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Lecture Notes 3
GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING
LESSON ONE:
TITLE OF LESSON: BASIC CONCEPTS AND PRINCIPLES IN PSYCHOLOGY OF HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENG
MEANING OF DEVELOPMENT, MATURATION AND LEARNING CONCEPTS OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Growth and Development are two concepts that are often used interchangeably in child study and each appears to be dependent on the other. However, the two are not the same.
The two concepts are distinguished below to enable the student to apply them more appropriately.
GROWTH: According to Lefrancois (1975) growth refers to quantitative physical changes such as increase in weight and height. Fundamentally growth refers to increment of the body tissues, organs and structures. In its true sense according to Rudwick (1965), however, growth is a progressive increase in volume, weight, number and measurable attributes. It must be noted, however, that growth is a subsidiary of development.
DEVELOPMENT: Development, according to Herlock (1968) is a progressive series of changes in an orderly coherent pattern Anderson (1960) stresses that Development is not merely changes in physical size or proportion, but then it is a complex process of integrating many structures and functions. .
PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT
Experts in child study have at various times and places, conducted detailed studies into the nature and trend of foetal and child development. Their findings confirm the presence of certain general phenomena and patterns in child development, which have over the years become accepted as principles of child development. The main principles that have emanated include those explained below.
1. Development proceeds in stages
2. Development is a continuous process, rather than discrete
3. Development follows an orderly sequence
4. Development is influenced by both heredity and environmental factors
5. Any break or lapses in the continuity of development will generally be due to environmental factors.
6. Different parts of the body develop at different rates
7. Development proceeds in a certain given direction
This can be seen in three ways:
a. At first development is not differential but later becomes more differentiated.
. b. Development moves from general to specific.
. c. The child is able to control his head region first before his trunk region and later on the lower parts of the body in walking. The pattern of development here follows the direction explained below:
I. cephalocaudal direction – That is development starts from the head (cephalo) and proceeds to the heel or tail region (caudal).
II. proximodistal: Development starts from the central part of the body to the outer parts and from the trunk to the limps.
8. There are individual differences in development
9. There are critical or sensitive periods in development
Critical periods are those periods during pregnancy or gestation during which particular developing organs and structures are most vulnerable or susceptible to environmental influence
RELEVANCE OF PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT
1. Knowledge of individual differences will help teachers to recognize that children have different capabilities and potentials so that provision can be made for every child
2. Knowledge of the principles of development is useful in realizing that it is not useful to blame a child for what he cannot help because of his developmental pattern
3. A teacher who understands growth pattern will be able to make use of each phase by providing teaching materials, methods, companions, incentives and opportunities for the expression of behaviour appropriate to each phase of development
4. With the knowledge of the importance of a rich environment to the child’s total growth and the realization that both teachers and parents form part of the environment, they would have to manipulate the environment to the advantage of the child.
5. The understanding that development in different parts of the body takes place at different rates ensure that head teachers and parents are not unnecessarily alarmed at the least unusual change occurring in the child.
THE CONCEPT OF MATURATION
One of the factors involved in the gradual unravelling of the heredity potential of an individual is maturation. Maturation may be defined as the process of gradually bringing the various parts of an individual’s physical, physiological and psychological features to full development. We may for instance speak of maturation of the sense organs or the nervous system, or of secondary sex characteristics or of psychological ability or of intellectual functions ,or of emotional reactions.
According to Woolfolk et al (1980) the term maturation refers to the changes that occur naturally and spontaneously and are, to a large extent , genetically programmed. The ability to sit, crawl and walk depends on maturation of the brain.
MATURATION AND LEARNING
For teaching to be purposeful and for educational programmes to be meaningful, they must be related to or in line with the natural trends of maturational changes. Lack of maturation in the general bodily development of muscles, physical feature, nerves, and the nervous system determine the child’s physical endurance and intellectual performance. Likewise, sitting positions in school and periods for standing and for physical activities should be planned to suit the age and degree of maturation of the child.
A child’s of attention and his ability to do complex intellectual work increase with the development of the sense organs as well as the brain. It is important for teachers to be aware of this in making their plans for teaching particular subjects. Such plans involve activities that are within the capabilities of the pupils.
LESSON 2:
PRE-NATAL AND PERI-NATL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Prenatal period refers to the growth and development of the fertilized human cell (Zygote) in the womb of the mother before it is born. This period normally lasts for 266 or 280 days. The prenatal development proceeds in a predictable sequence and can be divided into three basic stages or periods: the germinal or zygote period, the embryonic period, and the fatal period.
A. THE GERMINAL/ZYGOTIC/OVUM PERIOD: This begins from the moment
of conception and extends to the end of about the second week of gestation. During this period the fertilized egg or zygote undergoes mitosis (cell division) beginning sometimes during the first day after conception. This single fertilized cell divides into two, these cells divide to produce four, those four divide into eight and so on – with an identical set of chromosomes. By day 4 the new organism consists of 60 to 70 cells. During the process of cell division the zygote travels down the fallopian tube/oviduct to the uterus in about fourteen days, during which it implants or attaches itself into the walls of the uterus and the placenta is eventually formed. It thus becomes a parasite receiving all its oxygen and nourishment from the mother’s body through the placenta. In this process of implantation there is no direct connection of blood vessels between the mother and the zygote. Substances are transmitted to and from the mother’s blood vessel through the placenta. The implantation of the zygote to the walls of the uterus marks the end of the germinal period.
THE EMBRYONIC PERIOD: With the implantation of the zygote in the walls of the uterus, the second major prenatal period begins. It begins about two weeks after conception and lasts until about eight weeks after conception. At this point the developing organism is called an EMBRYO. At the beginning of the embryonic period, the baby-to-be is a cluster of cells. By the end of the period, it looks like a tiny baby with all the essential features or pieces in place. This is the period of structural development, when different parts of the body (brain, digestive system, arms and legs, eyes and nose and so forth are formed. In other words the cells begin to exhibit marked differentiation in the sense that during this period the brain, the digestive system, arms and legs, eyes and nose and all the internal organs are formed. Therefore the important changes during the period are found in the differentiation of tissue into the various structures of the body. By the end of the period all the major organs and systems have developed
Getting to the end of the period, a connection between the blood stream of the mother and that of the embryo develops. The placenta, umbilical cord and amniotic sac present in rudimentary form at implantation will mature during the embryonic period.
THE FOETAL PERIOD: Once the basic structure of a human being has been established in the embryonic period, prenatal development moves into its final and longest stage – the foetal period (8 weeks on or the third through the ninth months). Whereas the embryonic stage was largely characterized by the differentiation of tissue into the various bodily organs and systems, the foetal period is largely one of refinement and perfection of these systems. In other words whereas the major themes of the embryonic period was differentiation, the major themes of the foetal period are growth and maturation. The systems which emerged during the embryonic period become well developed and begin to function and the organism shows distinctive characteristics of the human body.
PERI- Natal human development
Peri-natal period of human development refers to the time during which the baby is moving through the birth canal. It is the time of birth. It starts from the time of birth and
ends when the baby lands down.
Lesson3:
Sex Determination In The Developing Foetus
In every baby, sex is determined by the twenty-third pair of chromosomes, the chromosomes in this pair are called, appropriately, the sex chromosomes. There are two types of sex chromosomes: x-shaped and y-shaped. In females, the twenty-third pair of chromosomes is a double x, and in males it is an x and a y. Each ovum carries one X-chromosome, and each sperm carries either an x or y a chromosomes, half of the twenty-third pair. At conception, if an x-bearing sperm fertilizes the ovum, the twenty-third pair of chromosomes in the foetus becomes xx, female. If a y-bearing sperm reaches the ovum first, an xy combination produces a male. It is the sperm, then, that ‘decides’ the sex of the child. In other words it is the father who determines whether he has male or female children though of course he has no control over it.
Lesson 4
Domains of Human Development(i)
PHYSICAL AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
Physical development refers to the changes in height, weight, bone thickness, brain, sense organs, teeth, muscles, and hair and sex characteristics of the child as it grows to full maturity. Motor skills such as learning to walk and to write,catch and throw a ball are all part of physical development.There are in fact, three, main areas in which this occurs. These are:
a. Increase in the size and strength of the body.
b. Increase in the ability to control the gross muscles of the limbs as well as the finer muscles of the hands and fingers.
c. Changes in the proportions of the body parts as well as the shape of the body especially with regards to sexual differences.
It must be stressed however, that for each child, the physical characteristics that occur, the rate of development of these characteristics as well as the physical structure that would be finally attained at maturity would depend upon what he has inherited genetically as well as the strength of the supporting environmental factors.The important environmental factors that are needed for a proper physical development include the following.
i. The child needs to take a healthy and balanced diet, which would supply all the essential nutrients, required for a good physical growth;
ii. The sanitary environment of the child must be clean to reduce the possibility of disease and infections, which can retard the proper development of the child.
iii. Regular physical exercises are also important to enable a free flow of blood through the body to allow the various parts expand freely.
Let us now examine the physical and motor development of the child from the infancy through childhood to adolescent stages.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
Motor refers to motion and motor development is the infants growing ability to use his/her body for purposeful, voluntary motion. Purposeful is the keyword here, because newborns have little conscious control over their bodies. Many of their movements are reflexive and even though they can lift a foot or move a hand, they lack willful control over their muscles, and their movements appear jerky and random.
There are two kinds of motor skills activity.These are gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Gross motor skills refers to voluntary body movements that involve the large muscles in the various parts of the body such as the arms, legs, thighs in performing activities like catching and throwing a ball, jumping, running, hoping etc.
Fine motor skills on the other hand refers to voluntary body movements that involve the small muscles of the body such as the hands and finger muscles to perform activities smoothly and with precision such as tying or lazing a shoe, writing letters of the alphabet, buttoning shirt etc.
MAJOR PHYSICAL GROWTH AND CHANGE DURING INFANCY
Physical Growth and changes during infancy (birth - 2 years)
The main physical characteristics during infancy include the following:
Ø At birth, the average infant weight about 3.4kgs and measures about 50 cm in
length. The bones are soft and flexible because they are made up of cartilage. cartilage is a strong flexible substance which surrounds the joints in the body.
Ø Geneally, boys are taller and heavier at birth than girls.Growth during the first two years of life is more rapid than at any other time in life. For example, by the fourth month, the baby may have doubled in weight and height.
Ø At birth, infants can already see and hear but without as much accuracy as adults. The sense of smell is well developed at birth and the ability to distinguish odours is present. Infants show a preference for sweet liquids and less sensitivity to pain than older children. All the senses of the infant develop rapily and reach adult levels by the end of the infancy period.
Ø Motor skills such as siting, crawling, creeping, walking, running and jumping are accomplished by the end of infancy.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT DURING INFANCY
New borns have little conscious control over their bodies. Many of their movements are reflexive. Even though they can lift a foot or move a hand, they lack wilful control over their muscles, and their movements appear jerky and random.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT DURING CHILDHOOD(2-11Years)
Childhood begins at approximately the age of two years and extends to the time when the child becomes sexually mature at approximately eleven years for the average girl and twelve years for the average boy. Childhood is divided into three separate periods, early, middle and late childhood.
The rapid growth of infancy slows down during the early childhood (pre-school) years.
Children can be termed ‘preschoolers’ when they are between three and six year of age.
During the preschool years the sequence in which all children develop motor skills is generally the same, though some gain skill faster than others. The other most visible difference from infancy is the change in body shape and proportion. Two-year-olds still have the short-limbed, large heads, pot-bellied look of infants, out over the next 3 to 4 years, arms, legs and torso grow quickly, becoming longer in proportion to the head. By age 5 or 6, children’s body proportions are nearly the same as young adults. Throughout the pre-school years, boys are slightly taller and heavier than girls, a difference that continues, until adolescence, when girls, who mature earlier physically, shoot ahead of boys. At this stage their legs and trunk grow faster than their heads. The centre of gravity i.e. the point in the body around which weight is eventually distributed begins to move lower allowing children to become steadier on their feet and capable of movements that were impossible when they were too-heavy infants and toddlers. They are able to run, jump, climb and hop. Most of these movements develop naturally if the child has normal physical abilities and the opportunity to play. During this period children also develop a preference for one side of their body. which can be observed when they use one hand more frequently than other. Most children will favour their right hand, but those who show a preference for their left should not be forced to change.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT DURING PRE-SCHOOL YEARS
The major physical accomplishment for pre-scholars is increased control over gross and fine motor movements or skills. Gradually, preschoolers leave the clumsiness of toddler hood behind as co-ordination and agility continues to increase. Maturing gross motor skills improve children’s ability to jump, climb, run etc. By age 3, children can run in a straight line and leap off the floor with both feet. Four-year-olds can throw objects and catch a large ball with both hands.They can skip, hop and pedal a bicycle on their own.Five-year-olds resemble adults more than toddlers because their bodies have lengthened and become less top-heavy. A five-year-olds balance has improved, her muscles have grown stronger, and she can ride a bicycle , swim and do acrobatics. Many of these changes reflect stronger muscles, greater physical co-ordination, and improved balance seeming from better body proportions.
