PRINCIPLES OF

CHILD
DEVELOPMENT

Sharing
1. Who was with you at this time?
Time
 2. What was the person trying to teach you?
 3. Did you learn the skill?
 4. If you did, what helped you learn it?
 5. If you didn’t, what do you think got in the way of your learning?
How did it feel when you made a mistake or did not understand
something right away?
 6. How did you feel about learning something new or facing the
new challenge?
 7. How did this experience influence the way you teach now ?
 8. What insights about how children learn have you derived from this
experience?

 K W L
What I What I What I
Know Want to have
know Learned
 VIDEO
Every Child is
special
REALIZATIONS
The study of child
development helps
teachers in
fundamental ways:
 Child development helps
teachers understand the
changes they see as children
grow and develop.
Knowing and understanding how
children learn at different ages
and stages of development can
guide teachers in many
curriculum decisions they need
to make.
Community of Learners
Studying child development
helps teachers explain
individual variations in rate of
development of their students.
The study of child development
helps teachers understand how
children influence their
environment and in turn, how the
environment influences them.
 Child development is a
process of change in which
the child learns to handle
more complex levels of
moving, thinking, feeling and
interacting with people and
objects in the environment.
Developmental changes
have three characteristics:

1. Orderly - They occur in a

sequence.
2. Directional - It is cumulative.
Each change in a sequence
builds on the results of the
preceding changes.
3. Stable - Children’s behavior is
reasonable stable over time. It
implies that early behavior and
personal characteristics are
good predictors of later
development.
Development is wholistic. It is
often divided into four
categories that makes it easier
to observe and understand
children’s behavior.
All are interwoven in a child’s life and
develop simultaneously and synergistically.

Physical Dimension - the ability to move and coordinate

 Intellectual/Cognitive Dimension - the ability to think and
learn
Social Dimension - the ability to relate to others
 Emotional Dimension - the ability to develop a positive
concept of self and others
Every child is a unique person
with a unique temperament,
learning style, family background,
and pattern and timing growth.
 A child’s development begins
in the womb but learning
begins at birth.
Development and learning
occur as a result of the child
interacting with people and
objects in his or her
environment.
Children live within a
context- family, community,
culture and their needs are
most effectively addressed in
relation to that context.
 THE EARLY YEARS
The first eight years of a child’s life form the foundation
for all later development; early attention to the
child’s needs is critical.

* In the early years, the child develops all the basic

brain and physiological structures upon which later
growth and learning are dependent.

* Early support  benefits of intervention are greater

The early years – from birth through age eight - are
critical because they are the formative years when
growth and development are the most rapid

* brain growth – unmatched by any other

developments that occur during the life

span; age 6 -70% of the adult brain weight

 TIMING OF EXPERIENCE
Timing of experience can be critical.

- periods in life when the brain is

particularly open to new experiences

- negative experiences or the absence

of good or appropriate stimulation
are more likely to have serious and
sustained effects
Continuation
of video
References:
• Wilson,Donna, “Flourishing in the First Five Years”
• Shiller,Pam, “Start Smart:BuildingBrain Power in the
Early Years
• Galinsky, Ellen, “ Mind in the Making”
• Healy, Jane, “ Your Child’s Growing Mind”
• Evans,Judith, “Early Childhood Counts”, (The
International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development)
• Brazelton, T.BerryM.D. and Greenspan, Stanley M.D,
“The Irreducible Needs of Children: What Every Child
Must Have to Grow, Learn and Flourish”