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Fostering Conceptual Change About Child Development in Prospective Teachers and Other College Students
Author(s) -
McDevitt Teresa M.,
Ormrod Jeanne E.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
child development perspectives
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1750-8606
pISSN - 1750-8592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2008.00045.x
Subject(s) - psychology , conceptual change , child development , developmental psychology , conceptual framework , pedagogy , mathematics education , cognitive development , cognition , sociology , neuroscience , social science
—Research findings about children and their developmental pathways have innumerable implications for teachers, other practitioners, and parents, who often learn about child development as part of college instruction. It appears, however, that courses in child development do not always have optimal effects on college students’ understandings of children. This article identifies several factors that may impede effective learning in child development courses. Then, drawing from research in numerous content domains and with diverse student populations, it offers several hypotheses for facilitating conceptual change in college students’ understandings of child development and for promoting positive transfer of those understandings to actual practices with children.