FINE MOTOR SKILLS, which include smaller, more precise and delicate movements, improve markedly as well. Three-year-olds struggle with bottoms, zippers and shoelaces, but by age, 5 children can usually dress themselves and manipulate a variety of tools as well. The increased co-ordination of small muscles and manual dexterity allow children to cut out shapes with scissors, use rulers, draw more precisely and begin to write. By the end of preschool period most children can easily perform self-help tasks such as buckling, buttoning, snapping, and zipping. They can go up and down steps with alternating feet, They can perform fine motor skills such as cutting with scissors and using organs to colour a predefined area.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT DURING MIDDLE CHILDHOOD
By the time children enter the primary grades they have developed many of the basic motor skills needed for balance, running, jumping and throwing. During the primary years gross and fine motor sills are improved through practice. As development progresses, children can switch from using oversized pencils to regular-sized ones, and from activities like finger painting that use awkward whole-arm movements to building intricate models using delicate finger movements to play the plans and stringed instruments. In addition, the eyesight of the children often improves during this period. Many pre-schoolers tend far sightedness, but as the eye changes shape during the early primary grades, this condition improves.
MAJOR PHYSICAL GROWTH AND CHANGE DURING CHILDHOOD (2-11years)
Physical Growth and Changes during Childhood:
The main physical characteristics during the childhood stage include the following:
Ø Growth during early childhood proceeds at a slower rate as compared with that of the infancy period.
Ø Head growth during middle childhood is slow, but limb growth is rapid. The face of girls usually has fine features and is less rugged than that of boys. Children at this stage are very active with their limbs and can perform a lot of motor skills. The first permanent teeth develop at about six years, and girls tend to get their second teach earlier than boys. Children at this stage are very active with their limbs and can perfom a lot of motor skill.
Ø There is slow and relatively uniform growth during late childhood until the rapid growth that leads to puberty begins. During this time, growth speeds up markedly. To refresh your mind, puberty is the stage in a child’s life when he or she starts to change physically from a child to an adult. By the onset of puberty, the child normally has 28 of his or her 32 permanent teeth.
Ø In motor development, boys are generally superior to girls in gross motor activities such as running, jumping, climbing and throwing. Generally, children at this state run and jump and climb with increasing smoothness and variety.They can perform certain activities accurately. For example, balancing on one foot.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT DURING ADOLESCENCE (11-18 years)
· Adolescence is the period of ones life during which he or she develops from being a child into an adult. In other words adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescents develop all the physical characteristics of a mature man or woman including the capacity to reproduce. These physical transformation are collectively called puberty. Puberty is a series of physiological changes that render the immature organism capable of reproducing. Nearly every organ and system of the body is affected by the changes. Five major changes during puberty according to Marshall (1978) cited by Steinberg et al (1991) are:
· Rapid growth and weight gain
l Ffurther development of the gonads, or sex glands. In males, the testes
become able to release sperm, in females, ovaries begin releasing ova, or egg cells.
l Development of secondary sex characteristics – These characteristics include changes in the genitals and breasts, the growth of pubic, facial and body hair, a deepening of the voice in males, and further development of the sex organs.
l Change in body composition. Specific changes in the quantity and distribution of fat and muscles.
l Changes in the circulating and respiratory systems. Strength and stamina increase.
HORMONES, Chemical substance that act on specific organs and tissues, trigger all these physical changes. In fact no new hormones are produced at puberty.Instead there is an increase in the production of certain hormones that have been present since before birth. In boys a major change is the increased production of testosterone, a male sex hormone, while girls experience increase production of the female hormones oestrogens. And in both sexes, a rise in growth hormone produces the adolescent growth spurt.
THE GROWTH SPURT –This is the period of pronounced increase in height and weight that marks the first half of puberty. At the peak of adolescent growth spurt, teenagers grow at the same rate as toddlers: for boys a little over 4 inches per year (10.5 centimetres); for girls about 3.1/2 inches (9.0centimetres). The spurt for girls occurs about 2 years earlier than for boys.
Much of the height gained stems from a lengthening of the torso rather than the legs. At this stage young teenagers may feel awkward as some parts of their bodies are out of proportion to others. This is so because different parts of the body tend to spurt at different times: first the hand and feet, then the arms and legs, finally the torso and shoulders.
Accompanying the spurt in height is a gain in weight and in heart and lung capacity.
These increases are different for boys and girls. For instance, muscle tissue grows faster in boys, while fat increases more in girls. Compared with girls, boys also develop larger hearts and lungs relative to their size, which means that blood is pumped more forcefully and more oxygen is delivered to their blood streams. These differences between the sexes help explain why by the end of adolescence, boys on average have an advantage over girls in many sports.
BECOMING A SEXUAL BEING – The most dramatic physical changes of puberty involve sexuality:Internally,through the development of primary sex characteristics, adolescents become capable of sexual reproduction.Externally, as secondary sex characteristics appear, girls and boys begin to look like mature women and men. In boys primary and secondary sex characteristics usually emerge in a predictable order , with rapid growth of the testes and scrotum accompanied by the appearance of pubic hair, coming first. About a year later, when the growth spurt begins, the penis also grows larger, and pubic hair becomes coarser, thicker, and darker. Later still come the growth of facial and body hair, and a gradual lowering of the voice. Increased sweat gland development and a roughening of the skin are other changes of later adolescence. Around mid-adolescence internal changes begin making a boy capable of producing and ejaculating sperm. The first ejaculation of semen usually occurs about a year after the beginning of accelerated penis growth.
In girls, sex characteristics develop in a less regular sequence. Usually, the first sign of puberty is a slight elevation of the breasts, known as the breast buds, but sometimes this is preceded by the appearance of pubic hair. Pubic hair changes as it does in males- from sparse and downy to denser and coarser. Concurrent with these changes is further breast development. After the bud stage the nipple and area around it (the areola) become distinct from the breast and projects beyond it. In the final stages, the areola recedes to the contour of the breast and only the nipple is elevated. The female breast undergoes these changes regardless of breast size. In fact changes in the shape and definition of the areola and nipple are far better indicators of sexual maturation than is breast size done.
In teenage girls, internal sexual changes include maturation of the uterus, vagina, and other parts of the reproduction system. menarche, the first menstrual period, happens relatively later not at the start of puberty, as many people believe. Further, regular ovulation and the ability to carry a baby to full term usually follow menarche by several years. It is possible, however, for a girl to become pregnant at anytime after her first menstruation.
MAJOR PHYSICAL GROWTH AND CHANGE DURING ADOLESCENCE
Physical growth and change during the adolescence period: After eleven or twelve years, the child enters the adolescence period when growth again becomes rapid.
Ø During the early years of adolescence, boys are heavier than girls, but girls mature earlier;
Ø During this period, the body gets to its maximum height but may not reach its maximum weight;
Ø Adolescents grow hair at different parts of the body.
Ø Boys develop deep voice;
Ø Girls develop breasts around age 11, and this is followed by expanded hips and rounded body contours.
Ø Girls enter puberty earlier than boys.
Ø Children find comparison with peers very important. This comparison is used as basis for self evaluation;
Ø The adolescent is concerned about his or her changing body and its attractiveness or otherwise. For example, they may worry about their hair, nose, pimple on cheeks, etc;
Ø The adolescent child is able to perform activities that require the use of both gross and find muscles with increasing smoothness and accuracy.
INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD
Intellectual development may also be called cognitive or mental development. It affects the child’s ability to understand what is taught and to cope with the activities given them in the classroom. Generally, intellectual development refers to the improvement in the children’s thinking process as they develop or grow.
Many of our ideas concerning intellectual development of the child come from the experiments and writings of Jean Piaget, a Swiss Psychologist, who studied cognitive development and theorized that an infant’s way of knowing the world is different from a child’s, an adolescent’s or adult’s. He stated that cognitive development progresses through a series of stages, and at each succeeding stage we understand the world in more complex, more sophisticated ways. What we could not understand at age 3, or what we “understood” incorrectly or partially is easily grasped at age 8, not just because we know more, but because the way in which we understand and think about the world has become more advanced. Piaget observed that the child went through four main stages in his intellectual/cognitive development. These are examined below:
THE SENSORI-MOTOR STAGE (0-2YEARS)
During this period a baby begins to understand an object by tasting, touching, seeing, hearing and smelling it; by bumping into, grasping it, lifting it, and dropping it. Because it is based on the senses and on motor actions,Piaget used the term sensor-motor to describe this first period of cognitive development. Babies and young children at this stage depend on their senses i.e. what they can see, touch, or hear and their motor skills in exploring their world.
As they move through the sensori-motor period infants gain three basic cognitive abilities. First, they gradually understand that they are separate from other things and people in their world. There is self and there are others. Infants gradually extend their activity and awareness beyond the boundaries of their own body. Paiget called this process decentration meaning moving away from centering, or focusing on their physical selves.
The second basic skill babies gain during the sensori-motor stage is the ability to plan and co-ordinate their actions, from ages eight to twelve months, the infant begins to direct more attention to his physical environment in order to attain specific goal – goal directed behaviour. The new and very rudimentary skill is called intentionally i.e purposeful co-ordination of activity towards a goal.
Finally, by the end of the sensori-motor period, infants begin to understand that even when they cannot see, hear, smell, or feel something it still exist. Piaget called this object permanence – the notion or understanding that objects exist even though it must have disappeared from sight. The child will for example, look for a toy that he has seen hidden.
When children develop this notion of object performance, they have taken a step toward somewhat more advanced thinking. Once they realized that things exist out of sight, they can start using symbols to represent these things in their minds so that they can think about them. By the end of the sensori-motor period, children are able to remember objects of play; initiate activities and use words to represent things as they begin to learn language.
PRE – OPERATIONAL STAGE (AGE 2-7 YEARS)
This is the period of transition from sensorimotor intelligence to rule-governed thought. Piaget named this period pre-operational because the child has not yet acquired the logical operations characteristics of later stages of thought. The quality of thinking of the child is transformed. Children are no longer tied to their immediate sensory environment but rather start to develop some mental images. Hence this stage has been described as a stage at which children learn to mentally represent things. According to Piaget, young children thought intuitively (understanding without conscious reasoning or study) and conceptually but not logically.This stage is therefore sub-divided into two stages – Perceptual and intuitive stages:
a. PRE-CONCEPTUAL STAGE (2-4YEARS): The child at this stage has the ability to think about things, and can use symbols to mentally represent objects; for instance, the letter “a” can stand for “apple” or for a sound.Children’s language and concepts develop at an incredible rate. Yet much of their thinking remains surprisingly primitive. When they try to explain why things happen, it becomes clear that they have limited understanding of cause and effect. The child develops immature concepts that Piaget called pre-concepts.
b. INTUITIVE STAGE (AGE 4-7): This stage is called intuitive because children’s beliefs are generally based on what they sense to be true rather than on what logic or rational thought would dictate. In other words, this is the stage in which children appear to make judgements without conscious mental steps in their formulation. Piaget’s research also suggested that children see the world from their own point of view, without considering other people’s perspectives or view point. Thus their action is descried as egocentric.
Children at this stage i.e. pre-schoolers’ thinking can also be characterized as being irreversible. Reversibility simply means the ability to change direction in one’s thinking so that one can return to a starting point, or that objects can be arranged and then rearranged to return to the same starting point. As adults, for example, we know that 7 + 5 = 12, then 12-5 =7, if we add five things to seven things and then take the five things away (reverse what we have done), we are left with seven things. Such reversible mental routines are called operations i.e actions carried out through logical mental process.Piaget then discovered that children within this stage tend to think in one direction only.
Another characteristic of the pre-operational child’s thinking is its focus on states. They pay attention to the state of something in its present form – a limitation in thinking about states and transformations. These are concepts involved in understanding that objects and states can be transformed and rearranged. For instance, when something is going through some changes from one state to another, these children cannot see the changes from where it started to the end. Pre-schoolers will ignore the processes or stages and focus only on the beginning state and the end state.
One characteristic of the pre-schoolers’ thought that helps explain their inability to think about state and transformation as well as error in conservation is centration. Centration means paying attention to only one aspect of an object or situation. During this period children are not able to comprehend more than one aspect of a problem. Piaget refers to this cognitive limitation as failure to decentre. The inability of the child to decentre (i.e paying attention to several or different aspects of an object or situation explains why they have problem in thinking about states and transformation.
Another aspect of preschoolers’ thought is that it is egocentric. This is the belief that everyone see the world exactly as they do. In other words they generally perceive the world only in terms of their own perspective or view point. This explains why children within the preoperational stage will not listen or take adult’s correction whenever they go wrong or make mistakes. They always believe that what they know or have done is the correct thing.
