Lesson Objectives: 

• Define key terms associated with developmental psychology.
• What is the Nature vs Nurture debate? 

Lesson Content and Activities: 

To begin, take the quick pre-lesson survey to determine what you already know by clicking here.

Developmental Psychology is the study of how individuals grow in physical, social, and cognitive ways. Maturation is a term used to describe how our bodies naturally grow, or mature. For example, the way a child learns motorskills like walking is a process of maturation. The figure below will show you how children naturally learn skills necessary for walking over time. 

Figure 1: Developmental Motor Milestone Chart (Adolph, K. E. & Robinson, S. R.)

Another example of maturation, is the physical maturing of puberty that naturally takes place allowing the body to reproduce. Psychologists call persons who have experienced/are currently experiencing puberty until the age of legal adulthood, adolescents. The term adolescent refers not only to the physical but also social development individuals experience during this time of their lives. 

One of the key debates in developmental psychology is whether these changes in ourselves occur because of our genetic makeup or our environmental factors. This is referred to as Nature vs Nurture. Watch the video below by FuseSchool to learn more about the Nature vs Nurture debate. 

FuseSchool. (2019, August 27). Nature vs Nurture | Genetics | Biology | FuseSchool. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmctxRcmloc

Comment on this Post:  What are some of the psychosocial or cognitive developments experienced by adolescents? 

Create an Update: Choose a movie or TV show that you feel examines the Nature vs Nurture debate. In your update include the movie trailer as well as your analysis of its depiction of nature vs nurture. Your analysis should be a minimum of 5 sentences and include 2 examples.

Lesson Objectives:

• What are the four stages of Jean Piagets Cognitive Development Theory?

Lesson Activities:

Jean Piaget is one of the most well known Developmental Psychologitst known for his theory of Cognitive Development. His theory explored how the maturation of our mind allows us to over time understand more complex and abstract concepts. His theory explores 4 Stages that occur over the course of ones lifetime. His stages are: Sensorimotor, PreOperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational.

Figure 2: Piaget Stages of Cognitive Development

Within each stage we develop key milestones briefly explained below:

Sensorimotor Stage:

• Object Permanence: Our understanding that objects continue to exist even if we cannot see them. 
• Egocentrism: Our own interests are at the center of our thoughts, meaning we have a hard time putting our own needs second.

Preoperational Stage:

• Pretend Play: Imagative play allows us to explore new topics as we roleplay and bring objects to life in our minds.
• Intuitiave age: curiousity with the world around us 

Concrete Operational Stage:

• Conservatism: Understanding that the amount of liquid will stay the same regardless of the size of glass, so long as the volume is the same. 

Formal Operational Stage:

• Deductive reasoning: comparing more than one topic and choose an option logically
• Abstract thinking: ability to think logically about theories and topics not fully visible such as gravity. 

Watch the video below to dive deeper into Piaget's 4 stages of Cognitive Development, make note of the characteristics and milestones in each stage. 

Sprouts. (2018, April 1). Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhcgYgx7aAA

Comment on this Post: What was your favorite childhood toy at a specific age? How did the functionality or how you played with the toy relate to the stage of Piaget's Cognitive Development that you were in at the time? 

Make an Update: With COVID-19, many schools will be resuming solely online come this fall. Write an update explaining how a school might still activate and foster key milestones of Jean Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory using online instruction. What activities or apps might teachers use to assist in developing that milestone? Be sure to explicitly state what grade/age group you are discussing in your update. 

Lesson Objectives:

• What is Lev Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development? 

Lesson Content and Activities:

Lev Vygotsky was a Developmental Psychologist around the time of Jean Piaget who also studied cognitive development. Lev Vygotsky differed from Piaget in his focus on how our social enviornoment can aid our cognitive development. Specifically, though we may not have the cognitive ability to add, having a teacher or parent help us count from two to four can prepare us to later add 2 + 2 more simply. 

Vygotsky is heavily known for his concept the Zone of Proximal Development which shows what a person can do with the help of someone or something else. Proximal refers to close, meaning one is close to mastering. Going back to our counting example, if one can count their zone of proximal development would mean they could maybe add 2 + 2 with the help of a mentor. 

Watch the video below to see more explanation and examples of Lev Vygotsky's SocioCultural Theory of Cognitve Development. 

Sprouts. (2020, February 28). Vygotsky's Theory of Cognitive Development: How Relationships Increase Learning. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I2hrSRbmHE

Vygotsky's SocioCultural Theory also applies the to language development. Vygotsky argued that we learn how to think and communicate as we watch those around us. Watch this short clip below showing twins babbling to mimic a conversation by adults.

