out of the bedroom.

Application
Before the discussion, find a learning partner and write your product of
collaboration on the provided space.
a) What are the general physical characteristics of children in the primary
school- age?

b) What are the factors affecting physical development?

 c) Compare the motor skills of a preschool child with a primary school-age child.
Preschool Child Primary School-Age
Child
Fine Motor Skills

Gross Motor Skills

Research Connection
Research on the advocacy with a #hangryabouthunger. Fill in the matrix below.
#hangryabouthunger
What is the advocac What programs they What are your
y are insights
about doing to move the about this advocacy?
?
advocacy?
Reflection
To ensure that you are promoting your students’ physical well-being, ask
yourself the following questions:

1. Do I understand the children have different physical

needs in
order to develop properly?
2. Do I provide a stress-free environment in the
classroom by being adaptive and accommodating?
3. Do I balance my activities between active and quiet
ones?
4. Do I appreciate the physical milestones that
happened in this stage of physical development?
5. Do I model healthy eating and encourage my learners
to do so?
6. Do I advocate maintaining are consistently being
routine an inspire my students to do the same?
7. Am I an excellent example of someone who lives a
healthy and active lifestyle that my students can
emulate?
 UNIT 4 – MIDDLE CHILDHOOD (The Primary Schooler)
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD

Cognitive Development of Primary Schoolers

MODULE
19

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this Module, you should be able to:
 describe the characteristics of children in the concrete operational stage
 explain the importance of information-processing skills and how they
affect the child's cognitive development
 state the different cognitive milestones in primary schoolers.

INTRODUCTION
Jean Piaget is the foremost theorist on cognitive development.
According to him, intelligence is the basic mechanism of ensuring
balance in the relations between the person
and the environment. Everything that a
person experience is a continuous process
of assimilations and accommodations.
Piaget described four main periods in
cognitive development. For Piaget,
intellectual ability is not the same at
different stages.
Activity
Look at the semantic map below. Write down words which come to your mind
when COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT is mentioned. Find a partner and compare your
answers.

Discussion Questions:
1. What ideas regarding cognitive development were common?
2. Are there new ideas regarding cognitive development which you found
intriguing?
3. With the advent of the computer age, do you think cognitive
development is affected? Explain your answer

ABSTRACTION
Jean Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage
Concrete operation is the third stage in Piaget's theory of cognitive
development. It spans from age 7 to approximately 11 years old. During this
time, 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
problem-solving.
 Logic
Concrete operational thinkers, according to Piaget, can already make use
of inductive logic. Inductive logic involves thinking from a specific experience
to a general principle. But at this stage, children have great difficulty in using
deductive logic. or beginning with a general principle leading to specific
event.
 Reversibility
One of the most important developments in this stage is an
understanding of reversibility, or awareness that actions can be reversed. An
example of this is being able to reverse the order of relationships between
mental categories. (For example in arithmetic, 3 + 4 = 7 and 7-4 = 3).

Example:
Teacher: Jacob, do you have a brother?
Jacob: Yes.
Teacher: What's his name?
Jacob: Matthew.
Teacher: Does Matthew have a brother?
Jacob: Yes.

Cognitive Milestones
Elementary-aged children encounter
developmental milestones. This is the stage
when they leave behind egocentric thinking
and start to develop a more mature way of
looking at things, which greatly enhances
children's problem-solving skills, Piaget calls
this process DECENTRATION. They develop
certain skills within a particular time
frame. The skills they learn are in a sequential manner, meaning they
need to understand numbers before they can perform a mathematical
equation. They can already take on complex, sequential. and symbolic-based
tasks. At this stage, reasoning is still immature, they have ease in identifying
the here and now. Each milestone that develops is dependent upon the
previous milestone they achieved. Up until age 8, a child learns new skills at
a rapid pace. Once they reach the age of 8, the skills they learn start to level
off so there is a steady increase of new skills.

Specifically, young primary school-aged children can tell left from right.
Their ability 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 theorists 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.

Implications to Child Care, Education and Parenting

 Children have varying intelligence profiles. These profiles may be
based on influences of learning and achievement. Parents, child care
providers and teachers should be able to recognize these by:
• helping children draw on their strengths and promote growth in their weaknesses;
• planning lessons that cater to multiple intelligences based on instructional
objectives;
 encouraging children to read more every day to increase their vocabulary;
• bringing children to museums, art exhibits and historical landmarks to
widen their perspective about the world and people; and
 lessening children's screen time and increasing their personal and
face-to-face interactions.

Application
Research on the differences in the cognitive development of boys and girls.
Write some major points in their respective development.

Reflectio
n
To ensure that you are promoting your students’ cognitive well-being, ask
yourself the following questions:

1. Do I acknowledge that my students have different

levels of intelligence?
2. Do I prepare properly for my lessons to accommodate
these different levels of intelligence?
3. Do I Motivate my students enough to read everyday to
improve their vocabulary and language?
4. Do I Offer my students different activities for
different intelligences?
 UNIT 4 – MIDDLE CHILDHOOD (The Primary Schooler)
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD

Socio-Emotional Development of Primary Schoolers

MODULE
20

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Identify the different characteristics of primary school-aged children in
this stage of development.
 Discuss the different factors that affect the social-emotional growth of
the primary- schoolers.

Introduction
The developmental theorist, Erik Erickson, formulated eight stages of
man psychosocial development. Each stage is regarded as a psychosocial
crisis which arises and demands resolution before the next stage can be
achieved.
Preschool children belong to the fourth stage of Erikson's psychosocial
stages.
Here, children have to resolve the issue on Industry versus Inferiority.

ACTIVITY
In Erik Erikson’s psychosocial stages of development, primary schoolers are in
the
fourth stage. This involves industry versus inferiority.
1. Read on how Erik Erikson defines these two terms. Write them down below.
3. Paste some pictures of primary schoolers or surf on the internet. Discuss
important points and observation with the following:
a. behavior during play b. communication with their peers
c. facial expressions, gestures and body language

Analysis
Discuss Questions:
1. What were your common observations among these children when it comes to:
a. behavior during play?
b. communication with their peers?
 c. facial expressions, gestures and body language?
2. Were there difficulties that the children encountered while they were at play?

ABSTRACTION
Erik Erickson’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 mastered their schoolwork.

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

What does the comic strip depict? How does this relate to Erikson's fourth stage?

Understanding the Self

One’s self-concept is the knowledge about the self, such as beliefs
regarding personality traits, physical characteristics, abilities, values, goals and
roles.
 It also involves a sense of belonging
and acceptance, a sense of belonging and
acceptance, a sense of good and a sense
of being capable of being good.
Having a healthy self-concept does
not mean that a child thinks he/she is
better than others. It means that he/she
likes himself/herself; feels accepted by
his/her family and friends and believe
that he/she can do well.
Primary school children self-concept is influence not only by their
parents, but also by growing number 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 teachers. 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 up with social interactions. They are
not focused on themselves anymore but
are also aware of the needs and desires of
others. The issues of fairness and
equality become important to them as
they learn to care for people who are not
part of their families. Characteristics like
loyalty
and reliability are being considered as well as responsibility and kindness.
Building Friendships

“What is a friend? “A single soul dwelling in two bodies.”

- Aristotle

Making friends is a crucial but very important part of children social

and emotional growth. As soon as they are able to walk and top, they will
tend to show natural inclination to be around other children.
Children, during this stage, most likely belong to a peer group. Beer
groups are characterized by children who belong approximately to the same
age group. It is found along the stages of childhood through
adolescence. But for children, until the age
of 7 or 8, they think of themselves more
than others. They may play well with
groups but may need some time to play
alone.
Primary school children prefer to
belong to peer groups of the same gender.
Many children will use their surroundings
to observe and mingle
with other children. Some will see this as an opportunity to make friends
while others remain a bit of a loner.

Antisocial Behavior
Some adults 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.
Remember that children at this
stage are still forming their own
world views and
other children may seem like a curiosity that they need to explore. Parents
and teachers can help children make friends.
You can consider the following:
 Expose the children to kid-rich environments (e.g. playgrounds, park).
 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. This becomes a great
opportunity for parents and teachers
to encourage positive emotional
responses from children by
acknowledging their mature,
compassionate behaviors.
Implications to Child Care, Education
and Parenting
Primary school children’s socio-emotional competency should be viewed in
the context of child’s developmental age. Health-care providers, teachers
and parents should be able to:
 Gain understanding of their child’s socio-emotional strengths and
weaknesses by
observing the child’s behavior at home.
 Work collaboratively with the child’s parents and health-care provider to
expand
one’s insights on the child’s development.
  Provide a supportive setting where children have opportunities to
practice emotional regulation and social skills with peers.
 Give children activities when they can practice taking turns, sharing
and playing cooperatively.
 Be a role model of healthy emotions and expressing these emotions
appropriately.
 Demonstrate calmness and staying in control of one’s own feelings.

APPLICATION
Study the situations given below. If you were the teacher, how will you
help these learners cope with their socio-emotional difficulties?

Dear Teacher,

I am really heart broken. My 8-year-old daughter is feeling lonely,

isolated and friendless. It seems that she has felt this way quite a while.
She says that she mostly spends time alone – that she has no friends
because no one wants to play with her.

She tags along, but is usually left out eventually. She can become angry if
things don’t always go her way and also teary. I don’t know where to turn
to help her thought that she finds school so painful is heartbreaking.

Sincerely,
Worried Mother
 Dear Teacher,

I am really proud parent. My little boy is in primary grade and he is doing

a lot better than his classmates. He sometimes becomes restless in school – he
says he knows what the teacher is talking about. Some teachers even suspects
that he is gifted. But there seems to be a problem,

He is bossy. He always orders people around – his classmates and people

at home. How could I help him be comfortable in school and lessen his
bossiness?

