5 Strategies to Support Gross Motor Skills in the Classroom

Embedding motor skill activities into the preschool classroom is so important to help
children develop postural control, locomotor skills, and coordination skills.  When
children are able to maintain an upright posture, participate in physical activities and
demonstrate eye-hand coordination skills, it is beneficial for functional learning in
school.  Sometimes teachers can find it difficult to make time for gross motor skills
throughout the day.  Here are 5 strategies to support gross motor skills in the
classroom.

Make it Routine
Add gross motor skills and physical activity within the normal routine of the classroom. 
A great time to add movement time is during transitions.  Classroom jobs can include
physical activity.  Read more on how to establish a brain break routine here.

Accessibility

Follow a UDL approach (Universal Design for Learning) and make sure that the
environment is accessible for all children including those with physical disabilities and
delays.  Teachers and therapists can provide multiple means of representation,
engagement, and expression for motor skill tasks.

Differentiate

Once the environment is accessible to all the next step is to determine each student’s
abilities and alter the gross motor activity as needed.  This can be done by modifying
the: learning environment (ie change the size, weight, texture, or color of play materials)
content (ie using motivational themes), and process (ie use visual supports).

Offer frequent, brief motor breaks

Teachers can provide frequent motor breaks throughout the school day and not limit
physical activity time to recess or physical education.  Brain breaks are a perfect
solution to add throughout the day. Yoga is one of many strategies to support gross
motor skills in the classroom too.
Research has shown that 5-20 minute movement breaks in the classroom can positively
affect the following:
1. cognitive skills including executive function, attention span, memory skills and
verbal comprehension
2. academic achievement on test scores
3. attitude changes in motivation and self-concept
4. on task behaviors
5. organizational skills
6. motor planning
7. impulse control
Don’t forget to include a warm-up, physical activity followed by a cool down. 
This Brain Break Poster Set includes 4 easy to implement brain breaks for an
individual or a group of students including a relaxation brain break to prepare
students to return to school work after a movement break.

Provide movement and learning opportunities

Research indicates that integrating physical activity to facilitate learning is beneficial in

the classroom environment. Two recent studies were performed with preschool students
to compare lessons with physical activity and without physical activity. Both studies
indicated that integrating physical activity to facilitate learning in a preschool classroom
resulted in improved learning outcomes versus a conventional sedentary lesson.

Here are 3 evidence-based reasons why teachers should incorporate movement into
classroom instruction:

1. increases student interest, motivation (Vazou et al., 2012), and learning (Braniff,
2011).
2. improves content knowledge, skills, and test scores in core subjects such as
mathematics and reading fluency (Adams-Blair & Oliver, 2011; Erwin, Fedewa, &
Ahn, 2013; Browning et al., 2014).
3. may help children meet the recommendation to complete the recommended 60
minutes of physical activity every day.

4. Movement can be infused into language, math, art, science lessons and more.
5. Settling into a new routine to establish movement in the classroom can be
difficult at first for teachers in terms of classroom management.  Once the routine
is established and students know what to expect, motor skill and cognitive growth
will occur.
6. If you want to get started right away with strategies to support gross motor skills
in the classroom check out the resources:
Educational Implications of Piaget's Theory

Piaget's theory has had a major impact on the theory and practice of education. It has
helped to create a view where the focus of attention is on the idea of developmentally
appropriate education. This refers to an educational with environments, curriculum,
materials and instruction that are consisteny with student's physical and cognitive
abilities as well as their social and emotional needs.
There are four main teaching implications drawn from Piaget's theory (Slavin, 2005):
1. A focus on the process of children's thinking, not just its products. Instead of simply
checking for a correct answer, teachers should emphasize the student's understanding and
process they used to get the answer.

2.Recognition of the crucial role of children's self-initiated, active involvement in learning

activities. In a Piagetian classroom, children are encourage to discover themselves through
spontaneous interaction with the environment, rather than the presentation of ready-made
knowledge.

