Child Development and Pedagogy PYQs

Human beings keep changing. During their lives, they change in size, appearance, and psychological makeup. The way they change differs from individual to individual.

• But the fundamental underlying patterns of growth and development remain more or less the same and take place in an orderly way.
• Each individual, with his unique heredity and the way he is nurtured, determines the way he traverses the broad highway of his life at his rate of progress.
• They will attain the size, shape, capacities, and developmental status in a way that is peculiar to them at each stage of life.

Key Points

• Development refers to qualitative changes taking place simultaneously with quantitative changes of growth.
• It may be defined as a progressive series of orderly, coherent changes.
• The term progressive signifies that changes are directional, that they lead forward rather than backward.
• Orderly and coherently suggest that there is a definite relationship between the changes taking place and those that precede or will follow them.
• The development represents changes in an organism from its origin to its death, but more particularly the progressive changes which take place from origin to maturity.
• Thus, development may be explained as the series of overall changes in an individual due to the emergence of modified structures and functions that are the outcome of the interactions and exchanges between the organism and its environment.

Hence, taking into account the above statements, we can conclude that option a is the wrong statement because we need to understand the individual differences existing among individuals.

The term development means a progressive series of qualitative changes that occur as a result of maturity and experience.

• Thus at each stage certain developmental processes bring changes in the individual in different aspects of life: physical, social, psychological, and emotional.

Key Points

• Development refers to qualitative changes taking place simultaneously with quantitative changes of growth.
• The development represents changes in an organism from its origin to its death, but more particularly the progressive changes which take place from origin to maturity.
• It may be defined as a progressive series of orderly, coherent changes. The term progressive signifies that changes are directional, that they lead forward rather than backward.
• Orderly and coherently suggest that there is a definite relationship between the changes taking place and those that precede or will follow them.​

Hence, development occurs when there are orderly and progressive changes in a human being due to maturation and experience.

Hint 

• Growth - Growth is sometimes used to designate all the quantitative changes brought about in the structure and functions of the human anatomy and physiology.

Childhood refers to the period of the human lifespan, ranging from birth to puberty. It is further divided into early childhood and later childhood.

• The Early childhood period (2-6 years) is of greater importance to you as a pre-primary teacher.
• At this stage, the young children become stubborn and disobedient and start negotiating.

 

Key Points

The characteristics of early childhood are explained below:

• Pre-gang age:
• ​During early childhood, children are mainly self-centered. Their behavior is self-conscious and they are more self-aware.
• But during later childhood, they want to be an active member of their peer group and feel accepted by them. So, later childhood is called "gang age" and the age before that i.e., early childhood is known as the "pre-gang age".
• Imitative age:
• As children during their early childhood tend to imitate their elders i.e., their way of walking, talking, eating, etc.
• That's why early childhood can be considered an "imitative age".
• Questioning age:
• Every object or situation holds such wonder for the young child that they are very curious to know the what, why, how, when, etc. to reach the deep roots of a matter.
• They ask several questions to satisfy their curiosity which is why early childhood is an age of "questioning".​​

Confusion Points

• Early childhood is also a toy age because most of the time children are engaged with their toys. These toys are also helpful to educate children. Toys are an important element of their play activities.
• Thus, it is marked as a Bonus point in REET Official Answer Key.

The human species is the most complex and advanced of all life forms. Human's intriguing nature of understanding the world and the universe has indeed created many sciences.

The term human development is a field of science devoted to understanding the developmental process of the human species from conception to death.

Key Points After decades of arguments over this nature-nurture controversy, scholars in the field of human development have arrived at a common consensus that human development is the outcome of the interaction between hereditary and environmental factors. Nature and Nurture-

• Nature refers to the hereditary influences on human characteristics which include physical characteristics, intellectual capacities, personality traits, and patterns of social interactions.
• Nurture as a concept, encompasses all of the environmental factors, including the physical and cultural environment that influences the developmental outcomes in an individual.