Sincerely,

Worried Mother

Research Connection
See the video on https://www.virtuallabschool.org/school-age/social-
emotional/lesson-2 and write down important points for discussion.
1. According to the video, what are some of the important aspects of school-age
children’s socio-emotional development?



2. What suggestions or practice did the teachers in the video mention that you find
most helpful when dealing with children’s socio-emotional development?


Reflection
To ensure that you are promoting your students’ socio-emotional well-being,
ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do hi acknowledge my own feelings and help my

students identify their own feelings?
2. Do I show interest in my student’s emotional
experiences by having a positive facial
expression, relaxed body posture and speaking in a
calm tone?
3. Do I see my students’ emotional experiences ask
opportunities to teach them how to
manage their emotions specially overwhelming ones
such as anger or fear?
4. Do I remind my students that although it is okay to
feel anger and sadness, inappropriate
behaviors such as hurting others, hurting themselves
or destroying property is not an acceptable
response?
5. Do I give my students space to resolve their own
social conflicts and difficulties but still ready to
help if they require it?
6. Do I provide my students situation to practice
their social skills?
7. Do I acknowledge positive social behavior when I
 UNIT 5 – LATE CHILDHOOD (The Intermediate Schooler)
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD

Physical Development of Intermediate Schoolers

MODULE
21

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Identify the different physical characteristics of intermediate schools.
 Discuss ways and practices which will aid children in successfully
developing physically.
 Design exercise program appropriate for Intermediate school children.

INTRODUCTION
Late childhood is generally defined as ages 9 (picture of children in their late
through 12. Others may call this stage as preteens. childhood)

Physical changes during this stage are fairly

unpredictable among children in this age group.
The steady and gradual changes happening in
children at this age, especially with their increasing
familiarity with school work and other possible
activities provide them with a greater opportunity to
develop their motor skill functioning.
ACTIVITY
Activating Prior Knowledge! Student will chat the answer during the
discussion. Whoever got the correct answer has a points.
 Weight and height changes in intermediate pupils
a) What are your general ideas on how tall and
how heavy do intermediate children stand
and weight?
b) What are the factors affecting their height
and weight?

 Differences in physical appearance between girls and boys

a) What are the differences in their body appearance?
b) What are the differences in the activities they do?

 Changes in nutrition, diet and sleep of intermediate pupils

a) What are the nutritional
needs of intermediate pupils?
b) How long do these children
need to sleep and rest?
ANALYSIS

1. Based on the insights that

you wrote, what do you think
are the general physical
characteristics of children aged
9 to 12 years?

2. What are the common

physical activities these children
do to help them develop
physically?

3. In what aspect do girls and

boys in the late childhood stage

ABSTRACTION
Intermediate schoolers have more control over their bodies than they
have when they were in primary school. They become more active and have
greater liberty to choose the hobbies or sports that they want to get involved
in.
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 pace.
This may also be the stage when puberty may begin. Puberty is the
period in which the body undergoes physical changes and become capable
of sexual reproduction.
Early Puberty
 On the average, girls are generally as much as two (2) years ahead of
boys in terms of physical maturity, although these developments may be
determined by how close a child is to puberty. Puberty may begin early
period. Budding breasts for girls- which is the initial sign of puberty. Some
girls may also start with their menstrual period ask early as 8 and some as
late as 13.
Puberty’s changes start when the brain triggers the production of sex
hormones.
Here are some changes that may happen to both girls and boys during early
puberty.

Girl Boy
s s
Breast  small lumps from  may also have
behind the swelling on
nipple may their chest but
occur, which tends to go
sometime could away within a
be painful but year or two.
eventually, the
pain goes away.
 It is normal for
one breast to
develop more
slowly than
the other
Genitals  the vulva starts  Subtle increase
in increase a in testicle
bit. size
 The vagina  penis and
gets longer. scrotum start
 the uterus to grow.
gets  semen may be
bigger. released when
he is awake or
even
during sleep.
Hair Growth  hair will start to  hair will start to
grow in the grow and become
armpits and thicker.
pubic areas.  new hair will also
grow in the
armpits and
pubic area
around the
 genitals.
 May start
developing
chest and facial
hair.
Height, Weight and Muscle Development
During late childhood, a child's weight on average, maybe 2.3 to 3.2
kilograms per year. Weight increase was mainly due to that increase in size
of skeletal and muscular systems as well as several organs. An average of 2
1/2 inches in height and an average of an inch in head circumference each
year. Children during this stage may experience growth spurts – sudden
boosts in height and weight, which are usually accompanied by increase in
appetite and food intake.

Many of the body 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. 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.
These differences in body composition become more significant during
adolescence.

Motor Skills
During this stage, movements or the muscles and bones become more
coordinated. At the age of 10 or 11 years, most children will have learned to
play sports like swimming, basketball, volleyball, and running. These physical
skills become a source of pleasure and great achievement to their children.
In activities that use large muscle activities, boys tend to be nimbler then
girls.

Although a significant increase in a physical activity may occur in this

stage, children in their late childhood is far from being physically mature.
They become overwhelmed when sitting for standing two long than when
running, jumping or playing
actively. This is because they need time to refine their skills, so they prefer
active rather than passive movements.

From age of 8, children show greater coordination in writing. Their fine

motor skills develop gradually which may be evidenced by the size of the
letters and numbers. Font size becomes smaller and are more even. They
may even produce good quality crafts or have greater control in playing
instruments like piano or guitar. In this skills, girls usually surpass the boys.

INSECURITIES
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 and
muscles size and strength.

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 the right
direction. Children must be given opportunities to engage themselves in a
worthwhile activity that:
 Promote healthy growth
 Give them a feeling of accomplishment, and
 Reduce the risk of certain diseases.

Implications to child-care, education, and parenting

During this stage, children are more physically active however, they
still have a lot of physical maturity to undergo. Here are some points to
consider for health-care providers, teachers and parents.
Provide ample opportunities at home and in school for physical
exercises and sports.
Encourage children to participate in varied worthwhile activities until
they are able to discover the ones they are interested in.
 Develop a strong emotional attachment with your children so as to address
any insecurities and social concerns.
Since children in this stage have more control over their eating habits,
provide them with healthier food choices.

APPLICATION
1. Being healthy physically greatly helps children in their late adulthood
to become successful in their everyday undertakings.
Design a simple exercise program appropriate for children ages 9 to
12. Divide your program into three parts:
Part 1: Warm up Activities:
 May include breathing exercises and stretching
routines Part 2: Exercise Proper:
 May consist of three to four sets of exercises which may focus
on the following areas: (a) body balance and posture, (b)
endurance, (c). muscle strength and/or (d) agility
Part 3: Cooling Down or Quieting Activity:
 Includes another set of breathing and stretching exercises

Title of

Exercise Part 1: Warm Up

Activities
 Part 2: Exercise Proper

Part 3: Cooling Down or Quieting Activity:

2. As a teacher, what ideas can you give in order to help intermediate school
children develop physically?

Reflection
To ensure that you are promoting your students’ physical well-being, ask
yourself the following questions:

1. Do I understand that each child undergoes physical

development at different paces?
2. Do I appreciate the different physical changes in both girls and
boys?
3. Do I maintain a healthy body that my students can get
inspiration from?
4. Do I refrain from taking any form of vices to encourage my
students to live a healthy life, too?
5. Do I provide appropriate physical exercises so that my
students may develop proper physical health?
 UNIT 5 – LATE CHILDHOOD (The Intermediate Schooler)
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD

Cognitive Development of Intermediate Schoolers

MODULE
22

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Examine the cognitive characteristics of intermediate school children
 Discuss important factors that affect the cognitive development of
intermediate school children
 Enumerate ways on how teachers can promote creativity in the
learning environment, learning activities and instructional materials.

INTRODUCTION
Since children in this stage are already in their late childhood, rapid
development of mental skill is evident. According to Jean Piaget, concrete
operational thinkers can now organize thoughts effectively, although they
can logically perceive the immediate situation. They can apply what they
have learned to situations and events that they can manipulate.
Thus, their reasoning and logical thinking are still very limited. But with
proper guidance and nurturance from parents, teachers and the rest of the
community, these children can easily succeed in their intellectual endeavors.
ACTIVITY
Write your understanding of the following statement.

Intelligence
is…
 The ability to create an effective product or offer a
service that is valued in a culture;
 A set of skills that makes it possible for person to
solve problems in life;
 The potential for finding or creating solutions for
problems, which involves gathering new knowledge.
- Howard Gardner

ANALYSIS
Discuss Questions:
1. What kind of intelligences is being referred to by Howard Gardner?
2. What intelligence do you think is the most evident in this
stage of development?
3. Do these intelligences vary among children in terms of age and gender?

ABSTRACTION

Initial Cognitive Characteristics

Intermediate School children greatly enjoy the cognitive abilities that
they can now utilize more effectively as compared to the thinking skills
during their primary years. Their
schoolwork is now more complicated, reading text have become longer
problem solving has become an everyday part of their lives.
Their ability to use logic and reasoning gives them chances to think
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 hands-on 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 though 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).
The website www.readingrockets.org listed a few strategies in choosing
age- appropriate books for intermediate schoolers. In choosing books
appropriate to their age, consider the following:
 Consider who the child is – his or her personality traits and
personal preferences when choosing a book.
 Make a selection with the child in mind; choose an informational
book or a novel in an area of specific interest.
 Choose books that encourage discussion and insight-building.

