The Educator S Center Guide To Understanding Child Development

Educators and parents alike recognize that children don't grow up simply by adding inches and pounds--child development is a much richer mix of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth. Though children make progress at their own pace, educators can help them on their individual paths. Understanding the many ways in which children grow forms the essence of good teaching. If you appreciate the ebbs and flows of development, you can teach children with more insight and confidence, and offer support and guidance to their parents and caregivers. Problems can arise, of course, in every child's life. Dr. Mayes's reassuring approach helps educators understand the nature of a problem, how they can address it, and when and where to go for help with concerns such as learning disabilities, bullying, sibling rivalry, depression, anger, and other difficult feelings. This guide will be an incredible resource on every educator's bookshelf.

An understanding of child development is an essential part of teaching. This new text supports trainee teachers and Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) to understand how children develop and how their development impacts on their learning. Importantly, the text is written specifically for teachers and focuses on what they need to know to be effective in the classroom. The text not only supports them to better understand children individually but also supports them to appreciate the needs of all children across the school Each chapter includes: - a focus on a theory of child development to support understanding. - case studies and critical questions to explore the learning and help the reader to develop critical thinking skills. - practical strategies for supporting children in the classroom which focus on how teachers can use an understanding of child development to enhance their practice.

Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.

"An Educator's Guide to Infant and Toddler Development is a comprehensive and approachable guide to the growth, learning, and development of children from birth to age three. Beginning with the foundations of infant and toddler education, environments and family relationships, this essential text explores each category of development in depth. Chapters clearly explain key learning and developmental milestones, provide real life examples, and walk readers through materials and strategies for effective practice. Designed to build effective and appropriate caregiving practices, this resource is packed with reflection questions and fieldwork observations to help students continually grow their knowledge and skills. Informative, thorough, and easy-to-use, this is a critical guide for students, caregivers, and teachers helping young children to learn and grow"--

An Educator’s Guide to Infant and Toddler Development is a comprehensive and approachable guide to the growth, learning and development of children from birth to age 3. Beginning with the foundations of infant and toddler education, environments and family relationships, this essential text explores each category of development in depth. Chapters clearly explain key learning and developmental milestones, provide real-life examples and walk readers through materials and strategies for effective practice. Designed to build effective and appropriate caregiving practices, this resource is packed with reflection questions and fieldwork observations to help students continually grow their knowledge and skills. Informative, thorough and easy to use, this is a critical guide for students, caregivers and teachers helping young children to learn and grow.

For students, Understanding Child Development examines the qualities of the young child compared with those of older children and it presents techniques for working with young children in ways that meet their developmental, social and cultural needs. For in-service teachers, it presents the chance to examine their own views of young children and to make comparisons with the views presented. The author fully discusses the importance of play and technology to young children’s learning, along with popular theoretical views of learning. She also puts emphasis on the factors relevant to working with children with special needs. Looking Further and Time to Reflect are two examples of activities that encourage contemplation and discussion. Many real-life examples, as well as explanatory charts, review questions and lists of resources, round out the author’s thorough coverage of this subject matter.

[This] is a text designed to help students and practitioners alike learn how to gather and interpret data to gain insight into child development. The reader is first introduced to the importance and techniques of observation, being taught why, how, and when to observe. Readers then move into developmental domains including the typical patterns of development, as well as the patterns of children with special needs.--Back cover.

The importance of high quality early childhood education is now universally recognised, and this quality crucially depends upon the practitioners who work with our young children, and their deep understanding of how children develop and learn. This book makes a vital contribution to this understanding, providing authoritative reviews of key areas of research in developmental psychology, and demonstrating how these can inform practice in early years educational settings. The book′s major theme is the fundamental importance of young children developing as independent, self-regulating learners. It illustrates how good practice is based on four key principles which support and encourage this central aspect of development: - secure attachment and emotional warmth - feelings of control and agency - cognitive challenge, adults supporting learning and children learning from one another - articulation about learning, and opportunities for self-expression. Each chapter includes: - typical and significant questions which arise in practice related to that area of development - an up-to-date review of key research, including insights from observational and experimental work with young children, from evolutionary psychology, and from neuroscientific studies of the developing brain - practical exercises intended to deepen understanding and to inform practice - questions for discussion - recommended further reading. This book provides an invaluable resource for early years students and practitioners, by summarizing new research findings and demonstrating how they can be translated into excellent early years practice. David Whitebread is Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Early Years Education in the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge.