Child Development. Online Course Workbook

Transcription

1 Child Development Online Course Workbook

2 INTRODUCTION This workbook supplements the online training Child Development. This training is offered by the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood. OVERVIEW OF LESSONS Lesson 1: A Theory of Child Development Lesson 2: Stages of Child Development Lesson 3: Domains of Child Development Lesson 4: Intentionally Supporting Child Development Lesson 5: Relationships and Child Development Lesson 6: Responsive Interactions 2

3 LESSON 1 By the end of this lesson, you will be able to Recognize Jean Piaget s important contributions to child development theories. 2. Examine the schemas component of Piaget s theory of cognitive development. 3. Consider the impact of the learning environment on child development. THE TOP 3 LIST... Take a few minutes to read over the quotes. Then choose the one that speaks to you the most. In the space provided, write down the top three reasons you chose that quote. Put a star next to one that matters most to you. Childhood isn t a hothouse to be fenced in and closed off and climate controlled. It is a wide open, sun drenched, wind swept field of endless possibilities, experiences, and discoveries. -L.R. Knost Child development does not mean developing your child into the person you think they should be, but helping them develop into the best person they are meant to be. -Tori Sorenson The principal goal of education in [child programs] should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done. -Jean Piaget

4 REMEMBER THIS The three components of Piaget s cognitive theory include schemas, processes and stages. You can think of schemas as units of knowledge. Every time we learn something, we put it into our memory banks and, in that way, we build knowledge. Children are naturally drawn to imbalance and to putting things back in balance; it s your job to keep them safe and help them do it without danger! Scaffolding is the process of supporting new learning by using existing learning and knowledge. 4

5 LESSON 2 By the end of this lesson, you will be able to 1. Characterize the 4 stages of child development. Activity: Concrete Learning Take a few minutes to answer the questions as you view each picture. Picture #1 What does it look like? What does it sound like? What do you smell? What can you touch? What is tactile? Can you taste anything? On what do you base your experience? If you were to really be there, how different would it be? 5

6 Picture #2 What does it look like? What does it sound like? What do you smell? What can you touch? What is tactile? Can you taste anything? On what do you base your experience? If you were to really be there, how different would it be? Picture #3 What does it look like? What does it sound like? 6

7 What do you smell? What can you touch? What is tactile? Can you taste anything? What are the concrete experiences that helped you learn about a beach? How could you help children have this experience? What would be different for children in New York City? Why is it so much more likely that more of us know about this than the jungle or deep sea diving? 7

8 Activity: Challenging Assumptions Think about times that your assumptions have been challenged by the reality you experience. For example, did you have assumptions about working in child care that were challenged when you experienced the reality of being on the job? Take a few minutes to write down your thoughts in the space provided. REMEMBER THIS Piaget identified four stages of development: Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational. The ages of children in each stage are less important than understanding the processes and the implications for teaching and relating to children during these periods. The development that takes place during each stage builds on the experiences and opportunities for learning that preceded it. Through experience and scaffolding when necessary, children build the capacity to understand abstract things like ideas, philosophies, or concepts. 8

9 LESSON 3 By the end of this lesson, you will be able to 1. Recognize the 12 principles of child development and learning formulated by NAEYC. 2. Identify five domains of child development. 3. Understand how the Early Learning Foundations support work with children. Activity: 12 Principles of Child Development Take a few minutes to look over the principles so you re familiar with them. These are paraphrased from the NAEYC Developmentally Appropriate Practice book and resource. 1. All the domains of development and learning physical, social and emotional, and cognitive are important, and they are closely interrelated. Children s development and learning in one domain influence and are influenced by what takes place in other domains. 2. Many aspects of children s learning and development follow well documented sequences, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those alreadyacquired. 3. Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as well as at uneven rates across different areas of a child s individual functioning. 4. Development and learning result from a dynamic and continuous interaction of biological maturation and experience. 5. Early experiences have profound effects, both cumulative and delayed, on a child s development and learning; and optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning to occur. 6. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or representational capacities. 7. Children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and opportunities for positive relationships with peers. 9

10 8. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts. 9. Always mentally active in seeking to understand the world around them, children learn in a variety of ways; a wide range of teaching strategies and interactions are effective in supporting all these kinds of learning. 10. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting language, cognition, and social competence. 11. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve at a level just beyond their current mastery, and also when they have many opportunities to practice newly acquired skills. 12. Children s experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning, such as persistence, initiative, and flexibility; in turn, these dispositions and behaviors affect their learning and development. Activity: Skills and Stages Using the appropriate sections in the ELFs, take a few minutes to list two things you might see a child do in each stage as they develop their fine motor skills. Sensorimotor Preoperational 10

11 Concrete Operational Formal Operational REMEMBER THIS Developmentally Appropriate Practice is informed by what we know from theory and literature about how children develop and learn. The principles of child development form a solid base for teachers decision making. The five domains of child development can be listed as: Cognitive, Physical, Language and Literacy, Social and Emotional, and Creative Each domain of child development interacts with and affects the others. Knowing and understanding the Early Learning Foundations provides valuable support for the work you do with children. 11

12 LESSON 4 By the end of this lesson, you will be able to 1. Understand what it means to be an intentional teacher Activity: ELF Scavenger Hunt For each domain of development, find the specific ELFs within that domain that the activity supports. Mathematics and Science Social Emotional Language and Literacy My family, My Community, My World 12

13 Activity: Learning Progression Focus on the learning that takes place as new elements are added to the activity. What learning potential exists? Write down your ideas in the space provided. Do the same for each new element that s added. One child playing with pots and pans. Add various foods to play with. Add an adult interaction to play and share. Add a book about foods. 13

14 Activity: Top Three As an intentional teacher, what could you add to each of these basic activity ideas in your program? Write down three ideas in the space provided under each activity. Water play Fingerpainting Easel painting Read aloud in a small group 14

15 REMEMBER THIS The bottom line for why you should be intentional is this: skill development is too important to leave to chance. When you thoughtfully combine materials and ideas, when you strategically organize the environment with choices, you provide children with great opportunities for rich learning while they play. Understanding child development enables us to know what materials and activities will best help children learn and achieve the next skill, so that their development can continue. 15

16 LESSON 5 By the end of this lesson, you will be able to 1. Recognize the power of attachment in child development 2. Understand how attachment develops. REMEMBER THIS Research shows that even with the best of experiences, or opportunities to learn, relationships are the single most important factor in the development of children. Children who are securely attached will explore more and tend to learn more. Feeling safe makes exploration possible. Children need secure attachments because they are the foundation for their future ability to succeed with people. 16

17 LESSON 6 By the end of this lesson, you will be able to 1. Recognize the importance of responsive interactions in child development. 2. Understand how the Environment Rating Scales use interactions to help assess the quality of programs. Activity: A Picture of Responsive Interactions List indications of a responsive and caring relationship. You ll build on this list throughout the lesson. 17

18 REMEMBER THIS What children see is more important than what we tell them. If there is a discrepancy between what you say and what you do, children, people in general, will believe your actions and ignore your words. Children need the time, attention, space and opportunity to develop and to grow at their own pace. Positive relationships, time, energy, compassion and opportunities are the best gifts you can give children. 18

19 notes 19

20 20 notes