Child Observations

Childhood development theories are the concepts, facts and principles that describe the changes that children go through as they grow from when they are born until they reach maturity. Development exists in three categories, the physical, learning and social theories. Physical pertain to the development of the body accounting to the body changes that occur as children grow up. Learning theory also referred to as behaviorism refers to ways that children learn and use knowledge. The social theories are concerned with the interaction of children with other people. This article focuses on the behaviorist theory and its application through observation of a child between the age of 4 and 8 years. The behaviorism theory suggests that children learn by going through continuous behavioral changes and processes in response to environmental influence. Using this theory to observe the child, several findings were obtained.

The behaviorist theory was chosen in order to show the influence of the environment the child grows in as well as how children learn through reinforcement of some behaviors. Unlike other theories, the behaviorist theory uses observable behaviors of people and separates them in to smaller segments referred to as responses, while the environment is separated into stimuli. Behaviorism concerns about how people learn their behaviors, and what influences the different behaviors. Thus, behavior, it considers learning as a response to the stimuli triggered by the environment. Therefore, in order to teach the child using this theory, one has to condition the environment in a way that will trigger the desired behavior. Thus, for a child to respond towards the desired behavior there has to be conditioning or stimuli from the environment to trigger the response intended.

The behaviorism theory suggests that children learn through events that violate their expectations (Trawick-Smith, 2010). One of the examples provided is that if one got blisters after retrieving a baseball from a bed with ivy poison, one might not make the connection. However, upon visiting the doctor who suggests that the person is allergic to ivy, then a connection is made. From then on, the child will take precaution to avoid the ivy poison, since he or she has learnt about its effect. Thus, learning has occurred. This theory suggests that children can learn through reinforcing the behaviors that one wants, and stopping other behaviors through activities such as reprimanding and scolding. Therefore, if one wants a certain behavior to end, one has to stop reinforcing it through punishment. On the other hand, to develop certain behaviors, one can offer rewards to reinforce them. This theory suggests that most of the learning in children’s lives can be structured through reinforcing consequences for all behavior. Reinforcement strengthens some behaviors and determines the occurrence of another event.

Using the behaviorist theory there are several plans that could be made to help in the growth of the child under observation or for children within this age bracket. Most of the activities that could promote the growth of the child at this age can be related to reinforcement and punishment. At this age, children will be remarkably quick to learn, considering this is the critical learning age. However, despite the urge to learn, they will be motivated by rewards, and punishment. Children do not like punishment, and to eliminate learning of destructive behavior, punishment can be used such as grounding.

On the other hand, in order for the child to develop the desired behavior, some activities needed should include repetition of the behaviors, until it is learnt. This involves drills, which are repeated activities. For instance, in teaching multiplication, it requires a lot of repeating. This can also be used for learning in other areas such as grammar, where words are repeated. Additionally, in terms of behavior, activities such refusing children to eat when they are not orderly at the table allows them to learn some table manners (Groark & Song, 2012). Another activity is the use of rewards for positive behavior. When the child behaves well, a reward such as the penny jar used in the schools can be used in order for the child to have something to strive to achieve. Additionally, telling the children what happens when they engage in destructive behavior such as taking their video games gives them a reason to do the right thing, and continue learning it. Commending the child for good behavior also helps in their behavior (Trawick-Smith, 2010).

After using this theory on the child, it was found that it worked in many ways, but also acted as a hindrance to learning as the child grew. One of the observations made is that the child was motivated towards certain behaviors such as reading whole words after practicing using segmented concept. In this concept, the whole word was broken into part, first into letters and their sounds, which the child learnt through repeating them. Secondly, the word was divided into syllables where he child learnt the sounds, and finally, required to connect all the sounds. This way, the child was able to learn after repeating the sounds for a few days. This was in accordance with the theory.

On the other hand, when the child did not observe the rules in class, the teacher would tell the child to stop. After sometime, stopping seemed not to work well. A reward for behaving well was incorporated, and the child would be rewarded for behaving well. When the child was told that learning good behavior, especially in a class setting, would warrant a reward, the child observed the rules made, and seemed eager for something. It was obvious the child was expecting to receive a reward for behaving well. This made it possible for the child to learn the good behaviors that were intended. For good performance, the child knew he would be rewarded, and this motivated him to learn more by reciting the sounds of letters and syllables (Walsh, 2012).

From observing the child, it was clear that the behaviorist theory was quite suitable for learning basic things that help in learning. For instance, through repetition of sounds, the child was able to read words that were new since they could follow the sounds. However, from this example, it needs to be learnt that behaviorist theory does not apply to all kinds of learning. While it requires repetition, it does not consider the thoughts of the child. Thus, the child is limited to what they can learn. When it comes to creativity, is does not allow children to exercise their full potential. Therefore, for basic skills needed for learning, it is very suitable. However, for learning creative things or exercising the child’s thinking, it was not appropriate.

References

Groark, C. J., & Song, L. A. (2012). Health and nutrition of children. San Diego, CA: Bridge point Education, Inc.

Trawick-Smith, J. (2010). Chapter 10: Preschool physical and motor development. Early Childhood Development: A Multicultural Perspective. Retrieved from http://wps.prenhall.com/chet_trawicksmith_earlychild_4/37/9577/2451942.cw/index.htm

Walsh, K. (2021). How to Teach Preschool Children to Write Their Name by Themselves. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_8345711_teach-children-write-name-themselves.html