Theories of Lifespan Development: Understanding Human Growth

Theories of Lifespan Development: Understanding Human Growth

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you will be able to summarize the main theories of lifespan development.

What do you already know about the different theories of human development?

Psychodynamic Theories

Explore the influential theories of Freud, Erikson, and Levinson in understanding human development.

Cognitive Theories

Discover the insights provided by Piaget, Vygotsky, and Siegler into how our thinking evolves throughout life.

Behaviourist Theories

Examine the perspectives of Pavlov, Skinner, and Gardner on how our behavior is shaped by the environment.

Humanistic Theories

Explore Rogers' humanistic theory, which focuses on the individual's inherent drive for personal growth and self-actualization.

Comparing the Theories

Compare and contrast the psychodynamic, cognitive, behaviourist, and humanistic theories of lifespan development.

Interactive Activity: Theory Match

Match the theories with their key contributors by dragging and dropping the names.

Critical Thinking: Theory Evaluation

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each theory and discuss their applicability in understanding human development.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.