Running head: THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE 1

The Power of Knowledge: The Essence of Esther Thelen's Dynamic Systems Theory in Early
Childhood
Ma. Elena Bush
Fresno Pacific University
Running head: THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE 2

The Power of Knowledge: The Essence of Esther Thelen's Dynamic Systems Theory in Early

Childhood

I was born and raised in the Philippines. I am the youngest in a family of six brothers. The

age gap between my youngest brother and me is twelve years. When I was growing up, I was

growing up with my nieces and nephews. With a small age difference between us, we were also

playmates and most of the time I would babysit them. I saw how my brothers and sisters-in-law

raised their children. It is through the wisdom of elders and in the method of "winging it". They

would say, "do not carry them too much, you will spoil them", or "let them cry, it is good for their

lungs". I also remember a baby walker made of bamboo, where they would place the baby in, so

they can learn to walk. It looks like a skirt around the child's chest. It supports the child by the

armpits and they make a step. When it is time to put the baby to nap, my sister-in-law would place

the child in a cloth hammock that is hooked to the ceiling, like the bag hanging in a stork's mouth

as you see in the movies, then she would rock the hammock forcefully back and forth until the

baby falls asleep. Knowing now what I did not know then, some of those practices are

developmentally inappropriate and dangerous. I believe that having the knowledge of how to

properly support the young child in their development makes a big difference in the outcome of

their lives and future.

After being assigned Esther Thelen as my theorist in our first assignment, and reading about

her work, solidified my belief in the child-centered approach to education. Her work involves

unconventional ways of learning about how the child acquires new skills and "problem-solving as

complex, contingent, and dynamic, in which many parts of the body and environment interacted

mutually with one another" (Corbetta & Ulrich, 2008, pg. 197). Prior to her studies, other theorists

believed that the development of intelligence is only through "symbolic reasoning, paying little
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attention to the body and to the ways intelligence affects and is affected by the physical world."

(Smith, 2006, pg. 87). According to Linda Smith, Esther Thelen proved through her experiments

that such skill as crawling is not embedded in our biology, that it is a skill learned because of

necessity and when no longer needed it evolves to something better like walking (Smith, 2006, pg.

87). Not knowing this vital information, most parents and caregivers would assume that by a

certain age, an infant should be able to crawl, so they would prop them up to a crawling position

even though the child is not yet ready. Just like how my brothers and sisters-in-law would place

their child in the bamboo walker expecting that their children would be learning to walk at six

months. Not knowing about the shaken baby syndrome, perhaps rocking them in the hammock

like what my sister-in-law did, was not very safe ("What Is Shaken Baby Syndrome?", 2018).

They could have harmed their children in the process, and at the same time, the parents would also

get frustrated.

I believe that each child is unique, that there is no secret formula for raising a child, and

that they learn in their own phase, just as in "Thelen's worldview of behavior: the need to

understand that infants and children shape their own development through what they see, touch,

and experience (Thelen, 2000)" (Corbetta & Ulrich, 2008, pg. 198). As an individual, I can say

that I learn visually, that I need to see the process for me to learn it. I know other people who learn

by touching things or by hearing themselves read aloud. Without knowing about this information,

as a Preschool teacher, I might provide activities expecting every child to learn it the same way.

In the process, I might also isolate the other children who learn differently. I believe that it is

important for a teacher to be aware of inclusion to support each child in our care, most especially

in their social and emotional development. If we exclude a child because of our lack of knowledge,

it will affect them negatively without knowing, and the damage might be irreversible. As what I
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have learned in the Dynamic Systems theory by Thelen, cognitive and physical systems are all

interrelated, so we should consider all the facets of learning in planning the curriculum as teachers,

or in planning activities as parents (Smith, 2006, pg.88).

Why is Esther Thelen's theory so important? According to Meyer and Beer in their article,

"The Importance of Motor Development to Learning Readiness"(2013), "Much like a car needs a

motor, tires, and gas in order to run properly, children must be physiologically put together before

they can learn." (Meyer & Beer, 2013, pp. 2). Thelen's study involves infant motor development

and how essential these movements affect their cognitive development (Smith, 2006, pg. 88). It is

important to know that “infants need to gain control of their body to acquire many functional skills

such as kicking, stepping, walking, reaching, and solving perceptual-motor problems such as the

A-not-B task.” (Corbetta & Ulrich, 2008, pg. 197). Not knowing that movement is important in

learning, and how these experiences allow stimulation for sensory inputs that the brain needs to

"perform sensory-motor integration", according to Meyer and Beer, is valuable time lost in the

child's learning process (Meyer & Beer, 2013, pp. 3). I remember as a child, if I felt good, which

meant I was not hungry, sleepy, achy, or worried, that I was very focused and willing to learn. I

can listen to my teacher without fidgeting; I retain the information taught in class. According to

Henniger (2018), "When the motor skill is directly related to the task being learned, children can

understand concepts more completely and quickly" (Henniger, 2018, pp. 8). I believe that Dr.

Thelen's theory is very important because it provided concrete tangible proof, such as the videos,

and the computer-aided data of patterns of behavior, about infants, not only in their motor

development but cognitive development as well. By learning about the child's development as

early as infancy, parents and caregivers can support the child’s need early, and if there are

irregularities, it can be caught and addressed right away.

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I believe in the child-centered based curriculum. In my previous child development

classes, such as Curriculum and Practicum, we were taught that young children need something to

touch, feel, and immerse themselves in, to learn. We had to provide sensory activities that children

are interested in such as playdough, clay, and gac; rough and smooth surfaces for them to explore.

We made our lesson plans by observing the children and what interests them. We also had to learn

developmentally appropriate practices, which taught us what children can and not do at a certain

age. During my practicum, I have observed that when the child is interested in the activity, learning

happens. All these practices were developed from different theories, studies, and experiments by

brilliant minds. Esther Thelen's contribution to early childhood development is undeniable, with

her theory being accepted by a wide range of colleagues not just in the field of psychology but

even by researchers in the different branches of Science (Corbetta & Ulrich, 2008, pg. 198). I

believe that equipped with this bounty of knowledge from theorists such as Esther Thelen, as a

preschool teacher, I could implement my lessons better, with a full understanding of my

preschoolers' unique capabilities and needs, I can properly support their development. If my

brothers and sisters-in-law were aware of the developmentally appropriate practices for young

children, they would have been able to properly support their children’s developmental needs and

optimize their children’s learning process, also saving themselves, the parents, plenty of grief and

frustration.
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References
Corbetta, D., & Ulrich, B. D. (2008). Esther Thelen's Legacy: A Dynamic World That Continues

to Reach Out to Others. Infancy, 13(3), 197-203. doi:10.1080/15250000802004494

Henniger, M. L.(2018).The Importance of Motor Skills. Retrieved July 26, 2018, from

https://www.education.com/download-pdf/reference/25636/

Meyer, C., & Beer, A. (2013, February 20). Ready to Learn The Importance of Motor

Development to Learning Readiness. Retrieved July 26, 2018, from

http://mimlearning.com/ready-to-learn/

Smith, L.B. (2006). Profile Movement Matters: The Contributions of Esther Thelen. Biological

Theory 1(1), 87–89. Retrieved July 26, 2018, from

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9768/2b1f4e1f9ca841587a5206d5dd566c9fbd92.pdf

What Is Shaken Baby Syndrome? (n.d.). Retrieved July 28, 2018, from

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/shaken-baby-syndrome#1