This paper described how biological, social, and cultural factors can impact learning and development. It also, explained how the role of the teacher can support children and overcome any factors that might impact learning and development specifically, with a specific discussion on cognitive development. Furthermore, it described three teaching strategies one may use to encourage children to interact with and engage with one another in the classroom environment. Lastly, the paper provided a summary on my experience in the Virtual Lab School and how I believe it supported my learning this week. Language is among the numerous methods via which culture impacts development. Similarly, social factors, such as peer relationships, affect learning in numerous ways. The three biological aspects of influencing learning and development include hormones, genetic inheritance, and gender. It is the work of a teacher to make sure that classrooms and other learning spaces for kids make them feel secure, comfortable, and prepared to learn. To generate an organized learning environment that promotes positive interactions amongst all learners, the teacher should integrate some teaching strategies into the daily routine, include classroom tasks, free play and interactive learning centers. My experience in Virtual Lab School has been amazing. I have understood the distinctive needs of each age group in the child’s development. All this experience has supported my learning this week since we have learned about a child’s development from infancy to schooling age.
How biological, social, and cultural factors can impact learning and development
Cultural factors
Whereas there are many tricks one may employ to teach kids to count, talk, respect others or draw, a remarkably big portion of the way they develop is shaped by the culture they are raised in. Child development denotes a dynamic, interactive practice (Gauvain, 2001). Each kid is special in interrelating with the realm surrounding them, and what they receive and invoke to others, and the surroundings determines how they behave and think also. Kids raised in diverse cultures obtain certain inputs from their surroundings. Therefore, there is a huge range of cultural dissimilarities in kids’ behavior and beliefs.
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Language is among the numerous methods via which culture impacts development. Languages duplicate how a person reasons and think. What is more, the focus and content of what individuals comment on in their talks differ across cultures. In infancy, mums from diverse cultures speak to their babies in a different way (Maggi et al., 2010). For instance, German moms are likely to focus on their babies’ wishes, needs, or them as a person. On the other hand, mums from tribal group Nso in African concentrate more on social background. This may include the kid’s interactions with other individuals and the instructions around it.
This early experience impacts how kids handle themselves or their association with others – creating their identity and self-image. For instance, in North American and Western European nations, kids are likely to define themselves around their distinctive attributes – for example, “I am good at drawing” or “I am smart.” However, in South American, African, Asian, and Southern European nations, youngsters describe themselves around their association with others as well as social roles, for instance, “I am a good student” or “I am my parents’ kid.”
Since kids in dissimilar cultures differ in how they associate with others and how they reason about themselves, they also memorize events differently. For instance, when toddlers were requested to explain the latest special individual experience, European-American kids delivered more comprehensive accounts, remembered more specific proceedings, and highlighted their opinions, preferences, and feelings about the event more than Korean and Chinese kids (Gauvain, 2001). The Asian kids rather concentrated more on the individuals they had encountered and how they connected to themselves.
Social factors
Similarly, social factors, such as peer relationships, affect learning in numerous ways. Peer relations are predominantly critical for youngsters. They could be supportive but challenging, as well. Peer rejection can result in behavioral issues in the future. Social relations with other children who are comparable in knowledge, skills, and age stimulate the development of numerous social skills that are significant for the remainder of life. In social relations, a youngster learns how to maintain and initiate social interactions with another child (Berns, 2013). They acquire skills for handling disputes, for instance, bargaining, compromise, and turn-taking.
Similarly, play entails the shared, at times compound, harmonization of understanding, actions, and goals. For instance, in infancy, kids get their earliest experience with sharing (of toys); in pretend play as toddlers, they make stories together, pick roles, and team up to dramatize their tales; and in elementary school, they might join an athletic team, learning to collaborate and support one another emotionally and purposefully toward a mutual goal (Maggi et al., 2010). Through these encounters, kids develop relationships that offer added sources of support and security to those offered by the parents.