Another characteristic of the preschoolers’ thought is their inability to recognize how objects are alike or different. When a number of objects made up of different colours and shapes are mixed together, they cannot group them according to their shape or
colour. Piaget calls this classification. Classification therefore refers to the cognitive ability to understand how things fit into categories and how these categories can be arranged relative to each other. In simple terms classification is the grouping of objects or things according to certain characteristics they posses in common.
Piaget also discovered that preschoolers also had problem with ordering or seriation. This involves the ability to compare and then arrange objects according to some order such as size or height. For instance, when children were given a collection of items such as pieces of wood, tins and bottles, and were asked to line them up ranging from the smallest to the biggest, they fumbled. He concluded that they had not achieved seriation.
One of Piaget’s earliest and most important discoveries were that young children lacked the principle of conservation. Conservation is the realization or knowledge that quantity or amount remains the same when nothing has been added to or taken away from an object or collection of objects, although there may be changes in form or spatial arrangement. Thus we can talk of conservation of number, of length, of substance, of area and of volume. The following are examples of activities that can be used to check children’s ability to conserve.
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE (7 -11 YEARS)
According to Piaget this is the stage of development between ages 6 -12 when children acquire the mental schemes of seriation, classification and conservation that allow them to think logically about ‘concrete’ objects ie things that can be seen and tached and not abstract. They develop skill of logical reasoning and conservation but can use these skills only when dealing with familiar situations because children’s cognitive “actions” are applied to concrete objects or events. An operation is an action that is represented mentally. Concrete operation children think logically about observable concrete objects or events but have difficulty reasoning about hypothetical (ie not real) situation until they reach early adolescence and the stage of formal operations.
Children at this stage are no longer quite so egocentric, but are beginning to see things from another’s perspective. They can now perform mental operations – they begin to pay attention to and remember several features of an object i.e. they can decentre. They can infer changes in objects even if they do not see these changes.
One important talk that children learn during the concrete operation stage is to arrange things in order according to one attribute such as size, weight or colour. For instance,lining up sticks from smallest to largest. This is called seriation. Piaget claimed that only children in the concrete operational stage could understand seriated orders. Part of the problem, he believed is that children must first understand dimensions, such as size, and rules of progressive change. Before children can create seriated array, they need both decentration and reversibility, that is to say they need to be able to observe different aspects or features of an object and be able to reverse their thinking.
Children at this stage have developed a classification scheme. They can now
group objects according to shapes or colours or according to some characteristics the objects possess in common. They can now recognize relations between sets and
subjects, between the whole and parts within the whole.
Another concrete operation that children acquire between the ages of 7 and 11 is transitivity. Now they will know that if we order sticks A,B and C from largest to smallest so that A is greater than B and B is greater than C, then A must be greater than C. This is a logical conclusion based on transitive relation. Transitivity rests on understanding of relationships between objects, it requires the mental arrangement and comparison of objects.
They develop the ability to make two mental transformations that require
reversible thinking. The first of these is inversion ( the notion that + A is reversed by – A), and the second is reciprocity (A < B is reciprocated by B > A ). These kinds of logical inference are important in such subjects as Mathematics and Science so lessons for elementary school children in these subjects must take into account the children’s newly developing skills of logic.
A final ability that children acquire during the concrete operational stage is class inclusion. They have the ability to think simultaneously about a whole class and a subordinate class i.e. a set and a subset.They can make comparisons within a class. For instance, if we have a class of birds made up of fowls, ducks, and turkey’s concrete operational children can compare and group or categorisee these into sub-classes of fowls, ducks, and turkeys without mixing them. They can do this because of their additional tools of thinking.
Concrete operational children no longer suffer from irreversibility of thinking and can now recreate a relationship between a part and the whole. Secondly their thought is decentred, so that the child can now focus on two classes simultaneously; their thought is also no more egocentric etc. However, for children to be able to achieve these abilities as well as understanding of school work properly, one thing is crucial. That is, the child must be involved in some concrete experience such as an activity, experiment, excursion or an encounter with teaching aids. For instance, ask a child of about 7 years of age to add 2 single unit numbers together. You will notice that the child first counts his fingers or begin to collect some stone or some counters to find the answer. This shows that the child first translates the abstract numbers into something which can be seen and touched.
FORMAL OPERATIONS STAGE (11 – 15 YEARS)
Sometime around the onset of puberty children’s thinking begins to develop into the form characteristic of adults. According to Piaget, this is the stage at which one’s thinking is based on theoretical, abstract principle of logic. It is the final period of intellectual development and coincides pretty with the adolescent period. The formal operational child begins to be able to think abstractly i.e. his thinking is not tied to observable things and to see possibilities beyond the here-and- now. These abilities continue to develop into adulthood.
With this stage also comes the ability to think in hypothetical terms. Thinking through hypotheses is the ability to consider all the logical consequences of a possible situation. For instance “;if this is true, then x or y must be true as well. The ability to think through hypotheses is a powerful tool. It allows a much deeper understanding of causes and consequence and also enables adolescents to argue more effectively and also plan ahead and to make decisions.
The abilities that make up formal operational thought- thinking abstractly, testing hypotheses, and forming concepts that are independent of physical reality are critical in the leaning of high-order skills. For instance, learning algebra or abstract geometry requires the use of formal operational thoughts, as does understanding of difficult concepts in science, social science and other subjects. The development of formal operations enables the adolescents to transfer understanding from one situation to another situation.
Piaget, however, stresses that when a child reaches the formal operational stage, it does not mean that no intellectual growth takes place beyond adolescence. He argues that the foundation has been laid and no new structures need to develop; all that is needed is the addition of knowledge and the development of more complex schemes. In spite of the fact that children at this stage begin to deal with abstract concepts and ideas and can perform operations like adults, they still need a lot of practical work or practical experiences to support their thinking.This underscores the importance of the use of teaching and learning materials (T.L.Ms) as teachers
IMPLICATIONS OF PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
The issue discussed with respect to the intellectual development of children has a number of important implications for the classroom. These include the following:
1. The level of children’s reasoning should determine the content, the method, teaching materials and pace of work.
2. The teacher should be aware of the development stage at which each child is functioning and each should be taught only what the child is ready to learn at the present stage of development.
3. The instructional method employed should take into consideration the ability and skills already acquired.
4. The curriculum should be planned with the level of cognitive operations and structures that children have successfully attained.
5. Teachers should take every opportunity to point out similarities, equivalents, opposite, relationships and other group structures if they want their pupils to acquire the art of generalization and skill in handling concepts in increasing complexity.
6. Teachers should act as guides working with each child as he interacts with the environment, ensuring that experiences are appropriate for the developmental stage at which the child is functioning.
7. Teachers should employ activity method of teaching and other methods that lay stress on the importance of children manipulating objects with widely differing properties of texture, colour and shape. This together with discovery, collection, classification construction and analysis of materials are essential for the natural development of cognitive skills such as perceptions, conception, memory, language, reasoning and creativity.
Lesson 5
Domains of Human Development (ii)
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
By Erik Erikson
Erikson viewed human development as a progression of eight psychosocial stages in which the child faces a wide range of human relationships as he grows up and has specific problems to resolve at each of these stages. How well the child resolves his problems at any one stage may determine how adequate a person he will become later and how well he will cope with new problems. Each stage corresponds in time to some of Freud’s psychosexual stages. Erikson’s theory is termed psychosocial theory because of the initial strong influence of social circumstances on the development of internal emotional feelings (intrapsychic state).
Erikson identified and described the ego qualities which emerge during critical periods of development. These are paraphrased here from his portrayal of the eight ages of man.
Stage 1:Basic Trust Versus Mistrust (Age:0 – 18 months)
Erikson’s first stage is the stage of basic trust versus mistrust. This period corresponds to the oral stage of Freudian Psychosexual state of development. Infants develop a basic trust or mistrust of others through their relationship with their parents. If their parents respond to their needs, (feeding, sleep and relaxation of their bowels) they develop social trust and they become reluctant to let their mothers out of sight without undue anxiety, or rage. The degree of trust which infant develops will depend upon the quality of the parent – child relationship. If the child fails to develop basic trust during this stage, a distrust of other people may lead to unhappiness and considerable personality difficulties in later life.
Parents play the major role in helping the child to form a sense of basic trust. Not only should the parents feel and care for the child, but they should also work to build an affectionate and warm relationship. The child must develop autonomy for healthy ego and personality development to continue.
Stage 2: Autonomy versus Doubt or Shame (Age: 18 months – 3years)
During this stage, children start to develop autonomy and confidence in their abilities when they are taught how to master tasks or do things for themselves. If the child is made to feel that independent efforts are wrong, by their parents criticisms, then shame and self-doubt develop instead of autonomy. This period corresponds to Anal State of Freud’s Psychosocial Stage.
Stage 3: Initiative versus Guilt (Age:3 – 6 years)
Children at this stage no longer rely on others to provide tasks for them. They initiate actions on their own and begin to do them themselves, and ask for help only when they need it. If they receive encouragement and praises from their parents they develop positive feelings and guilt will be avoided. If their parents respond by discouraging children’s initiative, criticising it or ignoring the children when they ask for help they develop a sense of guilt about performing tasks. The guilt, if it remains, can cause individuals to become considerably over-controlled and excessively inhibited. This period is roughly equivalent in time to phallic stage of Freud’s psychosexual stage.
Stage 4: Industry versus Inferiority (Age: 6 – 12 years)
This sate begins at about the age of six and lasts until onset of puberty. Children enjoy projects and activities involving concrete object e.g. collecting, making and studying objects. If their activities are approved and regarded as worth while, praised and rewarded, they develop a sense of self worth and positive feelings about becoming involved in activities. One the other hand, if their projects and activities are viewed by others as meaningless they develop a feeling of inferiority and negative feelings about becoming involved in other activities. This period corresponds to Latency Stage of Freud’s psychosexual stage.The conflict between industry and inferiority becomes especially strong among school children who are often in competition with their peers.
State 5: Identity versus Roles Confusion (Age: 12 – 18 years)
This stage spans through puberty to young adulthood and corresponds to genital stage of Freud Psychosexual stage. Adolescents seek to establish a realistic perception of themselves by integrating all they know about themselves. If their peers accept them as they are, individuals achieve a realistic and satisfactory self – identity. If peers reject them unless they conform to the peers perceptions, individuals become confused and are unable to discover realistic and satisfactory self – identities especially in terms of selecting a vocation or future career.
Stage 6: Intimacy versus Isolation (Age:18-35-Young Adulthood)
This stage extends from early adulthood until early middle age. Individuals at this stage seek stable interpersonal relationships with a spouse, friend or colleague or through marriage. If individuals are able to share with others and care about others and if others respond, similarly, the individuals achieve the benefits of intimate relationship. On the other hand, if individuals are unable to care or share or are afraid of becoming too close to others or if the others in their life are unable to establish intimate relationships, individuals become isolated from close human contact.
Stage 7: Generativity versus self – absorption or stagnation (Age:35-50-Middle Adulthood)
This stage corresponds to middle adulthood. By generativity Erikson means expanding your love and concerns beyond your own immediate group to include society and future generations. The concept of generativity refers to one’s effort to be creatively productive and useful to other people. Stagnation refers to becoming pre – occupied with one’s own material and physical well – being and having no concern for society or the next generation. At the seventh stage of Erikson’s psychosocial development, individuals organise their perception of the world and establish their societal role. If they view the world as a worthwhile place in which to live, they interact with it and actively work to make it better for succeeding generations. If they view the world as an ugly place in which to live, they criticise it and withdraw from it, becoming engulfed by personal needs.
Stage 8: Ego Integrity versus Despair (Age:50 Above-Late Adulthood)
This stage coincides with old age or later adulthood. Individuals view their life’s accomplishments. A life perceived as well – spent will result in a sense of well-being and integrity. If they perceive their past as a series of mistakes, fruitless lives filed with lost of opportunities they feel despair for they cannot live life over again.
LESSON 6:
MORAL DEVELOPMENT AND MORALITY IN THE CLASSROOM MORAL DEVELOPMENT
The term morality or conscience means conformity to a set of conventional rules for determining one’s social actions and which has been internalized. The concept moral development can therefore be defined as a process of building up a value system necessary for making personal decisions on interpersonal relationships. These decisions, it must be emphasized, should not be prescriptive as is often the case (ie nobody should tell do this or don’t do that) but should help the individuals to form personalities which determine how they should behave in familiar as well as non-familiar situations.
Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development
The most popular stage theory on Moral Development today is the one proposed by Lawrence Kohlberg (1971). After conducting a long series of studies with children and adults, he found that Moral Development occurs in a specific sequence of stages regardless of culture or sub-culture, continent or country.