3. A deemphasis on practices aimed at making children adult like in their thinking.This

refers to what Piaget referred to as the "American question" which is "How can we speed up
development?". His belief is that trying to speed up and accelerate children's process through the
stages could be worse than no teaching at all.
4. Acceptance of individual differences in developmental progress. Piaget's theory asserts that
children go through all the same developmental stages, however they do so at different rates.
Because of this, teachers must make special effort to arrange classroom activities for individuals
and groups of children rather than for the whole class group.

The educational implication of Piaget's theory is the adaptation of instruction to the learner's
development level.  It is important that the content of instruction needs to be consistent with the
developmental level of the learner.

The teachers main role is the facilitation of learning by providing various experiences for the
students. "Discovery Learning" allows opportunities for students to explore and experiment,
while encouraging new understandings. Opportunities that allow learners of different cognitive
levels to work together often help encourage less mature students to advance to a higher
understanding of the material. One future implication for the instruction of students is the use of
hands on expereiences to help students learn (Wood, 2008).

Some general suggestions include:

~ The use of concrete props and visual aids, such as models and/or time lines
~ Facilitate learning by using familiar examples to explain complex ideas, such as a story
problem in math
~ Give students the opportunities to classify & group information, use outlines & hierarchies to
facilitate assimilation of new information with previously learned knowledge.
~Present problems that require logical analytical thinking, "brain teasers" are a great way to
incorporate this
 Activities for the Stages of Cognitive Development

Here are some practical ways to teach children in each of Piaget's four stages of
Cognitive Development.

There are many practical applications that can be made from this theory. By using
them in our teaching, we can hopefully teach students in a way that will help them be
the most effective learners.

Sensorimotor Period: Activities for Infants and Toddlers

The term "sensorimotor" comes from the child understanding their world largely
through their senses for their first 2 years. This stage is characterized by the lack of
language and internal representation. It focuses on the reflexes that the child is born
with such as sucking, reaching and grasping. In this stage of development the child
eventually develops primary circular reactions, which are activities centered on the
child’s body and repetitious in nature. Eventually, children develop the coordination
of separate activities and the evolution of language. A final achievement in this stage
is recognizing cause-and-effect relationships.

-Provide a rich stimulating environment

-Allow the child to play with toys that squeak when squeezed. (ex: rubber duck) At
first when the child squeezes the toy, they will be surprised by the sound and why it
happened. However, after some time the child will realize that by squeezing the toy
they are the one causing the noise. This gives and example of cause-an-effect
relationships: if I squeeze the duck, it will squeak.

-Another example of a toy is a rattle; when the baby shakes a rattle it makes noise.

-Playing peek-a-boo is another good example of a fun activity for children around this
age.
Preoperational Period: Activities for Toddlers and Early Childhood

This stage is in effect when children are about 2 to 7 years old. This stage is
characterized by the inability to understand all the properties of classes. Transductive
reasoning is also characteristic of this age groups thinking. Transductive reasoning
involves making inferences from one specific to another based on faulty logic.
Egocentrism and conservation are also characteristic of this age group. Egocentrism is
the inability to take another persons point of view into account. One way to help
children overcome egocentrism is to help them face another person’s perspective by
putting themselves in the others “shoes”.

-One way to do this is by playing dress up and encouraging the child to take on a
character.

- Sometimes children in this age group enjoy playing house. This is also a good
activity because they are playing different roles that they have observed in their own
lives.

-Hands on activities should also be facilitated at this time.

-Encourage children to play with toys that change shape (ex: playdoh, sand, clay,
water) because this will help them move towards the concept of conservation.

Children need physical, hands on practice with facts and skills needed for
development.
-Use cut-out letters to build words.

-Avoid lessons that are very different from the child's world. And steer away from
using workbooks or paper and pencil activities very often.
Concrete Operations: Activities for Middle Childhood

In this stage children evolve from prelogical, egocentric thinking to a more rule-
regulated type of thinking. Some of the rules of logic include reversibility, identity,
and compensation. One activity that a child at this age would enjoy is a cooking
activity with their mom or dad.