Jayrandall22011 (2011, Febraury 14). Talking Twin Babies - PART 1 - OFFICIAL VIDEO. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lih0Z2IbIUQ

Comment on this Post: Who is a mentor you have had in your life to help you while you are in your zone of proximal development? Provide an example of how they have assisted you in learning something more quickly than you would have learned it without them. 

Create an Update: Jobs often offer mentos or fellowships where new employees can work with a seasoned person to learn more quickly on the job. Our High School offers a mentorship program through our Freshman Success. What is a key cognitive or social development skill necessary for freshmen to be successful at our school? Using FlipGrid create a tutorial you think would help freshman learn or use this skill. 

Lesson Objectives:

• What is Lawrence Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development?

Lesson Content and Activities:

Lawrence Kohlberg is a Developmental Pychologist known for his theory of Moral Development. Lawrence Kohlberg classified Moral Development into 6 stages grouped into 3 levels: Preconventional, Conventional, and Post Conventional. 

Kohlbergs Theory of Moral Development slideserve.com

When evaluating moral decision making Lawence Kohlberg was concerned less with the action and more with WHY a person acted in the way they did. While these levels come with time, it is important to note that just because someone is over the age of 11 does not mean they will never employ their preconventional morality. The ages attached to these theories simply show that under the age of 6, based off of cognitive development stages, it would be difficult for a child to employ  postconventional morality because they are not capable of abstract thinking at that time.

The following video explains the 6 stages of Moral Development further. 

Sprouts. (2019, November 29). Kohlberg's 6 Stages of Moral Development. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bounwXLkme4

Comment on this Post: Morals are subjective and depend on personal and cultural experiences. How widely applicable is Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of Moral Development if morality is not developed universally? 

Create an Update: Based on the following scenario explain what action would be taken and why based upon the 6 stages of Kohlberg's Moral Development. 

• Scenario: A student is tempted to cheat. There is an opportunity to do so since the teacher has left the room and others in the class are talking about the test. 

Lesson Objectives:

• What is Erik Erikson's Theory of PsychoSocial Development?

Lesson Content and Activities:

Erik Erikson is a Developmental Psychologist who studied how our social mind developed during ones lifetime. Erikson's theory takes place in 8 different stages from birth until late adulthood (65 years+). Topics covered range from trusting those around us to finding and creating our own identity, to finding purpose in the world. 

All of Erikson's stages are written in a dilemma format: something vs something to show the spectrum of what one might develop during that time. Essentially the ideal and its opposite. A brief overview is pictured below:

Erik Erikson's PsychoSocial Development

Watch the following video and take notes on the 8 stages of PsychoSocial Development. 

Sprouts. (2017, April 23). 8 Stages of Development by Erik Erikson. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYCBdZLCDBQ

After watching the video defining the different stages and what is learned/considered in each one, watch this compilation of Disney/Pixar movies that show the different Erikson's PsychoSocial Development Stages. 

Peavy, J. (2018, November 25) Erikson's 8 Stages of Development Theory. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvWfct9sHOY

Comment on This Post: Choose one of the Disney/Pixar clips you saw and write an explanation for how the clip accurately/inaccurately displayed the specific Development Stage. 

Create an Update: Using the following ideas/options, create an update that creatively displays Erikson's 8 Stages of Moral Development. 

Lesson Objectives:

• How do Developmental theories overlap in human development?

Lesson Content and Activities:

We have spent time learning about Developmental Psychology basics and have dove into the four main developmental psycholgoy theorists and their theories. You will be creating a Microsoft Sway complete this Unit on developmental psychology. 

Before you move on to startting your project, re-take the quick survey you did at the beginning of the unit to check your understanding of basic development terms by clicking here. 

Project Details: 

​You will be creating playlist of 9 songs you choose representing different decades of life. You may choose to have songs representing how your life has already happened or how life may turn out to be in the future, the life of an ancestor, or simply life in general. Regardless of who it is representing, you must cover each decade. For each song you choose, you will write an explanation of how the song represents the developmental milestone or skills of the age, specifcially referncing the vocabulary concepts covered in the learning modules of this chapter. You must cover terms/milestons from all 4 psychologists at least TWICE. 

In your project on scholar, you will embed the song lyrics or music video from Youtube directly into your writing so the viewer can have the song next to your writing evaluation. 

Decades covered:

• 0-9 years old 
• 10-19 years old
• 20-29 years old
• 30-39 years old
• 40-49 years old
• 50-59 years old
• 60-69 years old
• 70-79 years old
• 80-89 years old

Sample Organization: 

• Decade: 0-9 years old 
• Song: List Song Title and Artist, embed song
• Developmental Concept for the Decade: Psychologist Name, Concept Name, & Definition
• Explanation: Short paragraph applying the developmental concept to the song and showing how the song represents this concept and theme

Rubric Per Decade:

Development Playlist Rubric