EDUC 50 (THE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT LEARNERS AND LEARNING
PRINCIPLES)
Aprell L. Abellana
OVERVIEW
This module is design in response to the need for universities to come up with a
new learning delivery mode that would enable the students to continue learning while
the government is trying to contain the spread of COVID-19. It focuses on child and
adolescent development with emphasis on current research and theory on biological,
linguistic, cognitive, social and emotional dimensions of development. Further, this
includes factors that affect the progress of development of the learners and appropriate
pedagogical principles applicable for each developmental level.
MODULE TITLE: Human Development: Meaning, Concepts and Approaches
[Link]
INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the module, the students must have:
1. Defined human development in his/her own words; and
2. Distinguished between the traditional and life-span approach of development.
INTRODUCTION
Every living creature is called 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.
In this module, you will be acquainted with how human development as a
process takes place. You will also appreciate the different approaches which may
enable you to understand better the development of your future students. That, like you,
each of them is also a bundle of possibilities.
TIME ALLOTMENT
6 hours
ACTIVITY
Here is a picture of seven-year old Nicole and two-year old Gab. Each one is a 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 on your
answers.
___________________________________
___________________________________
________________________________
___________________________________
________________________________
___________________________________
___________________________________
________________________________
___________________________________
Analysis
After giving your predictions, answer the following questions:
1. When you gave your own predictions as to the kind of child, adolescent and adult Nicole and
Gab may become and hypothesized on who they once were, you were referring to human
development. What then is development?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2. Will two-year old Gab be able to do all that seven-year old Nicole can do? Why or why not?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
3. Will there be anything common in the pattern of development of Nicole and Gab? 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 on your answer.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
6. Do you believe that Nicole and Gab will continue to develop even in adulthood? Or will they
stop developing in adulthood?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACTION
Development is defined as systematic changes and continuities in the individual that
occur between conception and death or “from womb to tomb”. By describing changes as
“systematic”, we imply that they are orderly, patterned and relatively enduring; temporary and
unpredictable changes such as mood swings are therefore excluded. We are also interested in
“continuities” in development, ways in which we remain the same or continue to reflect our
pasts.
The systematic changes and continuities of interest to students of human development
fall into three broad domains:
1. Physical development: the growth of the body and its organs during childhood; the
functioning of physiological systems; the appearance of physical signs of aging during
adulthood; gains, losses, and continuities in motor abilities; and so on.
2. Cognitive development: changes in perception, language, learning, memory, problem
solving and other mental processes.
3. Socio-emotional development: is a child’s ability to understand the feelings of others,
control his or her own feelings and behaviors, get along with other children, and build
relationships with adults.
Even though developmentalists often specialize in one or another of these three aspects
of development, they appreciate that humans are whole beings and changes in one area affect
the others. The baby who develops the ability to crawl, for example, now has new opportunities
to develop her mind by exploring the contents of shelves and cabinets and to hone her social
skills by accompanying her parents from room to room.
How do you think humans typically change from birth to old age? Many people picture
the life span this way: First there are tremendous positive gains in capacity from infancy to
young adulthood; then there is little change at all during young adulthood and middle age; and
finally, there is only loss of capacities – a process of deterioration – in the later years. This
stereotyped view of the life span is largely, although not entirely, false. It has some truth for
biological and physical development. Traditionally, biologists have defined growth as the
physical changes that occur from conception to maturity. We do indeed become biologically
mature and physically competent during the early part of the life span. Aging, in a biological
sense, is the deterioration of organisms (including human beings) that leads inevitably to their
death. Biologically, then, development does not involve growth in early life, stability in early
adulthood, and the declines associated with aging in later life.
Most developmental scholars today have rejected this simple model of the life span,
however. When they speak of development, they now mean more than positive changes that
occur in infancy, childhood and adolescence. They believe that developmental change consists
of both gains and losses or may simply represent a difference between earlier and later
behavior (as when a four-year-old who once feared loud noises comes to fear hairy monsters
under the bed instead). Also, developmentalists today use the term aging to refer to a wide
range of changes, both positive and negative, in the mature organism. They maintain that both
positive and negative changes – gains and losses – occur in every phase of the life span, and
so we should not associate aging only with loss.
Consider this: From early childhood to young adulthood, although we certainly do gain
many new abilities, we also experience negative changes such as increased rates of depression
and suicide. From our teenage years to our 40s, when we are supposedly not changing much,
we are typically gaining self-confidence and other psychological strengths, and we are aging as
well. And, although many elderly adults do find themselves becoming somewhat slower
mentally, many are also still acquiring knowledge and expertise that young people lack. In short,
development involves gains, losses, just plain changes, and samenesses in each phase of the
life span. Above all, we should abandon the idea that aging involves only deterioration and loss.
Two important processes underlie developmental change: maturation and learning.
