LEARNING THEORIST

ARNOLD GESELL

Maturational Theory
Typical maturing patterns that all kids follow
Milestones of development
Twin study motor skills
SIGMUND FREUD

Experiences in early childhood influence later development

Sexual factors are major factors
Psychoanalysis
Id- basic instincts
Ego- mediator, rational part
Superego- ideas about moral acceptable behavior
JEAN PIAGET

Development takes place in distinct stages of cognitive

development
Adults influence but the child is building their own thinking
systems
LEV VYGOTSKY

Development is primarily drive by language, social

context and adult guidance
JOHN WATSON

Applied the concepts of classical conditioning to emotional reactions

Believed that the human personality developed through the conditioning
of various reflexes
BF SKINNER

Reinforcement and punishment molds behavior

Negative and positive reinforcement

Children are conditioned by their experiences

Operant conditioning
ALBERT BANDURA

Focus on inner motivational factors

Self-regulatory mechanisms contribute to a persons behavior
Not just environmental
URI BRONFENBRENNER

Ecological Systems Theory

NOAM CHOMKSY

Linguistic theory
Learning language is innate
Children do not need formal teaching to learn to speak
ABRAHAM MASLOW
ERIK ERIKSON

Continued off of Freuds work

8 stages of development and more influence on environmental
factors
LEARNER DEVELOPMENT STAGES
QUESTIONS

How do children develop?

What do children learn and in what order?
What affects learning?
Do all children develop in the same ways?
What are the similarities and differences in growth and development?
THE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT
The child is a blend of many parts that interrelate in
different ways and change with growth over time. Biological
processes describe changes in the body.
Cognitive processes are those changes in ones thought,
intelligences and language.
Socioemotional processes reflect changes in an individuals
relationships with other people, emotions and personality.

(Gordon and Browne, pages 130-131).

MILESTONES
PHYSICAL/MOTOR MILESTONES

Gross motor
Fine motor
Perceptual motor
AFFECTIVE MILESTONES

Social
Emotional
Creative
Spiritual
INTELLECTUAL MILESTONES

Cognitive
Communication
Language
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Infancy (First 12 months of life)
Toddlerhood (1 2 Years)
Early Childhood (3 5 Years of Age)
Middle and Late Childhood (6 11 Years of Age)
Adolescence (12 19 Years of Age)
Young Adulthood (20 40 Years of Age)
Middle- Aged Adulthood (41 64 Years of Age)
Older Adulthood (65 Years of Age and Older)
LEARNER DEVELOPMENT PROJECT