If you get creative you can incorporate several components of Piaget’s theories into
this activity. Baking involves measurements, which would be useful to the concept of
conservation. Measuring cups come in all different shapes so it would be fun to
measure the exact same measurement using different types of measuring utensils.
Also the ingredients could be classified into different categories such as the dry
ingredients and the wet ingredients and so on. Numbers and seriating come into play
with the distinct steps in the directions. Children around this age group usually really
enjoy helping out in the kitchen, especially if it’s baking something fun like cookies,
so it turns into a great learning opportunity.

-Give children the chance to manipulate objects and test out ideas
-Do simple experiments, with participation of the students

Avoid dealing with more than three of four variables at a time

-Reading selections should have a limited number of characters
-Experiments should have a limited number of steps

Students should have practice classifying objects and ideas on complex levels
-Have students group sentences on a piece of paper
-Use analogies to show the relationship of new material to already acquired
knowledge.
Formal Operations: Activities for Adolescents

This period is characterized by applying their logic directly to real objects or

situations.

At the beginning of this stage:

-Teachers should continue using strategies and materials used in the concrete
operations stage.
-Use charts and illustrations, as well as incoporate new more sophisticated graphs and
diagrams
-Give step by step explanations and materials

Students need the opportunity to explore various hypothetical situations.

Children in this stage should be encouraged to work in groups in school to explain and
discuss hypothetical topics.
For example: have then discuss social issues in groups and brainstorm.

 Have them write a short story on a hypothetical topic such as what life would be like
in outer space. This allows the child to apply their new creative aspect.

Students should also be encouraged to explain how they solved a problem.

-Students could work in pairs, one is the listener, while the other is the problems
solver. The problem solver works the problem out loud, while the listener checks to
see that all steps are followed and seem logical.
-Teachers could put a few essay questions on a test, which allows students the
opportunity to give more than one final answer.

Teachers should try to teach broad concepts, rather than just facts.
-Use materials and ideas relevant to the students
-For example: If you were teaching material about the Civil War, the class could join
in a discussion about other issues which have divided our country
-Use lyrics from a popular song to teach poetry
It is important to note that adolescence may reach formal operations at different times
or in some cases not at all!!!

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive

Development

Figure 4.11 Lev Vygotsky

Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) was a Russian psychologist who argued that culture has a
major impact on a child’s cognitive development. Piaget and Gesell believed
development stemmed directly from the child, and although Vygotsky acknowledged
intrinsic development, he argued that it is the language, writings, and concepts arising
from the culture that elicit the highest level of cognitive thinking (Crain, 2005). He
believed that the social interactions with adults and more learned peers can facilitate a
child’s potential for learning. Without this interpersonal instruction, he believed children’s
minds would not advance very far as their knowledge would be based only on their own
discoveries. Let’s review some of Vygotsky’s key concepts.

Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding: Vygotsky’s best known concept is

the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). Vygotsky stated that children should be
taught in the ZPD, which occurs when they can almost perform a task, but not quite on
their own without assistance. With the right kind of teaching, however, they can
accomplish it successfully. A good teacher identifies a child’s ZPD and helps the child
stretch beyond it. Then the adult (teacher) gradually withdraws support until the child
can then perform the task unaided. Researchers have applied the metaphor of scaffolds
(the temporary platforms on which construction workers stand) to this way of
teaching. Scaffolding is the temporary support that parents or teachers give a child to
do a task.
Private Speech: Do you ever talk to yourself? Why? Chances are, this occurs when
you are struggling with a problem, trying to remember something, or feel very emotional
about a situation. Children talk to themselves too. Piaget interpreted this as Egocentric
Speech or a practice engaged in because of a child’s inability to see things from
another’s point of view. Vygotsky, however, believed that children talk to themselves in
order to solve problems or clarify thoughts. As children learn to think in words, they do
so aloud before eventually closing their lips and engaging in Private Speech or inner
speech.

Thinking out loud eventually becomes thought accompanied by internal speech, and
talking to oneself becomes a practice only engaged in when we are trying to learn
something or remember something. This inner speech is not as elaborate as the speech
we use when communicating with others (Vygotsky, 1962).

