Synthesis Of Learning Research Paper

Introduction

When growing up, children from themselves in certain groups. Age is one of the basic factors that lead to the formation of these groups. This is something that comes naturally and many people ask themselves why. It has been reasoned that this is due to the cognitive development of the children. If they are of the same age, there are high chances that they will have the same thoughts on the environment since their brains are growing at the same rate. This is why it is difficult to separate these age groups and grow together. They might start falling out of the groups as they grow, but their perception will remain the same. Perception is related to the sensory development of children and their adaptation to the environment. This is a psychological and neuroscience idea that has been proven true and is explainable in age groups by many psychologists. This comes along with many challenges that should be addressed by parents and guardians (Johnson, 2010). They should understand how important perception is in the cognitive development of their children. Perception is something that no child should be denied because it has been practiced for ages.

Current knowledge about differences between age groups

We all have noticed that students of one grade get along more with children of one grade higher or lower than them. It is difficult to find a first grader with an eighth grader spending a lot of time together while children of the same age group are also together. This can be explained by the development of the brain and the adaptation to the environment. This is why in a class most children have an age difference of one or two years. They are put together because their level of understanding is the same, and it will be easy for them to relate and understand each other. They understand each other well.
This is why the major theme of this paper is "Differences between age groups tend to be ones of degree rather than kind." No matter, where a child is from them, will only be attracted to their age mates and not any other similarities like social background, ethnic groups, race or religion. These physical factors do not match a child's biological make. They will only join other children of the same group. If their parents or guardians prevent them from being with their gametes, these children will prefer to be lonely to spending time with people of other age groups. Their degrees of thinking and adaptation to the environment are very different and will not allow them to be together not unless it is a special occasion. In most cases, these special occasions do not require a lot of knowledge and thinking of the children.

Future issues

The above findings are applicable to our daily activities. In the societies, there are children who are born with different needs and abilities. They do not know they have these needs and abilities when until they start interaction with other children. There are some cases where parents help children discover their abilities and needs but in most cases are that they recognize them as they grow. This is due to influence of the surrounding children. For instance, it is possible to find children with athletic ability from the same neighborhood. As they pursue their interests, their age mates will be by their side, and this might lead to them creating interest too in the activity. This might lead to a whole age group practicing the same thing. This is because they have the same approach to life, and their brains are growing at the same pace. They feel and know that whatever they are doing is the right thing to do. It is also possible to find children with particular needs staying together. They could have larger age difference, but they still lay under one age group. The older ones, since they are more knowledgeable and experienced, help the smaller ones adapt to the environment. This is a fact that has been proven by psychology experts. They claim that it is in their biological structure, and nothing can be done to change it (Dupoux & Mehler, 2001).
Psychologists have also established that in the age groups, there is a high likelihood that there will be small groups. These children understand each other and have decided to group each other according to their needs and abilities. They will spend most of the time, but there will be some differentiation in the group. This is also normal. They have grouped themselves in such a manner that they will understand themselves seven better. They will grow up in the same understanding. This is something that can be proven in the traditional way of life especially in Africa. During rites of passage, only people from the same age groups would go through their passages together (Johnson, 2010). This was something that came naturally because they grew up together and would be willing to support each other during all the times their understanding is also similar and would help in them living in harmony as a group.

Challenges

Perception might be faced with various challenges in the future. One of the challenges is that the society today and in the future does not allow children to interact freely. Every parent wants a child to grow in his or her likelihood. This has brought about differences in children. They will not interact with their age mates and will have difficulties in growing up with other children. It is even worse that some children school at home and they only have their family. They are not allowed to go out and interact with other children (Dupoux & Mehler, 2001). School life has made perception possible because children of the same age group study together in the same class play together during lesson break and go home together. This is when they choose their groups as time goes by. By the time they get to higher classes, they have already grouped themselves according to how they think and perceive life. If children only stay at home with family, they will miss perception and might have a hard time choosing their friends in future because they do not know where they belong.
Another challenge is that parents have different expectations for their children. They make it clear to their small and growing children that they are expecting something from them and since a child does not want to disappoint, he or she will end up being in the wrong group just to satisfy his or her parents. This is unfair to the child because they will not grow up with children of their same group. Younger children are known to be more competitive because they are trying to single out where they belong and which group they want to be associated with (Kuhn, Siegler, Damon & Lerner, 2006). As they grow older, they are less inactive because they have identified their group and are no longer searching. Parents also tend to move their children a lot. They move them from one neighborhood to another or one school to another due to reasons they think they are good for them. Perception for this child becomes even more difficult because, they will find all the other children are well grouped. It will take more time for the child to associate him or herself with the correct group. Children in these groups grew together and did not have any difficulties. This becomes a big challenge for a child that their parents or teachers do not understand.

Development Support Strategies

First, the caregiver can enhance problem solving and self-help skills among the toddlers through scaffolding. She should assist the children in their attempts to master familiar tasks and try new tasks. For instance, the caregiver should create temporary structures and initiate tasks such as reaching new heights. Secondly, she should provide an interesting variety of brain-building activities and experiences on a regular basis (Groark, McCarthy & Kirk, 2014). The playroom should have adequate space so that the children can engage in numerous play activities. Such activities will offer the children hands-on experience in the learning process. Thirdly, the caregiver can stimulate language development among the toddlers by using new and longer words in many contexts. It will enable the toddlers learn new words and construct longer sentences (Groark, McCarthy & Kirk, 2014). Finally, the caregiver should keep play times fun and enriching so that the toddlers can learn how to name shapes and numbers.

Conclusion

The above analysis confirms that perception is important in the cognitive development of a child. It is something that each child should experience because once it is gone it becomes hard to catch up. Children should be allowed to spend time together with each other so that they can help each discover their needs and abilities (Kuhn, Siegler, Damon & Lerner, 2006). They also help their brain grow together and see life in the same perception. This is something that had been practiced by our forefathers even before they understood it was part of cognitive development. Parents or guardian should let their children interact with each other at all times whether in school or other community activities. This way, they will help each other grow and will always be in the same age group. They will go through changes in life together and help each other get through. Perception is an important cognitive development phase that every child should have a chance to go through.

References

Dupoux, E., & Mehler, J. (2001). Cognition. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press.
Groark, C., McCarthy, S. & Kirk, A. (2014). Early child development: From theory to practice. Bridgepoint Education: San Diego, CA.
Johnson, S. P. (2010). Neoconstructivism: The new science of cognitive development. New York: Oxford University Press.
Kuhn, D., Siegler, R. S., Damon, W., & Lerner, R. M. (2006). Handbook of child psychology: Volume 2. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.