Hence, we conclude that the Nature and Nurture debates refer to genetics and the Environment. 

Additional Information Factors affecting the development of the child are:

• Genetically Determined Factors: most of the inherited characteristics are essentially influenced by the environment.
• For example, a child may be endowed with the hereditary potential for physical growth, but his/her potential may be stunted due to various reasons such as lack of nutrition or illness or being forced to do too heavy work for the body.
• Non-genetically Determined Factors: There are many non-genital factors that affect the development of the child these are- 
• Conditions in the Pre-natal Environment
• Maternal nutrition
• Maternal health
• Nutrition
• Physical  effects and illness
• The Psycho-social Environment of family and Culture, and many more.

Intelligence refers to the capacity to acquire and apply knowledge. It is the ability to solve problems, learn from experiences, and apply knowledge to deal with new situations.

Key Points “IQ” stands for “intelligence quotient.” A person's IQ is a score derived from standardized tests that were designed to measure human intelligence and intellectual potential. IQ tests include a variety of questions that measure reasoning and problem-solving skills.

• The table for the I.Q. for the reference of the person with a different I.Q.

Thus to the above references, the IQ of talented students is 140.

Important Points  In 1912, William Stern suggested the concept called Intelligent Quotient (IQ). It refers to the score of a standardized test that assesses and measures human intelligence.

• An individual’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is determined by the formula given below,
• \({\bf{Intelligence}};{\bf{Quotient}};\left( {{\bf{IQ}}} \right) = \frac{{{\bf{Mental}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{MA}}} \right);}}{{{\bf{Chronological}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{CA}}} \right)}} \times 100\)

Where,

• Mental Age is based on intellectual development.
• Chronological Age is the number of years a person has lived.

It is often said that no two individuals are exact duplicates, they differ from each other in some way or the other. Hence the job of the psychologist is to identify and understand this uniqueness in individuals. Such a similarity or difference between persons reveals individual differences.

Key PointsIndividual differences refer to the extent and kind of variations or similarities among people on some of the important psychological aspects such as intelligence, personality, interest, and aptitude. Individual differences among children play an important role in education. 

Schools should cater to individual differences by-

• The teacher must know the potentialities and capacities of each and every child in his/her class so that he may exploit them to the maximum for the benefit of the individual and society.
• The teacher must know the basic principles of growth and development and the characteristics which emerge at different age –levels in various developmental dimensions to provide effective guidance for the harmonious development of children.
• Understand why students are able or unable to learn.
• Meets the needs of the child for security through the teacher’s affection, understanding, and consideration and through the accepted place of the family in the community its unity, and its economic stability.
• Provides opportunities for mental development through encouragement.

Hence, Schools should cater to individual differences to Understand why students are able or unable to learn.

Intelligence is known as the ability to learn, the ability to deal with abstractions, and make adjustments to new situations. Several experiments have concluded that intelligence is the product of heredity and the environment.

• The measurement of intelligence involves the comparison and establishment of a relationship between CA (chronological age) and MA (mental age). This relationship is expressed by the term I.Q. (intelligence quotient).

Key Points 

• I.Q. was introduced by the German psychologist William Stern which was widely spread by Terman.
• It can be calculated with the formula - \({\bf{Intelligence}};{\bf{Quotient}};\left( {{\bf{IQ}}} \right) = \frac{{{\bf{Mental}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{MA}}} \right);}}{{{\bf{Chronological}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{CA}}} \right)}} \times 100\)
• The concept of I.Q. and scores on intelligence tests have been found useful in labeling the individual as gifted, average (normal), or subnormal (retarded).
• Chronological Age is the number of years a person has been alive.
• In the above question,  CA=16, IQ= 75,

\({\bf{Intelligence}};{\bf{Quotient}};\left( {{\bf{IQ}}} \right) = \frac{{{\bf{Mental}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{MA}}} \right);}}{{{\bf{Chronological}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{CA}}} \right)}} \times 100\)                     

                    75 = (MA/CA)*100 = (MA/16)*100

                    MA  = 75*16/100 = 12

Hence, it is clear that If A child of 16 years of age, scores 75 on the I.Q. test. His mental age will be 12 years.

Important Points IQ Rating Scale:

Thomson has accordingly proposed a sampling theory, which maintains that every test samples a certain range of elementary abilities; some with a wide range and some with a narrow range.

• The degree of correlation between any two tests depends upon the number of units of ability they have in common.

Key Points Important points for Thomson's Theory -

• According to Thomson, abilities combine in such a way that their correlations approach Spearman's hierarchical order.
• Thomson believed in a “general ability” like Spearman’s “g”, but according to him it was not a basic entity; it was rather a constant combination of the ability elements.
• In like manner, the group factors are combinations of more limited collections of ability elements, while specific factors are composed of elements that restrict their appearance to single tests.
• Guilford (1953) has refuted Thomson’s contentions saying that “there seems to be little likelihood of demonstrating experimentally the existence of the elements hypothesized”.

Hence, Each person’s work is a reflection of certain abilities, in performing any particular task, a person selects some of his mental abilities as a model. which was given by Thomson.

 

Additional Information

• Thorndike has given the Multi-Factor Theory of Intelligence.
• Spearmen have given the Two Factor Theory of Intelligence.
• Guilford has given Structure of Intellect.

Projective Techniques are an indirect and unstructured method of investigation which have been developed by psychologists and used in a projection of respondents for inferring underline motives, urges, or intentions that cannot be secure through direct questioning as the respondent either resists revealing them or is unable to figure out himself. 

Key Points Projective Tests of Personality include:

• Rorschach Ink Bolt test
• Thematic Appreciation test
• Sentence Completion
• Projective Drawings

Thus by all these references, we can conclude that the Thematic appreciation test is the projective test of personality.

Hint

• Rating Scale: A rating scale is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a quantitative or a qualitative attribute.
• Observation: The teacher observes the behavior and learning of children.

Important Points The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT):

• The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) test was developed by Henry Murray. It is a projective technique used to investigate a person's unconscious self.
• The test consists of 30 black and white picture cards and one blank card. Each picture card depicts one or more people in a variety of situations. Each picture is printed on a card. Some cards are used with adult males or females. Others are used with boys or girls. Still others are used in some combinations.
• More specifically, this test can uncover a person's true personality, their capacity for emotional control, and their attitudes towards aspects they encounter in everyday life (wealth, power. gender roles, racial and religious attitudes, intimacy, etc.).

Additional Information  Projective techniques of personality measurement are the tests that are designed to:

• reveal those central aspects of personality that lie in the unconscious mind of an individual.
• evaluate a person's interests, attitudes, the pattern of thought, etc. while giving responses to ambiguous test materials.
• The best known and most frequently used projective test is the Rorschach inkblot test.

Creativity is the phenomenon whereby imaginative and original ideas are turned into reality. It is a cognitive ability to produce something novel by offering a fresh perspective.

• There are some elements that create hindrances to creativity such as Functional fixedness, Convergent thinking, and Mental set but Divergent thinking is not a hindrance to creativity.

Key Points Creativity is related to the concept of 'divergent thinking' as creativity to the ability to identify or prepare original and divergent solutions to problems. 

Divergent thinking refers to:

• a way of solving problems with more than one approach.
• an act of working with open-ended questions using creativity.
• a process that includes brainstorming, out-of-the-box thinking, etc.
• the ability possessed by the people who are creative, persistent, and imaginative.

Hence, it could be concluded that Creativity is usually associated with Divergent thinking.​

Hint

Convergent thinking:

• It refers to thinking where thinking converges towards one right answer instead of exploring the extra information.
• It hinders creativity as it doesn't let the learners think in a divergent way.