Contrast with Piaget: Piaget was highly critical of teacher-directed instruction believing

that teachers who take control of the child’s learning place the child into a passive role
(Crain, 2005). Further, teachers may present abstract ideas without the child’s true
understanding, and instead they just repeat back what they heard. Piaget believed
children must be given opportunities to discover concepts on their own. As previously
stated, Vygotsky did not believe children could reach a higher cognitive level without
instruction from more learned individuals. Who is correct? Both theories certainly
contribute to our understanding of how children learn.
Implication of Psychosocial Development to Teaching and Learning

According to Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, each individual's

psyche is shaped through a series of conflicts called developmental crises. Three of
these crises occur during childhood and adolescence, which means that teachers who
believe in Erikson's theory should focus on these crises to ensure that students develop
healthy, fully realized identities. According to Erikson, the key crisis for children between
the ages of three and six is "initiative vs. guilt." From six to twelve, the crisis is "industry
vs. inferiority," and for teenagers, "identity vs. role confusion."

Initiative vs. Guilt

Give children the opportunity to make choices and act upon those choices. Because the
crisis of initiative vs. guilt determines whether a child learns to plan activities on her own
or comes to associate self-directed behavior with punishment, she must have the
opportunity to make decisions. Provide a portion of the day when children can choose
their own activities. Have a classroom library where children can pick their own books
during reading time. This allows children the opportunity to learn how to make decisions
for themselves.

Break instruction and activities down into small steps. This makes it easier for children
to succeed and encourages them to take risks. Without this framework, children may
become frustrated by activities and sense that they are doomed to complete them
poorly.

Ensure that any competitive games or activities have well-balanced teams. If children
consistently lose at math games, they may believe they are bad at math. Conversely,
even a struggling student may feel confident in her mathematical abilities if her team
performs well overall.

Accept mistakes that result from students attempting activities on their own. If a student
damages something or makes a serious error, show him how to fix, clean or redo it
instead of simply punishing him. This will make students feel more confident in their
abilities to attempt activities on their own.

Industry vs. Inferiority

Allow students the opportunity to set realistic goals. Have them create academic and
personal goals for each quarter and revisit those goals every few weeks to monitor their
own progress. Break down each assignment into parts so the students can learn how to
set time management goals. For instance, instead of collecting all parts of a project at
once, collect a brainstorming worksheet on a certain date, a rough draft two weeks later
and a final draft the next week. If a child successfully navigates the crisis of industry vs.
inferiority, he will enter adolescence with a sense that hard work and perseverance will
pay off. If not, he will feel that he is a helpless observer of his life.
Assign jobs to the students. Let them stack chairs, feed class pets, hand out and collect
papers, take attendance sheets to the office and so on. Rotate these jobs regularly so
all students have a chance to participate. This will give the students a sense of
accomplishment.

Teach children study skills. Explain how to budget time and keep notebooks, binders
and folders organized. If students fail at these organizational skills, their grades will
suffer and they may feel that they are stupid or doomed to failure.

Provide regular feedback to students, particularly those who seem discouraged. Praise
them for what they are doing right and give constructive criticism of what they are doing
wrong. If your school has a program such as Student of the Month, choose students
who have academic or behavioral issues but are making strong efforts at improvement
as well as high achievers. This will show them that their efforts are paying off even if
they are not making straight A's.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

Provide a variety of positive role models for students. Adolescence is a time of

discovering one's own identity. A teenager who successfully navigates the crisis of
identity vs. role confusion will be able to answer the question, "Who am I?" with
confidence. Provide a series of role models to give students a potential identity model.
Teach students about women and minorities who succeeded at a variety of careers, so
all students have a role model to whom they can relate. Mention individuals who made
lesser-known contributions to your academic discipline. A budding poet may feel more
kinship with Eavan Boland than Emily Dickinson.

Provide models of exemplary work so students know what an excellent project looks like
and can compare their own work to the model. This will show them how to incorporate
academic success into their identities, essentially providing role models for their work
instead of their career goals.

Provide opportunities for students to bring their own interests into projects and
assessments, as they may feel these interests are vital parts of their identities. Allow
students to choose between a variety of final projects -- skits, essays, art projects,
music compositions, etc. -- so they can either choose a project that appeals to their
interests or explore new aspects of their identities.

