Three Ages Project

1. Three Ages Project Haley Schweigert

2. Goals & Expectations • How physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development occurs from early childhood to later childhood to adolescence • Expected answers to be more detailed or thoughtful in each proceeding age group

3. Participants

4. Physical Development Questions • What sports do you play? What is your favorite thing to do outside? (Early Childhood) • What sports are you involved in or what is your favorite physical activity and why? (Later Childhood & Adolescence) • Are you shorter, taller, or the same size as most of your friends/classmates? (Early & Later Childhood) • How does your height compare to your peers? (Adolescence)

5. Physical Development Mark • ”basketball, wait, soccer ball” • Hula-hoop • Gymnastics • Same height as friends • Sister (11 years old) is taller Rose • Basketball 2 years ago • ”I like this game cause I’m actually good at it and can do stuff” • Track conditioning • 4’10”—average height Jason • Working out • “Fun and people don’t talk to me” • Taller than girls • Shorter than other boys

6. Cognitive Development Questions • What is your favorite thing to learn about in school and why? (Early Childhood) • What is your favorite subject in school and are your grades in this subject better than your grades in other subjects? (Later Childhood & Adolescence) • When you are in school, do you learn best when you are doing a worksheet, reading, or when you get to do an activity or play a game? (Early Childhood) • Do you learn better by reading, writing, listening, or doing a hands-on activity? (Later Childhood & Adolescence) • How do you generally solve difficult problems? (Later Childhood & Adolescence)

7. Cognitive Development Mark • History is fine • Computer lab—My Little Pony game • Learns through games Rose • Math—easy and fun, A- • Band—easy, loves trombone and music • Worst with auditory learning, does not prefer one style over another • Try and solve it and then ask for help Jason • Psychology—good grade • Depends on task, usually hands-on • Does not listen to others talk • Try and solve it and then ask someone who is good at the task for help

8. Social-Emotional Development Questions • Do you like to play with one or two friends or do you like to play with a lot of friends at one time? (Early Childhood) • Do you have a small or large group of friends?/Do you prefer to hang out with a few people or a larger group? (Later Childhood & Adolescence) • What do you do when you get really mad? What about when you are scared or excited? (Early Childhood) • How do you react or what do you do when you are angry? What about when you are scared and excited? (Later Childhood) • How do you generally handle your emotions? (Adolescence)

9. Social-Emotional Development Mark • “one hundred” friends • Angry-”slap people in the face” • Excited-runs out of the house Rose • Smaller group—”overwhelming” • Could not think of a time she has been very angry, scared, or excited • Laughs when nervous, can have panic attacks • Lazy when sad but does not cry much Jason • Depends on friends and how he is feeling • Usually around 7 • “is not handling my emotions an option” • Ignores/brushes them off • Yells if he is pushed over the edge

10. Special Interest Questions • What do you want to be when you grow up and why? • What is your favorite show or movie to watch on TV and why? (Early Childhood) • What is your favorite form of entertainment (TV, music, etc.) and why? (Later childhood & Adolescence)

11. Special Interests Mark • Race car driver—can “ride fast” • “My Little Pony because I love unicorns” Rose • Teacher—story of her experience in fifth grade • Music—fun, helps her relax • Videos, reading, roller skating, bowling Jason • Christian counselor—”people need people to help them do things” • “I’m a Christian and want to be a counselor” • YouTube—hours watching anything, accessible, can leave people if they annoy him

12. Puberty • Girls experience growth spurt at 9-10 years while boys experience growth spurt around 11-12 years (Levine, 2016, p. 467) • Rose should have experienced growth spurt and in a few years, most of the boys her age should be taller after their growth spurt • Girls are usually shorter than boys because they experience growth spurts at earlier age (Levine, 2016, p. 468) • Jason is taller than his friends who are girls, but shorter than most of his peers who are boys • Could be genetic

13. Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory • ZPD is where child can almost perform a certain task but needs assistance from a more skilled adult/peer, known as scaffolding, to accomplish the task (“Vygotsky’s Sociocultural,” 2018) • Rose and Jason continue working on problem and then ask someone more skilled than they are in that area • Ask for explanation, not answer, so they can solve similar problems in the future

14. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences • Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence: physical movements, motor control, more likely to remember by doing rather than seeing or hearing (Cherry, 2019) • All participants stated they learn best through hands-on activities in at least a few subjects • Logical-mathematical intelligence: reasoning, logically analyzing and solving problems, think about abstract concepts (Cherry, 2019) • Rose’s favorite subject is math and loves doing experiments in science

15. Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory • Initiative vs. Guilt (3-5 years): virtue of purpose—children more assertive/aggressive • interact with others, initiate activities, and develop interpersonal skills through play (McLeod, 2018) • Mark more aggressive—”slap people in the face” • Wants to play with “one hundred” friends

16. Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory • Industry vs. Inferiority (5-12 years): friend groups are more important, children seek approval and take pride in accomplishments • Rose likes smaller groups—more intimate connections • Has A in all classes except an A- in math—poor performance on tests & panic attacks can be making her fel inferior

17. Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory • Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 years): sexual and occupational identities (McLeod, 2018) • Jason’s new involvement in church and desire to help others led to career choice • Likes to work out—trying to improve body image

18. Recommendations Mark • Handle emotions with language rather than physical actions/outbursts Rose • Different ways to calm down when she if feeling nervous, like listening to/playing music Jason • Handle emotions—talk about them or leave situation before he explodes

19. Results • Most responses did become more thoughtful/developed as the ages increased • Rose’s answers seemed to be the most thoughtful • Favorite subjects, handling emotions, career choice • Max’s answers were least developed, answered almost immediately

20. References • Cherry, K. (2019, April 03). Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/gardners-theory-of-multiple-intelligences-2795161. • Levine, L. E. & Munsch, J. (2016). Child Development from infancy to adolescence: An active learning approach. Canada: Sage. • McLeod, S. A. (2018, May 03). Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html. • Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development. (2008, May 2). Retrieved from https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/vygotsky-theory/.