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Introduction to theories in learning 1a

Gross & Fine Motor skills

Name: Fatima Mohammed Hassan

ID: H00328263
Section: 12B10ED01
Teacher: Antoinette Wiseman
Nov 12th, 2015

Gesell & Thelen

On June 21, 1880, one of the most famous American

psychologist and pediatrician was born, Arnold Lucius Gesell!
Gesells theory is known as a maturational-developmental
theory. It is the foundation of nearly every other theory of human
development after Gesell. He observed the children in natural
play situations without disturbing them, thus providing
behavioral measures free from the effects of interference by
researchers. Gesell recognized the importance of both nature
and nurture in children's development. He believed that children
go through the stages he identified in a fixed sequence, within a certain
time period, based on innate human abilities (Bates, 1989). He died
on May 29, 1961.

The Dynamic systems theory of motor development was developed in

the 20th of century by Esther Thelen. Thelen was born on May 20,
1941, in New York, United States and died on December 29, 2004.
Esther changed the face of developmental psychology by
introducing researchers to a dynamic systems approach to
development and by reinvigorating the moribund field of motor
development (Adolph, 2005).
Thelen observed that the
developmental sequences of children are more variable than was
previously believed.
Yet, almost all children arrive at certain
milestones such as crawling, standing, and walking, although by way of
different routes (Steare, 2010). In Another way motor skills do not follow
a fixed maturational timetable and children acquire motor skills in
individual ways.

Observation task

Gross & Fine motor skills

Motor skills are the actions that involve the movement of muscles in the
human body. They split into two parts, the first part is gross motor skills
which is the largest movement that children dose with their body for
example walk and run. The development of gross motor skills starts as
soon as a child is born. As children age, their gross motor abilities
continue to develop and improve (Williams, n.d.). The second part is fine
motor skills which are when children known how to use their small
muscles for example draw, write and copy a building pattern.

Gross motor skills

I chose my niece Ghaya, four years old, to do the activities, because she is
amazing girl and I saw that she is Suitable for the activities. She is in
Piaget's second stage of development, the Pre-Operations Stage this stage
begins from (2 to7years), the child focus on self and starts to talk but an
inability to conservation and don't understand that other people have
different points of you and imagine things. I did the activities in my room
to make her feel comfortable.
I observed 5 gross motor skills, the first activity was bounce a ball, I gave
Ghaya the ball, and before I ask her to bounce the ball, she played with
the ball, throw it and kick it, then I asked her to bounce the ball. I
expected from her to do it easily but I was shocked when she couldnt
bounce the ball, she tried to hit on the floor many times, but in the end
she gave up. The second activity was to react quickly and catch the
balloon, I hold the balloon and raised my hand to the top and throw the
balloon, she jumped and catch the balloon directly, and her sense of
reaction was really amazing. The third activity was jump 3 times, it was
the easiest activity to her, but she didnt jump very high. The fourth
activity was for balance, walk along a line one step after another, she had
a good sense of balance when she was walking along the line but I noticed
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that it was hard for her, she looked like she was suffering to stay on the
line. The fifth activity was run, I made her ran 30 feet, she did it but when
she reached to the end, she was Breathing fast. According to Meggitt
checklist Ghaya can do all this activities since she is 4 years old, and
Ghaya actually did it, but the only activity she couldnt do it was bouncing
the ball.

Fine motor skills

I also observed five fine motor skills, the first activity was build a tower with more than six
bricks, it took from her a while to build it, and she didnt put the big brick down and the small
brick up, so the tower fell for once, but in the end she did it. The second activity was make
balls by using the clay, Ghaya took the clay and cut it into pieces then she roll it to balls.
I did the third and the fourth activity together, because it was holding a pen in an adult
fashion and copy the letter O. first when I gave her the pen she didnt hold it in the right way,
but then she knew that there something wrong, so she figure it out by herself and hold it in
the right way, I wrote the letter O and asked her to copy it, and she did it easily. The final
activity was use table utensils skilfully, she hold the spoon and eat the sweet skilfully without
my help.

Analysis
I think that Ghaya reached the correct development stage (Pre-Operations Stage),
because she act like the other children in her age. Ghaya did what is on Maggit checklist, but
there is one skill she couldnt do it, bouncing the ball, but I dont think one skill will affect
her development or make her behind the other children in her age, I think she can be ahead
the other children in her age. I think that the nature and nurture are both the greater affect the
child development, and nature and nurture are intertwined, one cannot exist without the other.
For example if a child have very good playing football skills, from the nature side his brother
trained him very well, and from the other side nurture his father was a football player in the
past. He can be could be gain the football skills from his father or from the training he had
with his brother.
In Conclusion, Gesell & Thelen had different opinions, Gesell though that
child development is unfold it keeps developing and Thelen though both
nature and nurture effects on the child, in some points Gesell was right
and Thelen too was right.

Gross Motor Skills Photos

Fine Motor skills Photos

References

1) Adolph,KE. (2005), Esther Thelen - NYU Psychology, Retrieved from

https://psych.nyu.edu/adolph/publications/2005Adolph%20K%20E
%20Corbetta%20D%20Vereijken%20B%20%20Spencer%20J-In
%20Memoriam%20Esther%20Thelen.pdf
2) Bates, Louise A. (1989). Arnold Gesell: Themes of His Work. Human
Sciences Press.
3) Meggitt, C. (2006). Child development: An illustrated guide (2nd Ed.).

Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers.

4) Company, O. (n.d). Gesell Theory, Retrieved from
http://www.gesellinstitute.org/about-us/gesell-theory/

5) Steare, D. (2010). Dynamic system theory. Retrieved from

http://www.slideshare.net/davjak/adhd-daft-jun-08

6) Google images
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