Criticize behaviors rather than making personal condemnations of the students

themselves. Students are "trying on" roles at this point, and negative feedback for a
behavior may encourage them to drop it and try another.

Explain the long-term consequences of misbehavior or poor performance so students

will know how it affects themselves and others. This may encourage them to adopt a
more responsible identity.
Encourage and support student interests. Attend school plays, concerts and games to
affirm students' identities as actors, musicians and athletes.

Implication of Kohlberg Theory on Teaching and Learning

Lawrence Kohlberg's theory on moral development can be applied to the classroom
where rules, standards, and consequences are concerned. The theory tracks an
individual's level of moral reasoning by assigning him to one of six stages, where the
first stage is a basic submission to authority and the last is universal ethics for all. As
an educator, consider where your students' personal development lies in terms of
Kohlberg's six stages. Then work toward achieving optimal moral character along the
lines of Kohlberg's level six "Universal Principals" for a positive and constructive
learning environment.
Students at stage one behave appropriately to avoid punishment. At stage two,
students behave to earn rewards. By stage three, students start thinking about other
people and caring about their expectations. Give students the opportunity to help
create a classroom code of conduct. In this way, they will become responsible for the
rules that they set and follow them accordingly, rather than blindly agreeing to
standards set by school administrators or other authorities.

Allow for a written self evaluation as part of any disciplinary consequence. It does not
have to be lengthy, but it should provide the student with adequate time to review their
own reasoning for misbehavior and to come up with a solution for the future. This type
of action relates to Kohlberg's fourth stage of morality, in which individuals do their part
to maintain order by reflecting on the impact of their words and actions.

Plan group projects where students work together toward the understanding of
curriculum instead of sitting back and listening to the teacher talk at them. Group
activities encourage engagement. Responsibility for learning is placed squarely onto the
students, facilitating adherence to the classroom goal of educational enrichment.
Collaborate learning supports Kohlberg's fifth morality stage, which relates to upholding
a social contract.

Make time for role play, whether it be related to the curriculum or used as a problem
solving tool. By acting or seeing situations through the eyes of others, students gain a
more broad understanding of what is taking place. This helps them to make decisions
based not on themselves, but on a commitment to the group. Similarly, they have
advanced to Kohlberg's sixth stage, in which the needs of every person in society are
worth considering. In a classroom, a brief skit or scenario can help students focus on
making sure everyone is involved and engaged in learning.

Extra Reading
Linking Developmentally Appropriate Practice to Developmental Theories
In the NAEYC Position Statement describing developmentally appropriate practices, 12 principles of child
development and learning were compiled to inform professionals’ work with young children (Bredekamp &
Copple, 1997). This article will highlight the principles as a refresher, yet the entire description of each
principle can be accessed online atwww.naeyc.org or in Bredekamp & Copple’s (1997) publication.
 
1.       Domains of children’s development – physical, social, emotional, and cognitive – are closely
related. Development in one domain influences and is influenced by development in other
domains.
 
2.       Development occurs in a relative 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 understanding 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 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 their 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.
 
As you might guess, the above principles were generalized from a number of developmental theories. In
order to best understand them, we should focus our attention on defining developmental theories and
explaining how they help teachers make decisions. A developmental theory is an organized system of
principles and explanations of certain aspects of child development (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004).
Developmental theories assist teachers in a number of ways. First, they help to describe, explain, and
predict behaviors (Berk, 2003). In addition, developmental theories “guide and give meaning to what we
see” – they help teachers to interpret behavioral observations (Berk, 2003, p. 6). Third, theories help
teachers to distinguish typical patterns of development from unique patterns of development, which in turn
assists them in providing additional instructional assistance or services to young children. Lastly,
developmental theories guide teachers’ formal and informal instructional decision-making.
 
