Reflections on Child Development This semester in Child Development has helped me a great deal. I came into this class wanting to be a Child Development teacher at the high school level. I am leaving this class with the same ambition to become a Child Development teacher. I have learned so much by taking this class and I know it will all be helpful in the future once I am standing at the front of a classroom. Also, just by watching the way Mary teaches the class, I have learned things that I want to take into my own style of teaching. I believe that there is so much more to a child's development than any psychologist or doctor could ever theorize. It takes many different things to make a child who they are and who they will become. Every child is different and things don't affect all children the same way, therefore, everyone's theories vary. It's a great thing that people can read about their children as they develop. That is something that will always be helpful, especially for first time parents. I really liked learning about all the theories of the stages a child...
In this assignment I am going to describe a child observation that I have done in a nursery for twenty minutes in a play setting. I will explain the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation through the key developmental milestones based in Mary Sheridan (2005) check-list and provide a theoretical explanation to support the naturalistic observation.
At home children having strong bonds with primary carers makes them confident and helps their self-esteem. In school
In this essay, I am going to reflect on my learning and the way it has informed my practice in developing a positive learning environment. I am going to demonstrate my understanding of the need of promoting enabling environment in early years and the changes in my practice since attending university. I will critically evaluate on my own reflective and evaluative skills and I will offer examples of implementing these skills into my practice. I will explain why I decided to nurture the areas from the action plan and how I can achieve the recommended proposals. I am going to evaluate other modules and I will identify the areas I found interesting and would like to study in more depth. At the end of this essay, I will reflect on the learning journey and the way it helped to shape my personal and professional life. I will include references, which review related issues, where eligible.
Child development is a very important in today’s psychology. That is why it is not surprising that so much research has been developed on that topic. In the article “Transforming the Debate About Child Care and Maternal Employment” the author, Louise B. Silverstein, presents a very interesting point of view on the history as well as the future of psychological research on child care and influence of maternal employment on child development.
Compare and contrast a child from younger age group with a child from an older age group.
For example, watching my youngest son develop as an infant was very similar to the characteristics described in the textbook, especially his motor development. At first birth, my son was very active and responsive to even the slightest touch. He was able to turn and move his head in the direction of a sound and very responsive to my voice. Around 2 months of age, my youngest son was now able to lift his head, was starting to learn how to roll over on the floor, and could sit up when propped up against a pillow or hard surface. Around 5 and 6 months of age, he was able to sit without the support of anything or being propped up again...
There are four essential developmental theories that demonstrate how children’s development changes as they grow up. These theories range from explaining how children grow from birth, how they feel about certain aspects of life, how they socialize with their peers, to how they think. The four theories of development that are vital to understand as teachers are Biosocial, Social Learning, Humanistic, and Psychoanalytic. Each of these theories provide teachers with an understanding of why children act a certain way during a certain point in their lives. Teachers that are knowledgeable about each of these theories will be more likely to be effective teachers, and to make a difference in their student’s lives.
Personal, social and emotional developments (PSED) are acknowledged as one of the starting point of accomplishment in life. PSED is about the whole child, how they are developing now, what they can do to reach their goals but also contribute to their community and how children perceive their identity and ability, understand their relation to the others in the society and apprehend their own and others’ feelings. PSED are a part of children’s development where they will be able to communicate effectively and be able to develop positive behavior among themselves and to others. According to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), PSED is consists of three aspects which are self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings and behavior and making relationships (DfE, 2012). In this essay, I will discuss the factors that influence children’s behavior , theories of personal social development and the strategies to develop the positive behavior in children to promote PSED, transition and inclusion.
One precious little girl, charming responses, and thirty well spent minutes adds up to a successful Piaget project. The time spent on interviewing a child for cognitive development was insightful, and gave me a first hand look at how a child’s mind matures with age.
Growth and development is an ongoing process that begins at conception and continues through the remainder of our lives. The rate of development and growth varies dependent on many factors such as age and genetic disposition. There is a broad spectrum of physical and psychological changes that are part of the maturation and life of the individual. Growth is a physical change that can be weighed and measured. Development is a person’s behaviors and thinking patterns. Growth and development are processes that together make up the individual.
Child psychology, also known as child development, is the study of psychological growth of children; how these mechanisms develop from infancy to adolescence and why they deviate from one child to the next. Child development is associated with biological, psychological, and emotional diversity that occur in humans. Although there is a different advancement for each child, these developmental changes may be greatly determined by genetic factors and experience during prenatal life. The early years of a child’s life are very important for his or her health and development. Parents, health professionals, educators, and others can work together as partners to help children grow up to reach their full potential.
There are many documented theories about early childhood development, contemporary research still concurs with some of these theories. It suggests, however, that we should be thinking more holistically, taking into consideration; respect for diversity, the wider community and equity, play based curriculums, intentional teaching and ongoing reflective practices when planning for optimal educational experiences for children (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2009). I acknowledge that ongoing professional learning and reflective practices are a key element of the Early Years Learning Framework (DEEWR, 2009). I accredit working and collaborating with other teachers, families and local communities collectively contribute
“Human development is a constant life long process of physical, social, emotional, and cognitive growth and change” (http://www.education.com/topic/child-adolescent-development/). These characteristics for the primary grades are all very important when it comes to the children’s learning. Primary grade children make up the first, second, and third grades. They also range from the ages six, seven, and eight. Most are just at the beginning of their educational learning process and are hitting peaks of developmental growth.
Before taking this course I already had a prior knowledge on infant and toddler development being a child development and family relations major. I have worked hands on with children in this age range and from previous courses know a lot about their physical growth and development. I knew that baby’s had poorly developed muscles in the beginning stages of life, but I didn’t know how long it took to get the muscles to develop. When holding a child we were always taught to support the neck and never let it just flop around. It was interesting to find out that even though a baby might be able to lift its head at one month its neck muscles are not fully developed until three months. By the time a child reaches two years of age their baby fat will start to disappear and be replaced by muscle from their constant movement like running and jumping.
As I personally take the time to have a reflection over the course of “Child and Adolescent Development” I find myself intrigued with the amount of knowledge I gained during this course this semester. I wanted to take the time to concentrate on three specific areas in which I felt I had the most growth, but also came as a challenge to me as well. It is important when reflecting over a course that I look at what I found to be challenging, as this was an opportunity of growth for me individually. In this paper I will review some of the main topics that I found to be interesting but also resourceful for my future aspiration not only as a family life educator but also a mother one day.