Adjustment is a harmonious relationship with the environment which involves the ability to satisfy most of one’s needs and meet most of the physical and social demands of the environment.

• In other words, adjustment is a compromise between the needs of the individual and the demands of the society in which he lives.

Key PointsImportance of Adjustment:

• Work efficiency increased when a person is well adjusted.
• Adjustment is needed for harmonious existence in one’s environment.
• The person is psychologically comfortable and does not manifest fewer signs of anxiety or depression.
• The adjustment adds to quality and efficiency.

Hence, being free from neurotic fears and anxiety promotes adjustment.

Additional Information Indicators of maladjustment are -

• Acute anxiety
• Obsessive thought of guilt
• Fear of illness

Gifted children are those who show consistently remarkable performance in educational endeavors. They possess superior intellectual ability within the range of the upper two to three percent of the population.

• According to some psychologists, academically gifted students are those who are within the top 15% to 20% in the schools.

Key PointsGifted students may have the following characteristics:

• Learning commensurates with that expected of older students, often reading at an earlier. than average age
• Knowing about things of which other students are unaware
• High ability for abstract and symbolic thinking
• Curiosity is indicated by asking serious questions
• Large vocabulary and mature expressive ability
• Requires limited exposure and fewer repetitions to learn
• Ability to apply knowledge to unfamiliar situations
• Novelty in ideas and expression
• Good problem-solving ability
• Attention span is long for the age
• Dislike rigid time schedule
• Annoyance with details
• Intense interest in one area
• Spontaneous and diverse interests

Hence, Novelty in expression and Curiosity are the characteristics of gifted children

Intelligence refers to a set of different cognitive abilities to think rationally, act purposefully, resolve problems, and deal with the demands of the environment.

Key Points

• In 1912, Terman suggested the concept called Intelligent Quotient (IQ).
• It refers to the score of a standardized test that assesses and measures human intelligence.

An individual’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is determined by the formula given below,

\({\bf{Intelligence}};{\bf{Quotient}};\left( {{\bf{IQ}}} \right) = \frac{{{\bf{Mental}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{MA}}} \right);}}{{{\bf{Chronological}};{\bf{Age}};\left( {{\bf{CA}}} \right)}} \times 100\)

Where,

• Mental Age is based on intellectual development.
• Chronological Age is the number of years a person has lived.

Important Points

I.Q. Table Based on differences related to I.Q.: 

 

Hence, it could be concluded that formula of I.Q. was given by Terman.

Learning disability is any one of a diverse group of conditions, believed to be of neurological origin, that cause significant difficulties in perceiving and /or processing auditory, visual or spatial information, or any combination of these information forms.

Key PointsDyslexia: It is a Reading disability, which is not due to mental retardation, brain damage, or a lack of intelligence. It is caused by an impairment in the brain’s ability to translate images received from the eyes or ears into understandable language.

Characteristics of the learners with Dyslexia:

• They are unable to correct the letters if reverse letters are provided to them.
• Read the words oppositely.
• Unable to recognize mirror images of the letters.
• They are unable to recognize words, and spelling and can not decode letters.
• Students found confusing while reading, they are unable to figure out the correct letter.
• Reading wrong due to lack of understanding of the words and letters.

Thus by all these references, we can conclude that Ravi has Dyslexia.

Important Points

• Dysgraphia: Writing disability, inability to write properly, illegible handwriting.
• Dysphasia: Speech and language disorders.
• Dyscalculia: Mathematics disability, difficulty in learning mathematical concepts and organizing numbers in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
• Dyspraxia: Difficulty with motor skills, non-verbal learning disability, motor clumsiness, and poor visual-spatial skills.

Learning is a continuous life-long process that is not inherited but can begin right from birth by providing constant interaction and stimulation received from the physical, social, and cultural environment and it does not stop till the end.