Developmental Theories Defined
Key theories or theorists that you may be familiar with, include but are not limited to Alfred Bandura’s
social learning theory, biological-maturational theory (e.g, Arnold Gesell), Urie Bronfenbrenner’s
ecological theory, Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory, Jean Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory,
behaviorist theory (e.g., B.F. Skinner and John Watson), and Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Each
theory or theorist examines and explains development from a slightly different angle when considering
four primary controversies:
 
1.       Is development primarily the result of nature (biological and/or genetic forces) or nurture
(environmental forces);
 
2.       Is development characterized by universality (common experiences that lead to predictable
patterns of outcomes) or diversity (disparate experiences that lead to diverse outcomes);
 
3.       Is the child an active agent (influences her own course of development) or passive agent
(responds to forces) in the developmental progression; and4.Is development the result of
qualitative changes (sudden periods of rapid growth and reorganization where the outcomes are
significantly different from the previous stage) or quantitative changes (gradual adding on of new
skills to previous skills)?
 
The way each theory or theorist addresses each of the controversies leads to a multiplicity of
perspectives or approaches for explaining child development. Table 1 was created to assist you in
connecting each theory to the theory’s position on the four controversies. In addition, a few of these
theories are described in more detail.
 
 Biological-maturational Theory: This theory believes that genetic and physiological changes
(i.e., nature) contribute to developing structures of the body. Brain development and motor
capabilities, for example, occur almost automatically, without learning or instruction. Changes in
abilities can be either gradual or sudden depending on the type of development being considered.
To illustrate, learning to walk is the result of gradual changes in physiological capabilities and
brain structure. Sudden development, on the other hand, occurs during puberty due to altered
hormonal levels in the body.
 

 Behaviorist Theory: Development and learning from this perspective are attributed almost
exclusively to environmental influences (nurture). B.F. Skinner built on other behaviorist theorists
by noting that children’s (and adults, for that matter) behavior and learning can be shaped by
providing rewards and punishment. He believed that there is a great deal of diversity in behavior
and learning because all children experience different rewards and punishment from the adults in
their lives.
 

 Cognitive-developmental Theory: This theory emphasizes how children’s thinking and

reasoning change, qualitatively, over time. Children actively contribute to their own cognitive
development by constructing their own understanding of the world. This understanding is
constructed during experiences with materials and working to resolve discrepancies between
prior knowledge and new information. This process is significantly impacted by the child’s
biological development. At times, children will have not reached a requisite level of biological
maturation and, therefore, cannot make use of information in the environment or acquire new
thinking capabilities.
 
  Sociocultural Theory: This theory focuses on how culture is transmitted to the next generation
through tools such as language and social interaction. Working with adults and more skilled peers
is essential for children to acquire the ways of thinking, knowing, and behaving that make up a
community’s culture. From this perspective, knowledge is actively and socially constructed
through interactions with others. However, the role of biology is not ignored; it is perceived as
playing less of a direct role in cognitive development. A child’s inherited traits influence the ways
in which she approaches the environment and thus impacts the types of experiences she has.
 
Are all Developmental Theories Valid?
Not all developmental theories are viewed today as equally valid. “All contemporary theories view children
as active, purposeful beings who make sense of their world and contribute substantially to their own
development” (Berk, 2003, p. 12). The seventh principle of child development and learning (above) states
that “Children are active learners ….” Thus, the biological-maturational and the behaviorist theories are
viewed as less able to inform our understanding of developmentally appropriate practices because they
view the child as passive. When discussing the behaviorist perspective, Berk and Winsler (1995) stated
this even stronger when they say, “Since it denies the existence of the child’s spontaneous development,
it is antithetical to current conceptions of developmentally appropriate practices…” (p. 104).
 
How Developmental Theories Impact Our Work as Teachers
The next question this article will explore is: How does knowing developmental theories guide our work as
teachers? Let’s use an example to help clarify the connections. Imagine that you observed the following
scene:
 
Steffano is sitting at the art table using markers. Georgia joins him at the table and begins to cut with
scissors. She picks up a paper that Steffano has discarded into the center of the table and begins to cut it
into 2 equal pieces. Steffano looks over at Georgia working, jumps up so quickly that he knocks his chair
over and cries out “No! That is Mom’s!” while ripping the paper from her hands. Before his teacher can
reach the area, he hits Georgia on the arm with a closed fist.
 