Attention
Older children have longer, and more flexible attention span compared
to young 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 long periods of hours especially if they are
highly interested in what they are doing.
Creativity

“CREATIVITY is not the finding of a thing but making

something out of it after it is found.”
- James Russell Lowell

Children at this stage are open to explore new things. Creativity is

innate in children, they just need a little guidance and support from parents,
teachers and people around them. They are usually at their best when the
work is done in small pieces.
Creativity in children is encouraged when the activities:
 Encourage different responses from each child;
 Celebrate uniqueness
 Break stereotypes;
 Value process over product;
 Reduce stress and anxiety in children
 Support to share ideas, not only with the teacher / parent
but also with ither children; and
 Minimize competition and external rewards.

The Impact of Media

“Television viewing is a highly complex, cognitive activity during

which children
are actively involved in learning.”
- (Anderson and Collins,

The dream of having a television unit in every classroom started in the

1950’s. It was considered as one of the first technological advancements in
schools. The impact of the use of television and other media like computer
has gained popularity because students are given more opportunity to:
 Communicate effectively in speech and in writing;
 Work collaboratively;
 Use technological tools;
 Analyze problems, set goals, and formulate strategies for achieving
those goals; and
  Seek out information or skills on their own, as needed to meet their goals

Media and Aggression

Violence and aggression are often dubbed as one of the results of
media. According to the Public Health Summit in 2000, the following are
some of the negative results of media:
 Children will increase anti-social and aggressive behavior.
 Children may become less sensitive to violence and those who suffer from
violence.
 Children may view the world as violent and mean, becoming more
fearful of being a victim of violence.
 Children will desire to see more violence in entertainment and real life.
 Children will view violence as an acceptable way to settle conflicts.

The school and the home provide children with unlimited access to media,
not only televisions and computers, but also videos, movies, comic books
and music lyrics. The responsibility now lies with the parents, teachers and
the whole community. It should be a collective effort among the factors
working together to support children in every aspect of development.

Having a role model is extremely important for children at this stage of

transition (from childhood to adolescence). Children need an adult to admire
and emulate. Role models also provide them with motivation to succeed.
One of the most important roles of teachers is to become very good role
model to children.

Implications to Child Care, Education and Parenting

Children have varying intelligence profiles. These profiles may be
based on influences on learning and achievement. Parents, child-care
providers and teachers should be able to recognize these through:
 Being an eager participant in children’s growth and development;
  Understanding how to use the children’s natural curiosity to help make
the
appropriate developmental leaps in their skills and abilities; and
 Creating an atmosphere where risks can be taken and discoveries
made while children remain safe.

APPLICATION
Write the definitions of the following words based on how you understand them.

a. Concrete Operational Thinkers

b. “Reading to Learn” stage (in reading

development)

c. Attention Span

d. Creativity
Research Connection
Access the video link https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=3krHQmOsR44. This video was uploaded by scholastic and is entitled “Kids
Tell Us: Why I Read.” In the video, you will gain insight on what motivates
Intermediate School children read.
Write some of the reasons that you find interesting.

As a teacher, write some concrete steps that you can do in the classroom to
encourage your students to make reading a habit.

Reflection
To ensure that you are promoting your students’ cognitive well-being, ask
yourself the following questions:

1. Do I provide a wide variety of concrete experiences for my

students learning?
2. Do I involve my students in activities that allow conversations about
abstract concepts and operations?
3. Do I provide them with appropriate concrete and manipulative
materials?
4. Do I use technology wisely to engage my students in practicing their
skills?
5. Do I recognize that students at this age will sometimes test
the rules, regulations and authority?
6. Do I provide opportunities for them to enrich their reading skills?
 UNIT 5 – LATE CHILDHOOD (The Intermediate Schooler)
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD

Socio-emotional Development of
MODULE Intermediate Schoolers
23

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Identify the socio-emotional characteristics of children in their late childhood
stage.
 Determine the qualities of family life that affect older children’s
development
including changes in family interactions.
 Interview a parent regarding their child’s socio-emotional development

INTRODUCTION
At this period of socio-emotional development, children are spending
less time in the home. The bulk of their time is spent outside the home,
either alone or with other children, rather than with adults. Other children
have already familiarized themselves with other children. They are already
used to interacting with different ages and gender. For many of them, these
social networks are not only sources of social support but also different forms
of learning.
ACTIVITY
Paste a picture of you when you were in grade 4, 5, or 6. Recall a
significant event that happened to you. Write a very brief story of what
happened.

ANALYSIS
Discuss Questions:
As you share your story with a classmate, try to answer the questions below:
1. Why was this event so significant?
 2. What do you think were the factors that contributed to make
you react or feel that way?
3. How do you think this event has affected you socially and emotionally?
4. Thinking about it now, do you think you could have
acted or felt differently?

ABSTRACTION:
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. It
enables them to (a) judge others' intentions, purposes and actions, (b) give
importance to social attitudes and behaviors and (c) increase skepticism of
others' claims.
Emotional Development
The same with other areas of development, children in 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 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 contributes 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
 receive an average 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 have the following skills which peers

find very positive and as a result they become the most
favored in the group:
1. They give out reinforcement.
2. They act naturally.
3. They listen carefully and keep open communication.
4. They are happy and are in control of their negative emotions.
5. They show enthusiasm and concern for others.

On the other hand, here are the characteristics of neglected children

and why the group or majority of the peers develop negative feelings toward
them:
1. They participate less in the classroom.
2. They have negative attitudes on school attendance.
3. They are more often reported as being lonely.
4. They are aggressive.
 a. In boys:
- They become impulsive; have problems in being attentive and disruptive.
- They are emotionally reactive and slow to calm down.
- They have fewer social skills to make and maintain friends.

Family
Family support at this stage is crucial. If children do not find a
supportive family when they find their interest (e.g. in hobbies like riding a
bike or playing a musical instrument) they can easily get frustrated. If
families are a primary support system, failures and setbacks become
temporary and surmountable rather than something that is attributed to
personal flaws or deficits. This time is a critical time for children. to develop a
sense of competence. A high-quality adult relationship, specifically, family
relationships enable them to successfully go through this stage of
development.
Big Ideas
This module stresses that:
 During late childhood, a wide variety of biological, psychological and
social changes take place across the developmental domains.
 As children progress through late childhood, the family environment
remains extremely important, while the community environment -
including the school - also becomes a significant factor in shaping the
child's development.
 During late childhood, peers have an increasingly strong impact on
development; peer acceptance becomes very important to well-being.

Implications to Child Care, Education and Parenting

Primary school children's socio-emotional competency should be
viewed in the context of the child's developmental age. Health-care
providers, teachers and parents should be able to:
 gain understanding of their child's socio-emotional strengths and weaknesses
by
 Encouraging children to talk about their feelings without doing it forcefully
  provide opportunities for children to build relationships with teachers
and fellow classmates;
 remind children that friendships have their ups and downs and that
occasional conflicts and arguments can be healthy;
 design activities that allow children to work on their own and discover
activities and hobbies that they enjoy; and
 model healthy relationships.

APPLICATION
A. Study the illustration on the left. It shows some of the factors that
may result in some degree of emotional stress to intermediate school-age
children. What can you say to kids who may be experiencing these things?

My dear child,

Write a letter to them.

https://www.virtuallabschool.org/school-age/social-emotional/lesson-2
 B. Interview a parent or a teacher of an intermediate school-age child.
Use the questions below as your guide. Write your conclusions and insights.

Name of Parent / Teacher (optional):

"Age and Grade Level of the Child:
Gender of the Child:

Questions:
1. What are some marked changes in your child as he/she
reached the intermediate level (Grades 4 to 6)?
2. How can you describe his/her interactions with parents,
siblings, teachers, peers - if any?
3. What can you say about your child's self-confidence
and self- esteem?
4. What activities in the home do you do to help your
children interact with people around him/her

My Insights:
RESEARCH CONNECTION
Research on one of the topics below and find out how intermediate school-
aged children respond to one of the following events in life:
 death
 parents' separation
 rejection from peers

Reflection
To ensure that you are promoting your students' socio-emotional well being,
ask yourself the following questions:

1.Do I have healthy relationships with my students, fellow

teachers and superiors?

2. Do I have a good sense of my self-identity?

3. Do I encourage my students to be open with their feelings and
emotions?

4. Do I provide my students with a non-threatening classroom
environment?

5. Do I respect my students' individuality and authority?

6. Do I foster healthy friendships among my students?
FINALS
UNIT 6 – Adolescence (The High School Learner)
- Paz I. Lucido, PhD

Physical Development of High School Learners

MODULE
24

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this Module, you should be able to:
 describe the physical and sexual changes accompanying puberty.
 identify the psychological consequences of early and late physical
maturation in adolescence.
 identify factors that enhance impede the socio-emotional.development
of adolescents.
 identify causes of possible habit disorders and ways of coping with them.
 present an abstract of recent research related to the physical
development of adolescents.
 draw implications of these physical development concepts to high school
teaching- learning, and parenting.

INTRODUCTION
This Module seeks to facilitate the learning in defining/describing the
adolescent along physical development with focus on the major change
factor of puberty. Early and late physical maturation will be discussed, while
identifying dangers and opportunities for the growing teenage child. The
impact of social media will be highlighted, to invite learners to further
research on topics as body-image, social media and the adolescent, and the
roles and responsibilities of the family, school and government.
 Adolescence is a stage of human development that coincides with
puberty, a biological development occurring at the average age of 11 for
girls and 12 for boys. There are factors, however, which contribute to early
puberty and delayed puberty. These factors include heredity, diet, exercise
and socio-environmental influence. Early and late maturation in adolescence
accompany the cognitive and socio-emotional development of adolescents.
In this situation, the teacher must be an understanding teacher who can
provide guidance and support to adolescent learners in their high school
years.

