It is important for educators to know and identify milestones of the stages of child and adolescent development to implement appropriate strategies that meet the cognitive, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical needs of all students. This information is needed to identify the major concepts, principles, and learning theories related to the stages of development. This information will help in determining effective teaching practices, based on learning theories and research on child and adolescent development.
Part 1: Characteristics and Milestones
Utilizing the topic Resources and your own research, complete Part 1 of the “Stages of Child and Adolescent Development” template by identifying the characteristics and milestones of each developmental area (cognitive, linguistic, social-emotional, and physical) for each grade band.
Part 2: Learning Theories
Complete Part 2 of the “Stages of Child and Adolescent Development” template by identifying at least one learning theory for each developmental area and explaining how it supports the area. Discuss key concepts and major principles that support each learning theory identified.
Part 3: Reflection
Write a 250-500 word reflection examining instructional strategies across developmental domains. Include the following in your reflection:
How you can incorporate learning theories, including major concepts and key principles into your future teaching practice. Include in your discussion the differences between at least two of the grade bands and how this will affect your teaching at those levels.
How does understanding the unique aspects of development guide you to engage and meet the academic abilities of students with various abilities and exceptionalities (e.g., learning disabilities, ELLs, cultural factors, gifted/talented, and early finishers)?
Choose the grade band in which you are most interested in teaching and provide one instructional strategy for each of the developmental areas you could use to support students and their individual needs in the classroom.
Support your assignment with 2-3 scholarly resources.
While APA Style is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
