ECS4862 EXAM PREPARATION STUDY NOTES AND
SOLUTIONS FOR PAST PAPERS
The changes that take place as part of growth and development are the result of two
processes. - ANSWER Growth occurs throughout a person's life. It refers to physical
changes in development. The most rapid periods of growth occur in early childhood
and adolescence. Each person's rate of growth if unique.
Development is concerned with how organisms change over time. The development
of the brain during the early years of life underpins the child's future mental and
physical health, development, learning and behaviour.
Kearns - s. 2
What are the different principles of young children's growth and development? -
ANSWER Relationships and development
Genetics and development
Temprament and development
Dynamics of brain development
Principle: Relationships and development - growth and development - ANSWER
Regardless of any other influencing factors, the child's relationships with their
primary carer/s is the single most critical factor in shaping their development.
If the child has loving, caring and nurturing adults has a positive influence of
development.
Conversely, inconsistent, absent or abusive care and exposure to violence have an
extremely negative influence
Principle: Genetics and development - growth and development - ANSWER One
factor that has a strong influence on individual development is heredity. Each person
is born with a genetic blueprint that guides development. However, the way genes
are expressed are also shaped by the child's experiences. This interactive process is
referred to as epigenetics.Examples of how epigenetics shapes children's
development may include:
• physical skills - such as excelling in sport or gymnastics
• creative expression - such as music, dance or visual arts
• temperament - refers to an individual's natural disposition
,• resilience - the ability to cope with disappointment, persistence
• attitudes to learning - the interactive process of acquiring, understanding, applying
and recalling knowledge and skills
(Kearns - s. 7).
Principle: Temprament and development - growth and developmnent - ANSWER
Our temperament is present at birth, and although it can be influenced by our
environment it essentially remains constant throughout life.
Temperament refers to:
• the typical way a child copes with new situations - for example, joining a sports
team for the first time, willingness to interact in new social situations
• the typical way a child responds or reacts to situations or people - for example,
acting shyly when meeting new people, quick to anger when things go wrong
• self-regulation - the ability of the child to pay attention, control impulses and
express emotions in an age-appropriate manner (Kearns - s. 8).
The dynamics of the brain - ANSWER The brain is the only organ in the body that is
unfinished at birth. The primary task of the brain in the early childhood is making
connections between brain cells.
The brain - Critical periods - ANSWER It is a short amount of time where part of the
body is most vulnerable to the abssence of stimulation or enviromental influences.
Vision is a good example: Unless a baby sees light during the first 6 months, the
nerves leading from the eye to the visual corted of the brain that processes those
signals will degenerate and die... (Kearns - s. 12).
The brain: Sensitive periods: - ANSWER Sensitive periods are the broad windows of
opportunity for certain types of learning and this is a longer time when example a
second language can be learned but if the child do not learn the second language
this time they can learn later in life (Kearns - s. 12)
The brain: Plasticity - ANSWER This is the brain's ability to reorganise and adapt to
influences, interactions and challenges in the enviroment (Kearns - s. 13).
The 5 Developmental domains - ANSWER * Physical development
- Gross motor development
large muscles in the body such as legs, arms and chest.
- Fine motor development - small muscles, examplevis: hands, fingers, lips and
tongue: hand-eye coordination is an example of fine motor development
-Growth in height and weight
* Emotional development
-The ability to recognise and express feelings form trusting relationships with others
recognise, understand and respond appropriately to the feelings of others.
, * Social development
- The ability to interact and learn to get along with others, exempelvis cooperation
and communication.
* Language development
- Speech - production of expressive and receptive language
- Verbal/non-verbal communication
* Cognitive (Intellectual) development
- Thinking, concentrating, imagining problem-solving, planning, using symbols
Physical development: Balance, Core strength, Motor planning - ANSWER Balance -
Ability to maintain an upright position against gravity without falling over.
Core strength - Development of the muscles in the abdomen pelvis, shoulders and
back necessary for posture control.
Motor planning - Ability to plan, organise and carry out movements (Kearns - s. 50).
Physical development: Perceptual motor development - ANSWER Perceptual-motor
development is a combination of sensory skills and motor skills, allwoing the child to
coordinate body movements.
At the earliest stage (babies), the brain is simply processing sensory and vestibular
information (example a sense of balance - which way is up).
Perceptual motor skills include hand-eye coordination, foot-eye co-ordination,
coordination (gross and fine motor) and spatial awareness. (Kearns - s. 53-57).
Physical development: Sensory development: - ANSWER Part of the physical
development of the child is the development of the senses.
As the child's body grows so does the sensory system
Seeing (vision), hearing (auditory), smelling (olfactory), tasting (gustatory), or
touching (tactile) are senses that perceive information from the environment.
Infants are amazingly perceptive.
Physical development: Visual & Auditory - Perception - ANSWER Visual perception
is the ability to make sense and meaning out of what you see. Visual discrimination
allows babies to distinguish between and recognise familiar faces. It also includes
the ability to perceive depth, colour and movement.
Visual discrimination - The ability to notice detail and detect subtle likenesses and
differences — for example, differences in shapes, letter, colours and shades,
position of objects, or noticing subtle changes in facial expressisons.