ACTIVITY
Share your real life experiences on these aspects your adolescent period:

Physical or biological growth whether this was

slow or fast, smooth or by spurts;
Any sense of curiosity or concern for incidences
of menstruation for girls and wet dreams for
boys.
The effect of biological growth on self-image
(possibly as one is too thin or plump, lanky or
short, not so good looking or attractive, etc.)
Parental relationship (as a teenager you seek
privacy,

ANALYSIS
Answer the following questions as a group:.
1. Was there anything common in the shared experiences?
2. Was there anything unique to individuals in the group?
ABSTRACTION
Defining adolescence
Adolescence is a period of transition in terms of physical, cognitive and
socio- emotional changes. The period of adolescence begins with the
biological changes of puberty. The specific ages for this period vary from
person-to-person but (i) early adolescence characterized by puberty may
come at the ages of 11 and 12 (ii) middle adolescence may meet identity
issues within the ages of 14 and 16, and (iii) late adolescence marks the
transition into adulthood at ages 17 and 20.
This module is focused on physical development with puberty marking
the major transition manifested by changes in (i) physical appearance (ii)
rapid rate of growth (next to the speed of growth of the fetus in the uterus)
known as growth spurts (iii) resultant feeling of awkwardness and
unfamiliarity with bodily changes, and (iv) alterations in sleeping habits and
parent-adolescent relationship possibly accompanying puberty.

Puberty changes
Throughout life, growth hormones condition gradual increases in body
size and weight. Hormone flooding
during adolescence causes an
acceleration known as
growth spurts. Growth
spurts include a change in
body dimensions (leg length,
shoulder width, trunk length).
Spurt in height is ascribed to
trunk growth rather than leg
growth.

In girls, the growth

spurts generally begin at age
10 reaching its peak at age 11
and-a-half, while
slow continual growth occurs for several more years. For boys, growth spurts
begin at age 12 reaching a peak at age 14 and declining at age 15 and a
half, while slow continual growth continues on for several more years.

Among girls, 98% of adult height is generally reached at age 16, while
boys do so at age 17. Growth in height is conditioned by stages in bone
maturation. The muscles also grow in terms of size and strength. Similar
growth spurts occur for weight, muscle size, head and face, maturation, and
the reproductive organs.

All muscular and skeletal dimensions appear to take part in the growth
spurts during adolescence.

Factors affecting development

The series of hormonal changes accompanying puberty is complex.
Hormones are powerful and highly specialized chemical substances that
interact with bodily cells. Hormonal changes in the hypothalamus and
pituitary glands signal the entire process of sexual maturation. The process
entails (i) secretion of gonadotropic hormones by the anterior pituitary
at the base of the brain near the geometric center of the head (ii) Gonads
which are the ovaries for the female and the testis for the male are then
stimulated by the gonadotropic hormones, in turn stimulating their own
hormones (ii) this stimulation causes the secretion of testosterone in the
male sex organ and of estrogen in the female ovary.
 In the male, testosterone stimulates male characteristics comprised by
(i) spermache enlargement of the testis gland that produces sperm in
the scrotum, growth of the penis male organ for copulation (ii) capacity
for ejaculation of male sperms (iii) voice change (iii) facial hair
development or beard growth, and continuing growth of pubic hair.
Occurring late in puberty, the lowering of the voice caused by
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, appearance of pubic hair, widening of the hips, and
menarche or first menstruation. The elevation of the female breast is
the first external sign of puberty in girls, accompanied by growth of the
uterus and vagina. Generally, girls achieve menarche beginning age 11
until age 13. There are ethnic differences such as African American and
European American girls exhibiting secondary sex activities as early as
8 and 9 years; menarche as early as 11 and 12 years, respectively.

In contrast with menarche, spermache signals the first sign of puberty

and sexual maturity in boys. The need to discharge semen mixed with a
sticky fluid produced by the prostate gland-occurs periodically. Discharge of
semen occurs during sleep caused by sexual dreams. It may also occur
during conscious manipulation of the male sexual organ known as
masturbation. Religion strictly prohibits masturbation that is coupled with
sexual fantasies, but science liberally regards masturbation as a normal
phenomenon unless it becomes a habitual aberration that may affect
confidence in heterosexual (boy- and-girl) relationship.

The secular trend

The secular trend is a phenomenon of more rapid physical.
maturation during this century. In the 1800s, girls in industrial societies had
their first menstrual period at age 15-17, and age later in repressed
societies. Today boys reach their maximum height at age 18-20 and 13 14
for girls, but adult height 100 years ago was at 23-25 for boys and 19-20 for
girls. The secular trend is ascribed to varied factors, such as: interaction of
genetic and environmental influences, improved health care and living
conditions, and control of infectious diseases. Better nutrition is a major
factor since this provides more protein and calories for humans from
conception upwards. Observably, the secular trend in industrial countries
appears to be levelling off while the experience of secular trends is just
starting in peasant economies of the world.
Sexual identity
Adolescence is a time of sexual
exploration and experimentation with
sexual fantasies and realities of
incorporating sexuality with one's
identity quoted by Santrack, 2005 from
one's identity (Christopher, 2001)
Adolescents are concerned about
their body image sexual attractiveness
how to do sex and the future of their
sexual lives. Most adolescents manage to
develop a mature sexual identity but a
number go through it with much
confusion.

How do adolescents develop a sexual identity?

An adolescent's sexual identity involves sexual orientation, activities,
interests, and styles of behavior (Bugwell & Rosenthal, 1996). Some
adolescents are very anxious about sex and sexually active. Others are. only
a ous about sex and are sexually inactive.
Sexual orientation is a person's tendency to be attracted to people
of the same sex (homosexual orientations), of the opposite sex (heterosexual
orientation) or of both sexes (bisexual orientation)

Why does an adolescent develop a specific sexual orientation is at matter of

great debate. It may boil down to the same issue of nature vs. nurture.

In terms of sexual identity, adolescence is the period when most

gay/lesbian and transgenders begin to recognize and make sense of their
feelings. Development analyst Froiden proposed a model for the
development of homosexual identity: (i) sensitization marked by the child's
becoming aware of same sex attractions. (ii) identity confusion
when the youth is overwhelmed with feelings of inner turmoil regarding sexual
orientation
(iii) identity assumption when adolescents come out of the family and
assumes a self- definition as gay, lesbian or bisexual, and (iv) commitment
when the young adult adopts a sexual identity as a lifestyle. Coming to terms
with a positive LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) identity is
usually difficult for variety of reasons, including family, race and religious
cultures. Risks to the homosexual adolescent are real amid a
heteronormative environment and LGBTs may suffer ostracism, hurtful jokes,
and even violence.

Self-esteem
A major aspect of identity formation during the period of adolescence is self-
esteem. Self-esteem is defined as one's thoughts and feelings about one's
self-concept and identity. Most theories on self-esteem state that there is a
grand desire across all genders and ages to maintain, protect and enhance
self-esteem. There is no significant drop in self-esteem over the period of
adolescence. Baseline self-esteem is stable across adolescence, but a
barometric (unstable) self-esteem may fluctuate rapidly to cause severe
distress and anxiety. Girls enjoy self-esteem through supportive relationship
with friends or others who can provide social and moral support. In contrast,
boys are more prone to assert independence in defining their relationships,
deriving self-esteem from their ability to successfully influence others.

The lack of romantic competence failure to meet the affection of the

opposite sex- can be a major contributor to low self-esteem in adolescent
boys. In a Meyer study, the end of a romantic relationship can affect both
boys and girls, but girls are twice as likely to experience depression, while
boys are three to four times more likely to commit suicide.
Implications for child care, education and parenting

To meet the physical development of adolescent

children, parents need to be aware of manifestations of
behavioral patterns that require closer communication,
guidance and support. The teen is especially addictive to
modern gadgets for music listening, video games, mobile
phone communication, and social media posting. These
activities cause shorter sleeping time that may
contribute to increased levels of daytime drowsiness,
sleeping problems and depression. In school, teachers
need to be aware of the possible drop in self-esteem
among adolescent learners. . The teacher's support is
crucial to protect adolescent learners against severe
distress and anxiety over their school work and social
relationships.

Body image and the adolescent

Consciousness about body image is strong during the adolescent
period. It is important that adolescents feel confident about how they look,
but the physical features of the human body (facial looks, body size, color of
skin, etc.) depend on genetic heritage which must be respected. However,
there is more to body image than physical looks and these concern good
habits in relation to:
cleanliness and grooming,
proper wearing of clothes according to current
styles, erect body posture,
eye contact while communicating, and
decorum (good form and confidence) and decency.
APPLICATION
1. Cite at least 5 ideas from this module, then give a reason why each
of these ideas is important for the positive growth or development of an
adolescent..

Big Ideas from Reasons why these ideas are

the Module important. for the development of
adolescents
1
2
3
4
5

RESEARCH CONNECTION
Write brief summaries of published research articles, such as, among others:
 The adolescent brain
 Puberty plateaus
 Adolescent behavioral
inhibitions Share your findings
with the class.

Reflection
To ensure your understanding and practical grasp of the adolescent's
physical development, ask yourself the following questions:

1. What were significant experiences during my own adolescent years in high

school?

