D664 Learners and Learning Science 2026/2027 – 40+ OA Questions & Answers | Piaget, Erikson, Neurodevelopment, Neuroplasticity & Learning Science – Western Governors University (WGU)

This D664 Learners and Learning Science 2026/2027 study resource provides 40+ Objective Assessment (OA) exam-style questions, answers, definitions, and concept explanations designed for focused WGU exam preparation. Across 16 pages, the material reviews major theories of child development and learning, including sensory exploration, object permanence, cognitive and social transitions, cognition, neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity, neurodiversity, cognitive styles, differentiated instruction, and social and emotional learning (SEL). A major section focuses on Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, reviewing the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages. The material connects developmental stages with concepts such as object permanence, symbolic thinking, egocentrism, centration, conservation, classification, abstract thinking, critical thinking, prediction, and systematic problem-solving. It also examines Erik Erikson's psychosocial development theory, including trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, and identity versus role confusion, with age ranges and developmental characteristics included for exam review. The document further explores the relationship between brain development and learning. It reviews the educational significance of the brainstem, limbic system, cerebrum, cerebellum, and prefrontal cortex, connecting these structures with basic physiological functions, emotion and memory, higher-order cognition, coordination and motor skills, decision-making, impulse control, planning, organization, and emotional regulation. Neuroplasticity is presented as the brain's capacity to reorganize and adapt in response to learning, experience, and environmental changes, while neurodiversity emphasizes natural variation in neurological and cognitive functioning. Another important component addresses learning-science principles and common misconceptions about cognition. Topics include the "myth of normal," cognitive rigidity, the brain-as-a-computer analogy, information processing theory, the embodied mind, cramming, and multitasking. The material emphasizes individual differences in learning and discusses how differentiated instruction, feedback, metacognitive strategies, enriched learning environments, and attention to individual learner needs can support learning. It also reviews why concentrated cramming and attempting to focus on multiple tasks simultaneously may negatively affect attention, memory, cognitive performance, and learning efficiency. For students seeking authoritative supplementary literature, the developmental concepts can be cross-referenced with Piaget's foundational work on cognitive development and Erikson's psychosocial theory. Relevant learning-science research also includes Dehaene et al. (2015), "How Learning to Read Changes the Cortical Networks for Vision and Language," Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 19(3), 151–160, DOI: 10.1016/.2014.12.004, which illustrates the brain's capacity for experience-dependent reorganization. The broader concept of neuroplasticity is also extensively reviewed by Pascual-Leone et al. (2005), "The Plastic Human Brain Cortex," Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28, 377–401, DOI: 10.1146/.27.070203.144216. These external references provide academic context for the neurodevelopment and neuroplasticity concepts appearing in the study document; they are supplementary sources rather than sources cited by the uploaded material itself. This resource is particularly relevant for Western Governors University students enrolled in D664 Learners and Learning Science and preparing for the Objective Assessment, as well as education students reviewing developmental psychology, cognitive development, neuroscience of learning, and evidence-informed teaching practices. It is especially useful for teacher-education learners who need to distinguish Piaget's and Erikson's developmental stages, connect brain structures to learning processes, understand learner variability, and apply concepts such as neuroplasticity, differentiated instruction, and social-emotional learning. Keywords: D664 Learners and Learning Science, WGU D664, D664 OA, D664 Objective Assessment, D664 exam questions, D664 questions and answers, D, Learners and Learning Science, WGU Learners and Learning Science, learning science, Piaget cognitive development, Erikson psychosocial development, sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, formal operational stage, object permanence, trust versus mistrust, autonomy versus shame and doubt, initiative versus guilt, industry versus inferiority, identity versus role confusion, cognition, cognitive development, neurodevelopment, neuroplasticity, neurodiversity, cognitive styles, differentiated instruction, social emotional learning, SEL, brain development, prefrontal cortex, cerebrum, cerebellum, limbic system, information processing theory, embodied cognition, myth of normal, myth of cramming, myth of multitasking, WGU education, OA exam preparation