Maturation is the biological unfolding of the individual according to a plan contained in the
genes (the hereditary material passed from parents to child at conception).
Learning is the process through which experience brings about relatively permanent change in
thoughts, feelings or behavior.
Two Approaches to Human Development
If you believe that Nicole and Gab 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 developmental change takes place
as it does during childhood, your approach is termed life-span approach.
Paul Baltes, an expert in life-span development, gives the following characteristics:
1. Development is lifelong. It does not end 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 things as “I
am too old for that. . .”
3. Development is multidimensional. Development consists of biological, cognitive and
socio-emotional dimensions.
4. Development is contextual. Individuals are changing being 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.
5. Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation.
Growth, maintenance and regulation are three (3) goals of human development. The goals
of individuals vary among developmental stages. For instance, as individuals reach middle
and late adulthood, concern with growth gets into the back stage 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 the child care, education and parenting.
Characteristics of human development Educational implication to Child Care,
from a lifespan perspective Education and Parenting
1.
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. If your approach to human development is traditional, are the characteristics of human
development from a lifespan perspective acceptable? Explain your answer.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
4. Below are the principles of child development and learning which are the bases of
developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in early childhood program for children from
birth through age 8, which were stated in the position paper of the National Association for
the Education of Young Children (2009). 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 characteristics of human development from
life-span perspective in the second column.
Principles of Human Development Characteristics of Human Development
(NAEYC, 2009) from Life-span Perspective
a. All the domains of development and e.g. Development is multidimensional
learning- physical, social and emotional,
and cognitive – are important, and they
are closely interrelated. Children’s
development and learning in one domain
influenced by what takes place in other
domains.
b. Many aspects of children’s learning and
development follow well documented
sequences, with later abilities, skills, and
knowledge building on those already
acquired.
c. 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.
d. Development and learning result from a
dynamic and continuous, interaction of
biological maturation and experience.
e. 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 to occur.
f. Development proceeds toward greater
complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic
or representational capacities
g. Children develop best when they have
secure, consistent relationships with
responsive adults and opportunities for
positive relationships with peers.
h. Development and learning occur in and
are influenced by multiple social and
cultural contexts.
i. Always mentally active in seeking to
understand the world around them,
children learn in a variety opf ways; a
wide range of teaching strategies and
interactions are effective in supporting all
these kinds of learning.
j. Play is an important vehicle for
developing self-regulation as well as for
prom oting language, cognition, and
social competence.
k. 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.
l. Children’s experiences shape their
motivation and approaches to learning,
such as persistence, initiative and
flexibility; in turn, these dispositions and
behaviors affect their learning and
development.
SYNAPSE STRENGTHENER
1. Interpret the following quotations in relation to human development:
a. “Every man is in certain respects like all other men, like some other men, no other man.”
(Murray, H.A. & C. Kluckhohn)
b. “Man is an unfinished project. He is always in the process of becoming.”
Present your interpretations through an illustration. In the light of researches on human
development, which of the two approaches is closer to the truth- traditional or lifespan?
Why?
ASSESSMENT
I. Give an operational definition of Human Development.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
II. Differentiate traditional and life-span approach of development.
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
III. Put a ✔ before a correct statement and an ✘ before a wrong one. If you put ✘, explain why.
Write your explanation below the statement.
___ 1. Development is a pattern of change.
___ 2. Development is either growth or decline
___ 3. From both traditional and life-span perspectives development is lifelong.
___ 4. In the development process, these are things that hold true to all people.
___ 5. Individuals develop uniformly.
___ 6. Development is predictable because it follows an orderly process.
___ 7. Development is unidimensional.
___ 8. Development takes place in a vacuum.
___ 9. The effect of biological process on development is isolated from the effect of cognitive
and socioemotional processes.
REFERENCES/SUGGESTED READINGS
1. Acero, V., Javier, E., & Castro, H. (2008). Child and Adolescent Development. First
Edition. Manila: Rex Book Store.
2. Corpuz, B., Lucas, M., Borado, H., Lucas, M. R. & Lucido, P. (2018). Child and
Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles. OBE - and K to 12 – Based. Manila:
Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
3. Corpuz, B., Lucas, M., Borado, H., Lucas, M. R. & Lucido, P. (2015). Child and
Adolescent Development: Looking at Learners at Different Life Stages. OBE - and
PPST – Based. Manila: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
4. Lucas, M. R., Borabo, M., Bilbao, P. and Corpuz, B. (2020). Field Study.
Observations of Teaching-Learning in Actual School Environment. OBE- and PPST-
Based. Manila: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.
5. Sigelman, C. K. (1999). Life-Span Human Development. 3 rd Edition. Brooks/Cole
Publishing Company.
6. Human Development
[Link]
development/
7. Some Kind of Connection- the Up Series
[Link]