He identified three major levels of moral growth, each distinctly different. He further found two sub - divisions in each level. Thus he proposed six stages in all under the three main levels. He derived these stages by studying the system of thinking people actually employ in dealing with moral questions.By asking people from different backgrounds and of different ages to respond to problems involving moral dilemmas, he found that their responses fell into six judgmental systems, on which he based his six categories. Moral development thus occurs in an ordered sequence of stages, each stage builds upon the previous stage, and all children begin at the first stage and progress through each stage without skipping any. They are as follows:
Levels Of Kohlberg’s Stages Of Moral Development
LEVEL i: The pre-conventional or pre-moral level (age 2 -7 years)
The child must have attained the pre-operational stage of cognitive development to achieve Kohlberg’s pre -conventional level.The stage is called ‘pre--moral’ because the child’s judgment here does not really have any moral basis. Children within this level make decision about what is right and wrong based not on society’s standards of conventions, but on external, physical event. Hence the label pre-conventional. when faced with a moral issue, children at this level do not ask themselves whether something is right or wrong. Instead, they focus on consequences (ie what happens after the act: whether pleasant or not pleasant)
STAGE 1 : Punishment and obedience orientation
The physical consequence of action, regardless of their human value determines what is good or bad or determines its goodness or badness. Individuals distinguish between actions that are punished and actions that are not punished. An action is wrong if its is punished. Children therefore obey rules to avoid punishment. There is as yet no internalization of moral standards.
STAGE 2 : Instrumental relativist orientation
Here, needs come in. The child judges whether an action is wrong or right in terms of how they satisfy his needs and occasionally the needs of others. An action is right if it is rewarding in some secrete way. The child conforms in order to obtain reward. Reciprocity is the basis for action and the notion. “you scratch my back and I will scratch yours” or “you do something for me and I will do some thing for you”, not of loyalty, gratitude or justice.
LEVEL II: Conventional (role conformity) level (age 8 -12 years)
The child must have attained the concrete operations to achieve conventional level.
According to Kohlberg, this is the second level of moral development, in which children make decisions about what is right and wrong based on how well a person follows the rules and conventions of society and keeps within the roles people are expected to play.
STAGE 3 “good-boy” – “ good-girl “ orientation
Good behaviour is whatever pleases or helps others and is approved by them.The child is therefore, concerned with winning the approval of others and avoiding their disapproval.
In judging the goodness or badness of behaviour, consideration is given to a person’s intentions.The child has a conception of a morally good person as one who possess a set of virtues; hence the child places much emphasis upon being “nice”. They want to maintain good relationship with people in order to earn approval. So judgment of right and wrong is shaped through their relationship with others as they become aware that they are members of a group in a society.
STAGE 4: “law and order “orientation
At this stage orientation is towards authority and fixed values and maintaining the social order of the community, state or nation. Here right behaviour consists of doing one’s duty, showing respect for authority and maintaining the given social order in a very traditional sense. The individual thus blindly accepts social conventions and rules. For instance, the national policy should be supported regardless of whether it is right or wrong. The individual whose moral thinking is dominated by whether stealing or not stealing is favoured by social laws is at the “Law and Order” stage. Children believe in established rules.
LEVEL III: Post Conventional Level (Age 12 -15 Years)
The child must have attained the formal operations to achieve post conventional level.
This is the level of moral development in which decisions of conscience are more important than society’s rules. The individual may realise that he has an individual right and can determine on his own what is right and what is wrong.(without referring to any rule or law).Though he belongs to a group, he realizes that he has an individual ability to hold a different view from that of his group.( ie not necessarily conforming to other people’s views)
STAGE 5 : Morality of social contract, individual rights and of democratically accepted law
Values critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society including individual rights and rules determine what is right or wrong. Morality is seen as based upon an agreement among individuals to conform to laws and standards that have been agreed upon by the society or community and that are necessary for the community welfare. To the individual at this stage moral action should consider the rights of the individual in the society.Thus an individual at this stage considers moral issues in their legal sense i.e. though the democratically accepted laws exists and is necessary, every issue should be examined on its own merit.
However, since it is a social contract, the society can change standards or laws by everyone agreeing to the change so long as basic rights like life and liberty are not impaired or broken. Changes in the law are usually made for the good of society or for reasons of the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Where the law is affected, what is right is a matter of personal opinion and agreement between persons.
STAGE 6: universal ethical principle orientation or morality of personal conscience
Here, the individual decides on right or wrong on the basis of his own conscience and based on his self-chosen moral principles based on abstract concepts such as justice, equality of human rights, reciprocity, respect for the dignity of each human being as individual persons, rather than concrete rules such as (the Ten Commandments).Thus conduct is controlled by these internalized sets of ideas, which if violated results in self-condemnation and guilt. Unjust laws may be broken because they conflict with broad moral principles.Ideas about rightness that apply to everyone – all nations, people etc, are called universal ethical principles. An ethical principle is different from a rule. A rule is specific e.g. Thou shall not kill, whereas an ethical principle is general e.g. All persons are created equal
TEACHER’S ROLE IN PROMOTING CHILDREN’S MORAL DEVELOPMENT
The creation of conducive social environment for moral growth and development of the child is very important. This is based on the promise that moral values are learnt and not inherited. One of the essential roles of teachers is therefore to promote this learning.
Being a moral agent is one way the teacher can develop in his/her children a set of moral values. This he/she can do by demonstrating an appreciable level of moral development through example for children to emulate apart from this, there are other activities at the disposal of the teacher, which he can use in helping children to develop morally. They include the following:
* Through the teaching of subjects on the timetable. Some subjects contain a lot of moral issues. E.g. Religious Education, Story-telling, Cultural studies etc.
* Children should be encouraged to form and join clubs and societies The social relationships they form here are important.
* The formulation of rules to guide the behaviour of children.
* Assigning leadership roles and positions of responsibility to pupils also helps in their moral development.
* Talks and symposia should be organized on topic, which are related to moral issues such as drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, school strike etc.
* The use of rewards and punishments are very important. Rewards and praises should be offered for good moral conduct and rebuke, reprimand etc, for poor conduct. In serious cases, punishments could be offered
LESSON 7:
GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS TO HUMAN GROWTGH AND DEVELOPMENT
GENETIC/HEREDITRY THREATS
THE RHESUS FACTOR: This is a serious but treatable problem that may occur during pregnancy. This result not from a disease but from the mother’s immune system treating the foetus’s blood cells as if they were foreign bodies. The Rh factor is a protein produced by a dominant gene found on the surface of red blood cells. Individuals with Rh factor are said to be “Rh positive”, while those without the Rh factor are Rh negative. Problems arise if the father is Rh positive but the mother is Rh negative. Their blood in this case is incompatible. This incompatibility does not affect a first child but may affect a second child. If the first child inherits the dominant gene, some of its Rh-positive blood cells cross the placenta into the mother’s blood stream just before or during birth when the infant’s blood normally mixes with its mothers. The mother’s body reacts by producing antibodies to the Rh-positive cells. If a second child is also Rh-positive, the mother’s antibodies, which remain in her bloodstream, cross the placenta and attack the foetus’s blood cells. If they are ‘successful’ the baby may be born deaf or with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, mental retardation or may die or still birth.
PREVENTION: Treatment of the immune response focuses on preventing the destructive antibodies from forming. One technique is to vaccinate the mother with Rh Immunoglobin serum three days after the birth of her first child or three days after termination of pregnancy whether by miscarriage or abortion. This serum destroys the Rh-positive cells that pass from the infant’s to the mother’s bloodstream, inhibiting the development of antibodies that would otherwise attack the next foetus carried.That is the vaccine prevents the formation of Rh antibodies in the mother’s blood and frees future pregnancies from the risk of Rh incompatibility.
2. METABOLIC DISORDERS: This is the inability of the body to breakdown food nutrients for absorption into the blood stream. The build up of these becomes poison to the brain. For instance, we have a condition known as galactosemia.It is a carbohydrate disorder and a recessive condition characterized by inability to metabolize galactose, a form of sugar found in milk, into glucose, Manifestations of the syndrome can include retardation, liver and kidney dysfunction.
Another and the most common of the genetic/metabolic disorder is a condition known as phenylketonuria (pku). This is a metabolic disorder caused by a double dose of a recessive gene. If a child inherits this gene from both parents, his or her body will not produce the enzyme that breaks down the amino acid phenylalanine. High levels of this amino acid circulating through the bloodstream kills nerve cells, causing irreversible brain damage.It is frequently associated with aggressiveness, hyperactivity, destructiveness and other disruptive behaviours.
PREVENTION: To prevent this, couples should have genetic counselling to prevent their children from inheriting a disorder. There should also be prevention of consanguineous marriage i.e. marriage among close relations. The child can also be on a phenylalanine-free diet (this eliminates milk and other high-protein foods).
3. CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES: The cells of normal offspring have 46 chromosomes, 23 from each parent. In some abnormal situations the offspring may have a missing chromosome or an extra chromosome or the chromosome may be 46 but not properly arranged. Two common conditions or abnormalities are:
DOWN’S SYNDROME: This is probably the best-known genetic disorder (named for the physician who first described its symptoms). Down Syndrome children have a distinctive appearance coupled with marked mental and physical handicaps.The cause of Down syndrome has been traced to the twenty-first pair of chromosomes. The Down child has an extra twenty-first chromosome, or a piece of one. (The technical term for this is trisomy 21, or three twenty-first chromosomes). In rarer cases, the third twenty-first chromosome, or part of it, is attached to another chromosome. The real cause of trisomy 21 is the failure of one pair of parental chromosome to separate at conception, resulting in the child having 47 chromosomes. The condition has been found more often in children born to older mothers, but some specific deleterious factors have been suspected of causing trisomy 21 including medication and drugs, exposure to radiation, chemicals, or hepatitis virus,, and the possible absence of a mechanism in the mother to abort the foetus spontaneously. Down syndrome is frequently associated with specific physical characteristic including the following:
l -Short stature
l -Flat, broad face with small ears and nose
l -Short, broad hands with curving fingers
l -Small mouth and short roof, which may cause the tongue to protrude and may contribute to articulation problem.
l -incomplete or delayed sexual development
l their mental development is much slower than normal never reaching average adult levels. Typically, their eyes are almond-shaped, with a downward-sloping skin fold at the inner corners.
l -Heads tend to be small and rounder than other children’s.
l -their noses are flatter
l .-limps are short, and the children walk with an awkward and flat-footed gait.
l T-hey show a high rate of heart defects.
l -They are more susceptible to a variety of physical diseases and disorders including leukemia, respiratory infection, and eye and ear problems.
As a result of all these Dowm Syndromes children run a high risk of early death. However, this risk decreases if they survive the first years of life.
a. TURNER’S SYNDROME: This is a genetic disorder of females. Actually it is hereditary disorder caused by a missing x chromosome in females. It is also known as gonadal aphasia. In other words girls with Turner’s syndrome have only one x sex chromosome. Girls with this condition are usually small and often have extra folds of skin on the neck, making it appear webbed. No secondary sex characteristics develop at puberty. Hence at adolescence, they do not develop breasts or begin to ovulate and menstruate. There may or may not be accompanying physical signs like bow-leggedness and abnormalities of the kidneys and heart. A substantial number of individuals with this problem who survive the prenatal period and reach the new-born stage have developmental difficulties and mental retardation. However, hormonal treatment can stimulate the development of secondary sex characteristics and a more normal female appearance but cannot cure these women’s sterility.
C, KLINEFELTER’S SYNDROME: This is also a hereditary disorder caused by an extra x chromosome in males resulting in an xxy genotype, instead of the normal male xy genotype. In childhood, these youngsters are phenotypically normal; that is they look like normal boys but during adolescence they do not go through the routine changes of male puberty. They do not develop facial hair; their voices do not become lower, their penises and testicles do not grow. Often they develop female curves (breast enlargement and rounded, broad hips). They may be taller than average, but they do not appear masculine. Moreover, they are sterile. Hormone treatments can make these men appear more typically male but cannot make them fertile.
SICKLE-CELL ANEMIA :Sickle - cell (red blood cells bent in the shape of a sickle) provide protection from malaria, so in the tropical regions of Africa, Central America, and the Caribbean, where malaria is common, the trait is adaptive. People who inherited the sickle -cell gene from only one parent stood a better than average chance of avoiding malaria, surviving childhood, and bearing children .Some of their children inherited the trait, passed it on to their children, and so on down many generations,
As a result the sickle -cell gene is common in groups that live or once lived in the tropics. Heterozygotes, who have inherited the sickle-cell gene from only one parent, have some normal and some sickled red blood cells. The sickled cell provides protection from malaria, and the normal cell ensures that sufficient oxygen is carried through the system to various organs. But for homozygotes, who have inherited the gene from both parents, the gene is not adaptive at all. A double dose causes painful disabilities. All the red blood cells are bent in the sickle shape, move slowly, and carry very little oxygen. The effects of a double dose of a sickle - cell vary from individual to individual. In severe cases, sickle - cells cause frequent crises, during which the individual’s joints are painfully swollen, heart and kidneys fail, and early death result. In milder cases, the person experiences frequent shortness of breath and fatigue. Those affected can lead relatively normal life although certain situations (especially pregnancy and surgery) create special complications for them.
