Assessment: Formal essay on human development and life transition issues

Aim of assessment:

This assessment item aims to provide you with an opportunity to explore human development in depth. Throughout the unit, you will examine physical, sociocultural and moral/cognitive issues throughout the lifespan and understand the relationship of these aspects of development to an individual's self-concept. You will also be exposed to a variety of predictable (normative) and unpredictable (non-normative) life transitions which influence cognitive and social development (Hoffnung et al, 2016). This assessment item gives you scope to explore the cognitive and social development of children in more detail.

Please note the two topic choices for each option below are limited by the focus of the course you are enrolled in:

• Bachelor of Midwifery students write on Scenario Topic 1.
• Bachelor of Nursing students write on Scenario Topic 2.

Scenario topic 1: Bachelor of Midwifery students only Read the following case study scenario:

Alexis is 6 weeks old and has been exclusively breastfed since birth. Her mother, Maggie, a first time mother, has noticed that Alexis has some unsettled periods throughout the day and night where she cries periodically before settling, however she enjoys "tummy time" and is content when being cuddled by Maggie and her partner. Maggie is feeding Alexis every three hours and is tired, but has taken her midwife's advice, and is resting when Alexis is sleeping. The midwife reports that Alexis is gaining weight well, and Maggie and her partner are adjusting well to parenthood, playing gently with their infant and interacting with her when she is awake.

Topic: Drawing on relevant nursing, midwifery and social science literature, and referring to the scenario above, write an essay on the following topic:

What are some important aspects of cognitive and social development that occur in infants aged between 0 - 6 months and what factors influence this development?

Scenario topic 2: Bachelor of Nursing students Read the following case study scenario:

Jack is 3 years old, and is attending day care two days a week for five hours a day while his mother Vanessa works. Vanessa is concerned that her son is not yet toilet trained during the day, especially since she has noticed that other children her son's age seem to have mastered this skill. Vanessa also has a couple of concerns in relation to her son's speech development with Jack only speaking one -to-two word sentences but "babbling" consistently most of the time. The Child and Family Health Nurse has reassured Vanessa that Jack is meeting all his milestones, and will soon gain continence and further speech development in his own time. The Nurse has referred Vanessa to a mother's group in her local area to discuss strategies for toilet-training and language development in a relaxed informal environment.

Topic: Drawing on relevant nursing, midwifery and social science literature, write an essay on the following topic:

What are some important aspects of cognitive and social development that occur in children between the ages of two and five years (2-5 years) and what factors influence this development?

Guidelines for Assessment

In your response, refer to the following components which are recommended for both scenario topics:

1. Refer to the work of at least one theorist in your discussion. You may of course, refer to more than one theorist.

Relevant theorists for Midwifery topic - Scenario 1: Relevant theorist(s) to use for the midwifery topic may include, but are not limited to:

• Piaget (cognitive development)
• Erikson (social development)
• Bowlby (attachment/parenting)
• Ainsworth (attachment)

Relevant theorists for Nursing topic - Scenario 2: Relevant theorist(s) to use for the nursing topic may include, but are not limited to:

• Piaget (cognitive development)
• Erikson (social development)
• Vygotsky (sociocultural development)
• Brofenbenner (sociocultural development)

2. Describe one or two examples of cognitive development. For example, Piaget's stage of cognitive development for the age-group chosen, or explain what cognitive development is and then give some examples of normative cognitive development for the age-group (criterion 2).

3. Describe one or two examples of social development. For example, Erikson's stage of social development /or discuss concepts of attachment and how this facilitates social development/ or you may wish to discuss the role of parenting or peers in social development (criterion 2).

4. Describe one or two examples of factors which influence cognitive and social development. For example, aspects of physical development may impact on cognitive development and parenting practices influence both cognitive (thinking and learning) and social (interaction) development. The environment and culture are also factors which influence the cognitive and social development of children (criterion 3).

5. Use at least two examples from the scenario provided to inform your discussion and refer to the scenario at least two or three times in your essay. This may be simply to name the age and identity of the character or to comment on other aspects of the scenario to inform your discussion. There is no need to reference the case study or write it out again for your submission.

6. Explain the relevance of understanding this life stage to nursing and midwifery practice.

Learning Guide - 401005 Human Relationship and Life Transitions - Spring 2017.