APPLYING KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT IN THE CLASSROOM AND COMMUNITY

Here you will find general strategies and pieces of advice that will help you get started in
nurturing children’s potential for positive growth.

 Develop warm relationships with your students. Affectionate relationships with

teachers and other caregivers promote children’s emotional well-being, academic
achievement and acceptance by peers.
 Consider what you have studied on children’s age related abilities. By addressing
children’s evolving abilities and interests, adults can select curricula and learning
experiences that are well matched to children’s learning needs. Many children follow
similar developmental pathways, but exceptions are everywhere. Children have
personal experiences that present unique challenges.

 Capitalize on each child’s strengths and take into consideration their weaknesses as
well. Individual children have different strengths, depending on many possible factors
and the relationship between those factors.
 Recognize that children’s immaturity serves for a purpose. Adults and children are
different for a reason, and you must take into consideration that gap when planning
your lessons.
 Nudge children towards advanced thinking and behaving. To some extent, adults must
meet children “where they are”, at children’s current level of development, however,
bearing in mind that every child has its potential, you must foster this potential by
introducing tasks of increasing complexity.
 Integrate the cultural values and customs of children into lessons. Backgrounds and
current social and cultural status give teachers important information when preparing
classes.

In order to strength your commitment to our important role as teachers, it is advisable

to continue studying and taking lessons and courses in child development, find
colleagues who share your concerns about children and share different knowledge and
perspectives with these colleagues.

FINAL REFLECTION:
Effective care of children and youngsters is based on an understanding of typical
development pathways and respect for individual differences. As a present or future
educator, you can identify and capitalize on individual children’s strengths and nudge
children toward increasing responsibility.