PRE-NATAL ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS
1. MATERNAL DISEASES: Foetal infection can occur from maternal disease since the foetus receives its nourishment from the mother through the placenta and umbilical cord. Disease contracted during or even before pregnancy can act as teratogens (Any substance, influence, or agent that cause birth defects).The placenta protects the foetus from most bacteria, but it cannot protect the developing baby from viruses. These diseases include:
I. VENERAL DISEASES: Some of the most serious risks to the foetus are posed by veneral, or sexually transmitted diseases such as Gonorrhoea, syphilis, Aids and Chlamydia. Syphilis and gonorrhoea are caused by bacteria which can cross the placenta and infect the foetus. Many people do not develop or recognize the symptoms of syphilis. If the disease is not detected, or if the pregnant woman contracts syphilis in the fourth month of pregnancy, the foetus may die. It it lives, the baby may suffer blindness, deafness, mental deficiency, and/or other deformities. This can be treated by penicillin which cross the placenta to kill the bacteria in the foetus. It can also be prevented if a man and a woman are both tested for syphilis before conceiving a child.
Chlamydia is also another bacterial sexually transmitted disease that can cause or harm foetus during birth. The foetus of a woman who has contracted the disease can become infested while moving through the birth canal.Conjunctivitis (an eye inflammation) or pneumonia can result. Chlamydia also increases the risk of prematurity and stillbirth. The disease can also leave the woman sterile.All these consequences can be avoided by diagnosis followed by treatment with specific antibiotics.
Another disease that has devastating effects on the foetus is rubella (German measles). If the mother contracts this virus early in her pregnancy, her baby may suffer from mental retardation, heart defects, deafness, blindness and skull deformities. Vaccinating women who have not had the disease to stimulate the production of antibodies, preferably at least six months before becoming pregnant can prevent this disease (i.e.sterile).The disease that can be avoided by diagnosis followed by treatment with specific antibiotics.
2.MATERNAL NUTRITION/DIET: The foetus depends directly on its mother’s food intake through the placenta and umbilical cord. follows that development deficiencies can occur when the mother has an inadequate and poor quality diet. Both anatomical and behavioural evidence also indicate that nutrition affects brain developmentIt.During the first 6 months of pregnancy the most important aspect of brain development is cell division-the multiplication of brain cells. We are born with all the brain cells we will ever have, and the mature human being has about 100 billion cells. During the last 3 months of pregnancy(and the first 2 years of life) brain development consists of cell growth.
In several studies, autopsies of malnourished children revealed that their brain cells were both small in number and in size (Brown,1966; Naeye, Diener,&Dellinger,1969). Malnutrition during gestation or the first six months of life hinders the development of brain cells and can lead to as much as a 40% deficit in their number (Smith et al 1994). Malnourished pregnant mothers tend to have children that weight less at birth. Premature births, stillbirths, anaemia, threatened and actual miscarriages are all associated with malnutrition during pregnancy.In addition, foetal malnutrition may disrupt hyalinization, the process by which nerves become insulated by a layer of myelin, which forms a fatty sheath. Myelinization increases the speed and efficiency of neural transmission, the passage of nerve impulses from nerve to nerve throughout the body. Lack of such insulation is one reason that foetal malnutrition is associated with subsequent mental retardation.
3.MATERNAL ABUSE OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL/ TERATOGNS: Any drug taken by the mother may pass through the placenta into the foetus’s bloodstream. Drugs that may be good for the mother such as the antibiotic streptomycin and tetracycline, or meatless of certain vitamins- can be harmful to the foetus. Particularly drugs such as marijuana, heroin, cocaine, thalidomide and sedatives taken by pregnant women are very hazardous: the drugs may impair or damage the foetus’s central nervous system and hence result in mental retardation. Babies of mothers who use heroin are themselves addicted to the drug at birth. These babies who survive go through withdrawal symptoms similar to those seen in adults: Restlessness, sleeplessness, irritability, tremors and convulsions. These symptoms make the infants “problem babies “ who are difficult to feed, bathe, calm or cuddle.
Thalidomide, a drug which used to be prescribed for womenin the early 1950s and the late 1960s, who had problems with sleeplessness and nausea during the early months of pregnancy, was found to cause phocomelia, a physical malformation in which the arms and/or legs do not develop and the hands or feet grow directly from the body. Because their mothers had taken the drug,8000 babies were born with serious malformations( Schardein,1976).
Scientists now know that alcohol and nicotine are teratogens, and, like heroin they affect a child’s behaviour as well as physical development. In recent years, evidence has mounted that both heavy and moderate drinking of alcohol on the part of the mother may affect her child. Alcohol cross the placental membrane almost immediately, enters the blood stream and remains there for a considerable period, depressing central nervous system activity. Babies of alcohol mothers often suffer from foetal alcohol syndrome fas) which refers to a collection of troubling problems that includes: (a) Mental retardation, poor motor development, hyperactivity, and limited attention span. (b) Retarded growth, both before birth and throughout childhood even with an adequate appetite. (c) Atypical facial appearance, including short eyelids, low nasal bridge, short nose, narrow upper lip, small chin and trooping eyelids.
In general, the effect of a drug depends on TIMING, on when during gestation the embryo or foetus is exposed. There are critical periods for the development of the various physical structures and organs. These are times when these structures are most vulnerable to drugs (teratogens). Drugs are generally most dangerous in the embryonic period, when the basic structure of the baby is developing. During this period drugs can lead to spontaneous abortion, deformed arms or no arms, deformed legs or no legs.
4. AGE OF MOTHER: Studies show that the ideal time for mothers to give births is between ages 20 – 35. Child mortality rates are higher if mothers are below 20 and over 35 years. Complications in either labour or pregnancy could be due to the inadequate development of the reproductive system in some younger women and to progressive decline in the reproductive functioning in some older women. Older women normally give birth to smaller babies whose weights are far below normal. Women approaching their menopause in their late forties frequently have endocrine disorders slowing down the development of the embryo and foetus causing such developmental irregularities as mongolism, cretinism and heart malformation.
5. IRRADIATION: Exposure to high levels of radiation cause dangerous and lethal (death) chromosome damage and cancer in unborn children. Miscarriages and stillborn babies are other consequences of exposure to high levels of radiation.Even low levels of radiation, such as dental x-rays, are risky, and pregnant women should avoid them.
Studies conducted after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 provide the proof. It was discovered that not one of the pregnant survivors who were within a mile of the blast gave birth to a live infant. Seventy-five percent of those within 4 miles of the explosion had miscarriages or stillborn babies, and many surviving infants suffered serious deformities and leukaemia (Steinberg et al 1991).
6. INDUSTRIAL POLLUTANTS: It has also been found that environmental
teratogents that come from industrial pollutants such as mercury and lead, especially in large amounts, can cause severe birth defects. Infants of pregnant women who were
exposed to mercury pollution suffered from extreme deformation and mental retardation along with other neurological impairments. Lead had long been known to be toxic to children and adults. Lead poising can cause damage to the central nervous system resulting in cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Other effects of lead poisoning include gastrointestinal disturbances such as vomiting, anorexia ( an eating disorder in which young people may starve themselves) convulsions, drowsiness and irritability.
7. ATTEMPTED ABORTION: A woman may resent her pregnancy due to a number of reasons: economic difficulty, interference with educational or vocational plan etc. In view of this she may decide to abort the pregnancy using orthodox and unorthodox means.If the abortion fails it can have deleterious effect on the developing baby especially if it occurs within the embryonic period of pregnancy when the major organs such as the brain, the spinal cord are developing. Attempted abortion can therefore result in brain damage leading to mental retardation, physical deformity, visual impairment etc and can even result in barrenness’ on the part of the woman due damage to the womb or uterus.
8.MOTHER’S EMOTIONAL STATE/ANXIETY. It has been found that a woman’s emotions could affect her pregnancies. Anxious women are more likely to have pregnancies marked by pronounced vomiting, toxaemia (illness affecting pregnant women, causing water retention, high blood pressure and if not treated, death) and other problems. Anxious women have a higher risk of premature deliveries and their new-borns may be as nervous as they are – they fidget, irritable and difficult to soothe. The questions one can ask are; how can emotions influence the baby’s development and postnatal behaviour? and how is the mother’s anxiety transmitted to the foetus? One possibility is that anxiety may cause chemical changes in her mother (increased adrenaline, flow or example) and that these chemicals may pass through the placenta to the foetus.
Another possible explanation to the above questions is that the same genetic factors that cause here baby to be anxious during pregnancy may also cause her baby to be irritable at birth. The baby inherits nervousness from her mother). A third explanation is that the environmental stresses such as poverty, poor marriage, no marriage, or other conflicts that made her anxious may affect the baby as well.
9. SMOKING: Evidence that smoking has harmful effects on the embryo and foetus began to build in the 1940s and 1950s. Women who smoke excessively increase their risk of spontaneous abortion or stillbirth by 30 to 50% and even full-term babies of smokers have lower than average birth weights. Like alcohol, nicotine in cigarette has long-term effects on children’s behaviours. Maternal smoking is also found to be associated with poor intellectual and social development at age seven years. Studies also reveal that amount of cigarette the pregnant mother smoked during pregnancy was related to levels of hyperactivity at age 7 (children who are usually restless and unable to focus on any given activity for long) at age seven and also affects the attention of children born to such mothers. Smoking by pregnant mother has again been discovered to increase the chance of the placenta separating from the womb too soon thereby causing miscarriage.
Many people who disapprove of alcohol and cigarettes may think of having a cup of coffee to increase energy, but the caffeine in coffee ( as well as in tea, chocolate, and colas) is just as much a drug as the nicotine in cigarettes. Although caffeine does not cross the placenta as does alcohol, it is found in the urine and plasma of newborns. However, there is no evidence at present that caffeine causes birth defects in newborn babies. New evidence suggests that the amount of coffee a woman consumes before she becomes pregnant can affect her child. Jacobson,(1983) found that the more coffee a mother had consumed, the more likely that her newborn will be low in birth weight and alertness, and high in arousal and irritability.
PERI- NATAL THREATS
Peri-natal threats refer to a number of problems during the delivery of a baby that may cause damage or result in any form of deformity. They include the following:
INAPPROPRIATE OXYGEN SUPPLY: One of two general types of problems during birth that can result in mental retardation or death of the baby is anoxia or asphyxia. This refers to lack of oxygen in the foetus. Hence in anoxia the baby is deprived of adequate oxygen supply for a period long enough to cause brain damage, thereby reducing mental functioning. Anoxia can also be the result of lack of oxygen to the pregnant woman due to mere drawing, accidental suffocation, carbon monoxide poison and abnormal foetal presentation.
UNUSUAL BIRTH PRESENTATION: Inappropriate birth presentation of the foetus can result in physical trauma or mechanical injury and anoxia. Physical trauma refers to some occurrence during birth that injures or damages the baby so as to impair mental functioning causing mental retardation. When labour begins the most favourable position is head first and the face of the baby turning towards the mother’s back. Both mechanical injury and anoxia can result from abnormal foetal presentation. One well-known abnormal position is breach presentation, which occurs when the buttocks rather than the head present first. The transverse position is another abnormal foetal position presenting severe problems including mechanical injury and anoxia. In this presentation the foetus lies across the birth canal. Here again oxygen deprivation can happen if delivery is not completed quickly.
PREVENTION
Preventive measure against each of the threats above should include the following.
1. PERSONAL HYGIENE: Parent should practise personal hygiene, especially during pregnancy to avoid contracting certain virus borne diseases which are difficult to control and which can affect the embryo or the foetus. This point is worth considering since an unhealthy mother will give birth to unhealthy baby
2. QUALITY DIET: Balanced diet is a prerequisite for proper growth and development. Therefore the quality and quantity of the mother’s diet during pregnancy is very essential. Pregnant mothers must be fed on balanced diet or diet sufficiently rich in food nutrients and in sufficient quantities. Since the embryo or the foetus receives its nourishment from the mother through the placenta, it stands to reason that if the mother’s diet contains rich food nutrients it will enhance proper growth and development of the foetus.
3. GENETIC COUNSELLING: Genetic counsellors are physicians, usually obstetrician/ gynaecologists, who advise couples on the likelihood that they will conceive a child with a genetic defect.Couples who already have a child with a genetic disorder, whose relatives have a genetic disorder, who come from an ethnic group known to be at risk, or who have suffered spontaneous abortions are advised to seek genetic counselling. The counsellor begins by taking the couple’s family histories, including causes of death of close family members. If there is reason to suspect that a genetic defect runs in one or both families, the counsellor will recommend tests to determine whether these individuals are carriers. Tissue samples from the would-be parents are used to produce a profile of each spouse’s chromosome, called karyotype. Carrier of sickle-cell anaemia, Tay-Sach haemophilia and other disorders can be identified through chromosomal test conducted on the couples. Based on the test genetic counsellors can inform a couple of their risk of bearing a child with a genetic disorder.
