The interdependence of a person with is or her environment explains perceptual development. 

E. Gibson: Affordance; quality of an object or environment that allows an individual to complete a task. 

Cognition develops in response to ongoing environmental experiences 

-Concerned with the developmental adaptation of an individual in response to ongoing environmental experience. 

Human development is historically situated and culturally determined; led to principles called scaffolding and the zone of proximal development.  

-Children learn through social interaction; emphasises the importance of culture and participation in culturally valued activities to child's development

Vygotsky; the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with more capable peers 

the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or collaboration with more capable peers. What a child can achieve and learn with the assistance of another is the zone of proximal development and defines the area in which adults can work with the child to promote his development and independence in a particular skill. (p 29).

1. the child's motivation to learn 

2. attention to learning tasks

3. persistence in tasks

4. initiation of interactions

5. positive affect 

periods of change 

-the Learning of new movement or ways of completing an activity require that previously stable movements be broken down or become unstable. new movements and skills emerge when a critical change occurs in any of the components that contribute to motor behavior

1. Variability in motor performance increases. the child experiments with different movement patterns

2. through these exploritory movements, the child determines which pattern is the most adaptive 

3. the child selects the movement that is most adaptive, the movement that meets his or her goals given environmental demands. repetition and practice happens. 

1. task analyis 

2. anticipation of the child's difficulties 

3. exploration and selection of task specific strategies

4. application of a strategy to the task

5. evaluation of the strategy's effectiveness 

the goal is to improve the child's ability to cope with stress in personal, social and other occupational performance areas.  

-grade or modify 

-design intervention 

-appropriate, contingent responses 

simple tasks, such as reaching for an object, require a decision followed by a sequenced response 

complex tasks, such as handwriting, require the integration of information from a variety of sources and the application of underlying rules that guide performance 

open loop: a motor program is put into place before the action begins and is not modified during the performance of a task (ex. throwing a ball) 

closed-loop: chold continues to monitor and respond to feedback that he/she recieves intrinsically from the body and extrensically from the environment. (cutting out a shape using scissors) 

changeable: child has to learn the movement and learn to monitor the environment to adapt to change. (running on rough terrain and playing soccer) 

Stationary: brushing the teeth and playing the piano; environment remains stationary 

Assimilation 

accommodation

association

differentiation 

1. child care centers that allow children with disabilities to attend their programming 

2. play spaces that use universal design allowing all children to use them

3. educational programs that encourage the participation of families with young children.