CCLD 303
Outcome: 303.3
Factsheet – Theories of development
Theorist Examples of theories
Children are active in their own learning.
Children develop different ways of
thinking at different times in their lives.
Jerome
The relationship between language and
Bruner
thought enables children to think
symbolically.
The adult can provide scaffolding for a
child’s learning.
Learning can be affected by rewards
and punishments. Behaviour can be
Burrhus changed or shaped by providing
Skinner positive reinforcements.
While punishments may reduce
undesirable behaviours, they do not
replace these with desirable behaviours.
Children are active in their learning and
learn through social interaction.
Children use language to develop
Lev
thought process.
Vygotsky
The Zone of Proximal Development
describes what a child can achieve with
help.
Children observe and copy the actions
of others.
A child is more likely to copy the actions
Albert
of someone they respect.
Bandura
A child’s response will be affected by
whether the behaviour is rewarded or
punished.
Children are actively involved in their
own learning.
Children learn by assimilation and
accommodation and need the same skill
Jean presented in different ways to support
Piaget this.
Children pass through 4 distinct stages:
sensory motor; pre-operational;
concrete operational; formal
operational.
MACTAC © 2007
Theories in practice
Jason is learning to do up his zip. His mother
joins it at the bottom and helps him to pull it up.
Later he manages to pull it up himself. After
lots of practice and help he manages to do the
whole thing himself.
You are learning about development so that
you have a very good understanding of the
different stages. Once you have observed what
a child can do, you can introduce the next step
and support the child as he or she learns the
new skill.
When Kevin spilt some sand on the floor, 4-
year-old Frances swept it up without being
asked. A member of staff noticed, praised her
and told everyone else in the room.
Ruth is 6 years old and steals sweets from the
drawer. Her mother stops her having sweets,
but Ruth continues to steal and blame her little
sister.
There are only 28 children at Knowsley Bank
Village School so the children are all in mixed
aged groups. The older children regularly help
the younger.
During a weighing activity, the adults in the pre-
school are actively questioning the children,
encouraging them to predict and reason, and
reinforcing the language of weight, mass and
volume.
Sophie has been observing Emma’s social
skills to identify why she appears reluctant to
communicate with other children. She will then
identify ways of supporting her.
The childminder is dusting the living room. The
toddler has a duster and is also wiping the
furniture.
Jude is 11. He regularly goes out with a group
of ‘hard’ boys. They have been sniffing lighter
fuel behind the garages.
In Hollow Bank Nursery, the children complete
maths worksheets, while at Hillside Nursery,
the children manipulate objects and undertake
practical activities to develop maths skills. The
children at Hollow Bank progress more quickly
than the children at Hillside. This week, Hollow
Bank has provided the following activities to
support children learning primary colours: a
sorting and matching colour activity; painting
with red, blue and yellow; a colour collage
activity; a music and dance activity, running to
coloured circles when the music stops.