ED 101: CHILD & ADOLSCENT LEARNERS AND

LEARNING PRINCIPLE

EARLY
CHILDHOOD
 OVERVIEW
Early childhood comprises a number of life stages, marked by
developmental milestones. Here, we define early childhood as the
period from birth to age eight, although we also recognize the
importance of quality prenatal care in early childhood outcomes. Ours is
a definition shared by many leading national and international
organizations. We end with age eight because it reflects an important
developmental milestone. Age eight corresponds to third grade, a
critical year for mastery of the reading skills upon which further learning
will build and a reliable predictor for future education success.
 Lesson Outline

Socio-Emotional
Preschoolers’ Physical Cognitive Development
Development of the
Development of the Preschoolers
Preschooler
Preschoolers’
Physical
Development
The preschool years are a time of what seems like constant movement.
Preschoolers are busy moving in their environments, both indoors and outdoors.
They spend large amounts of time running, climbing, jumping, and chasing each
other; they scribble, paint, build, pour, cut with scissors, put puzzles together, and
string beads. Their motor skills are significantly refined from the time they were
toddlers; they are more coordinated than toddlers and more purposeful in their
actions. They demonstrate speed and strength, and they become increasingly
more independent.
 Physical Growth and Appearance
During the preschool years, there is a steady increase

in children’s height, weight, and
muscle tone. Compared with toddlers, preschoolers are longer and leaner. Their legs and
trunks continue to grow, and their heads are not so large in proportion to their bodies. As
preschoolers’ bodies develop over time, the areas in their brains that control movement
continue to mature, thus enabling them to perform gross-motor skills such as running,
jumping, throwing, climbing, kicking, skipping, and fine-motor skills such as stringing beads,
drawing, and cutting with scissors.
 MILESTONES
Let’s take a look at preschoolers’ physical development. Read the chart below for a closer look at what
preschoolers can do with their bodies. Keep in mind that each child is unique and that individual
differences exist in regard to the precise age at which children meet these milestones. Milestones
should not be seen as rigid checklists by which to judge or evaluate children’s development. Rather,
as highlighted in the Cognitive Development course, milestones provide a guide for when to expect
certain skills or behaviors to emerge in young children based on cognitive development, gross-motor
development, fine-motor development, hearing, speech, vision, and social-emotional development.
Cognitive
Development of
the Preschoolers
During preschool, amazing changes happen with children's thinking skills. Their
memories are becoming stronger, which means they often remember surprising
details. They can share their ideas in new and interesting ways. Their
imaginations are becoming a primary vehicle for play and learning. They begin to
compare, contrast, organize, analyze, and come up with more and more complex
ways to solve problems, which helps their math skills and scientific reasoning
become more sophisticated. This lesson will highlight cognitive developmental
milestones for preschoolers.
 MILESTONE
Watching preschool children’s thinking skills develop as they encounter new people, places,
and ideas is exciting. The chart below highlights cognitive development during the preschool
years. Keep in mind that individual differences exist when it comes to the specific age at
which children meet these milestones; each child is unique. As you may have already
learned in other courses, milestones provide a guide for when to expect certain skills or
behaviors to emerge.
Socio-Emotional
Development of
the Preschooler
Children’s emotional well-being during their early years has a powerful impact on
their social relationships. Children who are emotionally healthy are better able to
establish and maintain positive relationships with adults and peers (Trawick-
Smith, 2014). Consider some of the children in your own life and the different
stages in their social-emotional development as they were growing up.
 MILESTONE
The chart below provides a closer look at how preschoolers develop social-emotional skills
at different ages. Remember that individual differences exist when it comes to the precise
age at which children meet these milestones. Milestones should not be seen as rigid
checklists to judge children’s development, but rather as guides for when to expect certain
skills or behaviors to emerge in young children so you are prepared to meet their changing
needs.
ED 101: CHILD & ADOLSCENT LEARNERS AND
LEARNING PRINCIPLE

MIDDLE
CHILDHOOD
 OVERVIEW
A child’s developmental path in their middle childhood years (between
6 and 12 years of age) contributes substantially to the adolescent, and
adult they will become.
Middle childhood is a stage where children move into expanding roles
and environments. Children begin to spend more time away from their
family and spend more time in school and other activities. As they
experience more of the world around them, children begin to develop
their own identity.
 Lesson Outline

