Chapter 5 Developmental Stages of the Learner
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CHAPTER 5 Developmental Stages of the Learner Susan B. Bastable Gina M. Myers CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS ■ Developmental Characteristics ■ The Developmental Stages of Childhood • Infancy (First 12 Months of Life) and Toddlerhood (1–2 Years of Age) • Early Childhood (3–5 Years of Age) • Middle and Late Childhood (6–11 Years of Age) • Adolescence (12–19 Years of Age) ■ The Developmental Stages of Adulthood • Young Adulthood (20–40 Years of Age) • Middle-Aged Adulthood (41–64 Years of Age) • Older Adulthood (65 Years of Age and Older) ■ The Role of the Family in Patient Education ■ State of the Evidence KEY TERMS pedagogy conservation dialectical thinking object permanence causal thinking ageism causality propositional reasoning gerogogy precausal thinking egocentrism crystallized intelligence animistic thinking imaginary audience fluid intelligence egocentric causation personal fable syllogistic reasoning andragogy © Helaine Weide/Moment/Getty 169 9781284127461_CH05.indd 169 24/08/17 6:46 PM 170 Chapter 5 Developmental Stages of the Learner OBJECTIVES After completing this chapter, the reader will be able to 1. Identify the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial characteristics of learners that influence learning at various stages of growth and development. 2. Recognize the role of the nurse as educator in assessing stage-specific learner needs according to maturational levels. 3. Determine the role of the family in patient education. 4. Discuss appropriate teaching strategies effective for learners at different developmental stages. hen planning, designing, implement- cognitive, and psychosocial development. Also, ing, and evaluating an educational this chapter emphasizes the role of the nurse program, the nurse as educator must in assessment of stage-specific learner needs, Wcarefully consider the characteristics of learn- the role of the family in the teaching–learning ers with respect to their developmental stage process, and the teaching strategies specific to in life. The more heterogeneous the target au- meeting the needs of learners at various devel- dience, the more complex the development of opmental stages of life. an educational program to meet the diverse A deliberate attempt has been made to min- needs of the population. Conversely, the more imize reference to age as the criterion for cat- homogeneous the population of learners, the egorization of learners. Research on life-span more straightforward the approach to teaching. development shows that chronological age per An individual’s developmental stage signifi- se is not the only predictor of learning ability cantly influences the ability to learn. Pedagogy, (Crandell, Crandell, & Vander Zanden, 2012; andragogy, and gerogogy are three different ori- Santrock, 2017). At any given age, one finds a wide entations to learning in childhood, young and variation in the acquisition of abilities related to middle adulthood, and older adulthood, respec- the three fundamental domains of development: tively. To meet the health-related educational physical (biological), cognitive, and psychosocial needs of learners, a developmental approach (emotional–social) maturation. Age ranges, such must be used. Three major stage-range factors as those included after each developmental stage associated with learner readiness—physical, heading in this chapter, are intended to be used as cognitive, and psychosocial maturation—must merely approximate age-strata reference points or be considered at each developmental period general guidelines; they do not imply that chrono- throughout the life cycle. logical ages necessarily correspond perfectly to For many years, developmental psychologists the various stages of development (Newman & have explored the various patterns of behavior Newman, 2015). Thus, the term developmental characteristic of specific stages of development. stage is the perspective used, based on the con- Educators, more than ever before, acknowledge firmation from research that human growth and the effects of growth and development on an development are sequential but not always spe- individual’s willingness and ability to make use cifically age related (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2015). of instruction. This chapter has specific impli- Recently, it has become clear that develop- cations for nurses educating patients, staff, and ment is contextual. Even though the passage of students as teaching plans must address stage- time has traditionally been synonymous with specific competencies of the learner. In this chap- chronological age, social and behavioral psy- ter, therefore, the distinct life stages of learners chologists have begun to consider the many are examined from the perspective of physical, other changes occurring over time that affect 9781284127461_CH05.indd 170 24/08/17 6:46 PM Developmental Characteristics 171 the dynamic relationship between a human’s bi- cognitive, and psychosocial stage of development. ological makeup and the environment. It is now Unique as every individual is in the world, how- understood that three important contextual in- ever, some typical developmental trends have fluences act on and interact with the individual been identified as milestones of normal progres- to produce development (Crandell et al., 2012; sion through the life cycle. When dealing with Santrock, 2017): the teaching–learning process, it is imperative to examine the developmental phases as individuals 1. Normative age-graded influences are strongly related to chronological age progress from infancy to senescence to fully ap- and are similar for individuals in a preciate the behavioral changes that occur in the specific age group, such as the biolog- cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains. ical processes of puberty and meno- As influential as age can be to learning read- pause and the sociocultural processes iness, it should never be examined in isolation. of transitioning to different levels of Growth and development interact with expe- riential background, physical and emotional formal education or to retirement. health status, and personal motivation, as well as 2. Normative history-graded influences are common to people in a certain numerous environmental factors such as stress, age cohort or generation because the surrounding conditions, and the available they have been uniquely exposed support systems, to affect a person’s ability and to similar historical circumstances, readiness to learn. such as the Vietnam War, the age of Musinski (1999) describes three phases of computers, or the terrorist events of learning: dependence, independence, and inter- September 11, 2001. dependence. These passages of learning ability 3. Normative life events are the unusual from childhood to adulthood, labeled by Covey or unique circumstances, positive or (1990) as the “maturity continuum,” are identi- negative, that are turning points in fied as follows. individuals’ lives that cause them to ■ change direction, such as a house fire, Dependence is characteristic of the infant serious injury in an accident, win- and young child, who are totally depen- dent on others for direction, support, and ning the lottery, divorce, or an un- nurturance from a physical, emotional, and expected career opportunity. intellectual standpoint (unfortunately, some Although this chapter focuses on the patient adults are considered stuck in this stage if as the learner throughout the life span, nurses they demonstrate manipulative behavior, and nurse educators can apply the stage-specific do not listen, are insecure, or do not accept characteristics of adulthood and the associated responsibility for their own actions). principles of adult learning presented herein to ■ Independence occurs when a child develops any audience of young, middle, or older adult the ability to physically, intellectually, and learners, whether the nurse is instructing the emotionally care for himself or herself and public in the community, preparing students in make his or her own choices, including a nursing education program, or providing con- taking responsibility for learning. tinuing education to staff nurses or colleagues. ■ Interdependence occurs when an individ- ual has sufficiently advanced in maturity to achieve self-reliance, a sense of self-esteem, ▸ Developmental and the ability to give and receive, and Characteristics when that individual demonstrates a level of respect for others. Full physical matu- As noted earlier, actual chronological age is rity does not guarantee simultaneous emo- only a relative indicator of someone’s physical, tional and intellectual maturity. 9781284127461_CH05.indd 171 24/08/17 6:46 PM 172 Chapter 5 Developmental Stages of the Learner If the nurse as educator is to encourage learn- define as specific patterns of behavior seen in ers to take responsibility for their own health, definitive phases of growth and development. learners must be recognized as an important One common attribute observed throughout all source of data regarding their health status. Be- phases of childhood is that learning is subject fore any learning can occur, the nurse must as- centered. This section reviews the developmen- sess how much knowledge the learner already tal characteristics in the four stages of child- possesses with respect to the topic to be taught. hood and the teaching strategies to be used in With the child as client, for example, new con- relation to the physical, cognitive, and psycho- tent should be introduced at appropriate stages social maturational levels indicative of learner of development and