Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: ProfEd1-1stSem-2020-2021
College of Teacher Education
Bayombong Campus
DEGREE Bachelor of COURSE NO. Prof Ed 1
PROGRAM Elementary Education
SPECIALIZATION General COURSE The Child and Adolescent Learner and
TITLE Learning Principles
YEAR LEVEL BEED 1 TIME FRAME WK IM
3hrs. 2-3 2
NO. NO.
I. UNIT II: Basic Concepts and Issues on Human Development
II. LESSON TITLE: Human Development: Meaning Concepts and Approaches
III. LESSON OVERVIEW:
In this Unit, you will be acquainted with human development as a process, the developmental tasks that
come along with each developmental stage and relevant issues that are raised about human development.
It focused on the development of the child and the adolescent, who are your clientele in basic education.
Necessarily, you will be occupied only with the child and adolescent. So then, of what significance is your
understanding of life-span development, a development that includes the entire human life cycle from
conception to adulthood? You can apply what you will learn about life-span development as you relate to
yourself, to your fellow teachers, to parents of your students, to other colleagues in the teaching profession
and to other education stakeholders. It is inspiring to note that development is a continuous process.
IV. DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
a. define human development in your own words
b. distinguish between the traditional and life-span approach of development.
V. LESSON CONTENT
TWO APPROACHES TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
If you believe that even in adulthood developmental change takes place as it does during childhood,
your approach is termed life-span approach.
1. Traditional - is the change from birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood and decline in late
old age.
2. Life-span development – an adulthood development change takes place as it does during childhood.
What are the characteristics of human development from a life- span perspective? Paul Baltes
(Santrock, 2002), an expert in life-span development, gives the following characteristics:
1. Development is lifelong. It does not end in adulthood. Ken and Naschielle will continue developing even in
adulthood.
2. Development is plastic. Plasticity refers to the potential for change. Development is possible throughout
the life-span. No one is too old to learn. There is no such thing as "I am too old for that..." Neither Kenn nor
Naschielle will be too old to learn something.
NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 1 of 3
Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: ProfEd1-1stSem-2020-2021
Aging is associated with declines in certain intellectual abilities. These declines can be prevented or
reduced. In one research study, the reasoning abilities of older adults were improved through retraining
(Willies & Schose, 1994 cited by Santrock J 2005)
3. Development is multidimensional. Development consists of biological, cognitive, and socio-emotional
dimensions.
Development as a process is complex because it is the producof biological, cognitive and
socioemotional processes (Santrock, 2002).
Biological processes involve changes in the individual's physical nature. The brains of Naschielle and
Kenn develop. They will gain height and weight. They will experience hormonal changes when they reach
the period of puberty, and cardiovascular decline as they approach late adulthood. All these show the
common biological processes in development.
Development is relatively orderly. (http://www.cdipage.com/ development.htm) Naschielle and Kenn will
learn to sit, crawl then walk before they can run. The muscular control of the trunk and the arms comes earlier
as compared to the hands and fingers. This is the proximodistal pattern. During infancy, the greatest growth
always occurs at the top - the head and future differentiation gradually working its way down from top to bottom
(for example, neck, shoulders, middle trunk and so on). This is the cephalo-caudal pattern. These
development patterns are common to Naschielle and Kenn.
Development takes place gradually. (http://www.cdipage.co development.htm) Naschielle and Kenn
won't develop into pimply teenagers overnight. It takes years before they become one. In fact that's the way of
nature. The bud does not blossom suddenly. The seed does not germinate overnight. While some changes
occur a flash of insight, more often it takes weeks, months, or years for a person to undergo changes that
result in the display of developmental characteristics.
These biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes are inextricably intertwined. While these
processes are studied separately, the effect of one process or factor on a person's development is not isolated
from the other processes. If Kenn and Naschielle were undernourished and troubled by the thought of father
and mother about to separate, they could not concentrate on their studies and consequently would fail and
repeat. As a consequence, they may lose face and drop out of school, revert to illiteracy, become unskilled,
unemployed and so on and so forth. See how a biological process, affects the cognitive process which in turn,
affects the socioemotional process.
4. Development is contextual. Individuals are changing beings in a changing world. Individuals respond to
and act on contexts. These contexts include the individual's biological make up, physical environment,
cognitive processes, historical, social and cultural contexts. (Santrock, 2002) Naschielle's and Kenn's
biological make up, social and cultural contexts may vary and therefore make them develop differently from
each other.
5. Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation. Growth, maintenance and regulation are
three (3) goals of human development. The goals of individuals vary among developmental stages. For
instance, as individuals reach middle and late adulthood, concern with growth gets into the back stage while
maintenance and regulation take the center stage.
Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice
Below are the principles of child development and learning which are the bases of developmentally
appropriate practice (DAP) in early childhood program (children from birth through age 8), which were stated in
the position paper of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009). They affirm the
principles of human development and characteristics of life-span development approach. Find out which one is
a re-statement of the principles of human development.
1. All the domains of development and learning-physical, social and emotional, and cognitive-are important,
and they are closely interrelated. Children's development and learning in one domain influence and are
influenced by what takes place in other domains.
2. Many aspects of children's learning and development follow well-documented sequences, with later
abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those already acquired.
NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 2 of 3
Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: ProfEd1-1stSem-2020-2021
3. Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as well as at uneven rates across
different areas of a child's individual functioning.
4. Development and learning result from a dynamic and continuous interaction of biological maturation and
experience.
5. Early experiences have profound effects, both cumulative and delayed, on a child's development and
learning; and optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning to occur.
6. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or representational
capacities.
7. Children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and
opportunities for positive relationships with peers.
8. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts.
9. Always mentally active in seeking to understand the world around them, children learn in a variety of ways;
a wide range of teaching strategies and interactions are effective in supporting all these kinds of learning.
10. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting language, cognition, and
social competence.
11. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve at a level just beyond their
current mastery, and also when they have many opportunities to practice newly acquired skills.
12. Children's experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning, such as persistence, initiative,
and flexibility; in turn, these dispositions and behaviors affect their learning and development.
VI. LEARNING ACTIVITIES
1. State five characteristics of human development from a life-span perspective and their implications to child
care, education and parenting.
2. "Growth is an evidence of life" or “development is an evidence of life." What does this mean? What does this
imply to a person's development?
3. If your approach to human development is traditional, are the characteristics of human development from a
life-span perspective acceptable? Explain your answer.
4. Below are the principles of child development and learning which are the bases of developmentally
appropriate practice (DAP) in early childhood program for children from birth through age 8, which were
stated in the position paper of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009). They
affirm the characteristics of life-span development approach we just discussed. Find out which one is a re-
statement of the principles of human development by stating the characteristic of human development from
life-span perspective in the second column.
Characteristic of Human
Principles of Human Development (NAEC, 2009) Development from Life-span
Perspective
a. All the domains of development and learning physical, social and e.g. Development is
emotional, and cognitive - are multidimensional.
important, and they are closely interrelated. Children's development
and learning in one domain influence and are influenced by what
takes place in other domains.
b. Many aspects of children's learning and development follow well
documented sequences, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge
building on those already acquired
c. Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to
NVSU-FR-ICD-05-00 (081220) Page 3 of 3
Republic of the Philippines
NUEVA VIZCAYA STATE UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya
INSTRUCTIONAL MODULE
IM No.: ProfEd1-1stSem-2020-2021
child, as well as at uneven rates across different areas of a child's
individual functioning.
d. Development and learning result from a dynamic and continuous
interaction of biological maturation and experience:
e. Early experiences have profound effects, both cumulative and
delayed, on a child's development and learning; and optimal periods
exist for certain types of development and learning to occur.
f. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation,
and symbolic or representational capacities.
g. Children develop best when they have secure, consistent
relationships with responsive adults and opportunities for positive
relationships with peers.
h. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple
social and cultural contexts.
i. Always mentally active in seeking to understand the world around
them, children learn in a variety of ways; a wide range of teaching
strategies and interactions are effective in supporting all these kinds
of learning.
j. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as
for promoting language, cognition, and social competence.
k. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to
achieve at a level just beyond their current mastery, and also when
they have many opportunities to practice newly acquired skills.
l. Children's experiences shape their motivation and approaches to
learning, such as persistence, initiative, and flexibility; in turn, these
dispositions and behaviors affect their learning and development.
VII. ASSIGNMENT
1. Interpret the following quotations in relation to human development:
a. "Every man is in certain respects like all other men, like some other men, no other man."
(Murray, H.A. & C. Kluckhohn)
b. "Man is an unfinished project. He is always in the process of becoming."
2. Present your interpretations by way of a Power Point. In the light of researches on human development,
which of the two approaches is closer to the truth - traditional or lifespan? Why?
VIII. REFERENCES
1. Brenda B. Corpuz, Ma. Rita D. Lucas, Heidi Grace L. Borabo, Paz I. Lucido. Child and Adolescent
Learner and Learning Principles. OBE-&PPST Based
2. Bergin, C. and Bergin D. 2018. Child and Adolescent Development in your Classroom (3rd ed.) USA:
Cengage Learning
3.
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