Applying Theoretical Perspective to Curriculum Content

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 Baby's 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 baby's 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