2. Did my physical features affect my self-esteem?

3. Was/were my parent/s particularly aware of how I was developing
physically?
4. Did my teachers recognize changes in my teen years and were they
particularly supportive?
5. How were my teen years different from the teen learners today when
social media affect their lives, schooling and relationship?
6. What competencies do I need as a teacher for teens in this millennium?
 In the Philippines as in other countries, problems exist such as teenage
pregnancy, abortion, early marriage, and child trafficking. Major pubertal and
biological changes during adolescence call for social management at home
school and society.

Write a personal journal on your

experiences as an adolescent and how
you were able to overcome issues
related to the period, such as self-
esteem, body image, boy-girl romantic
relationship, etc.
 UNIT 6 – Adolescence (The High School Learner)
- Paz I. Lucido, PhD

Cognitive Development of High School Learners

MODULE
25

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 describe the cognitive development of adolescents in the light of
Piaget’s and Siegler’s cognitive development theories.
 explain the consequences of the adolescents’ cognitive development on
their
behavior.
 define overachievement and underachievement
and propose solutions to
underachievement.
 present an abstract of recent research related to cognitive
development of adolescents.
 draw implications of these cognitive developmental concepts to high
school teaching-learning and parenting.

INTRODUCTION
Adolescence is a time for rapid cognitive development. At this stage of
development, there is a decrease in egocentric thoughts, while the
individual’s thinking takes more an abstract form. This allows the individual
to think and reason in a wider perspective. Behavioral studies also show the
development of executive functions comprised by cognitive functions that
enable the control and coordination of thoughts and behavior.
Adolescence is therefore a period of human development that has great influence
on the
individual’s future life through character and personality formation.

ACTIVITY
Share
your  The grades you received (and possible awards

experiences and recognition) and their effect at home and

about the school
following  Any involvement in projects (e.g. IT research,
which relate
workshops, planning, discovering, organizing,
to
etc.) and what cognitive processes were
cognitive
involved in these
development:
 Memorable field study and how this helped you
develop cognitively

ANALYSIS
1. After answering the activity, have you progressed from simple memory
of facts to higher types of learning (understanding, applying, analyzing,
assessing, etc.)?
2. How did your school learning relate to actual life at home and in the
community? For example, were mathematical subjects (Algebra,
Trigonometry, etc.) really helpful and applicable in your life?
3. Do you think you need to develop your cognitive or thinking skills more
so that you can be a planner, an organizer, or a leader?

ABSTRACTION
Similarly remarkable as the physical changes during adolescence are
changes in thinking patterns. These changes are marked by the acquisition
of new cognitive skills due to brain’s increasing in weight and refining
synaptic connections (technically known as corpus collosum) which join
and coordinate the two hemispheres of the brain.
Another brain development is the process of correlated 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 operational thinking processes for logical reasoning.
Accompanying brain changes in cognitive ability, the adolescent begins to
acquire spatial awareness and formulate abstract or general ideas involving
numbers, order, and cause-effect. All these changes the world of possible
and universal ideas (e.g. general ideas about the 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 in order to dwell on what is abstract,
hypothetical and possible. In this realm of thought, the adolescent begins to
attain subtlety in thinking, entering the sphere of possibles and futuribles.
More specifically, formal operational thinking consists in:

Proportional thinking—making Relativistic thinking—

assertions outside visual subjectively making an opinion
evidence, and stating what on facts—involving one’s own
may be possible in things not bias, prejudice of distortion of
seen by the eyes (for example, facts which may be either right
whether an unseen object is red or wrong (for example, arguing
or green, big or small, flat o situation
r for or against the superiority of
round). and exploring
R eal vs. possible t the
– examining a races, whether white,
he
possible in terms of situations
or solutions (e.g. possible
success in implementing a
student project or a school
policy.)

A new capacity known as Hypothetic-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 practice it. School math and science activities such as
performing Physics-type problems (balance scales, pendulums, projections of
images and shadows, etc.) certainly help in actualizing formal operational
thinking.

Outside formal operational thinking through mathematical and science

studies, the adolescent enters into a new capability which makes him a
problem-solving thinker. This involves identifying problem and seeking new
and creative solutions for them. The problem-finding thinker is one who is
able to rethink and recognize ideas and ask 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.

Siegler’s Information Processing Skills

As in information-processing theories, Robert Siegler views the

influence of the environment on thinking. He sees cognitive growth, not as
stages of development, but more of a sequential acquisition of specific
knowledge and strategies for problem-solving. He observes the quality of
information the adolescent processes that influences him/her in facing tasks
at hand through strategies or rules.

In his experiments, Siegler used rule models in relation to balance,

weight, distance, conflict-weight, conflict-distance, and other conflict balance
problems. He examined the correct and wrong answers to each of problems,
drawing out rule models on thinking and working.

Thereupon, adolescents may show; (a) speed in information

processing, coupled with greater awareness and control and acquired
knowledge base—a more efficient kind
of thinking compared with that of the child (b) complexity by way of
considering longer- term implications and possibilities beyond the here-and-
now, and (c) increased volume of information processing coupled with longer
memory span.

Metacognition

Among the cognitive

advances in adolescence is
metacognitive which is the ability
to identify one’s own thinking
processes and strategies
inclusive of perception, memory,
understanding, application,
analysis, assessment and
innovation. The adolescent is able
to state “I know that” among the
memory data stored in his
mind; also able to state recall through the use of mnemonic device. The
adolescent may also such questions as what, why, where and how. All these
are demonstrations of higher order thinking adolescence.

Another important development is the ability of the adolescent for

information processing. Information theorist Robert Siegler sees a
sequential acquisition of specific knowledge and strategies for problem
solving. He observes the quality of information processes that facts tasks at
hand through strategies and rules. Rules relate to balance, weight, distance,
conflict weight, conflict distance and conflict balance problems. Thereupon
the adolescent shows (i) speed in information processing coupled with
awareness and control (ii) complexity by way of considering longer-term
implications and possibilities beyond the here-and-now, (iii) increased
volume of information processing, coupled with longer memory span along
many areas or domains of knowledge. The adolescent thus transforms from
being a novice to becoming a near-expert.
Overachievement

During adolescence, he/she can achieve very

high academic grades, in spite of not getting
IQ grades that are at the top 3 or 5 percent of
the bell curve. The case of overachievers is a
reminder that the Intelligence are other
factors such as motivation interest, work
habits, and personality development. Beyond
statistical achievement in curricular subjects
(English, Math, Science, Araling Panlipunan,
etc.) the overachieving adolescent may
demonstrate superior work habits, greater
interest in school work, more consistency in
doing assignments, and more grade/
performance consciousness and planning compared with “normal” achievers.

Characteristics of overachievers
are:
Positive self- value (self-esteem, confidence, optimism);
Openness to authority (responsive to expectations of
parents and teachers);
Positive interpersonal relations (responsive and sensitive
to feelings of others);
Less conflict on the issue of self-autonomy (feels
freedom to make right choices, initiates and leads
activities);
Academic orientation (disciplined work habits, high
motivation to discover and learn, interest in study values
and varied fields of study);
Goal orientation (efficiency and energy in organizing,
planning, setting target, prioritizing long-term goals over
short-term rewards); and
Control over anxiety (well composed and relaxed
performance of organized tasks).
Underachievement

The adolescent may perform below

the standards set. Possible potentials do
not cope with the opportunity to learn
and score in the top quarter of measured
academic achievement.
Underachievement may become more
pronounced when high school class work
becomes more demanding. Withdrawn
underachievers refer to those who
.docile.
They follow the path of no resistance, not reacting to given assignments and
school regulations. Generally quiet, they do not participate in class activities.
Aggressive underachievers are those who tend to be talkative, disruptive
and rebellious.

Behavior and adolescent cognitive growth

There are behavioral tendencies which may accompany cognitive growth
during adolescence. These are:

Egocentrism.
 This is the adolescents’ tendency to think too much of themselves,
while being too sensitive to social acceptance of their appearance,
actions, feelings, ideas, etc.
 Egocentrist teens feel they are being watched like an actor on
stage; keep an imaginary audience who are strict critics of dress,
behavior of performance.
 One egocentric strain is exaggerated feeling of self- importance
which may lead to murky early boy- girl relationships, dangerous
escapades and adventures.
Idealism.
 This refers to imagining the far- fetched and less ideal situations at
home, in school, and in society.
 The teen may imagine a utopia or heaven on earth leading to
discouragement when social realities become harsh (e.g. unexpected
low grades, family discord, etc.)

Increased argumentativeness.
 Teens enjoy learning through the use of group dynamics including role
play, debate, and drama.
 Strict imposition of the use of English in the campus has been the
strategy by premiere schools to develop argumentative students who
later on transform into leaders in politics, business and other top
professional fields.

Implications to adolescent care, education, and parenting

Parents and teachers must be able to recognize the

cognitive development paths among adolescents and
create situations that will foster higher thinking skills
through:

Activities at home e.g. asking teenage children for

suggestions on family matters—house physical
arrangements, things to buy, places to go to
family outing, etc.
Allowing more independence e.g. use of school
allowances, choice on what to wear, etc.
Activities in school that allow participation, such
as projects, filed trips, joint internet research,
etc., and Develop reading skills through magazine
articles, Internet blogs.
Developing occupational skills

Senior High School Grades 11 and 12 were designed to provide attention

to occupational skills that are absent even among college graduates. The
Department of Labor and Employment reports that there is mismatch
between employable school graduates and potential jobs or employment.
Theorist John Holland has identified basic personality factors that match with
attitude and work preferences:
Realistic- This personality type prefers practical
tasks, including those requiring physical labor and
motor coordination, and less of interpersonal skills
(e.g. carpentry,

Investigative- This prefers tasks that are conceptual

such as in the fields of science and technology as
chemists, scientists, technologists, etc.