There are multiple perspectives that can be used to interpret Steffano’s behavior. Each theory used to
interpret his behavior will lead us to a different way to address or begin to resolve this situation. For
example:
 
1.       A teacher informed by psychosocial theory might conclude that Steffano is struggling
with the conflict of initiative versus guilt. He is demonstrating his independence in
planning and undertaking activities but he is experiencing conflict about how to
communicate these plans to others. This teacher might decide to help Steffano learn
strategies for conveying and carrying out his ideas when working with others.
 
2.       A teacher working from social learning theory may suggest that Steffano has learned this
response from observing models in his environment. He is imitating a behavior he
observed another doing. This teacher will most likely decide to actively model non-
aggressive strategies for solving problems.
 
3.       A teacher informed by ecological theory might conclude that Steffano is being raised in a
culture (e.g., greater society and/or home) that is accepting of violent conflict resolution.
This teacher may reflect on her classroom environment to examine if this message is
being sent. This teacher may also continue her partnership with his family by engaging in
dialog about this topic.
 
4.       A teacher knowledgeable of cognitive-developmental theory may think that Steffano has
constructed from past experiences a mental schema that involves solving problems with
force. This teacher might provide concrete experiences in which non-aggressive solutions
are highlighted and discussed so that he will begin to accommodate his schema for
solving problems.
 
The Importance of Being Consciously Competent
These inconsistencies or even contradictions between child developmental theories highlight how
knowledge is a necessary, but not sufficient component of the “quality equation.” Teachers must be willing
to use careful reflection as one habit of mind to be comfortable with examining their beliefs and practices
(Freeman, Swim, Norton-Smith, and White, 2003). Reflective practitioners know the importance of
devoting time to examining professional beliefs and practices so that they can be made visible to both
themselves and those they work with (e.g., family members, children, and colleagues; Rinaldi, 2001).
Using the phrase of NAEYC, teachers must be consciously-competent – or able to make professional
decisions for young children and families that reflect current relevant knowledge bases (e.g., child
development, developmentally appropriate practices) while articulating why this is the optimal course of
action (NAEYC, 2000; see Figure 1). To become consciously-competent, you must be willing to ask
yourself “tough questions” about your practices in relation to theories of child development. For example,
“Did my response to Aleksandr’s crying help him gain emotional regulation skills?” “Did I model enough
physical activity in the classroom this week?” “Did my response to Cami’s mother reflect my knowledge of
child development or just my personal opinion?” “Am I helping children to construct their own knowledge
or am I expecting them to memorize information?”
 
The Eclectic Teacher
As a practitioner, you have undoubtedly created your own personal theory about how children learn and
develop. Take a moment to consider how your theory relates to the explicit theories previously described
in this paper (see also Table 1). If you find that you utilize aspects of several different theories, you have
taken what is called an eclectic approach. Being eclectic, however, does not mean “going with the flow” or
“doing whatever works” (Marion, 2003). Rather, it means that you understand the different theories, can
explain your beliefs, and can utilize them to make effective educational decisions. Taking an eclectic
approach is believed to be the most practical method for using theories of child development to inform
classroom practices because no one theory is comprehensive enough to adequately explain all aspects of
development (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2004). Our current understanding of developmentally appropriate
practices is built on such an eclectic approach. See if you can identify the various developmental theories
that were used to generate the 12 principles of child development and learning presented earlier. Recall
that these principles directly formed the foundation for constructing the five guidelines for developmentally
appropriate practices.
 
Becoming Consciously Competent
If you were unable to express your personal theory, you may be working from a more implicit theory. This
could mean that you need to devote time to reflecting on your beliefs. Ask yourself, “What do I believe
about how children learn and develop?” After answering that question, here are some additional steps to
take in becoming consciously-competent about theories of child development.
 
1.       Critically analyze the different theoretical approaches described in this article. Which theories
“speak to you” because they relate most closely to your implicit beliefs?
 
2.       If you need additional information about the developmental theories, seek it out so you can make
informed decisions (a list of resources is included at the end of this article).
 
