Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students and how these may affect learning.
Standard 1.1

Rationale:
To document my knowledge of human development, I have selected a piece I wrote for a class in educational psychology. The paper described various aspects of child development including physical, cognitive, linguistic and personal and social development. The paper looked at children's developing sense of others and sense of morale. A ' look inside the classroom' vignette provides readers with a sense of how theory (i.e., Piaget & Vygotsky) can be applied in the classroom.
My previous knowledge of psychological theory and research into educational best practice have greatly influenced my outlook on child develpment. As I make plans for learning opportunities for my students in my future classes, I will continue to observe children closely and reflect these principles in my teaching.
To document my knowledge of human development, I have selected a piece I wrote for a class in educational psychology. The paper described various aspects of child development including physical, cognitive, linguistic and personal and social development. The paper looked at children's developing sense of others and sense of morale. A ' look inside the classroom' vignette provides readers with a sense of how theory (i.e., Piaget & Vygotsky) can be applied in the classroom.
My previous knowledge of psychological theory and research into educational best practice have greatly influenced my outlook on child develpment. As I make plans for learning opportunities for my students in my future classes, I will continue to observe children closely and reflect these principles in my teaching.
Artifact 1:
Physical Development
Age
infancy (Birth - 2 Years) Early Childhood (2-6 Years) Middle Childhood (6-10 Years) Early Adolescence (10-14 Years) Late Adolescence (14-18 Years) |
Observations
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Diversity
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In the Classroom
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Sources: Bredekamp & Copple, 1997; Gallahue & Ozmun, 1998; V.F. Reyna & Farley, 2006; Steinberg, 2007; J. M. Tanner, 1990.
Personal and Social Development
Developing a sense of self
Grade Level
Reception - Grade 2 Grades 3 - 5 Grades 6 - 8 Grades 9 - 12 |
Characteristics
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In the Classroom
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Sources: Dweck, 2000; Elkind, 1981; Lockhart et al., 2002; Marcia, 1980; Nell, 2002; Robins & Trzesniewski, 2005.
Developing a sense of others
Grade Level
Reception - Grade 2 Grades 3 - 5 Grades 6 - 8 Grades 9 -12 |
Characteristics
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In the Classroom
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Sources: Astington & Pelletier, 1996; Bosacki, 2000; Brophy & Alleman, 1996; Brophy & VanSledright, 1997; Eisenberg, Carlo, Murphy, & Van Court, 1995; Flanagan & Tucker, 1999; Flavell, 2000; Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1995; Flavell & Miller, 1998; Flavell et al., 2002; Harter & Whitesell, 1989; Perner & Wimmer, 1985; Ruffman, Slade, & Crowe, 2002; Schult, 2002; Selman, 1980; Wellman, et al., 2001; Wellman, Phillips, & Rodriguez, 2000; Woolfe, Want, & Siegal, 2002; Woolley, 1995.
Developing a sense of morale
Grade Level
Reception - Grade 2 Grades 3 - 5 Grades 6 - 8 Grades 9 - 12 |
Characteristics
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In the Classroom
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Sources: Damon, 1988; Eisenberg, 1982; Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998; Eisenberg , Lennon, & Pasternack, 1986; Farver & Branstetter, 1994; C. A. Flanagan & Faison, 2001; Gibbs, 1995; D. Hart & Fegley, 1995; Helwig & Jasiobedzka, 2001; Helwig et al., 2001; Hoffman, 1975, 1991; Kohlberg, 1984; Krebs & Van Hesteren, 1994; Kurtines, Berman, Ittel, & Williamson, 1995; Laupa & Turiel, 1995; Nucci & Weber, 1995; Rushton, 1980; Smetana & Braeges, 1990; Turiel, 1983, 1998; Yates & Youniss, 1996; Yau & Smetana, 2003; Younis & Yates, 1999; Zahn-Waxler, Radke-Yarrow, Wagner, & Chapman, 1992.
Cognitive Development
Age
Infancy (Birth - 2 Years) Early Childhood (2-6 Years) Middle Childhood (6-10 Years) Early Adolescence (10-14 Years) Late Adolescence (14-18 Years) |
Observations
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Diversity
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In the Classroom
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Source: McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. Ellis. (2010). Child development and education. 4th ed., Upper Saddle River, N. J.: Pearson Education.
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
Stage
Sensorimotor Begins at birth Preoperational (Appears at about age 2) Concrete Operations (Appears at about age 6 or 7) Formal Operations (Appears at about age 11 or 12) |
Description
Schemes are based largely on behaviours and perceptions. Especially in the early part of the stage, children cannot think about things that are not immediately in front of them, and so they focus on what they are doing and seeing at the moment. Due to their more sophisticated symbolic thinking abilities, children can now think and talk about things beyond their immediate experience. However, they do not yet reason in logical, adult-like ways. Adult-like logic appears but is limited to reasoning about concrete, real-life situations. Logical reasoning processes are applied to abstract ideas as well as concrete objects and situations. Many capabilities essential for advanced reasoning in science and mathematics appear. |
Acquisitions
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Source: McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. Ellis. (2010). Child development and education. 4th ed., Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Education.
