Child development is the study of biological, psychological, and emotional changes from birth through adolescence. Understanding development helps families, educators, and communities support children’s health, learning, and relationships.
Development encompasses changes in the body, thinking, emotion, communication, and social relationships. These areas influence one another: for example, improved movement lets a toddler explore more, and exploration creates new opportunities to learn.
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Asynchronous development
Development in which physical, cognitive, and emotional abilities progress at different rates.
Microsystem
The settings and relationships a child experiences directly, such as family, peers, and school.
Scaffolding
Temporary, responsive support that helps a learner build skills and gradually take over a task.
Pragmatics
How language is used for purposes and interpreted in social situations.
Experience-expectant plasticity
Change shaped by particular experiences during limited sensitive periods.
Quiz questions
In Piaget’s theory, what is accommodation?Answer: Changing an existing schema to fit new information.
Which setting is an example of a child’s exosystem in ecological systems theory?Answer: A caregiver’s workplace, which may affect the child indirectly.
What does the zone of proximal development describe?Answer: Tasks a learner can complete with suitable help but not yet alone.
In an infant habituation study, what pattern can indicate that a stimulus has become familiar?Answer: The infant’s response decreases after repeated presentations.
What is the defining feature of a longitudinal developmental study?Answer: It follows the same group of participants over time.
Based on the Wikipedia article Child development, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.