3.       Consider how various aspects of the theories that “speak to you” might support and conflict with
one another. Recall that becoming consciously-competent involves being able to articulate not
only about your personal beliefs but also how these ideas connect to accepted and valued
theories in the field.
 
Conclusion
As highlighted in this article, your understanding of child development is a vital ingredient for
implementing developmentally appropriate practices. We cannot make appropriate educational decisions
for young children without this knowledge base. Even though this information is not always straight
forward nor consistent, it is our professional responsibility to make personal sense of it and use it to
inform our practices. Take heart, you are not alone in this process. Many resources are available to
provide guidance and support while implementing these new knowledge and skills. You can capitalize on
resources in your place of employment (e.g., knowledge base of colleagues) or look beyond those walls
for additional support. Professional organizations, such as the National Association for the Education of
Young Children (NAEYC) or Zero to Three, scholarly resources, and research can be sources of
knowledge and guidance.

Extra Reading
Characteristics of Maturation:
1. Sum of gene effects:
Maturation is the net sum of gene effects operating in a self-limiting life cycle. It is based on
heredity. It is the process of describing underlying potential capacity of an individual.

2. Automatic process:
Maturation is an automatic process of somatic, physiological and mental differentiation and
integration.

3. Growth and development:

Maturation means the growth and development that is necessary either before any unlearned
behaviour can occur or before the learning of any particular behaviour can take place. It
involves both structural and functional changes or performance. It helps an individual with
structural change to reach at the stage of functional readiness.

4. Completion of growth:
Maturation is a stage of completion of growth and consolidating of mental, social and
emotional development.

5. Modification from within:

Maturation is essentially a process of modification from within and innate ripening and
development of capacities of the organism.

6. Condition of learning:
Maturation is an essential condition of learning. It is the basis of learning and learning is the
only source that makes human development complete.

7. Factors of maturation:
Maturity has been considered as the process of learning.

There are three factors underlying the process of learning:

(i) Acquisition:
Acquisition is helpful in modifying the behaviour. It is the acquisition which determines the
meaning, nature and scope of learning. It makes the learner mentally prepared to learn.

(ii) Retention:
Without retention, the learner fails to express the acquired trait.

(iii) Recall:
It is only potential recall through which we form opinion about the maturity and learning
behaviour of the learner.

8. Essential for learning skill:

Maturity is essential for physical and mental training. Attainment of physical and mental
maturity is essential to get proficiency in any work. As maturity is an automatic process, there is
no need of external arousing objects or stimulus.

9. Maturity and physical fitness:

The development of mature learning behaviour also depends on physical fitness of the learner.
Acquisition, retention and recall perform their functions successfully only when body apparatus
is capable in making the development of these factors properly. Physical deficiency or illness
obstructs the learning process of the child. Till the body apparatus is not stout or muscles are
not strong enough, expected modification in behaviour of the child is not possible. In this
context, maturity has been named as physical fitness.

10. Training before maturity is useless:

Training imparted before maturity is useless to learn any activity. Physical maturity is as
important as mental maturity. Hence, before imparting training to the child, it is the foremost
duty of the parents and the teachers to see that the child is fully matured or not, from the point
of view of his physical and mental maturity. Disobedience of the norm will result into
disappointment. Maturation and learning have been considered as two different aspects of the
same process.

To quote S. Alexandra, “Maturation is essentially a process of modification from ‘within’, an

‘innate’ or development of the organism and growth in structure and function that occurs by
reason of forces inherent in the organism itself.”
Educational Implications of Maturation:
1. The role of maturation and learning helps the parents or the teacher to know what and when
to begin training.

2. The knowledge of the role played by maturation suggests that if the child is not old or mature
enough to profit by teaching, it has little value for him and mere time and effort on the part of
the teacher is wasted.

3. Thus if learning precedes maturation, there is more wastage of time and energy. Learning
should begin when the child is ready to learn. If the child is ready to learn and he is not given
guidance or training, his interest is likely to wave.

4. Maturation comes with learning not necessarily with age. Riesen has aptly remarked,
“Maturation is necessary but not a sufficient condition for life.”