Teach English in Beichenji Zhen - Lianyungang Shi

INTRODUCTION Child development points to the progression of physique, thoughts, emotions and language changes that happen to a child from birth to early adulthood. This is strongly affected by genetic factors, experiences during prenatal life and environmental realities after birth. Child development includes: Cognitive - the skill to learn and to solve problems Social language - understanding and using language, reading and communicating Physical skills - fine motor skills and gross motor skills Sensory awareness - reinteraction and emotional regulation - mastering self-control and interacting with others Speech and station of sensory data for use. LEARNING SKILLS Learning theories introduces us to five overarching paradigms. Namely, Behaviourism - a view where behaviour can be explained by external factors and behavioural condition can be used as a universal learning process. The usage of negative and positive reinforcement, as well as punishment and reward system, are effective tools of learning and behaviour modification Cognitivism this is where a child develops cognitive pathways in understanding and physical response to experience. this is learnt most effectively through reading texts and lecture instruction. Constructivism - the idea that people are responsible for creating their own understanding and meaning of the world, using what they know and linking it to these previous experience. Humanism focusing on the individual and asserts that learning is a natural process that helps the individual reach self-actualisation, this can be actualized through exploring and observing others. Connectivism - a new learning theory which was developed and based on the idea that people process information by establishing connections, that people never stop learning but continue even after finishing their formal education. BRAINWAVES The ages of a child from 0-7 years are considered to be programming years. This is because during these years the child spends most of their time in Alpha and Theta brainwave cycles, similar to being under hypnosis or meditation. These are the years the child’s beliefs about themselves and life develop. There are four different types of brainwave cycles: Delta - which is from birth and two years old, the brain here functions at the lowest brainwave cycle that’s on 0.5 to 4 cycles per second. They are functioning primarily from their subconscious mind, there is very little critical thinking or judgement taking place. Theta - these wave frequencies measure 4-8 cycles per second and predominantly in children aged 2-6, these children are connected to their internal world more and live in the imagination realm and daydreaming, they still aren’t able to show signs of rational or critical thinking. This is considered to be a super learning stage for the child and they are open to suggestion and will take in what you tell them as true. Alpha - this comes in at the ages between 5-8, the wave frequency has changed to 8-13 cycles per second and the analytical mind begins to form. They start to interpret and draw conclusions from their environment, even though they still are in their inner world of imagination. We see the use of both the left and right brain hemisphere at the same time, which put them in a peaceful and relaxed, though alert with powerful ideas and inspiration. Beta - form age 8-12 and onwards, the brain waves go from anything above 13 cycles per second. This is called the world of conscious, analytical thinking. The mind is awake, focused, alert and can produce logical thinking. CONCENTRATION SPAN Another thing to look at is the concentration span of the child, which differs with age and can largely be affected by how many distractions are there, how hungry or tired the child is and how interested they are in the activity presented. So encouraged concentration span carries control over behaviour and emotions and ensuring academic success because a scientific study was made which looked at the concentration span of children age four into the of 21. It was found that concentration span-persistence from the age of four predicts how well the child will perform in maths and reading at age 21 predicting the odds of them completing college. INFLUENCE Research has shown things that have an influence on child development namely relationships, play, physical activities and healthy eating. Relationships in a child’s environment are the most important. They teach the child about the world around them if its safe and secure, whether they are loved or not and shape the way they see it. Play is not only fun for children but gives them opportunities to explore, observe, solve and learn. There has to be a balance in helping them learn and letting them learn from their own mistakes. Physical activities and healthy eating are added as influencing factors in helping the child with enough energy and nutrients needed for proper child development. PERSONALITY TRAITS The human personality is a highly complex phenomenon, which is made up of neurological, psychological and spiritual functions, emotions and affect, experiences, thoughts, decisions, motivation, social influence, religious experience, value perception and value formation. Personality traits are displayed in learning style. With this information, we look at these factors that model personality traits with learning strategies and learning outcome, Conscientiousness - is related to work discipline, interest in the subject matter. Making concentration and considering studying quite uncomplicated. They are good at organizing their work, managing time and work hard at their studies, they have intrinsic motivation and a positive study attitude. Openness - is linked with questioning and analysing arguments. They are critical and relate what they learn to their past knowledge, they like to find deeper meaning in the texts. Their motivation is intrinsic and they look for a personal comprehension independent of their syllabus. Neuroticism - is linked with lack of concentration, fear of failure and experience studying as stressful. It is also linked with a lack of critical ability and problems in understanding how things relate to each other. Therefore they just memorize texts without finding deeper meaning or the understanding of it, they just want to get through the exam and are not really interested in the material itself. They are extrinsic they take on a strategic, syllabus-bound approach to studying. Bringing us to the relationship between learning styles and search behaviours: Subcritical students - seek authoritative sources in order to find the objective truth. They memorise and describe the information rather than value it. The surface-critical students - value the information clinically in order to impress their teachers, they, in turn, need information from many sources. Deep-critical students - seek information from many sources so they can make their own opinion. CONCLUSION There are many aspects to child development and there are many factors that influence this development to form the child’s learning capabilities. A parent needs to take intentional steps to ensure that their child gets the best assistance in their development. From the kind of social level interaction, healthy eating, play, physical activities to the right relationship interactions. We learnt that the first seven years of child development are the most crucial, where the correct knowledge of the brainwaves can assist the parent in directing certain knowledge at specific times targeting a well-balanced development for their child. So that the child can create a better outlook of who they are and maximize the potential in learning that will greatly impact their future and life long achievements. REFERENCE 1. What is child development - Kid Sense Child Development https://childdevelopment.com.au/areas-of-conern/what-is-child-development/ 2. Learning skills - The five educational learning theories https://www.educationdegree.com/articles/educationallearning-theories/ 3. Brain waves https://upallhours.com/article/understanding-the-brainwaves-of-your-children 4. Concentration span https://blog.brainbalancecenters.com/normal-attention-span-expectations-by-age https://theconversation.com/what-does-our-attention-span-mean-52897 5. Influences https://raisingchildren.net.au/newborns/development/understanding-development/development-first-five-years 6. Personality traits Freud to Frankl Meyer Moore Viljoen, 1989, ‘Personality Theories’, First edition, Lexicon Publishers(proprietary) Limited, page 5 www.informationr.net/ir/5-3/paper78.html