FS 1

After exploring the school environment, your next journey to Episode 2

provides you an opportunity to observe learners of different ages and grade levels.
This episode will highlight the differences in their characteristics and needs. As a
future teacher, it is important for you to determine your learners’ characteristics and
needs so that you will be able to plan and implement learning activities and
assessment that are all developmentally appropriate.

At the end of this episode, you must be able to differentiate the needs,
characteristics, and behavior of learners from different development levels.

NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) for

principles of child development and learning that inform developmentally appropriate
practice:

1. Domains of children’s development--physical, social, emotional, and cognitive--

are closely related.
2. Development occurs in a relatively orderly sequence, with later abilities, skills,
and knowledge building on those already acquired.

3. Development proceeds at varying rates from child to child as well as unevenly

within different areas of each child’s functioning.

4. Early experiences have both cumulative and delayed effects on individual

children’s development; optimal periods exist for certain types of development
and learning.

5. Development proceeds in predictable directions toward greater complexity,

organization, and internalization.

6. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and
cultural contexts.

7. Children are active learners, drawing on direct physical and social experience as
well as culturally transmitted knowledge to construct their own understandings of
the world around them.

8. Development and learning result from interaction of biological maturation and the
environment, which includes both the physical and social worlds that children live
in.

9. Play is an important vehicle for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive

development, as well as a reflection of their development.

10. Development advances when children have opportunities to practice newly

acquired skills as well as when they experience a challenge just beyond the level
of their present mastery.

11. Children demonstrate different modes of knowing and learning and different ways
of representing what they know.

12. Children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are
safe and valued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically
secure.

Read: https://www.virtualeduc.com/v7/resources/data/TAD.3/TwelvePrinciples.htm

Now, are you ready for your first learning activity? I bet you are, so let’s begin.

Your Activity 2.1

Observing Characteristics of Learners at Different Stages

To achieve your learning objective, you will need to pass the following steps:
 1. Observe different learners from different levels (kinder, elementary,
high school, and college).
2. Based on your observations, describe each learner.
3. Interview them to verify your observations and descriptions. Make
sure that health protocol is widely observed.
4. Compare the learners in terms of their characteristics, needs and
learners.

Now, use the observation guides and matrices below for you to document your
observations.

LEARNER’S CHARACTERISTICS OBSERVATION GUIDE

Read the following statements carefully. Then write your observation report on the provided space.
Your teacher may also recommend another observation checklist if a more detailed observation is
preferred.

PHYSICAL
1. Observe their gross motor skills on how they carry themselves, how they move, walk, run,
go up the stairs, etc.
2. Are gross movements clumsy or deliberate/smooth?
3. How about their fine motor skills? Writing, drawing, etc.
SOCIAL
1. Describe how they interact with teachers and adults.
2. Note also how they interact with peers. What do they talk about? What are their
concerns?
EMOTIONAL
1. Describe the emotional disposition or temperament of the learners (happy, sad, easily
cries, mood-shifts).
2. How do they express their wants/needs? Can they wait?
3. How do they handle frustrations?
4. Describe their level of confidence as shown in their behavior. Are they self-conscious?
COGNITIVE
1. Describe their ability to use words to communicate their ideas. Note their language
proficiency.
2. Describe how they figure out things. Do they comprehend easily? Look for evidence of
their thinking skills.
3. Were there opportunities for problem solving? Describe how the showed problem-solving
abilities.

LEARNER’S DEVELOPMENT MATRIX

Now, record the data you gathered about the learner’s characteristics and needs
in this matrix. This will allow you to compare the characteristics and needs of learners
of different levels. The items under each domain are by no means exhaustive. These
are just simple indicators. You may add other aspects which you may have observed.

Development Domain Preschooler Elementary High School College

Physical
• Gross Motor skills
• Fine Motor skills
• Self-help skills
Social
• Interactions with
Teachers
• Interactions with
classmates and friends
• Interests

Emotional
• Moods and
Temperament,
expressions of feelings
• Emotional
interdependence
Cognitive
• Communication Skills
• Thinking Skills
• Problem Solving

Write the most salient development characteristics of the learners (from

kinder to high school) you observed. Based on these characteristics, think of
implications for the teacher. Present your data through graphical or tabular
presentations. Use the space provided.
1. What comes to mind while you were observing the learners? Have you
recalled your experiences when you were at their age? What similarities or
differences do you have with the learners you observed? Use Venn
Diagram to illustrate your idea.

2. Do you have teachers that you will never forget for positive or negative
reasons? How did they help or not help with your needs (physical,
emotional, social, and cognitive)? How did it affect you?

3. Share here your other thoughts and insights.

 Which is your favorite theory of development. How this theory guides you as a
future teacher? Clip some readings about this theory and paste them here.

Wow! Congratulations. You are done with the observation activity for
Learning Episode 2. To successfully end your Learning Episode 2, go to your LMS
and answer the Learning Episode 2 Quiz.