Piaget in Practice
Discovery Learning
Make sure students have the necessary prior knowledge for discovering new-ideas and principles.
During a first grade lesson ask students what they already know about air. After establishing that the students have some awareness that air has substance, conduct an experiment in which a glass containing a crumpled paper towel is turned upside down and completely immersed in a bowl of water. Remove the glass from the water and ask students to explain why the paper towel didn't get wet.
Show puzzling results to create disequilibrium.
During a science lesson, show the class two glasses of water. In one glass an egg floats at the water's surface. In the other glass an egg rests on the bottom. The students give a simple and logical explanation for the difference: One egg has more air inside and so must be lighter. But then switch the eggs into opposite glasses. The egg that the students believe to be "heavier" now floats, and the "lighter" egg sinks to the bottom. Discuss with students. (Ordinarily, water is less dense than an egg, so an egg placed in it will quickly sink. But in this demonstration, one glass contains salt water - a mixture denser than an egg and so capable of keeping it afloat).
Structure and guide a discovery session so that students proceed logically toward discoveries you want them to make.
Students in an eighth grade science class believe that some very small things are so light that they don't have any weight. The teacher asks them to weigh a pile of 25 lentil beans on a balance scale, and the students discover that all the beans together weigh about 1 gram. The students discover that if 25 beans have weight, a single bean must also have weight.The teacher then asks them to use math to estimate how much a single bean weighs.
Help students relate their findings to concepts and principles in the content area.
After students in a social studies class have collected data on average incomes and voting patterns in different electorates, ask "How can we interpret these data using what we've learned about the relative wealth of members of the two major political parties?"
Sources: Bruner, 1996; de Jong & van Jooligen, 1998; N. Frederiksen, 1984; Hardy et al., 2006; D. T. Hickey, 1997; R. E. Mayer, 2004; Minstrell & Stimpson, 1996; E. L. Palmer, 1965; C. L. Smith, 2007; B. Y. White & Frederiksen, 1998, 2005.
During a first grade lesson ask students what they already know about air. After establishing that the students have some awareness that air has substance, conduct an experiment in which a glass containing a crumpled paper towel is turned upside down and completely immersed in a bowl of water. Remove the glass from the water and ask students to explain why the paper towel didn't get wet.
Show puzzling results to create disequilibrium.
During a science lesson, show the class two glasses of water. In one glass an egg floats at the water's surface. In the other glass an egg rests on the bottom. The students give a simple and logical explanation for the difference: One egg has more air inside and so must be lighter. But then switch the eggs into opposite glasses. The egg that the students believe to be "heavier" now floats, and the "lighter" egg sinks to the bottom. Discuss with students. (Ordinarily, water is less dense than an egg, so an egg placed in it will quickly sink. But in this demonstration, one glass contains salt water - a mixture denser than an egg and so capable of keeping it afloat).
Structure and guide a discovery session so that students proceed logically toward discoveries you want them to make.
Students in an eighth grade science class believe that some very small things are so light that they don't have any weight. The teacher asks them to weigh a pile of 25 lentil beans on a balance scale, and the students discover that all the beans together weigh about 1 gram. The students discover that if 25 beans have weight, a single bean must also have weight.The teacher then asks them to use math to estimate how much a single bean weighs.
Help students relate their findings to concepts and principles in the content area.
After students in a social studies class have collected data on average incomes and voting patterns in different electorates, ask "How can we interpret these data using what we've learned about the relative wealth of members of the two major political parties?"
Sources: Bruner, 1996; de Jong & van Jooligen, 1998; N. Frederiksen, 1984; Hardy et al., 2006; D. T. Hickey, 1997; R. E. Mayer, 2004; Minstrell & Stimpson, 1996; E. L. Palmer, 1965; C. L. Smith, 2007; B. Y. White & Frederiksen, 1998, 2005.
Vygotsky's Social Cognitive Theory
Central Ideas
- Some cognitive processes are seen in a variety of species; others are unique to human beings.
- Through both informal interactions and formal schooling, adults convey to children the ways in which their culture interprets the world.
- Every culture passes along physical and cognitive tools that make daily living more effective and efficient.
- Thought and language become increasingly interdependent in the first few years of life.
- Complex mental processes begin as social activities and gradually evolve into internal mental activities that children can use independently.
- Children acquire their culture's tools in their own idiosyncratic manner.
- Children can perform more challenging tasks when assisted by more advanced and competent indiviudals.
- Challenging tasks promote maximum cognitive growth.
- Play allows children to stretch themselves cognitvely.
Artifact 2:
Vygotsky in Practice
Scaffolding
Ask questions that get children thinking in appropriate ways.
In a science class the teacher might ask, "What do you think causes this to happen?" "What other possible explanations are there?"
Provide explicit guidance about how to accomplish a task, and give frequent feedback.
When a physical education teacher takes 12-year-olds on their first camping trip, he has the children work in groups of two or three to pitch their tents. Although he has previously shown the children how pitch a tent, this is the first time they've actually done it themselves, and so he provides written instructions that they can follow. In addition, he circulates from campsite to campsite to check on each group's progress and provide assistance as necessary.