Conventional- This prefers structured tasks that cater to

the needs of others, such as in office jobs and manual
labor.

Enterprising- This prefers independence and

innovation in business and other enterprises that
reflect autonomy and personal initiative.

Artistic- This prefers unstructured tasks that show

ability for self- expression such as from artists,
musicians, and performers
 Adolescents may also show capability for multitasking, later on
becoming professionals such as doctors who are at the same time business
entrepreneurs. Early on adolescents may show abilities for gainful work,
later on becoming self- supporting in college, by entering the service
sector as fast-food employees, sales clerks, office messengers, and utility
personnel. These adolescent attitudes and abilities demonstrate:

 self- reliance- working independently without stress;

 money management- not spending money on luxuries, much less on
alcohol and drugs;
 mature work orientation- pride in work and quality of work;
 personal responsibility- assuming tasks independently and competitively; and
 positive attitude to work- work is seen as a gainful wholesome
activity and not burden.

APPLICATION
Read and discuss the cognitive competence of highly known intelligent
leaders, among others: WHO ARE THEY?
 UNIT 6 – Adolescence (The High School Learner)
- Paz I. Lucido, PhD

Socio-emotional Development of High

MODULE School Learners
26

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the Module, you should be able to:
 describe the socio-emotional changes in adolescents.
 describe how self-image develops among teens.
 discuss causes and solutions to socio-emotional problems. of teenagers
such as gender and identity, autonomy and attachment, peer group,
friendships, dating, juvenile delinquency, depression and suicide.
 draw implications of these socio-emotional developmental concepts to
high school teaching-learning and parenting.

INTRODUCTION
During adolescence the teen develops social cognition in the context of
family structure, the school, the community, and media. He also manifests
emotions which need to be regulated for success in school as well as for
his/her own emotional well-being. In the classroom, the teacher has the
mandate for creating a positive learning environment, while facilitating the
students' sound moral judgment. This Module will describe the adolescent
age trend in social behavior as the student interacts with the school, the
community and the larger social environment.
ACTIVITY
Think of the experiences of high school recalling activities which showed
socio-emotional change: e.g. partying, intimate friendship with same sex or
opposite sex, etc. and how these provided learning for your socio-emotional
growth: Write briefly the experience and learning:

Experiences during Teen SOCIO-EMOTIONAL

Years GROWTH
Learnings along self-
knowledge, self-identity,
social relationships
etc.
Partying

Keeping intimate friends, same

or opposite sex

Others.....
ANALYSIS
Based on the
sharing

1. What do you think makes the adolescent

differ from those who have not yet reached
the age of puberty?
2. What social activities do you think are (i)
good for teens (ii) not good or that
prevents socio- emotional growth?
3. As a future teacher, what would be
your

attitude to teens in your class?

ABSTRACTION

Human emotions
Generally
Positive emotions
and negative are commonly known as human
emotions
feelings that are manifested by varied conscious or unconscious
moods.Emotions
A more function
accuratebydescription
focusing attention,
is that it motivating and
is a subjective
enabling theinternal
reaction to individual
or to face a stimulus.
external situation in lifeinvolves
that or withdraw and
physical
change,
run awayaction
from orit. appraisal. Thus, the child
Positive emotions reacts to
like interest andinner
joy
hunger for food or comfort from surrounding environment.
motivate the individual to continue his/her behavior. On the
other hand, negative
The unique emotions
patterns may cause
of emotions withdrawal
are (i) from
event that is
strongmay
what or important (ii) physiological
be perceived changes in
as bad or dangerous. Forheart pulse
Charles rate,
Darwin
brain activity, hormone levels and body temperature (iii)
there are six basic emotions, namely interest, joy/ happiness,
readiness for action often described as "fight or flight" (iv)
sadness,
dependenceanger, disgust
of the and on
emotion fear.
howOther
the scientists expanded the
list to include love, pride, hope, gratitude, compassion,
jealousy and
Social emotions
Social emotions start to emerge as early as the toddler
years (15- 24 months) comprised by such feelings as envy,
embarrassment, shame, guilt and pride. Observable emotions
during these years may not be accurate, but they can be a
problem if not controlled. Even among early learners, emotions
affect learning, since learners pay more attention to things with
emotional significance.
Emotions can also organize recall, such that learners tend
to remember details of emotionally strong experiences. In time,
emotional competence can be developed by the child, and this
means he/she gains the ability to regulate emotions and
understand the emotions of other people.
Social emotions
Girls are more skilled in regulating emotions, but they are
more likely than boys to be anxious, and twice as likely to be
depressed. Adolescent girls are more likely than boys to have
both negative and positive interactions with family and friends.

Adolescents especially feel stress, usually from

relationships with parents, friends, sweethearts, also from
pressure of school work. Thus adolescents are stereotyped as
moody and negative, poor emotion control. Some studies argue
against stereotyping adolescents pointing at other emotions
among teens such as feeling bored, tired, sleepy, social
discomfort like awkwardness and loneliness. Generally,
adolescents are seen to tend to emotions from social evaluation
such as feeling embarrassed when being looked at, also only
fairly happy most of the time. Other observations are that most
adolescents are not moody, while some are frequently angry,
anxious or sad. An important lesson for high school teachers is:
you should not simply dismiss emotional negativity as a normal
phase, but should address the needs of teenagers who are
chronically unhappy or moody.

The adolescent and social media

On the present-day profusion of media, the adolescent has
easy access to the culture of various media and social media,
inclusive of computers, cell phones, video games, music iPods,
FM radio and cable television. Almost all household have
television sets and about three quarters of adolescents' homes
have access to the Internet.

The total media exposure of the whole populace has

greatly increased, even as adolescents have the highest rates of
use of video games, texting, social networking through
Facebook, and portable gadgets for music, mobile
communication and virtual reality games.
 The adolescent and social media
Findings indicate that electronic communication negatively
affects adolescents’ social development. As face-to-face
communication is replaced, social skills are impaired sometimes
leading to unsafe interaction with those who use social media to
exploit others financially or sexually Girls are particularly
vulnerable to online socializing, while boys socializing in Internet
cafes lower their academic work and achievement. Socially
insecure teens become victims rather than beneficiaries of the
modern gadget’s innovations of the digital age.

Implication to adolescent care education and parenting

The overall implication is that emotional skills influence the

adolescent learner's success in class work. Learners who are able
to regulate their emotions tend to be happier, better liked and
better able to pay attention and learn. Interventions by the teacher
and the school can reduce learner's emotional distress, while
raising test scores and grades. The teacher plays a most important
role in promoting positive changes for the adolescent. As the teen
is susceptible to peer pressure, the negative influence of social
media, drug use and addiction, early romantic sexual adventurism,
the teacher and the school can conduct interventions to assist the
youths with focus on risky and inappropriate behavior while
promoting positive development among
APPLICATION
Video making!

Choose a demonstration/performance that

display varied emotions
through: to be passed on our gclass.
a. Dance
b. Pantomine (dramatic movement without words)
c. Short skit
d. Song
Make sure your performance are as follows:
a. most artistic, b. most effective, and
c. most inspiring.

Reflection

Through a reflection journal, relat the concept of

maturation of feelings and growth of self image do
what you see as the best theory on human emotions.
You may answer the following questions:
1. how was I emotionally affected by my own beliefs,
bias, or
prejudice about people?
2. How was the physical environment at home or
school affected by emotions - positively or
negatively?
3. How did people affect my emotional maturity, e.g.
parent,
teacher, friend?
 Part III Revisiting the 14-Learner-Centered Psychological
Principles in Relation to the Learner's Developmental
Stage

Synthesis of the Physical, Cognitive and Socio-Emotional

Development of Pre-Natal Period

MODULE
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD

27

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Summarize key features of the physical, cognitive and socio-
emotional development during the pre-natal period
 Apply pedagogical principles in the development process during the
pre-natal period

SYNTHESIS
Give a summary of the key characteristics of pre-natal development by
filling out the table below.
KEY FEATURES OF PRE-NATAL DEVELOPMENT

Physical
Development

Cognitive Socio-
Development Emotional
Development
The Pedagogical Principles As Applied to Pre-natal Development
You studied the 14 pedagogical principles in Part 1, Unit 1. Cite and
explain at least one pedagogical principle that applies to pre-natal filling out
the table below. You may choose only those principles that are relevant.

LEARNER-CENTERED PRINCIPLE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE

IN
PRE-NATAL DEVELOPMENT
Cluster 1- Principle referring to Cognitive How is this principle applied in
and Metacognitive Factors pre- natal development?

(State the relevant learner-centered

principle here).
Cluster 2 - Principle referring to How is this principle applied in
Motivational and Affective Factors pre- natal development?

(State the relevant learner-centered

principle here).
Cluster 3-Principle referring to How is this principle applied in
Developmental and Social Factors pre- natal development?

(State the relevant learner-centered

principle here).
Cluster 4- Principle referring to How is this principle applied in
Individual Differences Factors pre- natal development?

(State the relevant learner-centered

principle here).
BOARD EXAM TICKLERS
1. Which statement on brain development is CORRECT?
A. Most of the neurons in the adult brain are produced
before birth.
B. Most of the neurons in the adult brain are produced at birth
C. Most of the neurons in the adult brain are produced after birth.
D. Brain development stops at childhood

2. Is the brain capable of learning before birth?

A. Yes.
B. No.
C. Depends on mother's nutrition
D. Depends on baby's health condition

3. Which term refers to the explosive growth of synapses during pre-natal

development?
A. Myelination.
B. Spermatogenesis
C. Synaptogenesis
D. Oogenesis

4. Which process increases the connections between areas of the brain

during pre-natal development?
A. Synaptogenesis
B. Myelination
C. Spermatogenesis
D. Oogenesis
5. When infants are born, they immediately begin to observe the world and
make sense of it through sucking, grasping and looking in which stage is
this, according to the Piaget's theory of cognitive development?
A. Pre-operational stage
B. In between sensorimotor and preoperational stages
C. Pre-sensorimotor stage
D. Sensorimotor stage

6. It is observed that there is brief delay between pinching a finger and

infant's crying. Which can explain this?
A. Brain is not yet fully functioning.
B. Sense of touch is not yet fully developed.
C. This is due to incomplete myelination.
D. Infants are less sensitive to pain.

