Applying Theoretical Perspective to Curriculum Content
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Applying Theoretical Perspective to Curriculum Content
Infant Activities
Cognitive Developmentalist Perspective
The first cognitive development stage involves the sensorimotor stage. In the sensorimotor stage, children develop object permanence. Object permanence involves an awareness that an object continues to exist even when it is out of sight (Otto, 2010).
Where is the ball?
Show the ball to the infant
Cover the ball with a blanket and ask where the ball is
Uncover the ball and say there is the ball!
Continue to repeat the process until the child pulls the blanket off the ball themselves
Behaviorist Perspective
The behaviorist perspective involves operant conditioning. Operant conditioning is reinforcements in the form of attention, repetition, and approval. The more the child is praised, the more the child will want to continue to do the activity.
Clapping game
Clap your hands
Take the infants hands and clap them together
Repeat the process until you prompt the child to clap on their own and you can clap together
You can take this to the next level by clapping and saying Yay!! Hopefully the child will repeat
The Nativist Perspective
The nativist perspective emphasizes inborn or innate human capabilities as being responsible for language development (Otto, 2010).
Read the book, “Where is Babys Belly Button?”
This is an interactive book that will teach the child to relate the words to their body. For example, one page is “Where is babys hair?” The book has a picture of a baby with yarn for their hair. Point to the yarn and say hair. Encourage the child to touch the hair (yarn) and then show the baby where their hair is and encourage them to touch their own hair.
Interactionist Perspective
This perspective contends that children acquire language through their attempts to communicate with the world around them (Otto, 2010).
Mirror
I call this activity mirror because sometimes the infants will try to do the same thing that the other infant is doing. Sit two infants relatively close to each other so they can see what the other infant is doing. Encourage one infant to smile and babble and see if the other infant will mirror the act and see if they will look at