Learning and Development

593 Words3 Pages
1) How are learning and development interconnected? Give some examples. 2) In what ways do children learn? Give some examples. 3) Why is play important? Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, practice or study, or by being taught. When we are born, we are like empty vessels ready to be filled with knowledge and skills that we acquire. This could include learning to talk and learning to ride a bike. Learning is sometimes described as a cognitive development because it involves thought, memory, perception and concentration – which are all activities carried out by the brain. However learning is also closely connected to other aspects of development: • Sensory Learning – babies learn with their sense (sounds, smells and objects they see and feel around them) • Emotional Learning – babies learn how adults respond to their needs, how it feels to be smiled at and how it feels to smile. • Motor Skills Learning – young children learn gross and fine motor skills. It is the same part of the memory that is used in repetitive muscle movement, for example remembering how to ride a bike and how to play a musical instrument. The scientific study of human development seeks to understand and explain how and why people change throughout life. This includes all aspects of human growth including physical, emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual, and personality development. For example, a child aged two years, can run and jump, but cannot hop or skip yet. They can run across spaces and jump to music. Their development is very spontaneous, and depends on their physical progress, their ability to think about the concept of a ‘hop’ or ‘skip’, their mood, and whether they have seen someone else hop or skip. Development and learning are different concepts, but they are very closely related. Children need to develop certain skills in order to
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