Child development follows a chronological sequence which it aligns with the traits/behaviour

that is exhibited by the children at different levels of development. When educators have a deep
insight of knowledge on how to deal with children at different stages of development, it becomes
easier to administer a curriculum. Besides having a general understanding of child development,
having known a deeper perspective of children’s characters at each age level, it becomes easier
to evaluate behaviour expectations and consequences in inclusively diverse classrooms/
schools/communities.

How has your thinking changed regarding child development at all age levels and all
developmental stages?
My thinking has changed in many aspects regarding child development, as elaborated.
In physical development, I have learnt that on average an infant weighs 5-10 pounds, at 2years
they weigh 20-40 pounds and have the average length of a 19.5inches which increases to
29.5inches in 12month then 34.4inches in 2years. They can establish relationships, interact with
others and manage their feelings forming a healthy attachment with most especially the mother.
At preschool the growth slows down, children gain 5-7 pounds and grow about 2-3 inches in a
year. At elementary school children develop smooth and strong motor skills that are to say
balance and endurance. At middle years children experience the growth of adrenal and sex
glands and growth of uterus and testis but girls experience faster growth spurt than boys. At the
adolescent level, boys experience faster growth spurt than girls.
In cognitive development, infants can develop language and communication at birth and
master object permanence at 12-24 month. “Temperament may be one of the things about us that
stays the same throughout development” (Luman Learning, 2018). At preschool children develop
egocentric behaviour and experience an increase in curiosity. At elementary school, children’s
thought process becomes more logical and organized and develops a limited attention span. At
middle years children develop complex thinking abilities that are to say increase processing
speed and efficiency of information processing. At adolescent level children develop cognitive
empathy, girls at 13yrs and boys at 15yrs.
In social development, infants can establish relationships, interact with others and
manage their feelings forming a healthy attachment with most especially the mother. At
preschool, they can express their emotions through self addressing, prefers playing with others
and can distinguish between real and fake behaviour. At elementary level children, start to
compare themselves with others. In middle years they develop values and roles of others. At
adolescent level children tend to adopt behaviours of others most especially their peers which are
in opposition from their parents.
In moral development infants are automatically born with reflexes which are crucial for
survival and at 3 weeks they can see, smell and hear. At preschool children consider self-
interest
over others. At elementary level peer acceptance behaviour becomes predominant. At middle
years children will always embrace the ‘good boy’ and ‘good girl’ mentality to fulfil the
expectation of society. In adolescent years’ children base their decision on the development of
the social contract streamlining their actions based on the majority's good.

- How do you see your professional practice as an educator evolving as a result of your thinking?
My professional practice has consistently progressed from when I started learning about
child development in this course from infant, preschool, elementary, middle school and
adolescents with different changes that occur in each domain such physical, cognitive, social
and moral changes. My thinking has evolved in aspects such as classroom management for each
age level, delivery mode of content for each age level and designing inclusive lesson plans
appropriate for each age level. I can now apply what I have learnt from child development stages
and differentiate instructions for different age groups.

-What are the key benefits of understanding the different age levels as well as the
different developmental stages in your practice?
It also gives us teachers to know when and how to apply disciplinary measures in the
class. Depending on the age levels either the use of contracts, consequences and rewards.
We get an in-depth idea of how to motivate students at different age levels. This maintains an
active student-centred learning environment. In this classroom environment, both teachers and
students can be successful.
It also provides the teachers with an opportunity to design age-appropriate activities in
the classroom; in this case classroom activities are selected based on the student's age level and
their ability to comprehend information.
It gives teachers a chance to differentiate instructions for the different age levels of
students; In this case, teachers can decide to differentiate instruction by the process, product and
content.
Content; This refers to the data gathered sorted and prepared for delivery according to the
student's needs. For example, if diversity students need to learn more about “how the puberty
affects learning” data will be collected on behaviour that occurs at puberty, how it occurs,
procedures to deal with it.
Process; The procedures should be defined to sort the age level, in this case, the activities are
broken down to simple specific tasks that learners can easily adopt other than teaching them as a
whole. The standard procedure should be defined for each activity and it should be goal-oriented.
Product; This is the outcome of the activity. This last phase in the lesson plan needs for at each
age level of student development which is correlated with the information collected in terms of
data and the procedure followed to process the information
It also gives us teachers an idea on how to identify and support students with low intellectual
ability in the class at different age levels; At different age levels some students’
development
earlier or later than others. For example, at age 9-12 girls experience faster growth spurt than
boys and at age 13-18 boys experience a faster growth spurt than girls.