7. Which term refers to one's inability to remember things from infancy to

one's first memories?
A. Childhood amnesia
B. Decay
C. Retrieval failure
D. Interference

8. What is an indicator of separation distress between 1 and 2 years of age?

A. Children cry at the sight of strangers,
B. Children cry and cling when their attachment figure tries to leave.
C. Children aren't bothered by temporary disappearance of mother.
D. Children are comfortable with strangers,
9. Which characteristics apply to children with secure attachment?
I. Readily soothed
II. Emotionally open
III. Afraid of people

A. I and II C. I only
B. II only D. III only

10. Infants are directly influenced by their mothers' emotional expressions.

Which term is explained?
A. Empathic distress C. Affective perspective-taking
B. Emotion contagion D. Social referencing
 Synthesis of the Physical, Cognitive and
Socio- Emotional Development of
Toddlers
MODULE
- Brenda B. Corpuz, PhD
28

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Summarize key features of the physical, cognitive and socio-
emotional development of toddlers
 Apply pedagogical principles in the teaching-learning process for toddlers

SYNTHESIS
Give a summary of the key characteristics of toddlers' development by filling
out the table below.
KEY FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF TODDLERS

Physical
Development

Cognitive Socio-
Development Emotional
Development
 The Pedagogical Principles As Applied to Toddlers' Learning and
Development You studied the 14 pedagogical principles in Unit 1. Cite and
explain at least one pedagogical principle that applies to the teaching-
learning process of TODDLERS by filling
out the table below. You may choose only those principles that are relevant.
You studied the 14 pedagogical principles in Part 1, Unit 1. Cite and
explain at least one pedagogical principle that applies to pre-natal filling out
the table below. You may choose only those principles that are relevant.

LEARNER-CENTERED PRINCIPLE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE

IN THE TEACHING-LEARNING
PROCESS
OF TODDLERS
Cluster 1- Principle referring to How is this principle applied in
Cognitive and Metacognitive the teaching- learning process of
Factors (State the relevant toddlers?
learner-centered principle here).
e.g. Make the classroom or home
e.g. Cognitive and metacognitive environment safe and nurturing for
factors Context of learning- toddlers to learn by ensuring their
Learning is influenced by safety while they climb the stairs,
environmental factors, including jumps, explores, etc. Make the
culture, technology and environment conducive by talking to
instructional practices. The them, reading to them, playing
classroom environment, the degree matching games with them, taking
to which it is nurturing or not, can field trips together. to the garden,
have significant impact on toddlers' park, to the bus ride. Give them
learning. toddler learning toys appropriate to
their developmental stage.
Cluster 2-Principle referring to How is this principle applied in the
Motivational and Affective Factors teaching-learning process of toddlers?
(State the relevant learner-centered
principle here).

Cluster 3- Principle referring to How is this principle applied in the

Developmental and Social Factors teaching-learning process of the
(State the relevant learner- toddler?
centered principle here).

Cluster 4-Principle referring to How is this principle applied in the

Individual Differences Factors teaching-learning process of the
(State the relevant learner- toddler?
centered principle here).

BOARD EXAM TICKLERS

1. In which stage in Erickson's psychosocial stage are toddlers supposed to
assert their independence?
A. Autonomy versus shame and doubt
B. Trust versus mistrust
C. Initiative versus guilt
D Industry versus inferiority

2. When are toddlers developed too negatively or are ignored which do they
develop?
A. Mistrust
B. Shame
C. Total dependence
D. Inferiority

3. In which Piagetian stage of development is the toddler?

 A. Pre-operational
B. Concrete operational
C. Sensorimotor
D. Formal operational

4. What is meant by sensorimotor stage of toddlerhood?

A. Children rely on senses and behavioral schemes to acquire knowledge
B. Children imitate an action that was observed in the past
C. Children are able to have one thing represent another
D. Children know that objects that are out of view continue to exist

5. By the end of the sensorimotor period, the toddler understands object

permanence. What does object permanence mean? The understanding
that objects:
A. continue to exist even when they cannot be seen.
B. don't exist when they are no longer seen.
C. never change.
D. change in shape and in color.

6. The toddler's speech is usually telegraphic. What does this mean?

A. Two to three-word utterances with articles and prepositions
B. Short and long utterances
C. Incomprehensible language
D. Mispronounced words

7. With Chomsky's Language Acquisition Device (LAD), what is TRUE of toddlers?

A. Learn language slowly
B. Learn language fast
C. Can't pronounce words well
D. Can pronounce words well.
8. Which CORRECTLY explains infantile amnesia?
A. Ability to recall events that happened when the person was very young
B. Ability to imagine events that happened in toddlerhood
C. Inability to recall events that happened when the person was very young
D. Inability to understand events that happened when the person was very
young

9. A toddler is capable of creative thought. Which proves this?

I. Can use the same toy in more than one way
II. Pretends empty milk can is a drum
III. Constructs objects out of manipulative toys
A. I, II
B. I, II and III
C. II and III
D. I and II

10.To test a toddler's logical reasoning, what must you find out? If the child can:
A. make new things out of old toys
B. pronounce words correctly
C. reason out why something happens
D. distinguish father from other men
 Synthesis of the Physical, Cognitive and
Socio- Emotional Development of
Preschoolers
MODULE
- Maria Rita D. Lucas, PhD
29

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Demonstrate knowledge of characteristics of preschoolers.
 Apply pedagogical principles in planning learning activities for preschoolers
 Choose strategies that are developmentally appropriate for preschoolers

SYNTHESIS
Fill out the boxes with the characteristics and skills of preschoolers as
you studied them in the past three modules. This will reveal your basic
knowledge of the preschool learner.

Physical
Development

Cognitive Socio-
Development Emotional
Development
Application of Pedagogical Principles
1. Connecting with Learner-Centered Principles. Choose one principle
each for each of the four clusters. Refer to the complete listing of the 14
principles in Unit 1. Based on your knowledge and understanding of
preschool learners, elaborate on how this principle can be applied in all
aspects of the teaching-learning process involving preschoolers

LEARNER-CENTERED PRINCIPLE Elaboration of the

Principles for
Preschool Learners
Cluster 1 Cognitive and Metacognitive
Factors

Principle:

Cluster 2 Motivational and Affective

Factors

Principle:

Cluster 3 Developmental and Social

Factors

Principle:

Cluster 4 Individual Differences Factors

Principle:
BOARD EXAM TICKLERS
1. Abby is four and a half years old, In comparison with preschoolers who
are three, Abby is likely to be able to acquire the skill of .
A. copying a simple pattern of different basic shapes
B. purposely copying a square
C. purposely copying a triangle
D. turning a page of a story book

2. Playing games that teach right and left directions is best for .
I. Five-year olds
II. Three-year-olds
III. Two-year olds
A. I B. II C. III D. I, II, III

3. All can be expected to be performed by a three-year-old EXCEPT .

A. pouring from pitcher without spillage
B. feeding self using a spoon
C. taking a bath independently
D. putting on socks

4. Having activities that involve balancing is good for .

A. three-year-olds
B. four-year-olds
C. five-year-olds
D. three to five-year-olds

5. The amount of sleep preschoolers get, affects all EXCEPT .

A. level of brain activity
B. obesity
 C. level of regained energy
D. release of growth hormones

6. Preschoolers lean towards animism. As such, they will be interested in

stories where .
A. lead characters are superheroes
B. the plot involves pet animals
C. inanimate objects like the sun or the bus talk
D. scenes involve a lot of movement

7. The most appropriate activity for three-year-olds to develop counting skills is .

A. a well-designed worksheet on counting up to 25
B. counting objects of interest around the environment
C. working with counting flashcards
D. identifying numerals repeatedly until mastered

8. Teachers and caregivers can best help develop the emotional skills of
preschoolers by all EXCEPT .
A. using dolls, puppets or pictures to demonstrate how to express feelings.
B. calmly telling children to control their feelings
C. doing mirror talk or paraphrase reflection
D. modeling words that children can use to express strong feelings

9. Teachers and caregivers can best help develop the emotional skills of
preschoolers by all EXCEPT .
A. greeting each child by name
B. developing routines at home and school that encourage working together
C. play games that involve social interaction
D. emphasizing strict adherence to routine
10. An authoritative teacher is
one who does all, EXCEPT .
A. expects behavior appropriate to the age level
B. demonstrates high responsiveness and high demandingness
C. ensures having strong psychological control over the preschooler
D. models to the child how to take responsibility for one's actions
 Synthesis of the Physical, Cognitive and
Socio- Emotional Development of
Primary Schoolers
MODULE
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD
30

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Summarize key features of the physical cognitive and socio emotional
development of primary schoolers
 Apply pedagogical principles in the teaching-learning process for primary
schoolers

SYNTHESIS
Give a summary of the key characteristics of primary schoolers development
by filling out the table below.
KEY FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMARY SCHOOLERS

Physical
Development

Cognitive Socio-
Development Emotional
Development
The Pedagogical Principles As Applied to Primary Schoolers' Learning
and Development

You studied the 14 pedagogical principles in Module . Cite and

explain at least one pedagogical principle that applies to the teaching-
learning process of PRIMARY SCHOOLERS by filling out the table below. You
may choose only those principles that are relevant.

