Developmental Research

Following our meeting on Monday I spent the week researching physical and cognitive abilities at various developmental age groups. Most research was done regarding the ages of 4-7yo, as discussed with the team. I have taken cognitive skills into account here (as opposed to just physical skills), as the complexity of our final design will need to be understood by users at these age groups. One particular document outlined quite succinctly physical and cognitive developmental stages though examples. See below.

                                   

Age: 4-5 Years	Physical abilities (examples, not exhaustive):  Gross motor: Most hop on one foot, skip alternating feet, balance on one foot for ten seconds, catch bounced ball, do forward heel-toe walk.  Fine motor: Copies triangles, linear figures Children at this age are able to mostly dress themselves independently (apart from more difficult parts such as back buttons).	Cognitive abilities (examples, not exhaustive):  By end of fifth year, vocabulary is over 2,000 words. Understands opposites (day/night). Understands consecutive concepts (big, bigger, biggest). Lots of why and how questions. Correctly counts five to ten objects. Correctly identifies colours. Good imagination. Likes silly rhymes, sounds, names, etc. Beginning sense of time in terms of yesterday, tomorrow, sense of how long an hour is, etc.
6-11 Years	Practices, refines, and masters complex gross and fine motor and perceptual skills. ***I believe this group will be predominantly older than our target demographic, however in the earlier part of this group (6-8) children are still "fine-tuning" many physical skills and therefore would benefit from practice**	Thinking becomes more logical and rational. Develops ability to understand others’ perspectives

                       

SOURCE:

http://www.communities.qld.gov.au/resources/childsafety/practice-manual/physical-cognative-milestones.pdf