Provide a calculator, computer software, or other technology that makes some aspects of the task easier.
Children in third grade class have mastered basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts. They are now applying their knowledge of arithmetic to determine how much money they would need to purchase some sporting equipment from a mail order catalogue. Because the list of items is lengthy and includes varying quantities of each item, their teacher gives them calculators to do the necessary muliplication and addition.
Teach children how to talk themselves through a complex new procedure.
A physical education teacher shows beginning tennis players how to use self-instructions to remember correct form when swinging the racket:
Divide a complex task into several smaller, simpler tasks, and perhaps ask children to tackle it in small groups.
A fourth grade teacher has her students create a school newspaper that includes news articles, a schedule for upcoming events, a couple of political cartoons, and classified advertisements. Several students work together to create each feature, with different students assuming different roles and occasionally switching roles.
Gradually withdraw guidance as children become more proficient.
A pre-school teacher has the 2- and 3-year-olds in her class take turns distributing the crackers, fruit, and napkins at snack time, and she asks them to bring their dishes and rubbish to the kitchen after they have finished eating. initially, she must show the children how to carry the food so that it doesn't spill. She must also remind them to make sure that every child gets a serving and to clean up when they are done. As the year progresses, such explicit guidance and reminders are no longer necessary.
Sources: Gallimore & Tharp, 1990; Good et al., 1992; Lajoie & Derry, 1993; Lou et al., 1996; Meichenbaum, 1985; Rogoff, 1990; Rosenshine & Meister, 1992; R. J. Stevens & Slavin, 1995; D. Wood et al., 1976; S G. Ziegler, 1987.
In a science class the teacher might ask, "What do you think causes this to happen?" "What other possible explanations are there?"
Provide explicit guidance about how to accomplish a task, and give frequent feedback.
When a physical education teacher takes 12-year-olds on their first camping trip, he has the children work in groups of two or three to pitch their tents. Although he has previously shown the children how pitch a tent, this is the first time they've actually done it themselves, and so he provides written instructions that they can follow. In addition, he circulates from campsite to campsite to check on each group's progress and provide assistance as necessary.
Provide a calculator, computer software, or other technology that makes some aspects of the task easier.
Children in third grade class have mastered basic addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts. They are now applying their knowledge of arithmetic to determine how much money they would need to purchase some sporting equipment from a mail order catalogue. Because the list of items is lengthy and includes varying quantities of each item, their teacher gives them calculators to do the necessary muliplication and addition.
Teach children how to talk themselves through a complex new procedure.
A physical education teacher shows beginning tennis players how to use self-instructions to remember correct form when swinging the racket:
- Say ball to remind yourself to look at the ball.
- Say bounce to remind yourself to follow the ball with your eyes as it approaches you.
- Say hit to remind yourself to focus on contacting the ball with the racket.
- Say ready to get yourself into position for the next ball to come your way.
Divide a complex task into several smaller, simpler tasks, and perhaps ask children to tackle it in small groups.
A fourth grade teacher has her students create a school newspaper that includes news articles, a schedule for upcoming events, a couple of political cartoons, and classified advertisements. Several students work together to create each feature, with different students assuming different roles and occasionally switching roles.
Gradually withdraw guidance as children become more proficient.
A pre-school teacher has the 2- and 3-year-olds in her class take turns distributing the crackers, fruit, and napkins at snack time, and she asks them to bring their dishes and rubbish to the kitchen after they have finished eating. initially, she must show the children how to carry the food so that it doesn't spill. She must also remind them to make sure that every child gets a serving and to clean up when they are done. As the year progresses, such explicit guidance and reminders are no longer necessary.
Sources: Gallimore & Tharp, 1990; Good et al., 1992; Lajoie & Derry, 1993; Lou et al., 1996; Meichenbaum, 1985; Rogoff, 1990; Rosenshine & Meister, 1992; R. J. Stevens & Slavin, 1995; D. Wood et al., 1976; S G. Ziegler, 1987.
Intellectual Development
Age
Infancy (Birth - 2 Years) Early Childhood (2 - 6 Years) Middle Childhood (6 - 10 Years) Early Adolescence (10 - 14 Years) Late Adolescence (14 - 18 Years) |
Observations
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Diversity
|
In the Classroom
|
Sources: Bayley, 2005; Brooks-Gunn, 2003; Brooks-Gunn, Klebanov, & Duncan, 1996; Colombo, 1993; G. A. Davis & Rimm, 1998; S. I. Greenspan & Meisels, 1996; Luckasson et al., 2002; Mayes & Bornstein, 1997; McLoyld, 1998b; Obgu, 1994; Steele, 1997; Terman & Merrill, 1972; A. Thomas & Chess, 1977; Thorndike et al., 1986; Wechsler, 2002, 2003.
Linguistic Development
Grade Level
Reception - Grade 2
Grades 3 - 5 Grades 6 - 8 Grades 9 12 |
Characteristics
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Classroom Strategies
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