Developmental Dimensions of Learning 2014

Developmental Dimensions of Learning

• As individuals develop, there are different opportunities and constraints for learning.• Learning is most effective when differential development

within and across physical, social intellectual and emotional domains is taken into account.• Individuals learn best when material is appropriate to

their developmental level.• Individual development varies across intellectual, social,

emotional and physical domains, achievement in different instructional domains may also vary.

Cognitive, emotional and social development of individual learners and how they interpret life experience are affected by : Prior Schooling Home Culture & Community

School Experiences,Stock Knowledge,Moral Values

Family’sRelationship,Upbringing,

Demeanor &Principles

Norms,

Folkways,

Beliefs,

Religion,

Social Group,

Rules & Law

How Children Think and

Learn

Jean Piaget’s contributions to our understanding of the learning process, are as important as his contributions to our understanding of stages of development.

Stages of Learning

• Sensorimotor Stage • It lasting from birth to approximately 24 months,

in this stage the child learns about the world primarily through sensory experiences and movement.• Child knows that an object still exist even when

out of sight (Object permanence).• Infants and toddler intelligence should not be

underestimated. They understand such concepts as causality and reversibility through sensorimotor intelligence.

The child touches things, holds, listens, tastes, feels, bangs & shake everything in sight.

Creeping, Crawling,

Walking

•Pre-operational Stage • From 2 to approximately 5 or 6 years of age • The child develops the important skill of using

symbols, but is not yet capable of mentally manipulating them in logical order.• SYMBOLIC FUNCTION - The symbols systems

children develop include using pictures and spoken words to represent objects and ideas, using letters to represent sounds, and then moving a step further and using the written words to represent meaning.

•Pre-operational Stage • EGOCENTRISM- The tendency of the child to see

only his point of view and to assume that everyone has also his same point of view.• CENTRATION- Child focus only on one aspect of

thing or event and exclude others.• IRREVERSIBILITY- The children still have the

inability o reverse their thinking.• ANIMISM- Child attribute human like traits or

characteristic to inanimate object.• TRANSDUCTIVE REASONING- Child’s type of

reasoning that is neither inductive nor deductive.

•Concrete Operational Stage• From approximately 6 to 11 or 12 years of age• Children become capable to mental operations

and applying logical thought to concrete objects and situations.• However at this stage, children’s use of mental

operations and their ability to apply logic is effective only if they have concrete, tangible objects to which they can refer.• Children begin to manipulate data mentally.

•Concrete Operational Stage• DECENTERING- Ability of the child to perceive

different features of object and situation. No longer focus or limited on one aspect or dimension.• REVERSIBILITY- Child can now follow that certain

operations can be done in reverse.• 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.• SERIATION- Refers to the ability of the child to

arrange things in a series based on one dimension like weight, height, volume or size.

How Adolescents Learn

• Adolescence represents a very special time in the chronology of a young person’s developmental history.• They not only grow as physical persons, but also

develop as psychological and cognitive persons.• Adolescents begin at approximately 11 or 12 years old.• Adolescents can imagine all of the possibilities in any

situation or problem and are capable of analyzing them to determine which are the best approaches.• Young adolescents can think intuitively, concretely or

formally. • The older they are, the more likely they are to think

formally.

• Thinking will vary from person to person because, like all other behavioral expressions, it is a function not only of innate intelligence, but also of experience, social class, ethnic background and previous learning.• Changes in the adolescents abilities to think in more

abstract way is not just a function of experience, but it is also a function of corresponding changes in brain growth and structure.• To develop competence in the are of inquiry, students

must have a deep foundation of factual knowledge, understand fats and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework and organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and applications.

How Adults Learn

• Adults are autonomous and self directed.• Adults have accumulated a foundation of life

experience and knowledge that may include work-related activities, family responsibilities and previous education.• Adult are goal oriented.• Adults are relevancy-oriented.• Adults are practical, focusing on the aspects of a

lesson most useful to them in their work.• As do all learners, adults need to be shown respect.

Sources of Motivation for Adult Learning

• Social Relationship• External Expectations• Social welfare• Personal Advancement• Escape/Stimulation• Cognitive Interest

Understanding the Developmental

Dimensions of LearningTeaching and Learning occurs in complex

ecosystems, dynamic environments where teachers, students, materials and supplies,

texts, technologies, concepts, social structures, and architectures are interdependently related

and interactive.

Understanding the Developmental

Dimensions of LearningThere is positive evidence of student development across five dimensions: confidence and

independence, skills and strategies, knowledge and understanding , use of prior and emerging experience , and critical reflection. These five dimensions cannot be separated and treated individually; rather they are

dynamically interwoven.

Five Dimensions of Student Development

• Confidence and Independence • We see growth and development learners’ confidence

and independence become congruent with their actual abilities and skills, content knowledge, use of experience and reflectiveness about their own learning.

• Skills and Strategies• Skills and strategies represent the “know-how” aspect

of learning, when we speak of “performance” or “mastery” we generally mean that learners have developed skills and strategies to function successfully in certain situations

• Knowledge and Understanding • Refers to the “content” knowledge gained in particular

subject areas. It is the most familiar dimension, focusing on the “know-what” aspect of learning

• Use of Prior and Emerging Experience• The use of prior and emerging experience involves

learners’ abilities to draw on their own experience and connect it to their work.

• Reflection • Refers to the developing awareness of the learner’s

own learning process, as well as more analytical approaches to the subject being studied.

Five Dimensions of Student Development