CHILD & ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT | FACILITATING LEARNING 

1. Principles of Growth and Development 

 
Growth – ​quantitative changes in man   
Development –​ ​qualitative changes in man   
Maturation – ​growth/development has reached full potential or peak of action 
 
a. phylogenetic principle  
b. ontogenetic principle  
c. cephalocaudal principle  
d. proximodistal principle 
e. epigenetic principle 
f. functional asymmetry 
g. Early foundations are critical. 
h. All individuals are unique. 
i. Each stage has its own characteristic behaviours. 
j. Each stage has its own hazards. 
k. There are expectations for each stage. 
l. The various aspects of growth and development are interrelated and integrated. 
 
Factors of Growth & Development: 
1. Heredity  2. Environment  
 
   
Rights  of  the  Child  -  ​right  to  life;  to  a  name;  to  protection  from  all  forms  of  physical  or 
mental violence; to education; to freedom of expression; to rest and leisure; to be protected from 
economic  exploitation;  to  freedom  of  thought,  conscience  and  religion;  to  freedom  of 
association;  to  the  highest  attainable  standard  of  health;  to  a  standard  of  living adequate for the 
child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development. 
 
Aspects of the Child’s Growth & Development ​–​ p ​ hysical, cognitive, social, emotional 
 
John Santrock’s Developmental Stages 
 
1. Pre-natal Period  
2. Infancy – birth to 2  
3. Early Childhood – 3 to 5 yrs  
4. Middle & Late Childhood – 6 to 12 yrs  
5. Adolescence – 13 to 18 yrs 
6. Early Adulthood – 19 to 29 yrs 
7. Middle Adulthood – 30 to 60 yrs 
8. Late Adulthood – 61 yrs and above 
 
2. Physical and Motor Development 
 
Reflexes: 
a. Moro 
b. Rooting 
c. Tonic Neck 
d. Sucking 
e. Stepping 
f. Palmar 
g. Plantar 
3. Brain Development 
*cerebrum, cerebellum, brain stem, hypothalamus 
4. Factors Affecting Development  
5. Exceptional Development 
a. Cerebral Palsy 
b. Mental Retardation 

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 c. ADD/ADHD 
d. Autism 
 
Physical  -  m
​ otor  skills  disorder,  mental  retardation,  visual  impairment,  hearing  impairment, 
communication disorder, learning disability 
Cognitive - o ​ rganic disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, mood disorders and 
eating disorders 
Social/Emotional – ​anxiety disorders, selective mutism, ADD, ADHD 
 
6. Linguistic and Literacy Development 
 
7. Theories on Language Acquisition 
a. Innatist 
b. Cognitivist 
c. Social Contextual 
 
8. Language Disorders 
a. Aphasia 
b. Dyslexia 
c. Dysgraphia 
 
THEORIES ON THE LEARNERS’ DEVELOPMENT 
 
1. Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory 
Principles of A ​ daptation​:  
a. assimilation ​- interpretation of events in terms of existing cognitive structure 
b. accommodation - ​changing the cognitive structure to make sense of new 
knowledge 
c. equilibrium –​ achieving proper balance between assimilation and accommodation 
 
2. Lev  Vygotsky’s  Social  Constructivist/  Socio-Cultural  Theory  –  ​man  generates  knowledge 
from  his  experiences  and  constructs  his  own  understanding  of  the  world;  use  of 
“scaffolding”  in  helping  the  child  move  from  the  ​zone  of  actual  to  the  zone  of  proximal 
development​;  “private/inner  speech”,  socialization  and  language  are  important  for 
cognitive development. 
 
3. Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Theory, Components of Personality 
 
4. Erik Erikson’s Socio-emotional Theory 

Crisis  Maladaptation  Malignancy  Virtue 

Sensory 
Trust vs Mistrust  withdrawal  Hope 
maladjustment 
Autonomy vs Shame and  Compulsivit
Impulsiveness  Will power 
Doubt  y 
Initiative vs Guilt  Ruthlessness  inhibition  Purpose 
Competenc
Industry vs Inferiority  Narrow virtuosity  Inertia 
e 
Identity vs Role Confusion  Fanaticism  repudiation  fidelity 
Intimacy vs Isolation  Promiscuity  exclusion  Love 
Generativity vs Stagnation  Overextension  rejectivity  care 
Presumptio
Integrity vs Despair  Disdain  Wisdom 
n 
 

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 5. Lawrence Kohlberg’s Moral Development Theory ​– believed that children form ways of 
thinking through their experiences which include understandings of moral concepts such 
as justice, rights, equality and human welfare. 