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4. PRESCRIBED DRUGS: Since many drugs are harmful and dangerous to the embryo or foetus, pregnant women should abstain from self-medication, especially during the three months of pregnancy, unless the drugs is essential to their health.To avoid putting their children at risk, pregnant women should only take in drugs that have been prescribed by a qualified physician and go strictly by the prescription.
5. REGULAR VISIT TO ANTENATAL CLINIC: Pregnant women should be visiting antennal clinic regularly or periodically to check on the state of their pregnancy and for any necessary advice or recommendation that can be helpful to the woman. For instance, medical personnel recommend a drug or kind of food the pregnant woman should eat at certain time of pregnancy.
6.PHYSICAL EXERCISE: Mothers should engage in physical exercise to strengthen them for childbirth. Physical exercise ensures healthy body, which in turn fosters easy and safe birth.
FOOD TABOOS: In certain cultures it is a taboo for pregnant women to eat some kind of food items, which incidentally happen to be highly nutritious. These taboos should be discouraged.
LESSON 8:
CONCEPT OF LEARNING AND LEARNING STYLE; VAK LEARNING MODEL AND EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
THE CONCEPTS OF LEARNING AND LEARNING STYLES
THE CONCEPT OF LEARNING: According to Kolb (1984), learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experiences. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping experience and transforming it. Kolb(1984,41)
VAK LEARNING MODELAND EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
The VAK learning styles forms a model of learning designed by Walter Burke Barbe and later developed by Neil Fleming. The VAK learning model divides people into three categories of learners. The Visual- Auditory- Kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles model provides a simple way to explain and understand learning styles. The VAK learning style uses the three main sensory receivers (Vision Auditory, and Kinesthetic) to determine a person’s dominant or preferred learning style. Visual learners absorb information by sight. Auditory learners absorb information by sound while kinesthetic learners absorb information by moving.
People predominantly learn using one style – whether vision, auditory or kinesthetic. Though every learner often incorporates elements of the other two styles, they are likely to achieve maximum benefits from learning by focusing on their primary style.
In other words no one has exclusively one single style or preference. Learners use all three methods to receive information. However, one or more of these receiving styles is normally dominant. This preferred style defines the best way for a person to learn or receive information by determining what is to be learned. But this style may not always be the same for some tasks. The learner may prefer one style of learning for one task, and a combination others for a different task.
According to the VAK model, most people possess a dominant or preferred learning style. However, some people possess a mixed and evenly balanced blend of the three styles. According to VAK theorists, we need to present information using all three styles. This allows all learners the opportunity to become involved, no matter what their preferred style may be.
VAK LEARNING STYLES
Learning Style | Description |
Visual | Seeing and reading |
Auditory Kinesthetic | Listening and speaking Touching and doing |
DISTICNTIVE CHARACRISTICS OFVISUAL LEARNERS
(Learn By Seeing and Writing)
Visual learning style involves the use of seen or observed things, including pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, hand out, films, flip-charts etc. Visual learners absorb information primarily by seeing it or by visualizing it mentally- They
§ Are imaginative and can easily picture complete scenarios, images or ideas without reference
§ Enjoy art, aesthetics and the written words.
§ Are excellent at spelling
§ Take frequent notes
§ May struggle with verbal instructions
§ Revise well using colour coordination, mind maps and flash cards.
§ Love graphs, maps, diagrams, flow chats and written instructions
§ Find themselves easily distracted by visual stimuli such as sitting beside a window or being bombarded with pop ups on a computer.
§ Relate most effectively to written information, notes, diagrams and pictures.
§ Can be verbal (see words) or pictorial ( see pictures)
§ Remember faces but not names
§ Think in pictures, use colour
§ Resort to facial expression to show their emotions.
§ May be good writers, journalists, graphic design.
DISTICNTIVE CHARACRISTICS OF AUDITORY LEARNERS
(Learn by listening)
Auditory learning styles involve the transfer of Information through listening to the spoken word, of self or others of sound and noises. Auditory learners absorb information primarily by hearing it. They:
· Love verbal instructions and follow them easily
· Are sensitive to tone of voice, pitch and rhythm
· Understand and process information by talking it through
· Would rather record a lesson or lecture than take notes
· Are good at oral presentations
· Learn better with music on provided that it is not distracting
· Thrive in group and panel discussions
· Are easily distracted by auditory stimuli such as background noise or being spoken to.
· Learning from spoken instruction
· Written information has little meanings until it has been heard.
· Write lightly and it is not always legible.
· Talk while they write
· Remember names and forget faces
· Get distracted by noise
· Remember by listening especially with music
· May be good speakers, and specialize in law or politics.
DISTICNTIVE CHARACRISTICS OF KINESTHETICLEARNERS
(Learn by doing)
Kinesthetic learning involves physical experience -touching, feeling, holding, and doing practical hands-on experiences. Kinesthetic learners absorb information primarily through movement in a physical way. They;
§ Are good at hands -on problem solving.
§ Are physically coordinated and good at sports.
§ Enjoy expressing themselves physically and may engage in performing arts or dance.
§ Struggle with overly abstract or conceptual topics
§ Have a good sense of direction
§ Excel at practical subjects such as construction, cooking and engineering
§ May be restless or fidgety in the classroom.
§ Learn through touch and movement in space
§ Remember what was done not seen or talked about.
§ Enjoying physical games
VAK LEARING STYLE: THEIR ROLE IN EDUCATION
The best way of lesson planning for a successful class should ideally incorporate activities that facilitate all three learning styles to cater for the needs of all pupils. For instance, reading textbooks and writing notes to satisfy the visual learner, explaining a topic aloud to the class for auditory learners and practical activities for the kinesthetic learners. If possible combine all three styles into activities.
As every pupils learns by using all three styles; not just their dominant one, providing for all three in your lessons will create a rich educational environment for your pupils.
LESSON 9
KOLB’S LEARNING AND EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
KOLB’S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THORY
David A. Kolb, a professor of Organizational Behaviour at Case Western Reserve University is credited with launching the learning style movement in the early70s and is perhaps one of the most influential learning models developed. He published his model in 1984. He was inspired by the work of Kurt Lewin, who was a gestalt Psychologist in Berlin.
Kolb’s learning theory sets out four distinct learning styles, which are based on a four -stage learning cycle. In this respect Kolb’s model differs from others because it offers both a way to understand individual learning styles, which he named as “learning style inventory (LSI), and also an explanation of a cycle of experiential learning which applies to all learners.
Thus, Kolb’s Learning Theory works on two levels: a four - stage cycle of learning and four separate learning styles. Kolb’s theory has a holistic perspective which includes experience, perception, cognition and behaviour.
BASIS OF KOLB’S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNINGMODEL
NOTE: Experiential means relating to or resulting from experience while experimental means relating to or based on experiment. Kolb uses the term “Experiential” as his theory is based more on reflection of experiences. While others use “experimental- base techniques that requires learners to test hypothesis (experiment) about content knowledge. Kolb’s learning model is based on two continuums that form a quadrant.
· Processing Continuum: Our approach to a task such as preferring to
learn by doing or watching.
· Perception Continuum: Our emotional response, such as preferring to
learn by thinking or feeling.
KOLB’S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING CYCLE
This matrix provides a learning cycle that must be present for learning to occur. Note that this part of Kolb’s model is more useful in the sense that rather than trying to pinpoint a learning style, he provides a model of learning programme. Kolb called this experiential learning style since experience is the source of learning and development (1984). Each ends of the continuums (modes) provides a step in the learning process.
The learning cycle basically involves four stages namely concrete learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. Effective learning can be seen when the learner progresses through the cycle. The learner can also enter the cycle at any stage of the cycle with logical sequence.
The first stage is concrete learning, where the learner encounters a new experience or interprets an existing experience. This is followed by the next stage called reflective observation, where the learner reflects on the experience on a personal basis. After then comes abstract conceptualization, where the learner forms new ideas or modifies existing abstract ideas based on the reflections arising from reflective observation stage. Lastly, the active experimentation stage is where the learner applies the new ideas to his surroundings to see if there are any modifications in the next appearance of the experience. This second experience becomes the concrete experience for the next cycle, beginning at the first stage. This process can happen over a short or long time. This process can be seen from the diagram bellow.
Kolb’s experiential learning style theory is typically represented by a four-stage learning cycle in which the learner “touches all the bases”
1. CONCRETE EXPERIENCE: A new experience or situation is encountered, or are interpretation of existing experience
2. REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION OF THE NEW EXPERIENCE: Of particular importance are any inconsistencies between experience and understanding.
3. ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALIZATION: Reflection gives rise to a new idea, or a modification of an existing abstract concept (the person has learned from other experience)
4. ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION: The learner applies the idea (s) to the world around to see what happens.
Effective learning is seen when a person progresses through a cycle of four stages: (1) having a concrete experience followed by (2) observation of, and reflection on that experience which leads (3) to the formation of abstract concepts (analysis) and generalizations (conclusions) which are then (4) used to test hypothesis in future situations, resulting in new experiences.
Kolb (1984) views learning as an integrated process with each stage being mutually supportive of and feeding into the next. It is possible to enter the cycle at any stage and follow it through its logical sequence. However, effective learning only occurs when a learner can execute all four stages of the model. Therefore, no one stage of the cycle is effective as a learning procedure on its own.
KOLB’S LEARNING STYLES
Kolb’s learning style theory (1984) sets out four learning styles which are based on a four-stage learning cycle described above. Kolb explains that different people naturally prefer a single different style.
According to Kolb, various factors influence a person’s preferred style. For example, social environment, education experience or basic cognitive structure of the individual are some of the factors that have been found to influence a preference for a particular style.
Whatever influences the choice of style, the learning style preference itself is actually the product of two pairs of variables or two separate “choices” that we make, which Kolb presented as lines of an axis, each with conflicting “modes at either end
A typical presentation of Kolb’s two continuum is that the west-east axis is called the “processes continuum” (i.e. how we approach a task), and the north-south axis called the perception continuum (i.e. our emotional responses, how we think or feel about it)
Kolb believed that we cannot perform both variables on a single axis at the same time (e.g. think and feel). Our learning styles are a product of these two choices of decisions.
Kolb theorized that the four combinations of perceiving and processing determine one of four learning styles of how people prefer to learn. Kolb believes that learning styles are not fixed personality traits, but relatively stable patterns of behavior based on their background and experiences. Thus they can be thought of more as learning preferences rather than styles.
LEARNING STYLE DESCRIPTION
Knowing a person’s (and your own learning style) enables learning to be oriented according to the preferred method. Here are brief descriptions of four Kolb’s learning styles.
DIVERGING: (Feeling and Watching)[Concrete Experience +Reflective Observation]
· These people are able to look at things from different perspectives
· They are sensitive. They prefer to watch than do, tendering to gather information and use
imagination to solve problems
· They are best at viewing concrete situations from several different view points. Kolb’ called this style divergent because people perform better in situations that require ideas generation, for example brainstorming.
· People with a divergent learning style have broad cultural interest and like to gather information
· They are interested in people, tend to be imaginative are emotional, and tend to be strong in the arts.
· People with divergent learning style prefer to work in groups, to listen with an open mind and to receive personal feedback.
ASSIMILATING: (Watching+Thinking) [Abstract conceptualization-Reflective
Observation]
· The assimilating learning preference involves a concise, logical approach
· Ideas and concepts are more important than people.
· These people require good, clear explanation rather than a practical opportunity
· They excel at understanding wide-ranging information and organizing it in a clear logical
format.``
· People with an assimilating learning style are less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts.
· People with this learning style are attracted to logically sound theories than
approaches based on practical value.
· This learning style is important for effectiveness in information and science careers.
· In formal learning situations, people with this learning style prefer readings, lectures,
exploring analytical models, and having time to think things through.
CONVERGING: (Doing + Thinking)-[Abstract Conceptualization+ Active
Experiment]
· People with converging learning style can solve problems and well use their learning to
find solutions to practical issues.
· They prefer technical tasks, and less concerned with people and interpersonal aspects.
· People with converging learning style are best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories.
· They can solve problems and make decisions by finding solution to questions and
Problems.
· People with converging learn style like to experiment with new ideas, to stimulate,
and to work with practical applications.
· People with converging learning style are more attracted to technical tasks and problems than social or interpersonal issues.
· A converging learning style enables specializations and technological abilities.
ACCOMMODATING (Doing + Feeling)-[Concrete Experiment+Active Experiment]
· The accommodating learning style is ‘’hands-on” and relies on intuition rather than logic.
· These people use other people’s analysis and prefer to take a practical experiential
approach.