SOLUTIONS FOR PAST PAPERS
The changes that take place as part of growth and development are the result of two
processes. - ANSWER Growth occurs throughout a person's life. It refers to physical
changes in development. The most rapid periods of growth occur in early childhood
and adolescence. Each person's rate of growth if unique.
Development is concerned with how organisms change over time. The development
of the brain during the early years of life underpins the child's future mental and
physical health, development, learning and behaviour.
Kearns - s. 2
What are the different principles of young children's growth and development? -
ANSWER Relationships and development
Genetics and development
Temprament and development
Dynamics of brain development
Principle: Relationships and development - growth and development - ANSWER
Regardless of any other influencing factors, the child's relationships with their
primary carer/s is the single most critical factor in shaping their development.
If the child has loving, caring and nurturing adults has a positive influence of
development.
Conversely, inconsistent, absent or abusive care and exposure to violence have an
extremely negative influence
Principle: Genetics and development - growth and development - ANSWER One
factor that has a strong influence on individual development is heredity. Each person
is born with a genetic blueprint that guides development. However, the way genes
are expressed are also shaped by the child's experiences. This interactive process is
referred to as epigenetics.Examples of how epigenetics shapes children's
development may include:
• physical skills - such as excelling in sport or gymnastics
• creative expression - such as music, dance or visual arts
• temperament - refers to an individual's natural disposition
,• resilience - the ability to cope with disappointment, persistence
• attitudes to learning - the interactive process of acquiring, understanding, applying
and recalling knowledge and skills
(Kearns - s. 7).
Principle: Temprament and development - growth and developmnent - ANSWER
Our temperament is present at birth, and although it can be influenced by our
environment it essentially remains constant throughout life.
Temperament refers to:
• the typical way a child copes with new situations - for example, joining a sports
team for the first time, willingness to interact in new social situations
• the typical way a child responds or reacts to situations or people - for example,
acting shyly when meeting new people, quick to anger when things go wrong
• self-regulation - the ability of the child to pay attention, control impulses and
express emotions in an age-appropriate manner (Kearns - s. 8).
The dynamics of the brain - ANSWER The brain is the only organ in the body that is
unfinished at birth. The primary task of the brain in the early childhood is making
connections between brain cells.
The brain - Critical periods - ANSWER It is a short amount of time where part of the
body is most vulnerable to the abssence of stimulation or enviromental influences.
Vision is a good example: Unless a baby sees light during the first 6 months, the
nerves leading from the eye to the visual corted of the brain that processes those
signals will degenerate and die... (Kearns - s. 12).
The brain: Sensitive periods: - ANSWER Sensitive periods are the broad windows of
opportunity for certain types of learning and this is a longer time when example a
second language can be learned but if the child do not learn the second language
this time they can learn later in life (Kearns - s. 12)
The brain: Plasticity - ANSWER This is the brain's ability to reorganise and adapt to
influences, interactions and challenges in the enviroment (Kearns - s. 13).
The 5 Developmental domains - ANSWER * Physical development
- Gross motor development
large muscles in the body such as legs, arms and chest.
- Fine motor development - small muscles, examplevis: hands, fingers, lips and
tongue: hand-eye coordination is an example of fine motor development
-Growth in height and weight
* Emotional development
-The ability to recognise and express feelings form trusting relationships with others
recognise, understand and respond appropriately to the feelings of others.
, * Social development
- The ability to interact and learn to get along with others, exempelvis cooperation
and communication.
* Language development
- Speech - production of expressive and receptive language
- Verbal/non-verbal communication
* Cognitive (Intellectual) development
- Thinking, concentrating, imagining problem-solving, planning, using symbols
Physical development: Balance, Core strength, Motor planning - ANSWER Balance -
Ability to maintain an upright position against gravity without falling over.
Core strength - Development of the muscles in the abdomen pelvis, shoulders and
back necessary for posture control.
Motor planning - Ability to plan, organise and carry out movements (Kearns - s. 50).
Physical development: Perceptual motor development - ANSWER Perceptual-motor
development is a combination of sensory skills and motor skills, allwoing the child to
coordinate body movements.
At the earliest stage (babies), the brain is simply processing sensory and vestibular
information (example a sense of balance - which way is up).
Perceptual motor skills include hand-eye coordination, foot-eye co-ordination,
coordination (gross and fine motor) and spatial awareness. (Kearns - s. 53-57).
Physical development: Sensory development: - ANSWER Part of the physical
development of the child is the development of the senses.
As the child's body grows so does the sensory system
Seeing (vision), hearing (auditory), smelling (olfactory), tasting (gustatory), or
touching (tactile) are senses that perceive information from the environment.
Infants are amazingly perceptive.
Physical development: Visual & Auditory - Perception - ANSWER Visual perception
is the ability to make sense and meaning out of what you see. Visual discrimination
allows babies to distinguish between and recognise familiar faces. It also includes
the ability to perceive depth, colour and movement.
Visual discrimination - The ability to notice detail and detect subtle likenesses and
differences — for example, differences in shapes, letter, colours and shades,
position of objects, or noticing subtle changes in facial expressisons.