6. Urie Bronfrenbrenner’s Bio-Ecological Theory 

  MESOSYSTEM  –  connection  between  the  structures  in 

each layer  

  CHRONOSYSTEM  –  covers  the  element  of  time  as  it 

relates to the child 
 
  *​ ​No longer nature vs. nature, but NURTURING NATURE 
 

THEORIES ON INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 

1. VAK Learning & Thinking Style Theory 

2. ROGER SPERRY’s Left Brain-Right Brain Continuum 
3. DAVID KOLB’s Learning Style Theory   
a. active experimenter – doing  
b. abstract conceptualizer – thinking 
c. reflective observer – watching  
d. concrete experiencer –feeling 
 
4. HOWARD GARDNER’s Multiple Intelligence Theory 
9 Ways of Perceiving / Understanding: 
a. Verbal-Linguistic f. Naturalistic 
b. Body-Kinaesthetic g. Visual-Spatial  
c. Intrapersonal  h. Interpersonal 
d. Logical-Mathematical i. Existential 
e. Musical-Rhythmic   
 
5. DANIEL GOLEMAN’s Emotional Intelligence Theory 
 

THEORIES ON LEARNING 

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A. Behaviorism / Associationism / S-R Theories 

 
1. Ivan Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning Theory  
 
Principles: 1. Stimulus Generalization 3. Adhesive principle 5. 
Discrimination  
2. Excitation  4. Extinction 6. Spontaneous 
recovery  
 
 
2. Edward Thorndike’s Connectionist Theory  
3 Laws of Learning: law of readiness, law of exercise, law of effect 
* Reward and Punishment 
 
3. Burrhus Frederic Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory  
Principles: positive & negative reinforcement, use of reinforcers  
 
4. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy Theory 
 
5. John Watson  
 
B. Cognitivism 
 
1. Max Wertheimer’s Gestaltist Theory 
 
2. Kurt Lewin’s Psychological Field/ Topological Field Theory  
Change Theory ​– 3 stages in changing behaviour (unfreezing, transition, refreezing) 
 
3. Kurt Koffka’s Law of Pragnanz  
4 Laws of Organization ​– similarity, proximity, continuation, closure 
 
4. Wolfgang Kohler’s Insight / Cognitive Reorganizational Learning 
* AHA moment 
 
5. David Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning & Schema (Subsumption) Theory 
* Advance Organizers 
 
6. Jerome Bruner’s Discovery Learning/ Constructivist Theory   
3 Stages of Representation: enactive – pupil experiences the idea/concept concretely 
  iconic – idea/concept is represented graphically 
  symbolic – use of symbols to represent the idea (ex. formulas) 
* Spiral Curriculum 
 
7. Robert Gagne’s Hierarchical Theory & Conditions of Learning ​- Learning causes an 
observable change in the learner; Skills should be learned one at a time; Each new skill 
learned should build on previously acquired skills; Learning and knowledge are both 
hierarchical in nature.  
 
8. William  Glasser’s  Control  Theory  &  Reality  Therapy  -  ​a  child  should  understand  that  he 
has  choices,  that  he  can  control  his  life,  and  he  should  be  aware  of  the  consequences  of 
his actions 
 
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 9. Information  Processing  System  –  ​focuses  on  how  knowledge  enters  and  is  stored  and 
retrieved from our memory. 
 
C. Neo-Cognitivism/Neo-Behaviorism 
1. Albert Bandura’s Social Cognitive / Observational Learning / Modelling Theory  
4 Components of Learning – attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation 
2. Edward Tolman’s Purposive Behaviorism/Expectancy  
–  bridge  between  Behaviorism  and  Cognitivism;  learning  is  goal-directed;  reinforcement  is  not 
essential to learning   

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