Stages of Child and Adolescent Development

Major Concepts,
K-2nd Grade
Able to mentally
Cognitive represent objects and
events [ CITATION Mar05 \l
1033 ]
3rd-5th Grade
Logically integrated
thought. Invent logical-
mathematical
knowledge that results
in operations [ CITATION
Mar05 \l 1033 ]
6th-8th Grade
Children can begin to
reason and plan
systematic approaches
to solving problems
[ CITATION Mar05 \l 1033 ].
Principles, and Learning
Theories (To be completed
in Topic 3)
Genetic Epistemology
(Piaget) – process of
accommodation,
assimilation, and
equilibration [ CITATION
Mar05 \l 1033 ]

Linguistic Language acquisition Good communication More sophisticated Nativist: children are
rapidly proceeds skills, discuss opinions speech, long on complex born with the ability to
[ CITATION Ver19 \l 1033 ] sentences learn language-
Chomsky
Learning theory: lang. is
acquired through
reinforcement
[ CITATION Car \l 1033 ]
Social Pretend/symbolic play is Children become aware Develop concern for Vygotsky- Social
highly characteristic. of external events and social issues development theory:
Children talk past each the feelings of others social interaction is
other rather than to fundamental to the
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 each other development of
cognition [ CITATION
Sau18 \l 1033 ]
Emotional Have difficulty seeing a Less egocentric, begins Children begin to Erikson- stages of social-
point of view that isn’t to understand others consider outcomes and emotional devel.: 8
their own. share different consequences of stages, in which
thoughts, beliefs, etc. actions, resulting in long successful completion of
term planning each stage results in a
healthy personality and
a virtuous human being [
CITATION Sua18 \l 1033 ]
Physical Children are unable to Conservation, the idea Children use logic to Dependent on the brain
mentally rotate spatial that when something form hypothesis, as well and nervous system.
arrangements in order changes shape or as understand the Myelination- the brain’s
to identify a different appearance, it is still the concept of balance increase in size allowing
perspective same thing for the development of
gross and fine motor
skills [ CITATION San06 \l
1033 ]

Reflection

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 Knowing and understanding the stages of development would greatly help a teacher implement appropriate learning strategies to meet the

needs of her students, because before a teacher can begin teaching, she must have an understanding of where her students are at developmentally. For

example, it wouldn’t make much sense for a kindergarten teacher to ask her students to demonstrate logically integrated thought, something that

doesn’t occur until the concrete operational stage. However, even if students are in the same grade level, they may not all be functioning at the same

operations level. A teacher could emphasize different methods of reasoning, which would provide critical directions so that the child can discover

concepts through investigation [ CITATION Ojo08 \l 1033 ]. While using this method, the student should be encouraged to monitor their own work and

reflect while the teacher studies the students work to better understand their thinking [ CITATION Ojo08 \l 1033 ].

Piaget believed that teachers should take an active role toward mentoring her students. Instead of feeding information to the students while

they sit passively and listen, he believed that learning should be a shared experience where students should be active and engaged [ CITATION Sal18 \l

1033 ]. Piaget’s method can be applied by resecting your students ideas and opinions, as well as providing plenty of hands-on classroom activities that

allow the students to experience the content for themselves [ CITATION Sal18 \l 1033 ]. It is also important that students are allowed the opportunity to

learn from their own peers, being that some students may be a different levels of knowledge, this activity will provide them with different viewpoints

and a well-rounded education [ CITATION Sal18 \l 1033 ].

Reflection, Part II

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 Children develop skills cognitively, linguistically, socially, emotionally, and physically. The process of developing these skills is something

every child goes through, and these skills build on each other. Understanding what a child is developmentally able to give us as educators is key to

being a successful teacher, especially since children sometimes develop at different rates. Understanding the different aspects of child development

will have a huge impact on how an educator teaches, and even speaks to her students. For example, a teacher would not use the same language when

speaking to a kindergartener as they would a fifth grader. While speaking to a kindergartener a teacher would use more simple verbiage and cut out

most incidental language, when a student is older, a teacher may be encouraged to use bigger words that may spark a curiosity within her students, to

the point that they ask what it means and begin using that same type of language themselves.

A student’s developmental stage significantly influences their ability to learn, in order to meet a student’s needs, a developmental approach to

teaching must be used. When planning for educational experiences the best time to teach the learner is when the learner is ready. However, the

educator doesn’t need to wait for teachable moments to occur, she can create teachable moments herself by taking an interest in each of her students

and attending to their individual needs [ CITATION Bas07 \l 1033 ].

Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson, to name a few, all have developmental theories. Educators put these theories into practice by linking

instructional strategies to the theories of human learning. The theories can work as a source of authenticating instructional strategies or as a

foundation of a specific strategy. The theories provide information, context, and characteristics of learners for better incorporation, they also allow

for dependable predictions of the effectiveness of a selected strategy [ CITATION Kha16 \l 1033 ]. In order to incorporate any theory of development in

instruction the educator must meet the five principles of instruction, which are: learners are engaged, existing knowledge is activated to serve as a

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foundation for new knowledge, new knowledge is demonstrated, the learner applies new knowledge, and the new knowledge is cohesive to the

learner’s world [ CITATION Kha16 \l 1033 ]. To provide effective instruction to all levels of development simultaneously the educator must analyze each

learner’s abilities, plan for instructional strategy, develop appropriate assessments, implement differentiated instruction, and conduct evaluative and

summative evaluations [ CITATION Kha16 \l 1033 ].

This matrix will serve as a guide in developing ways to meet the needs of learners at all different levels of development because it clearly

outlines what a student’s abilities should be at any given stage. It provides information on where a student should be at their age, and will inform an

educator on whether a student is falling behind and needs intervention, or if a student is gifted and needs more of a challenge. The information

provided in the matrix about the different stages of development can also be used as a tool to identify strengths in the various areas of development in

a student and be used to challenge said student.

References

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Bastable, S. B., & Dart, M. D. (2007). Nurse as educator. Jones and Bartlett.
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction. Boston: Perason.
Khalil, M. K., & Elkhider, I. A. (2016). Applying learning theories and instructional design models for effective instruction. Advances in physiology
education.
McLeod, S. (2018). Erik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development. Retrieved from Simply psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-
Erikson.html
McLeod, S. (2018). Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved from Simply psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html
Murphy, S. (2018, June). How to apply Piaget's theory in the classroom. Retrieved from The classroom : https://www.theclassroom.com/apply-
piagets-theory-classroom-7741298.html
Ojose, B. (2008). Applying Piaget's theory of cognitive development to mathematics instruction. The Mathematics Educator, 18(1).
Santrock. (2006). Eductional Psychology. McGraw Hill. Retrieved from https://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2014/03/Childdev.pdf
Very Well Mind. (2019, August). The Formal and Concrete Operational Stage. Retrieved from Very Well Mind:
https://www.verywellmind.com/formal-operational-stage-of-cognitive-development-2795459
Yue, C. (n.d.). Theories of language development. Retrieved from Kahn Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-
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