• Learning is a process of continual adaptation to the environment and assimilation and accommodation of new information and knowledge to fit in with pre-existing knowledge structures

 Key Points B. F. Skinner (1904 - 1990) was an American. His experiments on operant conditioning won him worldwide fame.

• Learning is a process of progressive behavior adaptation said - Skinner, 1960.
• Skinner defined operant conditioning as the process of learning that elicits operant behavior.

Hence, “Learning is a process of progressive behavior adaptation" is said by BF Skinner.

Important Points

• BF Skinner's Operant Conditioning: Operant conditioning refers to a learning paradigm where the desired behavior is taught to the organism by discriminatively reinforcing the correct responses.

Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, attitudes, and preferences. Learning occurs when we are able to: gain a mental or physical grasp of the subject. 

• The influence that learning one task may have on the subsequent learning of another is called transfer of learning. Sometimes the transfer of learning could be positive or negative.

Key PointsTypes of Transfer of Learning -

Positive Transfer: Positive transfer of learning is when learning on one task does facilitate learning another.

• Shrishti was able to use the basic concepts of mathematics practically while shopping in the market which indicates the positive transfer of learning.

Negative Transfer: When one learning interferes with others, it is called negative transfer of training. 

Hence, the above example is a positive transfer of learning.

Additional Information

• Bilateral Transfer: One special kind of transfer is called bilateral transfer for example learning to do a thing with one hand facilitates (transferred) learning with the other hand.
• Zero Transfer: When one learning has no influence on the other.

Conflict:- Conflict refers to disagreement between two or more people or ideologies. It is a situation in which the goals, values, interests, and perceptions of one individual or group are incompatible with another individual or group.

• Conflict exists everywhere.
• One individual can have two desires at the same which are opposite to each other.
• No two persons are the same. Hence they may have individual differences. And the differences may be because of values or otherwise, lead to conflict.

Key Points  Characteristics of Conflict:-

• Conflict is an essential outcome of differences in ideology, personality, ability, goals, and values.
• Conflict is a Process;
• Conflict is Inevitable.
• Conflict is a Normal Part of Life.
• Conflict may occur within an individual, between two or more individuals, groups, or between organizations.
• Conflict occurs only when some kind of interaction takes place.

Thus, it is concluded that  Two opposing desires present in an individual at the same time are Conflict.

Hint 

• Frustration:- a feeling of anger or annoyance caused by being unable to do something.
• Anxiety:- Anxiety is a normal emotion that causes increased alertness, fear, and physical signs, such as a rapid heart rate.
• Pressure:- Pressure is the psychological stress associated with expectations to perform well in a situation.

Reinforcement: Reinforcement as a term refers to the psychological process of motivating a person. Though used synonymously, there is a slight difference between motivation and reinforcement. 

• Reinforcement is something that enhances the strength of the response and prompts repetitions of the behavior that preceded reinforcement.

Key Points BF Skinner, an American psychologist proposed the Theory of operant conditioning in 1938. B. F. Skinner's experiments on operant conditioning won him worldwide fame. Skinner defined operant conditioning as the process of learning that elicits operant behavior. 

• Operant conditioning can be defined as a principle of learning in which behavior is maintained or changed through its positive or negative consequences.
• The basic principles of operant conditioning are that when a behavior occurs and is followed by reinforcement, it is more likely to occur again in the future.
• Dr. Skinner actually mapped out schedules of reinforcement in thousands of studies showing how the strength of reinforcement changed as a function of how often the reinforcer occurred.

Thus by all these references, we can conclude that theory of reinforcement is also called the Operant conditioning theory proposed by B. F. Skinner.

Important Points Let us understand these two types of reinforcement.

• Positive Reinforcement: ​A behavior that is associated with a positive consequence or desirable outcome in the past will increase the chances of the behavior occurring again. This is called positive reinforcement.
• For example, Irfan, a new manager in a company, began praising workers for submitting their reports on time. In a couple of weeks, this reinforcement by praise greatly increased on-time reports.
• Negative reinforcement: Learning can also take place if an undesirable consequence is avoided because of an action taken. This is called negative reinforcement. It can be used for children with Special Needs.
• For example, if a student does not prepare for exams and gets fail marks (painful) and understands that studying can help avoid it in the future, then we can say he is negatively reinforced to study.

