According to the journal article Brain Plasticity and Behaviour in the Developing Brain (Kolb & Gibb, 2011), some key factors affecting brain development are sensory and motor experiences, parent-child relationships, and stress. When we look at how sensory and motor experiences affect development, studies show that to enhance these experiences, one must be exposed to different stimuli. New neurons are created and synapses are formed. Brain development is also increased when we are exposed to new, complex experiences that increase neuron and brain size. As contemporary theories have shown, early successful parent-child relationships are critical to development. A lack of a strong parent-child relationship can not only affect emotional development, but it can also increase stress and change behavior. However, studies have shown that widespread changes to the brain with "enhanced maternal care during the first week of life produced enduring changes in cell signaling pathways in the hypothalamus and amygdala" (Kolb and Gibb, 2011). The lasting affects of a nurturing parent-child relationship can mean the difference between a successful or unsuccessful adulthood. Stress can also have detrimental affects. While adult stress can lead to many health concerns, "the role of perinatal stress in infants has been appreciated. It is now known that both gestational and infant stress predisposes individuals for a variety of maladaptive behaviours and psychopathologies" (Kolb and Gibb, 2011). High stress levels can lead to trouble with memory, lack of social skills, and an increased dependency on alcohol. Perinatal stress can have more far reaching affects than stress in adolescence and adulthood.
My understanding of epigenetics is that it is the study of how the environment can affect, or modify how a person's genes are expressed. Epigenetic modifications can spontaneously be changed or deleted in cell reproduction, which means that it would not be passed from parent to offspring. "Chemical signals derived from environmental influence—“epigenetic signatures”—affect when and how genes are switched on and off, and whether the change is temporary or permanent" (Cantor et al, 2018). An example of epigenetics is when a methyl group is added to DNA molecules, it can suppress certain genes from being expressed. For example, if a set of twins is separated at birth, they may exhibit totally different skills, ways of behaving, and health concerns because due to their environmental experiences, some genes may have changed.
It is important for early childhood educators to have knowledge of how the brain develops, so they can understand the best way to teach children. Many educators in ECE are focused on academic based ways of learning to prepare children for Kindergarten, however, I believe that focusing on the total development of a child will help them become more successful as they develop. I think that teachers often forget that children need to be taught social-emotional skills, persistence, and focus. Using routines and small group instruction, as well as learning from peers, will all development in all areas. I equate this line of thinking to the saying, 'give a man a fish, feed him for a day; but teach a man how to fish, feed him for a lifetime.' This is the same with children, we can focus on pushing academics, where they may really thrive for a year or two ('day'), or we can teach them how to be good students, how to work hard, how to negotiate problems, and how to regulate themselves. This type of teaching is invaluable because it will help the child build skills to be successful in life. Teachers have to learn that a stressed, chaotic, dysregulated brain is not ready to learn. Learning more about how children develop will help teachers to really adjust their teaching styles.
I would like to know more about social-emotional development. As a previous teacher and a current mentor coach, I am interested to see how teachers can do more to support children's social-emotional development; especially young brown children who come from low SES communities. Parents and children in these communities often find it difficult to find resources that help with social-emotional development. When those children enter school, starting with Preschool, they are often 'kicked out' for not being able to regulate or gain social-emotional competency. The articles that we read this week, really made me ponder: If we have been learning how behaviors can be changed in a nurturing environment, is it possible to see any changes, if one environment that a child is in is nurturing and the other is not?
Works Cited
Ansari, D., Coch, D., & Smedt, B. D. (2011). Connecting Education and Cognitive Neuroscience: Where will the journey take us? Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43, 1-7.
Bryan Kolb, P., & Robbin Gibb, P. (2011, November 20). Brain Plasticity and Behaviour in the Developing Brain. J Can Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry., 4, 265-276.
Pamela Cantor, David Osher, Juliette Berg, Lily Steyer & Todd Rose (2019) Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context, Applied Developmental Science, 23:4, 307-337, DOI: 10.1080/10888691.2017.1398649
Great post! I agree that a parent -child relationship does help the child's brain develop. When a child interacts with a parent, it makes it know to the child that they can go to that parent with whatever. A parent interacting with a child not only let's the child know that the parent is their, but it is also introducing them to connection making. A parent is what a child looks up to. If a child is experiencing a good connection with their a parent, it is going to have positive effects on them. However, if a child is having a bad connection with a parent, that can effect them negatively.
-Stephanie Lopez
Great!