LEARNER-CENTERED PRINCIPLE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE

IN THE
TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS
OF
TODDLERS
(State the relevant learner How is this principle applied in the
centered principle here). teaching-learning process of the
primary schoolers?

Cluster 1- Principle referring to

Cognitive and Metacognitive
Factors
Cluster 2-Principle referring to
Motivational and Affective
Factors
Cluster 3-Developmentaland
Social Factors

Cluster 4- Individual Differences

Factors
BOARD EXAM TICKLERS
1. In which Piagetian stage is the primary school child?
A. Concrete operational
B. Post-operational
C. Pre-operational
D. Between concrete and post-operational stage

2. If the primary school child is in the concrete operational stage, which

is he/she capable of doing?
A. Able to conserve
B. Skilled at abstract thinking
C. Able to perform in post-operational stage
D. Can reason in hypothetical-deductive manner

3. Which statement about middle childhood is CORRECT?

A. Children at middle childhood stage can easily distinguish logical from
non-logical statements.
B. Children at middle childhood stage have greater long-term memory
than do preschoolers.
C. Physical growth stops.
D. Physical growth gets stunted.

4. In which developmental stage do the following apply? Learning physical

skills for playing games; developing school-related skills such as reading,
writing, and counting, developing conscience and values and attaining
independence.
A. Middle childhood
B. Early childhood
C. Early Adulthood
D. Adolescense
5. Primary school children fantasize less often because .
A. they are more attuned to happenings around them
B. they are less imaginative
C. they are not creative
D. they have become more cynical

6. Primary schoolers overcome some of the egocentrism of pre thinkers?

How is this manifested? They are better at:
A. understanding the views of others.
B. classifying objects.
C. ordering objects.
D. expressing their thoughts

7. Primary schoolers are better at arranging objects according to

increasing or decreasing length. Which ability is described?
A. Classification
B. Egocentrism
C. Seriation
D. Abstraction

8. The primary schoolers' ability to separate a pile of cardboard circles into

one group of white and another group of black is a proof of as a logical
operation.
A. Seriation
B. Classification
C. Abstraction
D. Generalization
9. Primary schoolers have improved ability to infer a relationship between
two objects based on knowledge of their relationship with a third object.
Which ability is explained?
A. Seriation
B. Classification
C. Abstraction
D. Transitivity

10. A primary schooler comes up with this conclusion: "You should

gather your crop before it gets dark" if he is asked to interpret "Make hay
while the sun shines." This means that the primary schooler interpret
sayings .
A. figuratively
B. literally
C. realistically
D. creatively
 Synthesis of the Physical, Cognitive and
Socio- Emotional Development of
Intermediate Schoolers
MODULE
- Heidi Grace L. Borabo, PhD
31

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Summarize key features of the physical cognitive and socio emotional
development of intermediate schoolers
 Apply pedagogical principles in the teaching-learning process for
intermediate schoolers

SYNTHESIS
Give a summary of the key characteristics of intermediate schoolers’
development by filling out the table below.

KEY FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLERS’

Physical
Development

Cognitive Socio-
Development Emotional
Development
The Pedagogical Principles As Applied to Primary Schoolers' Learning
and Development

You studied the 14 pedagogical principles in Module . Cite and

explain at least one pedagogical principle that applies to the teaching-
learning process of INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLERS by filling out the table below.
You may choose only those principles that are relevant.

LEARNER-CENTERED APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE

PRINCIPLE
IN THE
TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS
OF
INTERMEDIATE SCHOOLERS
(State the relevant learner How is this principle applied in
centered principle here). the teaching-learning the
process
of
intermediate schoolers?
Cluster 1- Principle referring to
Cognitive and Metacognitive
Factors
Cluster 2-Principle referring to
Motivational and Affective Factors

Cluste 3- and Social

Developmental
r
Factor
s

Cluster 4- Individual Differences

Factors
BOARD EXAM TICKLERS
1. Which statement holds TRUE to intermediate schoolers?
A. On the average, girls are generally as much as two (2) years ahead of
boys in terms of physical maturity.
B. Boys physically mature earlier than girls in the intermediate grades.
C. There is no physical growth because this is before the "growth spurt".
D. They are past "growth spurt".

2. What are signs of the early onset of puberty among intermediate girls?
I. Budding breast for girls.
II. Onset of menstrual period.
III. Change of voice.
A. I B. II and III C. I and II D. III

3. Which term refers to girls' first menstrual period?

A. Menarche
B. Oogenesis
C. Puberty
D. Spematogenesis

4. Which is one of the most widely recognized socio-emotional or

cognitive characteristics of the intermediate schooler?
A. The acquisition of self-competence
B. The skill of highly abstract reasoning
C. Conservation
D. Decreased ability in perspective taking

5. Which should homes and schools do to help the intermediate

schooler prevent the development of inferiority?
 A. Provide opportunities to experience success on challenging tasks
B. Not be overly controlling
C. Help them develop identity
D. Inspire them to contribute to the welfare of others

6. Which teacher's practice can help promote intermediate pupils' positive self-
concept?
I. Meets with students periodically during each grading period to help
them
monitor their learning progress?
II. Make students get to know one another.
III. Make students compete against one another.
A. I only B. II only C. III only D. I and II

7. What does Grade VI teacher encourage when she encourages students to

think about the motives and feelings of their group mates in the group
projects?
A. Egocentrism
B. Understanding
C. Perspective-taking
D. Conservation

8. Are intermediate schoolers more able to conceal their emotions

compared to toddlers?
A. Yes
B. Somewhat
C. No
D. Depends on family upbringing

9. What is an intermediate schooler capable of doing with perspective taking?

A. Blaming others
B. Judging others' intentions, purposes and actions.
 C. Self-reflection
D. Abstraction
10. Seen in older elementary schools is conventional
intermediate schoolers ethics. This means that .
A. conform to the rules and conventions of society
B. violate societal norms
C. behave for fear of punishment
D. do good for the sake of a reward S
 Synthesis of the Physical, Cognitive and
Socio- Emotional Development of
Adolescents
MODULE
- Paz I. Lucido, PhD
32

LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Summarize key features of the physical cognitive and socio emotional
development of adolescents
 Apply pedagogical principles in the teaching-learning process for adolescents

SYNTHESIS
Give a summary of the key characteristics of adolescents’ development by
filling out the table below.

KEY FEATURES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS’

Physical
Development

Cognitive Socio-
Development Emotional
Development
The Pedagogical Principles As Applied to Primary Schoolers' Learning
and Development

Refer to the 14 pedagogical principles in Unit 1. Cite and explain at

least one pedagogical principle that applies to the teaching-learning process
of ADOLESCENTS by filling out the table below. You may choose only those
principles that are relevant.

LEARNER-CENTERED APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE

PRINCIPLE
IN THE
TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS
OF
ADOLESCENTS
Cluster 1-Principle referring to What is an application of this principle
Cognitive and Metacognitive in the teaching-learning process of
Factors (State the relevant dolescents?
learner-centered
principle here).
Cluster 2- Principle referring What is an application of this principle
to Motivational and Affective in the teaching-learning process of
Factors adolescents?

(State the relevant learner-

centered principle here).
Cluster 3- Principle referring What is an application of this principle
to Developmental and Social in the teaching-learning process of
Factors adolescents?

(State the relevant learner-

centered principle here).
Cluster 4- Principle referring to What is an application of this principle
Individual Differences Factors in the teaching-learning process of
(State the relevant learner- the adolescent?
centered
principle here).
BOARD EXAM TICKLERS
1. Which is a characteristic of adolescence?
A. Stunted growth
B. Growth spurt
C. Slow physical growth
D. End of physical growth

2. Which statement is TRUE of adolescence?

A. Growth spurt starts earlier in boys.
B. Growth spurt starts earlier in girls.
C. Growth spurt takes place in boys and girls at the same time.
D. There is no growth spurt in adolescence.

3. Testosterone is to boys as is to girls.

A. ptyalin
B. progesterone
C. hormones
D. estrogen

4. Menarche is to girls as is to boys

A. heterosexuality
B. spermache
C. masturbation
D. puberty

5. Which is TRUE of adolescents?

A. Stop growing
B. Don't desire an "ideal" body
C. Lack sleep
 D. Occupied with play

6. Adolescents are in the formal operational stage, according to Piaget. What

are they capable of doing?
I. Abstract thinking
II Systematic thinking
III. Hypothetical thinking
A. I, II B. II and III C. I only D. I, II and III

7. If adolescents are capable of abstract thinking, how will they interpret

"Make hay while the sun shines"
A. Gather your crop before it gets dark.
B. Seize an opportunity when it exists.
C. Gather your hay while it is not yet raining.
D. Weave materials out of hay at day time.

8. Which question do adolescents ask to show hypothetical thinking?

A. What resulted from World War II?
B. What if your heart were near your anus?
C. What is wrong with the student's reasoning process?
D. Why did the main character in the movie die?

9. In which life-span stage is the adolescent based on Erikson's theory of

psychosocial development?
A. Intimacy vs. isolation
B. Identity vs. confusion
C. Generativity vs. stagnation
D. Industry vs. inferiority
10. Which is the most essential need of adolescents?
I. Firm and caring teachers who empathize with them
II. Teachers who provide the security of clear limits for acceptable behavior
III. Teachers' sensitivity to reach out to them
A. I and II B. I and III C. II and III D. I, II and III