Socio-Emotional
Physical Development of Cognitive Development
Development of the
Primary Pupil of the Primary Schoolers
Primary Schoolers
Preschoolers’
Physical of the
Primary Pupil
 “There is always one moment in
childhood when the door opens and
lets the future in.” -Deepak Chopia,
Indian Physician and Author
 Physical Growth
Physical growth during the primary school years is slow but steady. Physical development
involves:
Having good muscles control and coordination
Developing eye-hand coordination
Having good personal hygiene and
Being aware of good safety habits
 Height and Weight

two inches in a year Weight – 6.5 lbs or approx. 2.95kgs a year

Factors to consider: -Genes - Climate -Food - Exercise -
Diseases /Illnesses - Medical conditions
 BONES AND MUSCLES

Childhood years are the peak bone-producing years. Because

children’s bones have proportionately more water and protein-
like materials and fewer minerals than adults, ensuring
adequate calcium intake help strengthening
 MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Children in this stage loves to move a lot – they run, skip, hop,
jump, tumble, roll and dance. Unimanual – require the use of
hand Bimanual – require the use of two hands Motor
development skills include coordination, balance, speed
Cognitive
Development of
the Primary
Schoolers
Think about the school-age children in your program. You have likely already
noticed the differences between the youngest 5-year-old and the oldest 12-year-
old. As school-age children grow from kindergarteners to pre-teens, their bodies
and minds undergo extraordinary changes. They are on their way to adulthood,
and they are learning the skills they need to be successful in their homes,
communities, and schools.
 MILESTONE
School-age children’s thinking skills become increasingly sophisticated as they encounter new
people, place, and ideas. They develop the ability to learn in abstract ways from books, art, movies,
and experiences. They are able to focus and concentrate on tasks for longer periods of time,
understand a variety of concepts and their memory improves significantly. You have the exciting
opportunity to witness some children’s first encounters with formal schooling and to watch others
learn as they move between grades and schools. As a school-age program staff member, you also
have the opportunity to observe all the ways school-age children learn outside of school time.
Socio-Emotional
Development of
the Primary
schooler
Entering primary school can be a challenging
transitional period, and it is important to ensure that
children have adequate school readiness skills to
manage this transition.
 MILESTONE
Over the past few years, besides academic readiness skills, growing attention has been
focused on social-emotional development for children entering Primary school. This
coincides with increasing awareness of research indicating that social-emotional difficulties
can lead to a variety of negative outcomes, such as emotional difficulties or poorer academic
achievement.
The opposite effect is also true; increased social-emotional competencies are linked with
school success and general positive life outcomes.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has outlined five core social
and emotional competencies that are important foundations for a child’s well-being in primary
school.
The 5 competencies are:

1. Self-awareness: The ability to identify one’s emotions and thoughts, and how they influence
behaviours. The ability to recognize one’s strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of
confidence to face challenging situations.

2. Self-management: The ability to successfully regulate one’s emotions, thoughts and behaviours,
whilst working towards personal and academic goals. This includes emotional regulation and
impulse control skills.

3. Social Awareness: The ability to emphasize and display perspective-taking skills. This includes
respecting people who may look and act differently from themselves.

4. Relationships skills: The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships. This
includes knowing how to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, negotiate conflict
successfully, and knowing when to seek help if required.

5. Responsible decision-making: The ability to make constructive choices about personal behaviour
and social interaction. This includes the ability to identify, analyse and problem-solve when faced
with interpersonal conflict.
 Resources
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/fcc/physical-development/lesson-
3#:~:text=Physical%20Growth%20and%20Appearance,in%20proportion%20
to%20their%20bodies.
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/preschool/cognitive-development/lesson-
2#:~:text=During%20preschool%2C%20amazing%20changes%20happen,veh
icle%20for%20play%20and%20learning.
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/preschool/social-and-emotional-
development/lesson-
2#:~:text=It%20entails%20taking%20turns%2C%20becoming,developing%2
0a%20positive%20self%2Dimage.
 Resources
https://www.gov.mb.ca/healthychild/mcad/middle.html#:~:text=Middle%20Chi
ldhood%20(Ages%206%2D12,into%20expanding%20roles%20and%20envir
onments.
https://www.slideshare.net/ElizhaBethGamot/the-primary-schooler-
169526019
https://www.virtuallabschool.org/school-age/cognitive-development/lesson-
2#:~:text=They%20begin%20to%20develop%20a,perform%20simple%20add
ition%20and%20subtraction.
https://thenewageparents.com/social-emotional-development-primary-
school-children/
Thank You
For Your Attention