· They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans
· They commonly act on “gut” instinct rather than logical analysis.
· People with accommodating learning style will tend to rely on others for information than
· They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carry out plans
· -They commonly act on “gut” instinct rather than logical analysis.
· -People with accommodating learning style will tend to rely or others for information than carry out their own analysis
CHARACTERISTICS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Kolb proposes that experiential learning has six main characteristics. Leaning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes. Learning is a continuous process grounded in experience.
The following are some characteristics of experiential learning:
· Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes.
· Learning is a continuous process grounded in experience.
· Learning requires the resolution of conflicts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world (learning is by its very nature full of tension)
· Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world.
· Learning involves transactions between the person and the environment.
· Learning is the process of creating knowledge that is the result of transaction between social knowledge and personal knowledge.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY
Are that Experiential Learning Theory:
· Helps teachers develop more appropriate learning opportunities for target learners.
· Helps teachers design activities that will give opportunity to learners to learn in ways that
suit the learner’s learning style; and
· Focuses on activities that enable learners to go through each of the four stages of the
experiential learning cycle.
ADVANTAGES OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
Experiential learning is an active, learner-centric methodology where learners put knowledge and skills to use in a meaningful and relevant fashion. It is not enough to have knowledge, you have to understand how, when and why to use it. Here are five distinct advantages that experiential learning has over traditional classroom, instructor-centric methods.
1. Ability to immediately apply knowledge: Experiential learning is an opportunity for leaner’s to apply what they have been taught to solve real- word challenges. Learners test their understanding of underlying principles, process and procedures and can experiment and adapt their practice to achieve best outcomes.
2. Access to real-time coaching and feedback: Achieving expertise requires practice and focused coaching based on what is observed during practice. Every experiential learning activity should include a debriefing session where learners receive feedback and watching from experts and fellow team members.
3. Promotion of Teamwork and communication skills.
4.Accomplishment are obvious: Learners can improve and know they have improved, in as little as an hour because of the feedback loop created by problem solving, feedback and practicing again. In a traditional classroom setting, learners often do not know if they are in the path to success until they take an exam and get a score.
5. Development of Reflective Practice habits: The gold standard in education is the person who can self-monitor the effectiveness of his plans, anticipate outcomes and develops contingency plans. We often refer to these people as experts because they have had more experiences and have received more coaching than a non-expert and have incorporated certain thinking disciplines into everyday practice.
LESSON 10
MOTIVATION AND REINFORCEMENT
MOTIVATION IN LEARNING:
DEFINITION:The term motivation is derived from the Latin verb “motere” which means, “to move” Accordingly it is concerned with the question “What moves man” why do we behave the way we do? Motivation can therefore be defined as an urge or drive that pushes us to behave the way we do. It is process of inducing or arousing activity in a person. It is the driving force behind all human activity or behaviour and it pushes us to behave in a particular way.
It explains why one child works hard at many things and continues to works even in a face of difficulty whereas another child is lazy and has little interest and fails to work in the face of difficulty. Motivation to a large extent determines the direction and efficiency of learning. Motivation has three important characteristics:
i. It energizes ie activations and sensitises the organism towards certain stimuli.
ii. It directs the organism’s behaviour towards certain goals.
iii. It reinforces behaviour that is effective in the attainment of desired goals.
TYPES OF MOTIVATION
There are two main types of motivation that can be used to promote learning in the classroom. These are: (a) intrinsic and (b) extrinsic motivation
EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION:- This is the one that is externally generated by teachers, parents, siblings and other adults by making use of both tangible and intangible items. Particularly in the school, the most common externally imposed motivation is the use of rewards and punishment. When wisely used, both can be effective and stimulating. Rewards can be of many kinds. Some teachers give tangible items like books, sweet etc to their children for good work. Some offer praises or write word s of commendation in their exercise books or in their school reports. In the same way, punishment can take many forms. Corporal punishment, however, should be avoided as this normally leads to antagonising attitudes. But non-physical punishment such as verbal rebukes, giving a child extra duties in and around the school, withholding of privileges can also be used.
Two principles to be observed are first that external motivation should be based on a good teacher-pupil relationship, and secondly, that rewards and punishment should be appropriate to the age and character of the individual. For instance, tangible items such as toffee etc serve better with primary school children and work better with children from low social-economic background. Conversely, there is no point in giving those tangible items to adult students who despise them and it is doubtful if a straightforward beating will have any effect upon a child already hardened to physical punishment. The use of rewards, however, should be judicious and sparing in the sense that if they become superfluous they lose their value.
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: - Intrinsic motivation unlike extrinsic one goes deep down into our personality. They are those factors that help the individual to learn without any external force. The individual does something not because of any external influence but because of the satisfaction, he drives from that activity. Intrinsic motivation has its emphasis on interest and excitement. The pupil tends to learn without external push just interested in the learning. It makes learning enjoyable and has more effects that are lasting even after school.
Intrinsic motivation works better with adults than with children. For instance, a sixth former whose ambition is to become a medical doctor in future will be more interested and serious to study subjects like chemistry and biology without necessary being told or advised to learn. The fact that he cherishes the medical profession is enough to cause him to learn persistently until he has written and passed the examination with grades that will enable him to pursue medicine at the University.
The satisfaction one derives from an activity can be grouped into:
i. Inborn patterns of behaviour - curiosity, interest, anxiety etc.
ii. Biological needs – the need for food, water, rests etc.
iii. Psychological needs – the need for safety, social recognition, esteem, affection etc.
iv. Cognitive need – the need for knowledge and understanding.
When taking about motivation just like any other factor in learning there is no hard and fast line separating the two. The two fall along the line of a continuum and a particular behaviour could be more or less inclined towards one side. What is more importance for our purpose is to understand that children learn better when they are sufficiently motivated or aroused. Motivation is therefore central to all purposeful learning. No learning is possible without adequate motivation. So teachers should use the best technique they can think of to ensure maximum motivation
TECHNIQUES TO MOTIVATE CHILDREN: - Learning is a difficult task and presents a burden to the learner or pupils. To lessen the burden of learning and to encourage the learner to learn, teachers have to device ways of motivating children to learn. The following are some of the ways by which the learner can be motivated to learn.
§ INTEREST: Teachers should make their lesson more interesting so as to arouse the curiosity or the interest of their pupil/ students. This will give them intrinsic desire to learn
§ PARTICIPATION: - Teachers should encourage their pupils to participate in their lesson. It means that children should be activity involved through dramatisation, experiments and other class exercises.
§ ATTENTION: - Teachers should arouse the attention of pupil/ students by starting the lesson with something new or unusual, maintain this attention through a variety of ways-stimulus variation (eg. Changing voice, picture etc.)
§ INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: - Teachers should provide for individual differences by making room for different level for aspiration and encourage students to strive for levels of performance suitable for their abilities. This can be achieved through the use of differentiated materials, activities and project for student of different abilities, interest and ambitions.
§ COMPETITION: - Use group and team competition as incentives rather than individuals competition against each other in class. Why do you think this is so?
§ REARRANGEMENT: - Teachers should offer praises and encouragement often, particularly for average and lower students as well as introverts who lack self-assurance and self-confidence.
§ FEEDBACK: - Teachers should inform pupils/ student regularly on how they are doing in the course of teaching after pupils have been given assignments, class exercises, projects etc. The teacher should use positive comments as much as possible.
Reinforcement
This is an event the occurrence of which increases the probability that a stimulus will, on subsequent occasions, evoke a response. The procedure of pairing conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) in Pavlov’s experiment is called reinforcement because any tendency for the conditioned response (CR) to appear is facilitated by the presence of the US and the response to it.
Reinforcement can be positive or negative.
A positive reinforcer is a stimulus, like a piece of food or a sum of money, that is given when a desired response from an organism is produced. A positive reinforcer when presented in a given situation increases the likelihood that a response will reoccur.
A positive reinforcer strengthens or maintains the response.
There are primary and secondary positive reinforcers. Primary positive reinforcers are based on drives such a warmth, food and water which are very important for the individual’s survival. Secondary positive reinforceer include socially derived motives such as money, prestige, self – esteem, and so on.
A negative reinforcer is a stimulus which the learner will readily terminate if given the opportunity to do so. Negative reinforcer strengthens response if it is removed or withdraw from a given situation when the response occurs. Simple escape training, for example, is a clear case of negative reinforcement at work. The individual does some thing to avoid something.
Similarly, social disapproval or condemnation by members of a peer group is another example of negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcer generally include unpleasant (aversive) stimuli such as loud noise, very bright light, extreme heat or cold.
Negative reinforcer is not the same as punisher, punisher is an unpleasant stimulus which follows a response and decreases the likelihood of a response being repeated whereas negative reinforcer precedes the response and forces its occurrence to terminate the unpleasant condition. For example, if disapproval or other annoying stimulation (unpleasant condition) follows immediately after behaviour, punisher has taken place. In contrast, when disapproval or scolding is directed at an individual in an effort to force behaviour to occur and the individual behaviour can terminate this disapproval, negative reinforcer has been used.
REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES
Schedules of reinforcement are very important because they affect learning, forgetting and extinction. The teachers should therefore be aware of these effects.
There are two main types of reinforcement schedules namely non intermittent and intermittent. Non intermittent consists of a continuous schedule where every response is reinforced, and extinction schedule where no response is reinforced as demonstrated in Skinner’s operant conditioning experiment with hungry rat. An Intermittent Schedule may call for reinforcement at either regular or variable intervals of time. Another pattern is to reinforce only after so many responses have been made.
There are four basic intermittent schedules namely Fixed Interval (FI), Variable Interval (VI), Fixed Ratio (FR) and Variable Ratio (VR).
Fixed Interval (FI)
Reinforcement is given only after a fixed time interval. This kind of schedule has a particular effect on previously learned behaviour. When an animal becomes accustomed to a fixed interval of reinforcement say, pressing a lever, its behaviour becomes stable. Other examples include students attending classes at certain fixed hours of the day; going to work at specified time of the day, and so on.
Variable Interval (VI)
Reinforcement is presented on an average variable intervals of time. For instance, after an organism has learned a particular response, we might present reinforcement after ten seconds, 30 seconds three minutes, etc.
Fixed Ratio (FR)
Reinforcement is given upon the occurrence of responses. For instance, the ration of non – reinforced to reinforced responses of 10 to 1 means that the organism makes 10 responses and it is reinforced only once. Similarly, the child solves 8 sums and he gets a loaf of bread; a labourer is paid after completing certain amount of work, are examples of Fixed Reinforcement schedules.
LESSON 11
DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF TEACHERS IN THE SPECIALISMS
Following a foundation first year, according to the new 4-year bachelor of education degree programme of teacher training, student teachers will learn to follow one of three programmes namely:
Early Grade (K-P3) Teacher Education;
Upper Primary (P4-6) Teacher Education; or
Junior High School Teacher Education.
This will ensure depth of knowledge of what is to be taught and enable them to connect with the developmental level of the learners they teach.
DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS/ FEATURES OF EARLY GRADE (K-P3)
TEACHERS
A degree in early childhood development is required to develop the skills they need to help early grade children learn. Practically, speaking, however, teachers of young children need to possess the qualities that will enable them to work with and motivate young child, while finding the joy and success in each and every day.
What then are the main distinctive features of early grade teachers? The following are some of the key characteristics early grade teachers need to excel in their jobs. Indeed early childhood or grade teachers need unique knowledge and skills; it is also likely that they need to have characteristics that are unique to them as a group.
1. Enthusiasm For Teaching: A good early grade teacher is the one who loves his/her students and his work. As a teacher your passion for teaching these young children will in turn instill a passion for learning in all your children /students. In fact the most crucial factors in effective teaching are who the teacher is and how he acts in the classroom. This influences the way the students react towards the teacher and what he is expected to study.
2. Pace And Humor: An effective early grade teacher should be able to add pace and humor to the class. This has the effect of alleviating nervousness among students. Humor on the part of the teacher brings about rapport among the students and the teacher as well, as this can cause the whole class and the teacher to laugh together. Students will have good time learning and can make a lot of progress because they are not afraid to make mistakes. Students can take chances.
Equally important is the fact that the teacher should maintain an excellent pace in the class. You should be able to remain focused and follows systematically your lesson plan. Always consult your lesson plan to know or think about what to do next as the lesson progresses. And events or activities should proceed quickly for students to move along with you and to identify or discover the connections in your lesson.
3. Patience: A good and effective early grade teacher should be someone who is encouraging and patient and who will not give up on his students. Working with young children all day takes huge measures of patience. The nature of their age makes young children rambunctious, with short attention spans and little self control. Every child is different, too, making the job even more challenging. After a long, tiring day full of challenges, teachers of young children must come back and meet the same and new challenges next day. A patient nature combined with a sense of humor, helps early grade teachers take the ups and downs of everyday in strikes while focusing on the end goals.
