HUMAN DEVELOPMENT Physical development: deals with physiological changes in the body Personal development: generally refers to changes in personality Social development: refers to changes in the way an individual relates to others. Cognitive development: refers to changes in thinking.

Sometimes development is simply matters of growth and maturation  continuum. MATURATION: Refers to changes that occur naturally, spontaneously, and are genetically pre-programmed. Hard Wired!

General Principles of Development People develop at different rates. In your own classroom you will see multiple examples of developmental rates. Development is relatively orderly. People develop some abilities before others. There is a logical progression Development takes place gradually. Rapid changes do not appear overnight. It takes time.

Cognitive Development The Brain

Structures of the Human Brain Thalamus Hypothalamus Amygdala Hippocampus Cerebrum Corpus Callosum Cerebral Cortex

Parts of the Brain The Cerebellum The Midbrain Thalamus Hypothalamus Regulates muscle tone, posture, and smooth muscle movement The Midbrain Relays physiological messages from hindbrain to cognitive functions of the forebrain Substantia nigra controls unconscious motor actions Thalamus Affects ability to learn verbal information and language production Hypothalamus Regulates hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, emotional behavior, internal body temperature, and other body functions.

Parts of the Brain The Limbic System Amygdala Hippocampus emotional responses especially unpleasant punishers. Hippocampus stores new memories Responses to unexpected stimuli Navigational ability

The Principal Structures in the Limbic System

Parts of the Brain Cerebrum Cerebral Hemispheres Corpus Callosum Controls movement and feelings on opposite sides of the body Corpus Callosum Nerve fibers connecting two hemispheres Transfers information Synchronizes activity Cerebral Cortex Higher mental processes of language, memory, and thinking.

Two Views of the Cerebral Hemispheres

Cerebrum Continued Cerebral Cortex Left Cerebral Cortex Parietal lobe Higher mental processes of language, memory, and thinking. Left Cerebral Cortex Frontal lobe Motor cortex Broca’s Area Parietal lobe Somatosensory cortex Occipital lobe Visual cortex Temporal lobe Auditory Cortex Wernicke’s area

LOBES OF THE BRAIN Frontal Lobe DO Parietal Lobe Occipital Lobes SEE Motor cortex Special Language Centers Parietal Lobe Somatosensory cortex Occipital Lobes SEE Primary visual cortex Temporal Lobes SAY Primary auditory cortex

The Cerebral Hemispheres Left Hemisphere Controls right side of body Coordinates complex movements Handles most language functions Mathematics and logic Information about the self and well being Right Hemisphere Controls left side of body Specialized visual-spatial perception Verbal associations, creative thought, and problem solving Musical processing in right auditory cortex

Neurons and Neurotransmitters The Neurons A specialized cell that conducts impulses through the nervous system and contains three major parts – A cell body Dendrites An axon

Synapse Structures at Synapse Axon Terminal Synaptic Vesicles Neurotransmitters Synaptic Cleft Receptor sites

Neurotransmitters Their Functions Acetylcholine Dopamine Norepinephrine Epinephrine Serotonin Glutamate GABA Endorphins Affects movement, learning, memory, and REM Sleep Affects movement, attention, learning, and reinforcement Affects eating, alertness, and wakefulness Affects metabolism of glucose, and energy release during exercise Affects mood, sleep, appetite, impulsivity, and aggression Active in areas of the brain involved in learning, thought, and emotion. Facilitates neural inhibition in the central nervous system Provide relief from pain, feelings of pleasure, and well being.

Acetylcholine The neurotransmitter acetylcholine helps you process new information by facilitating neural transmissions involved in learning.

Age Differences in the Brain When does the brain reach full maturity? Growth occurs in spurts from conception into adulthood. Childhood and adolescent growth is associated with physical and intellectual advances Each growth spurt involves different brain area. Age 17-20 frontal lobe growth ability to plan and control emotions. Synaptogenesis Dendrites and axons grow as synapses develop Myelination Development of myelin sheaths around axons Plasticity Brain’s ability to reorganize or reshape in response to internal and external sources

Gender Differences in the Brain How do the brains of males and females differ? Men have more white matter yet less white matter in left hemisphere May explain superior ability in spatial tasks Women have equal amounts of gray and white matter May explain superior ability to perceive emotions Navigational information processed in different parts of brain Women use right parietal cortex and right frontal cortex Men use left hippocampus Both use different areas to process location of sound Synapses decrease throughout life When older synapses new growth slower than decay Brain weight decreases begin around 30 years old. Stroke Artery blockage or blood vessel bursting cuts off blood supply to brain Most common cause of brain damage Physical therapy can help recover some brain functioning.

Implications For Teaching

Pulling the Evidence Together maturation and changes occur up to a much later age than previously expected. evidence of periods of rapid growth differences in the way children, teens, and adults process stimuli stages of cognitive development are a continuum, and it appears the brain must work through each developmental transformation. Timetable is individual.

evidence for at least one additional wave (second wave) of over production of synaptic connections that can be influenced by experience and can influence cognitive development itself. gender differences

Impact on Teaching It appears we have longer to help adolescents develop their thinking skills More and more evidence is starting to point to gender effects There may be periods when children are cognitively ready to move on and other times when they are not.

Recent data suggest that children need integrated success on all parts of the psychological spectrum before the central processor ( which is a mental process, NOT an anatomical entity) makes the quantum leap in development allowing the next phase of development to occur. This suggests TIME is needed for maturational development.

All the careful teaching in the world isn’t going to be effective if the learner is not ready to process it! Ability depends on the maturation of the central processing mechanism. Cognitive gains appear to be associated with the brain growth spurts