Unit 1: Basic Concepts in Child and Adolescent Learners
Unit 1: Basic Concepts in Child and Adolescent Learners
Unit 1: Basic Concepts in Child and Adolescent Learners
Module 1
b. explain how current research and theories on child and adolescent development contribute to teaching and
learning within and across different areas; and
c. demonstrate content knowledge on the basic concepts of child and development and relate it to current
educational situation.
Key Concepts:
Definition of Child and Adolescent Learners. Adolescence is not only a time of vulnerability, it is also an age of
opportunity (UNICEF).
Adolescents struggle to define themselves and what they want to accomplish (UNESCO).
Debates about Human Development
Nature Nurture
Is development due to biology? Is development due to environment?
Stage Continuous
Is developmental change abrupt? Is developmental change gradual?
Universal Culture-specific
Does development proceed in the same way Does development proceed differently in different
everywhere? cultures?
Traits Situations
Are children’s behaviors consistent from one Are children’s behaviors determined by the
situation to the next? situations in which thy currently act?
Active Passive
Do children play important roles in their own Do children play insignificant roles in their own
development? development?
Lasting Effects Transient Effects
Do early experiences have long-tern effects upon Do early experiences have only short-term effects
development? upon development?
Periods of Development and Havighurst’s Developmental Task Theory. The main assertion of Havighurst is that
development is continuous throughout a person’s entire lifespan, occurring in stages. A person moves from one
stage to the next by means of successful resolution of problems or performance of certain developmental tasks.
These tasks are typically encountered by most people in the culture where that person belongs.
o Infancy and Early Childhood, which lasts from birth to age 5. These are babies who are just learning to walk
and talk and figuring out the world around them.
o Middle Childhood lasts from age 6 to age 12. During this time, children become more self-sufficient as they go
to school and make friends.
o Adolescence, which lasts from age 13 to age 18, comes with hormonal changes and learning about who you
are as an individual.
o Early Adulthood lasts from age 19 to age 30 and involves finding an occupation and often finding a life partner
as well.
o Middle Age lasts from age 30 to age 60 and is the time when most people start a family and settle into their
adult lives.
Poster. The PST’s, individually will portray the basic concepts related to child and adolescent development through
posters.
Online Research. Pre-service teachers shall gather information on identified topics from journals. They must focus
on the problem, theories, methodology, findings and discussion of results, as well as its implication to the teaching
learning process.
References:
Babbie, Earl R. The Practice of Social Research. 12th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage, 2010; Muijs, Daniel. Doing
Quantitative Research in Education with SPSS. 2nd edition. London: SAGE Publications, 2010.
Boyd, N. Havighurst’s Developmental Task Model. Retrieved from https://www.study.com
o Ecological Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner) focuses on the quality and context of the child’s environment. He
stated that as a child develops, the interaction within these environments becomes more complex. The
complexity can arise as the child’s physical and cognitive structures grow and mature. Bronfenbrenner’s
structure of environment includes; (1) the microsystem which is the layer closest to the child and contains the
structure with which the child has direct contact; (2) the mesosystem which provides the connection between
the structures of the child’s microsystem; (3) the exosystem which defines the larger social system in which the
child dos not function directly; (4) the macrosystem which may be considered the outermost layer in the child’s
environment; and (5) the chronosystem, this system encompasses the dimension of time as it refers to a child’s
environment.
Activities for this Unit:
Video Lesson. A video lesson regarding the biological development of child and adolescent will be posted in the
class’ fb group.
Exit Slip. The teacher will post questions in the class’ fb group and the students shall comment at this post with
their answers. The questions will be, “What was the most important thing you learned about the biological
development of child and adolescent? How does it relate to the teaching-learning process?”
Mind Map. Individually, the students will make a mind map using the ideas found in their comments for the exit
slip.
A reflective journal on the implication of the biological development theories to teaching child and adolescent
learners.
Online Research. Pre-service teachers shall gather information on identified topics from journals. They must focus
on the problem, theories, methodology, findings and discussion of results, as well as its implication to the teaching
learning process.
Online Video Report. The students will be divided into small groups to discuss a given topic. The students shall
take a video of themselves discussing the assigned topic and post it to the class’ fb group. Upon completion of this
task, a video lesson for the generalization shall be posted by the instructor. A rubric will also be provided for rating.
References:
Anderson, W. (2019). Growth and Development Theory: Arnold Gesell (1880-1961). Retrieved from
https://schoolworker.net