Child Development and Pedagogy
Child Development and Pedagogy tests how children grow, learn and differ, and how teachers should respond through instruction and assessment.
Development
- Piaget: sensorimotor (object permanence), preoperational (egocentrism, no conservation), concrete operational (conservation, classification), formal operational (abstract reasoning).
- Vygotsky: ZPD, scaffolding, more knowledgeable other, language as a tool.
- Kohlberg: pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional moral reasoning.
- Erikson: psychosocial stages; Gardner: multiple intelligences; Bruner: enactive, iconic, symbolic modes and spiral curriculum.
Learning and inclusion
Behaviourism uses reinforcement; cognitivism emphasises mental processing; constructivism builds on prior knowledge. Motivation can be intrinsic or extrinsic. Inclusive classrooms adapt tasks, use multi-sensory materials and recognise learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.
Worked example
A 9-year-old says the amount of water is unchanged after pouring it into a tall glass. Reasoning: the child conserves quantity despite a perceptual change. Conservation appears in Piaget’s concrete operational stage (about 7-11), not preoperational.
Traps
Calling every ZPD task group work; mixing Piaget’s egocentrism with Kohlberg’s moral stages; labelling a slow reader as dyslexic without evidence; confusing reinforcement with motivation. Name the stage and the evidence.