Nonetheless, social interactions could be supportive and challenging. Being not rejected by other kids is a vital source of self-esteem and affirmation. However, rejection by peers could prefigure future behavior difficulties (particularly when kids are rejected because of violent behavior). With growing age, youngsters face the difficulties of handling conformity pressures, bullying, and peer victimization (Berns, 2013). Social comparison with equals is a crucial means through which kids assess their personal qualities, knowledge, and skills, but it might make them feel that they are not good enough against other peers. For instance, a youngster who isn’t athletic might feel undeserving of his football-playing equals and relapse to shy conduct, evading conversation, and detaching himself. Equally, a sportsperson who does not comprehend Shakespeare might feel ashamed and evade reciting completely. Furthermore, with adolescence approaching, social relations become concentrated on psychological familiarity, relating to loyalty (or betrayal), personal disclosure, and vulnerability—which sizably affects a kid’s attitude towards the world. Each of these features of social relations demonstrates the numerous ways that social interactions impact the development of self-concept and personality.
Biological factors
Biological factors also impact the learning and development of a child. The three biological aspects of influencing learning and development include hormones, genetic inheritance, and gender. Regarding genetic inheritance, a kid has already inherited genes originating from both the mother and father since conception. These genetic factors are where the qualities for physical features originate, for instance, small or big eyes, straight or curly hair, a short or tall physique, etc. These are noticeable attributes that reveal over time as an individual develops. Furthermore, even some social traits can be passed to the children’s temperament as well as intellectual skills. Nevertheless, subject to the upbringing and environment of the kid, these qualities might be changed and developed accordingly. When a kid is always surrounded by a positive atmosphere, he/she will be motivated to be more carefree and outgoing in the long term.
Regarding hormones, the body of a human reacts to various hormones, enabling timely development and physical growth of the organs. The pituitary growth hormone is a distinguished hormone that is very crucial in the child’s development. It is in charge of the development of the height of a person. Also, estrogen and testosterone are sex hormones essential for developing the female and male reproductive systems, respectively. The thyroid gland releases a hormone essential for sustaining a typical growth rate. Hormonal imbalance can have a delaying impact on the kid’s development.
Equally, gender plays a significant role in learning and development. Females and males show some differences, particularly when they are approaching puberty. Females develop a more protruding and bustier chest than boys who stay flat-chested. Males develop Adam’s apple as a substantial indicator of development. Not merely does the youngster undergo physical changes, they also experience behavioral transformation. Females show emotional and physical maturity before males during this crucial phase. Nonetheless, irrespective of what the youngster’s gender is, encouraging a healthy lifestyle and physical activities can further boost learning and development.
The role of the teacher in supporting children and overcome any factors that might impact learning and development
Just as grownups, youngsters get affected by their surroundings. It is the work of a teacher to make sure that classrooms and other learning spaces for kids make them feel secure, comfortable, and prepared to learn. The classroom setting must be well-organized yet supple and receptive to kids’ fluctuating needs. This would assist in maximizing kids’ learning and engagement. Cognitive development concerns learning. Cognitive development is when kids mimic the teacher’s actions; when they playact to be a nurse or a father; when they recite novel in quiet time; when they practice composing their name etc.
Youngsters are explorers naturally, but there is still much a teacher can do to facilitate their learning and development. It is very important for a teacher to meaningfully structure environments and choose materials which support youngsters’ growth and learning. Kids develop holistically and familiarize themselves with the environment around them in numerous ways. Discovery and exploration are crucial to kids’ cognitive development (Timperley et al., 2008) . The program needs to offer youngsters sufficient opportunities to participate in activities that encourage learning and exploration in several areas: Language and Literacy, Social Studies, Science, Math, Technology, and Art.
How the teacher facilitates and nurtures this type of learning is very crucial. Put differently, how the teacher organizes and structures the materials and environments for kids can significantly impact their development. The teacher should organize the classroom environment in a manner that permits youngsters to involve in meaningful learning. The teacher should think about the classroom areas of interest (Timperley et al., 2008). For instance, when a kid goes in a purposefully planned interest zone, they recognize what the kind of play (quiet, loud, solitary, or social) that could happen there, the content they are able to find there, the behavioral expectations, and they could learn, explore, and enjoy themselves there. Learning is both social and individual, and it occurs within cultural and social settings. Therefore, the teacher should ensure that the learning environment offers opportunities for kids to involve in the individual task, in addition to constructive interactions with adults and peers inside the room throughout the day.
