HOW CHILDREN LEARN HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN CHILDREN

HOW CHILDREN LEARN

HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN? CHILDREN LEARN THROUGH MOTOR SKILLS (PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT) CHILDREN LEARN BY KNOWLEDGE THEY ACQUIRE OF PEOPLE, PLACES, OBJECTS, AND EVENTS AND THEY CAN GAIN SOME INSIGHT ON HOW TO LEARN (INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT CHILDREN LEARN TO UNDERSTAND, SPEAK, READ, AND WRITE WORDS (INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT)

HOW DO CHILDREN LEARN CON’T? CHILDREN LEARN HOW TO INTERACT WITH OTHERS (SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT) CHILDREN LEARN TO EXPRESS EMOTIONS IN A HEALTHY WAY ( EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT)

BRAIN BIOLOGY 2 TYPES OF BRAIN CELLS 1) NEURONS – THESE ARE THE BRAIN CELLS THAT SEND AND RECEIVE CHEMICAL IMPULSES TO EACH OTHER THAT DIRECT THE VARIOUS TASKS OF THE BRAIN. 2) GLIAL – THESE BRAIN CELLS SUPPORT NEURONS AND ARE LIKE GLUE

FASTEST STAGES OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AGE WHAT HAPPENS 3 -10 MONTHS MOTOR ACTIONS ARE ACTIVATED 2 -4 YEARS LEVEL SENSES LEARN TO FUNCTION AND MATURE TO ADULT 6 -8 YEARS BEGINNING OF LOGICAL THINKING – THIS SKILL MUST BE TAUGHT AND PRACTICED 10 -12 YEARS (F) BEGINNING OF ABSTACT THINKING-ALLOWS FOR HIGHER &12 -14 YEARS (M) THINKING SKILLS (MATHEMATICS & SCIENCE)

BRAIN BIOLOGY CON’T 3 TYPES OF NEURONS ( EACH HAS A SPECIFIC TASK) 1) DENDRITES – TREE LIKE CABLES THAT ALLOW EACH NEURON TO RECEIVE SIGNALS SENT BY OTHER NEURONS 2) THE CELL BODY – IT CONTAINS THE GENETIC INFORMATION AND PROTEINS FOR CELL MAINTENANCE 3) AXONS – A LONG THICK CABLES WITH TERMINAL BUTTONS THAT TRANSMIT ALL THE SIGNALS FROM A NEURON TO OTHER NEURONS

MAKING AND SORTING BRAIN CONNECTIONS IN THE BEGINNINGS NEURONS ARE CLOSE TOGETHER SO IT IS EASY FOR THEM TO MAKE CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNICATE. THE NETWORK OF FIBERS THAT CARRY INFORMATION (BRAIN SIGNALS) BETWEEN NEURONS IS CALLED WIRING. GENES CREATE THE STRUCTURE FOR WIRING SO EACH PERSON IS UNIQUE. WIRING IS NEEDED AT BIRTH TO SUSTAIN LIFE (BREATHING, HEART BEAT, DIGESTION, REFLEXES, ETC. )

MAKING AND SORTING BRAIN CONNECTIONS CON’T BRAIN CONNECTIONS ARE SORTED BY A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS CALLED LEARNING. WITH EACH OF OUR EXPERIENCES SIGNALS ARE SENT AND A SINGLE NEURON CAN SEND AS MANY AS 25, 000 SIGNALS TO OTHER NEURONS NEVER TOUCH EACH OTHER. THEY SEND THEIR SIGNALS AND THEY CROSS A TINY GAP IN THE NEURONS CALLED A SYNAPSE. WITH REPEATED EXPERIENCES WE BUILD UP AND STRENGTHEN THE CONNECTIONS AND FORM EVEN MORE SYNAPSES. THIS IS HOW YOUR BRAIN LEARNS TO ASSOCIATE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES AND LEARN FROM THEM.

TIMING OF EXPERIENCES 2 TYPES OF PERIODS IN WIRING THAT ARE CRITICAL TO LEARNING 1) CRITICAL PERIOD –THESE AR TIMES WHEN SOME PART OF THE BODY IS VULNERABLE TO A LACK OF STIMULATION. EX: BABY BORN WITH CATARACTS THAT ARE NOT REMOVED WITHING A FEW MONTHS WILL FOREVER BE BLIND BECAUSE THE VISION NEURONS DIE. 2) SENSITIVE PERIODS – THESE ARE TIMES WHEN THE BRAIN IS BEST ABLE TO LEARN SPECIFIC SKILLS FOR ALL CHILDREN. THIS MEANS EASIER LEARNING AND A BETTER FOUNDATION FOR SKILLS LATER IN LIFE.

TIMING OF EXPERIENCES CON’T THE BEST OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING ARE CALLED A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY AND IS DESCRIBED AS A TIME IN A CHILD’S LIFE WHERE LEARNING A PARTICULAR SKILL IS PRIME. ON THE OTHER HAND, A WINDOW OF VULNERABILITY IS WHEN THE CHILD DOES NOT RECEIVE THE CORRECT STIMULATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SKILL MAY BE IMPAIRED.

PROVIDING LEARNING EXPERIENCES CHILDREN NEED A LOVING CARING ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH TO LEARN. CHILDREN LEARN BY DOING AND OBSERVING AND CAN PICK UP MANY SKILLS ON THEIR OWN BY OBSERVATION. CHILDREN NEED REPETITION OF EXPERIENCES IN ORDER TO DEVELOP THE BRAIN PROPERLY GOOD BOOKS AND TOYS THAT ALLOW FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLAY ARE BEST. EX: (BALLS, BLOCKS, SAND, AND WATER) THE CHILD IS ABLE TO USE THEIR IMAGINATION TO DEVELOP DIFFERENT PLAY SCENARIOS EACH TIME THEY ENCOUNTER THESE TOYS.

PROTECTING THE BRAIN NEEDS NUTRITION, SLEEP, ACTIVITIES AND GOOD GENERAL HEALTH. EX: 60% OF THE DAILY NUTRIENTS ARE USED BY THE BRAIN DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE. THAT IS WHY NUTRITION FOR AN INFANT IS CRUCIAL AND THAT THEY NEED THE FAT FROM BREAST MILK OR FORMULA. RESTORES THE BRAIN AND MAKES FOR BETTER CONNECTIONS AND THUS LEARNING IS EASIER. ONE OF THE BIGGEST OFFENDERS IS LACK OF POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARENTS AND STRESS DUE TO NEGLECT OR ABUSE. THIS CAN AFFECT THE BRAIN AND CAUSE TOO MUCH HARM AND DAMAGE THE CAPACITY TO LEARN.