There is the need to have patience both when dealing with the system and when working with children and families. Not every child learns quickly. Some behaviours can challenge even the most effective teacher. Children need reminder after reminder. An early grade teacher should demonstrate incredible patience with all their students, never allowing even a shadow of displeasure to cross their faces in reaction to continued mistakes or errors after endless corrections. When the teacher is patient and for that matter positive-encouraging initial and repeated attempt, the students will apply themselves more diligently. Motivation thrives on success. Thus one characteristic of early grade teachers is that they exhibit a lot of patience allowing their students numerous chances to correct their mistakes until perfection is attained. This emphasizes the principle of multiple responses in learning.
4. Interest Of Students: Another characteristic feature of an early grade teacher is that he/she should be able to take an interest in each and every student as an individual and as a class. Thus as an early grade teacher, one of the first things to do is to try to find out what your students interest are: hobbies, methods, activities they like engaging in most. Knowledge of this will help the teacher to know the best way to handle each child so as to help develop each one’s potentialities.
5. Fairness: The early grade teacher should be able to treat his/her students as individuals and on equal basis with the members of the class, regardless of sex, race, and religious beliefs of parents etc. These children have left the comfort of their homes and their parents and so depend on the teacher for emotional support parents give to their children at home. Any act of discrimination among the children will create serious emotional problems.
This will obviously affect students’ morale and likely to be disincentive to their learning. Being bias towards the brighter and more energetic students for example can be more discouraging to the other students, and that is not conducive to progress.
6. Flexibility: This is another characteristic that participants consider is linked to successful teaching at the early grade level. Adapting learning to individual styles requires flexibility.
Indeed any job in early childhood education demands that you be able to deal with change and unexpected turns. Whatever unexpected situations you find yourself you need to be able to switch gears at a moment notice and find an alternative that works. Sometimes the challenges are both drastic and sudden. Regardless of how organized a teacher is, and how well she plans the day, she needs to remain flexible to handle all the glitches that throw off the day. She must also be willing to change plans and ideas as needed. Flexibility exemplifies a vital characteristic trait that respondents felt effective teachers must have.
7. Creativity: Planning lessons that will engage young children and educate them at same time takes creativity. Teaching must be more than simply opening a book, doing exercises, and following an outline written by someone else. To be an effective early grade teacher, you must be creative. The teacher should be creative enough to engage students’ mind at this level as they are not likely to cooperate with the teacher in all situations.
It takes creativity to teach in a physical environment that is less than ideal or when resources are limited. It takes creativity to teach children from diverse backgrounds who might not approach education the same way. It takes creativity to teach children with differing learning style who think and learn in different ways. And most of all, it takes creativity to make learning fun. Creativity is the hallmark of an effective early childhood teacher. A successful early grade development teacher will use creativity to make a day a positive one for her and for the class. There are myriad of techniques that the creative teacher can employ - information gap exercises, games, songs, problem solving, and other techniques that allow the student to utilize the skills he has already developed in his previous studies.
8. Respect Of Individual Differences: Every child comes to school with a unique personality. To teach each child and to teach each child effectively, early grade teachers must respect these differences and work with each child’s style rather than try to force the child to adapt to another style. In our global society teachers must also be prepared for multicultural classrooms with many ethnicities, cultures and traditions represented. A classroom where these differences are not merely tolerated but are welcomed and embraced creates an open and exciting learning atmosphere.
9. Respect: In a study, surveyed teachers strongly believed that respect for children and families are basic to being a good early grade or childhood teacher. Some respondents in the study identified this characteristic as an “appreciation of diversity”. They described it as not only respecting children and families of all background, but also maintaining the belief that every one’s life is enhanced by exposure to people of different backgrounds who speak a variety of languages. We know that children’s self- concept flourishes in an environment of respect. Good teachers create this environment.
10. Communication Skills: Teachers need to have learned effective skills for working with young children and for communicating with them at their level. That is teachers need to be able to communicate with the children’s parents about his needs, skills, problems and achievement, so both parents can help the child without undue emotions. On a daily basis, teachers must communicate with other teachers who may teach her class as well as the school principal and other administrators. The more effectively the teacher can communicate to all involved both orally and in writing, the more rewarding and positive her job will be.
11. Passion For Children: According to the National Association for the Education of young children, the most important characteristic for teachers of early childhood development is enthusiasm and passion for children. This goes well beyond being with children. It means wanting to make a difference to teach each and every child. In fact being an early childhood teacher is not always easy. There may be physical and finance challenges, for instance. But if you feel that what you are doing makes a difference, that sense of accomplishment can sustain and motivate you.
Teachers must have the drive to unlock every child’s door to learning, overcoming any obstacle a child may have. According to John Varga, a Head start site supervisor those who do not have a passion for early childhood should have a different career. He states: this is not a career for someone just looking for a job working with kids because they are cute and it looks like fun. This is career that must ignite your passion.
12. Love Of Learning: In a study respondents also singled out love of learning. To inspire children with love of learning it is said that teachers themselves ought to exhibit this characteristic. Teachers who are life-long learners send children the message that learning is an important part of life. Several respondents felt that being an effective teacher involves seeking out knowledge about recent research in teaching. Respondents in this study regard both teaching and learning as dynamic processes.
13. Authenticity: This is another frequently cited characteristic of effective early grade teaching. Some respondents referred to this attribute as “self-awareness. Being authentic means knowing who you are and what you should stand for. It is what gives you integrity and conviction. Young children are shrewd judges of character: they know whether a teacher is authentic, and they respond accordingly.
DISTIN CTIVE FEATURES OF UPPER PRIMARY ( P4-P6) TEACHERS
The school system in Ghana classifies children between primary four and primary six as upper primary. Consequently under the new four-year bachelor of education degree programme of teacher education being run by the colleges of education, student teachers are to specialize in upper primary education.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEACHER IN UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL?
The upper primary phase of learning consolidates and builds upon the lower primary school years. Students participate in engaging lessons that expand their interests and maintain their learning momentum. As they become increasingly independent as learners, they also interact more with their knowledge, test their ideas, encounter different points of view, and think in more abstract ways.
Being a great primary school teacher, therefore, is very different challenge from being a great secondary school teacher. You are the one who can set the attitude of a pupil for or against every subject they will learn. And, like it or not, you will also encounter many pupils whose reactions to certain subjects has been set by their parents, who may not remember their own studies with enthusiasm. However, a great teacher has the power to change this poor impression by bringing passion dedication and curiosity into their teaching.
According to Ofsted (2015) outstanding teacher attributes that makes someone a great upper primary school teacher include:
· demonstrating deep subject knowledge and understanding,
· addressing misconceptions
· managing behavior effectively,
· setting challenging homework and
· having high expectation of the pupils
These traits may well help a teacher understand what tasks to include in their lesson planning, but the suggestion include little insight on the more personal traits that are needed to become a great teacher
The following are some of the traits for you to think about developing to further engage your pupils and create confident learners, while becoming the best teacher you can be.
1. A great teacher has empathy: Understanding the way your pupils learn is crucial to improving success. It is key to note that you are empathetic towards the needs of these children and help nurture a love for school in any way you can. It is important to note that each child learns in a different way and you have to be able to adapt your teaching methods to reflect this diversity within your classroom. For some children this will mean breaking concepts down into their smallest steps, for others it may be just about remembering to tell a joke every now and then.
2. A great teacher is always enthusiastic: Let us face it; sometimes teaching can be tough. Your enthusiasm (real or passionately faked) will directly impact not just how your class sees a subject, but their whole learning environment, their attitude to school as a whole. That is why you always have to put on a smile: you are one of the biggest role models your class will have, and everything from your lesson plans to your sense of humour will have an effect on how the young pupils you teach see the world
3. A great teacher is a leader: In the classroom a teacher will not take an authoritarian approach by saying “because I said so”. Instead you should be seen as a facilitator of learning, providing pupils with the tools they need to succeed. Your pupils should see you as a leader within the classroom and the larger school community. Any primary educational professional (teacher, deputy or head teacher) has the ability to inspire pupils to embrace their education. It is through your approach and attitude that you can provide inspiration and nurture a love of learning in your pupils for the rest of their lives.
4. Passion: To be a successful primary school teacher, you need a passion to inspire young minds and a commitment to ensuring that every child achieves their potential. As a primary school teacher you will develop schemes of works and lesson plans in line with curriculum objectives. You will facilitate learning by establishing a relationship with pupil, keeping your learning recourses organized and creating a positive learning environment in the classroom.
Your role is to develop and foster the appropriate skills and social abilities to enable the optimum development of children according to age, ability and aptitude. You will assess and record progress and prepare pupils for the junior high school stage of their education. You will link pupils’ knowledge to earlier learning and develop ways to encourage it further, challenging and inspiring pupils to help them deepen their knowledge and understanding.
DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (JHS) TEACHERS
Junior High School (JHS) teachers are the trained professionals who specialize in the education of pupils aged between 12 and 15 as in Ghana (or trained professionals who teach sixth, seventh and eighth grade students as occurs in other countries). They not only help students retain what they learned in upper primary, but also help prepare them for the difficult classes they are required to take in school. Successful Junior high schools are asset to educational system because of their unique and meaningful characteristics.
Teachers in JHS School fill the same educational needs as those teaching other grade levels; they present lessons, grade papers, keep parents appraised to their children’s progress and maintain discipline in the classroom.JHS school students often present challenges that do not manifest in elementary school, and have been corrected in high school Effective JHS school teachers posses certain characteristic and trait that complement their abilities.
1. Comfortable With Age Group: In the book “Keeping Good Teachers” Mark F. Goldberg observes that it is difficult to be a great teacher without being comfortable with the age group of the student. Some teachers are naturally drawn to students in kindergarten and first grade, the years when students are just being exposed to the world of learning. Other teachers prefer to teach in high schools, as the students are nearing adulthood and typically require less nurturing. Great JHS school teachers are comfortable facing the challenges that their students can pose.
2.Desire To Work With The Age Group: When individual purse an educational degree with an emphasis on JHS school education, they know what grades they will be teaching and desire to work with student of this age. Based on the premise that a happy employee is a successful employee, a teacher who choses JHS school student is going to find his or her work rewarding, which will make learning exciting and fulfilling for the students. It can be observed that JHS schools are extremely beneficial to young students at a time in their lives when they are changing physically, mentally and hormonally.
3. Ability To Connect With Students: Several qualities are regarded as crucial for JHS Schools to achieve academic excellence. One quality deals with the ability of teachers to alter their teaching styles to accommodate students with differing levels or achievement, previous academic history and skills. The best teachers also have high expectations of each student and the ability to engage students in learning through dialogue and interaction.
4. Ability To Accommodate Student: Despite the fact that the teacher is in charge of the student, a good teacher has the ability to connect with his or her students not only as a group but also as individuals. In a classroom full of students, teachers find that each student is different and each has different needs. Effective JHS teachers should be willing to accommodate students with different needs and educational levels. Failure to do so can often allow trouble students to fall through the cracks and not reach their academic potential.
5. Psychological And Sociological Skills: JHS school students may be dealing with psychological or emotional issues. It is, therefore, recommended that JHS school teachers have some knowledge of psychology and sociology. Understanding psychology can help teachers recognize issues that may require additional help if the student is to perform well academically. It also helps teachers to recognize differences in motivation, and best ways to deal with each individual student.
Parents often look to the teacher for advice and possible recommendations. The correct training help the junior high school teacher learn the different traits each student possesses and the best way to keep them motivated. Sociology can help teachers understand group psychology and
dynamics and behaviours that can manifest in a classroom. Some teachers seem to be born with the understanding needed, but others require the skills through formal education or training..
6. Personal Traits: Effective JHS school teachers posses a natural empathy for their students. They are sensitive to what their students need and how they feel when confronted with threatening or unfamiliar experiences. Teachers need to be able to maintain their self-control, remaining composed in difficult situations and not responding with aggression or anger. A certain amount of stress is inherent in the job, and JHS school teachers need to be able to cope with the pressures of the profession.
7. An Effective Teaching Style: In order to be an effective JHS school teacher, students must not only be motivated but well disciplined. Even if one student is behaving inappropriately, and disrupting the classroom, the other students are not going to reap the benefits of what the teacher is offering. JHS school students are at an age where they are exploring the options as young adults and may misbehave. JHS school students taught by a great teacher know their boundaries as well as what is expected and what will not be tolerated. A good teacher also develops a teaching style to match his/her own personality.
8. Willing And Able To Put In Required Time: A good JHS school teacher often requires going the extra mile for the students. Students often have needs that go beyond school hours. Teaching involves more than just time spent in the classrooms. Parents/teachers' meetings typically take place outside of school hours. JHS school teachers often meet with parents to discuss students’ academic achievement as well as any difficulty that students may be having. Teachers also attend meetings with other teachers, join teaching groups and complete any teaching courses. In essence, the teacher never stops learning.
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