Teaching Strategies to encourage children to interact with and engage with one another in the classroom environment
To generate an organized learning environment that promotes positive interactions amongst all learners, the teacher should integrate some teaching strategies into the daily routine. First, the teacher can implement classroom tasks. Classroom tasks are suitable for interaction and engagement since they compel learners to work with each other. Not all learners get along. Nonetheless, when they are required to interact with all diverse sorts of individuals, they should learn how to interrelate with every person irrespective of whether or not they get along (Pianta, Hamre & Allen, 2012). For instance, the teacher can pick two students to be the morning greeter. One kid will invite his/her peer into the teaching space by stating “Good morning” and offering them a handshake or a high five, whereas a different kid will enquire them, “How are you doing today?” These sorts of tasks necessitate interaction amongst all of the learners. It is a suitable way of starting the day off, and it would also assist in building a feeling of the classroom community.
The second strategy is free play. It is a vital aspect of a kid’s development since research reveals that it positively impacts a kid’s physical, cognitive, emotional, and social well-being. Free play is not only great for the kid’s mind and body but also good for developing social skills. When students play, they learn to collaborate and understand things on their own without assistance from an adult or an educator. In a free play, the kids learn how to pay attention to others, learn to turn into leaders, and learn how to stand by themselves (Pianta, Hamre & Allen, 2012). There are several means that a teacher may use to integrate play to encourage positive learner interaction and engagement. For instance, the teacher may form a dramatic play space for learners to disguise or learn how to collaborate to manage a veterinarian’s workplace, a grocery shop, or a hospital. Also, a teacher may make the learners work in partnership to create a bus out of Lego, then assess its velocity.
An additional teaching strategy that could encourage positive peer interaction amongst learners is interactive learning centers. The learning centers are designed so that learners should interact with each other, irrespective of how the center is set up (Pianta, Hamre & Allen, 2012). For instance, the teacher can have all learners work on the same assignment joint, or the teacher may have all learners work on the identical assignment individually, nonetheless, for simply one portion of the center. Either technique the teacher chooses, learners will still be collected at a table, meaning they would be chatting and interacting with each other.
Experience in the Virtual Lab School
My experience in Virtual Lab School has been amazing. I have understood the distinctive needs of each age group in the child’s development. I have learned that an infant uses its senses to explore the environment surrounding it. The surroundings must be designed to promote this exploration; nonetheless, supervision and safety must be key concerns. Infants can do a great deal, and as they grow and learn, their needs transform. After six months of age, kids are prepared to explore somewhat more widely. Toddlers are similarly explorers. However, their new movement has widened the realm of exploration potentials (Waldrop, 2013). They experiment with their boundaries and take risks. I have learned that surroundings must sustain safety and, at the same time, allow toddlers to exercise their new freedom.
What is more, preschoolers are figuring out the realm surrounding them. They are capable of exploring more autonomously, and they are able to move quickly and confidently. They require a range of settings and objects to create, manipulate, and explore. The setting must trigger their creativity; nonetheless, it ought to also assist them in practicing vital autonomous skills, like dressing hand and washing. School-age kids are set for more complexity, challenge, and independence. The setting must enable them to work with others or alone, to ascertain peer teams, and select experiences and materials which interest them. All this experience has supported my learning this week since we have learned about a child’s development from infancy to schooling age.
References
Berns, M. (2013). Contexts of competence: Social and cultural considerations in communicative language teaching . Springer Science & Business Media.
Gauvain, M. (2001). The social context of cognitive development . Guilford Press. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYMdWQVg26Y
Maggi, S., Irwin, L. J., Siddiqi, A., & Hertzman, C. (2010). The social determinants of early child development: an overview. Journal of pediatrics and child health , 46 (11), 627-635.
Pianta, R. C., Hamre, B. K., & Allen, J. P. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and engagement: Conceptualizing, measuring, and improving the capacity of classroom interactions. In Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 365-386). Springer, Boston, MA.
Project Approach: Helping Children Ask Questions. Retrieved from: https://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/projects-questions/
Supporting Cognitive Development: Interactions. Retreived from: https://www.virtuallabschool.org/preschool/cognitive/lesson-3?module=1936
Timperley, H., Wilson, A., Barrar, H., & Fung, I. (2008). Teacher professional learning and development (Vol. 18). International Adacemy of Education.
Waldrop, M. M. (2013). Education online: The virtual lab. Nature News , 499 (7458), 268.
