seminar on theories in child development: overview dr. k. a. korb university of jos

Seminar on Theories in Child Development:

Overview

Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

Importance of Educational Psychology

• Understand and support the developmental needs of the students

• Develop an educational environment that supports the students’ motivation

• Provide solutions to practical educational problems

• Improve teaching practice


Solutions to Educational Problems

• Students do not study well.– Research in educational psychology has identified

study strategies that effective learners use– Self-Regulated Strategy Development Model• Help students develop the necessary skills to be self-

regulated learners• Provides specific steps on how to teach self-regulation

skills

Improving Teaching Practice (Siegler & Ramani, 2009)

• Teaching mathematical skills to young children– Traditional: Recite the number string, Count

objects, and Name numerals– Based on theories of how children learn number:

Play a board game1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

Improving Teaching Practice (Siegler & Ramani, 2009)

*Significant effects at p<.05Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

Course Overview Introduction Cognitive Development

◦ Piaget ◦ Cognitive Information Processing ◦ Sociocultural Theory◦ Neo-Piagetians

Social and Emotional Development ◦ Social Learning Theory ◦ Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory◦ Attachment Theory Ecological Systems Theory

Conclusion


Course Overview• Each class will consist of the following:

– Brief overview of the theory– Student presentation of a research study based on the theory

• The purpose of the study• The research methods used• The conclusions that were drawn

– Class discussion of the article• Questions about the research methods• Soundness of the study’s methods and conclusions• Implications for education and parenting

• Continuous Assessment– Two Research Study Presentations

• 10 points apiece• Due on the appropriate date

– Piaget’s Conservation Experiment Replication• 10 points


Developmental TheoriesTheory: Organized set of

principles that describes, predicts, and explains phenomenon◦ Describe: What happens◦ Predicts: What will happen◦ Explain: Why it happens

New facts change existing theories or develop new theories◦ Changes to theories lead to

new experiments and facts


ScientificMethod


Characteristics of Good Theories

• Logically sound: No contradictory statements• Empirically sound: Explain research findings– Not contradicted by scientific observations

• Clear: Understandable• Testable: Can be tested by empirical studies• Parsimonious: Simple explanation of the data


Developmental Theories

• Developmental Theories focus on change over time• Domains– Physical growth and health– Cognitive development

• Thought• Perception• Memory• Language

– Social: Interactions with others– Emotional: Understanding and regulating feelings


Developmental Theories

• Aims of Developmental Theories– Describe changes within one or more domains

• How does thinking change over time? (Piaget’s stages)

– Describe the relationship between changes among several domains• How do changes in working memory capacity relate to

mathematical understanding? (Robbie Case)

– Explain the course of development so predictions can be made• What happens if a child does not have a strong attachment

to their mother? (Attachment Theory)Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

Developmental TheoriesDescribe

◦ Older children can study for longer than younger children

Explain◦ Older children have better attention management

strategies than young childrenPredict

◦ Young children with good attention management strategies can study as long as older children with poor attention management strategies

Influence development◦ Teach attention management strategies to children


Importance of Developmental Theories

• Organizes and gives meaning to facts• Guides future research• Guides educational practice


Developmental Research

• Case Study: Intensive study of a single or small number of individuals– Advantage: Rich descriptions of changes over time– Disadvantage: Lack of generalization

• Longitudinal Design: Observe the same participants over time– Advantage: Observe change over time– Disadvantages: Much time and resources

• Cohort Effect: Effects may be limited to the selected cohort


Developmental ResearchCross-Sectional Design: Observe individuals of

different ages at the same time◦ Advantage: Requires less time and resources◦ Disadvantages: May not reflect changes in an

individual over time Cohort effect

Sequential Designs: Different groups of participants are followed over time◦ Combines advantages of Longitudinal Designs with

Cross-Sectional Designs◦ Strongest research design in child developmental

research


Developmental ResearchMicrogenetic Design: Same children are repeatedly studied

in a short time as they are undergoing the process of change◦ Advantage: Provides detailed accounts of the process of change

at crucial moments in development◦ Disadvantage: Only provides information about development

over a short period of timeExperimental Method: Participants are randomly assigned

to treatment and control groups to test whether a hypothesized variable influences development◦ Advantage: Test causal hypotheses◦ Disadvantage: Difficulty in manipulating many variables of

interest to developmental psychologists


Developmental Research

• Cross-Cultural Research: Compare multiple cultures on developmental outcomes.– Advantage: Identify universality of developmental

outcomes– Disadvantage: Difficult to construct equivalent

methods for different cultures


Using Developmental ResearchStep 1: Evaluate your understanding

◦ Do you understand the study’s goals, methods, and conclusions?

Step 2: Analyze the study◦ Evaluate the methods and conclusions of the research

study Relationship between the methods and study’s goals Population Instruments Procedure Relationship between the statistical results and conclusions

Step 3: Apply the findings to different contexts◦ Do the findings apply to a different population or

environmental setting?Dr. K. A. KorbUniversity of Jos

Using Developmental Research

• Step 4: Apply the findings to different stages of development

• Step 5: Apply the findings to your own situation– How do these findings relate to your family or

classroom?


Development Overview

• Individuals develop at different rates• Development is relatively orderly – New skills and abilities build on already known skills and

abilities

• Development occurs gradually


Comparing Developmental Theories

• Theories differ on the basic assumptions of development

• Nature of humans: Active or passive– Active in shaping development– Passive recipient of environmental influences

• Nature or Nurture: How do nature (environment) and nurture (genetics) interact in development?

• Nature of Development: Does development occur continuously or in stages?


Revision

• Give an overview of developmental theories, including their relationship to research findings, the purpose of developmental theories, and the qualities of a good theory.

• Describe the major research designs in developmental research.

• Describe the three fundamental assumptions that differ between developmental theories.


seminar on theories in child development: overview dr. k. a. korb university of jos

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