Motivation: It is a general term applied to the entire class of drives, desires, needs, wishes, and similar forces.

• Motivation is the driving force behind an action. This is probably the simplest explanation of motivation. Motivation can be considered the state of having encouragement to do something.

Key Points Motivation involves the basic psychological reasons for a person’s actions and behavior. These are the forces or factors that cause a person to act in a certain way or to behave in the manner that they do. There are various types of motivations that can influence a person:

Intrinsic Motivation: Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from inside an individual rather than from any external or outside rewards, such as money or grades.

• Motivation comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself or from the sense of satisfaction in completing or even working on a task.
• for example, Megha is exploring various resources for her project because she loves learning new things.

Thus by all these references, we can conclude that Megha is exploring various resources for her project because she loves learning new things is an example of intrinsic motivation.

Important PointsExtrinsic Motivation: 

• Extrinsic motivation refers to motivation that comes from outside an individual. The motivating factors are external, or outside, rewards such as money or grades. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself may not provide.
• An extrinsically motivated person will work on a task even when they have little interest in it because of the anticipated satisfaction they will get from some reward. The rewards can be something as minor as a smiley face to something major like fame or fortune.
• For example, an extrinsically motivated person who dislikes math may work hard on a math equation because he wants the reward for completing it. In the case of a student, the reward would be a good grade on an assignment or in the class.

Associative theory of learning is a form of conditioning, a theory that states behavior can be modified or learned based on a stimulus and a response. This means that behavior can be learned or unlearned based on the response it generates.

Key Points Classical Conditioning Theory:

• It was proposed by Ivan Pavlov. According to classical conditioning, we learn by making associations and relationships among various stimuli. During classical conditioning, organisms acquire information about the relations between various stimuli, not simple associations between them.
• The subjects of learning in this theory are always some kind of automatic, involuntary, or reflexive responses such as heart rate, salivation, vomiting, pupil dilatation, etc.

Stimulus-Response Theory

• It was proposed by Edward Thorndike, who believed that learning boils down to two things: stimulus, and response. It is a theory that proposes that all learning consists primarily of the strengthening of the relationship between the stimulus and the response.
• According to him, learning is by the association between the stimulus (presence of the lever) and the response (pressing the lever). Mainly these theories emphasize providing a conducive and supporting environment to facilitate learning with intelligently manipulated reinforcements.

Operant Conditioning Theory:

• Skinner propagated an operant conditioning theory related to the stimulus-response relationship and reinforcement. In his view, learning is a change in behavior. As the learner learns, his\her responses in terms of changed behavior increase.
• Learning is, therefore, formally defined by him as a change in the likelihood or probability of a response. Operant conditioning is a learning force that affects the desired response more frequently by providing a reinforcing stimulus immediately following the response.

Kohler demonstrated the following experiment based on insight:

• He kept chimpanzees in a closed room where food was kept out of their reach, and items like boxes, the stick was there.
• The chimpanzee would roam inside the room to reach the food.
• They would ‘suddenly’ stand on a box and use the stick to bring food close to them.
• It should be noted that it was not the result of trial and error instead, the chimpanzee suddenly came up with the idea to use boxes and stick.

Thus we can conclude that B.S Bloom is not related to the theory of learning.

Hint Dr. Benjamin S.Bloom has classified the behavior into three categories or domains called learning domains. These are:

• Cognitive Objective: All those activities that deal with the recall and recognition of knowledge.
• Affective Objective: It deals with attitude, interests, emotions, values, and mental tendencies.
• Psychomotor Objective: It deals with manipulative and motor skill areas. It involves handwriting, playing, drawing figures, using the equipment, etc.