Name: Richel R.

Flores MAEE 111- Student

Research on the stages of development. Then, write an essay on the importance of knowing
these stages to teaching.
Children are already learning at birth and they develop and learn at a rapid pace their
early years. Although all children develop in their own unique way as a direct result of both
hereditary and environmental influences, there is a certain pattern of development that applies
to nearly all children.
Human development is one of the biggest contributing factors to human behavior. As
children go through their different stages of life, they approach learning in different ways.
Child development is a process involves learning and mastering skills like sitting, walking,
talking, skipping and tying shoes. Most children learn these skills called developmental
milestones, during predictable time periods. A child needs to develop some skills before he/
she can develop other skills.
The five main areas of development in which children develop skills:
 Cognitive Development: This is the child’s ability to learn and solve problems.
 Social and Emotional Development: This is the child’s ability to interact with others,
which includes being able to help themselves and self-control.
 Speech and Language Development: this is the child’s ability to both understand and
use language.
 Fine Motor Skill Development: This is the child’s ability to use small muscles,
specifically their hands and fingers to pick up small objects, hold a spoon, turn pages
in a book or use a crayon to draw.
 Gross Motor Skill Development: this is the child’s ability use large muscles.
All five areas continue to develop up to the age of 21 for most children, especially boys.
Although gross motor, fine motor and speech and language development have reached a
plateau, cognitive and social development will continue to develop.
As an educator we need to have an intricate understanding of human development, we
can use these understanding to make assessments about the behaviors of our learners in the
classroom. We must also remember that children are individuals and will not develop in the
five areas at the same rate. This is where the importance of differentiated instruction takes
place. All classroom is differentiated by definition, meaning that not every learner is in the
same place as others. And even though its so difficult in today’s world of education to find
any extra time to evaluate outside the box, but as a teacher we need to assess the capabilities
of our learners.
The importance for us educator’s understanding in our learners’ developmental stage is
clear. We, educators play a vital role in the socialization of our learners. Middle school is a
particularly time of great confusion and a time when learners are undergoing dramatic
changes that will shape who they are for the rest of their lives. By teaching them appropriate
socialization and helping them to develop a strong sense of personal identity, teachers can
lead their children in to becoming healthy well- developed adults.