2. Developmental Characteristics
• Chronological age versus stage of
development
• Example: Children with chronic illness
often are delayed developmentally; an
adolescent who suffers a traumatic event
may regress developmentally.
3. Developmental Characteristics
(cont’d)
• Rationale: Chronological age per se is not
the only predictor of learning ability. At
any given age, there can be a wide
variation in physical, cognitive, and
psychosocial variables. Developmental
stage acknowledges that human growth
and development are sequential, but not
always specifically age related.
4. Developmental Stages of Childhood
Pedagogy is the art and science of helping
children learn.
• Infancy and Toddlerhood
• Early Childhood
• Middle and Late Childhood
• Adolescence
5. Infancy and Toddlerhood
• Piaget: sensorimotor stage
– Learning is through sensory experiences and
through movement and manipulation of objects
• Erikson: trust vs. mistrust (birth to 12
months), autonomy vs. shame and doubt
(1-3 years)
– Building trust and establishing balance between
feelings of love and hate; learning to control willful
desires
6. Infancy and Toddlerhood (cont’d)
• Salient Characteristics
– Cognitive
– Example: responds to step-by-step commands;
language skills develop rapidly during this stage
– Psychosocial
– Example: aggravated by personal and external
limits; routines provide sense of security
7. Infancy and Toddlerhood (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies
– Focus on normal development, safety, health
promotion, and disease prevention
– Use repetition and imitation
– Stimulate the senses
– Provide safety
– Allow for play and manipulation of objects
8. Early Childhood
• Piaget: preoperational stage
– Egocentric; thinking is literal and concrete;
precausal thinking
• Erikson: initiative vs. guilt
– Taking on tasks for the sake of being
involved and on the move; learning to
express feelings through play
9. Early Childhood (cont’d)
• Salient Characteristics
– Cognitive
– Example: animistic thinking; limited sense of
time; egocentric; transductive reasoning
– Psychosocial
– Example: separation anxiety; play is his/her
work; fears loss of body integrity; active
imagination; interacts with playmates
10. Early Childhood (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Build trust
Allow for manipulation of objects
Use positive reinforcement
Encourage questions
Provide simple drawings and stories
Focus on play therapy
Stimulate the senses
11. Middle and Late Childhood
• Piaget: concrete operations stage
– Developing logical thought processes and
ability to reason syllogistically; understands
cause and effect
• Erikson: industry vs. inferiority
– Gaining a sense of responsibility and
reliability; increased susceptibility to social
forces outside the family unit; gaining
awareness of uniqueness of special talents
and qualities
12. Middle and Late Childhood (cont’d)
• Salient Characteristics
– Cognitive
– Example: able to draw conclusions and
intellectually can understand cause and effect
– Psychosocial
– Example: fears failure and being left out of
groups; fears illness and disability
13. Middle and Late Childhood (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Encourage independence
Use logical explanations and analogies
Relate to child’s experience
Use subject-centered focus
Use play therapy
Provide group activities
Use drawings, models, dolls, painting, digital
media, and computers
14. Adolescence
• Piaget: formal operations stage
– Abstract thought; reasoning is both
inductive and deductive
• Erikson: identity vs. role confusion
– Struggling to establish own identity; seeking
independence and autonomy
15. Adolescence (cont’d)
• Salient Characteristics
– Cognitive
– Example: propositional thinking; complex logical
reasoning; can build on past experiences;
conceptualizes the invisible
– Psychosocial
– Example: personal fable—feels invulnerable,
invincible/immune to natural laws
– Example: imaginary audience—intense personal
preoccupation
16. Adolescence (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies
–
–
–
–
–
–
Establish trust
Identify control focus
Use peers for support and influence
Negotiate for change, contract
Focus on details
Make information meaningful to life
17. Adolescence (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies (cont’d)
– Ensure confidentiality and privacy
– Use role play, contracts, reading materials,
and technology
– Allow for experimentation and flexibility
within safe limits
19. Adulthood:Teaching & Learning
• Andragogy: the art and science of helping
adults learn
• Adult Learning Principles: relates
learning to immediate needs; selfdirected; teacher is facilitator; learner
desires active role
20. Young Adulthood
• Piaget: formal operations stage (begins
in adolescence and carries through
adulthood)
– Abstract thought; reasoning is both
inductive and deductive
• Erikson: intimacy vs. isolation
– Focusing on relationships and commitment
to others in their personal, occupational, and
social lives
21. Young Adulthood (cont’d)
• Salient Characteristics
– Cognitive
– Example: cognitive capacity is fully developed,
but continuing to accumulate new knowledge
and skills
– Psychosocial
– Example: autonomous; independent; stress
related to the many decisions being made
regarding career, marriage, parenthood and
higher education
22. Young Adulthood (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies
–
–
–
–
–
–
Use problem-centered focus
Draw on meaningful experiences
Focus on immediacy of application
Allow for self-direction and setting own pace
Organize material
Encourage role play
23. Middle-Aged Adulthood
• Piaget: formal operations stage
– Abstract thought; reasoning is both
inductive and deductive
• Erikson: generativity vs. self-absorption
and stagnation
– Reflecting on accomplishments and
determining if life changes are needed
24. Middle-Aged Adulthood (cont’d)
• Salient Characteristics
– Cognitive
– Example: ability to learn remains steady
throughout this stage
– Psychosocial
– Example: facing issues with grown children,
changes in own health, and increased
responsibility for own parents
25. Middle-Aged Adulthood (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies
– Maintain independence and reestablish
normal life patterns
– Assess positive and negative past learning
experiences
– Assess potential sources of stress
– Provide information relative to life concerns
and problems
26. Older Adulthood
• Piaget: formal operations stage
– Abstract thought; reasoning is both
inductive and deductive
• Erikson: ego integrity vs. despair
– Coping with reality of aging, mortality, and
reconciliation with past failures
• Gerogogy: the teaching of older persons,
accommodating the normal physical,
cognitive, and psychosocial changes
27. Older Adulthood (cont’d)
• Salient Characteristics
– Cognitive
– Fluid intelligence—capacity to perceive
relationships, to reason, and to perform abstract
thinking, which declines with aging
– Crystallized intelligence—the intelligence
absorbed over a lifetime, which increases with
experience
– Psychosocial
– Example: adjusting to changes in lifestyle and
social status
28. Older Adulthood (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Use concrete examples
Build on past experiences
Focus on one concept at a time
Use a slow pace
Use repetition and reinforcement
Provide brief explanations
Use analogies
29. Older Adulthood (cont’d)
• Teaching Strategies (cont’d)
–
–
–
–
Speak slowly and clearly
Use low-pitched tones
Minimize distractions
Rely on visual aids and supplement with
verbal instructions
– Use large letters and well-spaced print
– Provide a safe environment
– Give time to reminisce
30. Role of Family in Patient Education
• Family is one of the most important
variables influencing patient outcomes.
• JC accreditation standards warrant family
participation.
• The nurse educator and family should be
allies.
• It is important to choose the most
appropriate caregiver to receive
information.
31. Summary
• Readiness to learn in children is very
subject-centered, and motivation to learn
in adults is very problem-centered.
• Rate of learning and capacity for learning,
as well as situational and emotional
barriers to learning, vary according to
stages of development.
32. Summary (cont’d)
• Knowledge of tasks associated with each
developmental stage will help individualize the
approach to education in meeting the needs
and desires of learners and their families.
• Nurses, as the main source of health education,
must determine what needs to be taught, when
to teach, how to teach, and who the focus of
teaching should be in light of the
developmental stage of the learner.