-What could be the limitations of this understanding?

The limitation of this understanding of child development could be labelling children at
each different level of child development. “It is important to consider that children can be
misdiagnosed and that once a child has received a diagnostic label, the child, teachers, and
family members may tend to interpret actions of the child through that label” (Luman Learning,
2018). For example, In English and a mathematics lesson. When a child is labelled being poor in
a particular subject like mathematics, they will switch their minds to try to understand
mathematical concepts in the math lesson. while if they are labelled to be good in English they
will always focus their minds to learn more in English. It is also important to consider that
children’s difficulties can change over time; a child who has problems in school may
improve later or may live under circumstances as an adult where the problem (such as a delay
in math skills or reading skills) is no longer relevant (Luman Learning, 2018).

How will you support the differentiating needs of students at particular age levels and
specific developmental stages?
At infancy most of the children have less developed systems like the brain, body parts
and physical reaction to reflexes is slow. In this case, the guided practice of all activities
should prioritize developing most of these body parts. Teaching should be directed to a
particular goal. For example, shaking a small rattle which produces the sound which keeps the
infants engaged or using a milk bottle to touch their mouth keeps them engaged.
At preschool age level since most of the students have an ego-centric behaviour, more fun
related learning activities should be a priority. Scaffolding should also be adapted to create an
environment where students can assimilate and accommodate new information. For example, the
use of storyline, games, simplified learning centres/stations.
At elementary age level since peer acceptance behaviour becomes predominant. For
example, inquiry and cooperative group discussions should be more adopted since children
collaborative work at this stage is crucial to their development of peer collaboration skills.
At middle years since students start to develop values, and roles of others most especially
their while neglecting their parents’ traits. “Some adolescents adopt the values and roles that
their parents expect for them and other teens develop identities that are in opposition to their
parents but align with a peer group” (Luman Learning, 2018). For example, the use of role-plays
inquiry-based teaching approach, use of drama, skits, use of learning centres would be influential
in moulding students behaviour in the class.
At adolescents, age level students base their decision on the development of the social
contract streamlining their actions based on the majority's good. Since students also develop
cognitive empathy instructions can be differentiated in many forms. “Adjustment during
adolescence is reflected in identity formation, which often involves a period of exploration
followed by commitments to particular identities” (Luman Learning, 2018). For example,
shaping behaviour through peer modelling, use of learning centres, use of roles models,
cooperative discussions, inquiry-based learning.

What ideas have you garnered in applying what you have learned to your educational practice
and in what ways do you see these implications being helpful and why?
I have gathered ideas on how to differentiate instructions, activities and materials
according to the age levels which allows gradual development of skills among students at
different age levels. This is helpful to both the teacher and the students to evaluate their learning
if learning has taken place. Teachers will get to know if the methods used are effective for the
specific age level and the students will also evaluate whether they have learnt out of the
differentiated instructions, materials and activities at different age levels. “Evaluation and
diagnosis of a child can be the first step in helping to provide that child with the type of
instruction and resources needed” (Luman Learning, 2018).
In conclusion, teachers’ knowledge about child development at all age levels can be
helpful to determine design a comprehensive inclusively diverse lesson plan. These specify
individual activities, materials and instructions according to age level. Knowledge about child
development is also fundamental to design classroom management protocol and delivery mode.

References
Luman Learning. (2018). Lifespan Development. Creative Commons. Retrieved from:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/lifespandevelopment2/