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The Science Behind Teaching: Why Child Development Matters?

Writer's picture: Devesh ChamoliDevesh Chamoli


Imagine you're teaching in a classroom filled with students, everyone of them is unique. Some students might grasps new concepts quickly, their hands are shooting up in eagerness to participate. While others are quite and are still developing the confidence to speak up. A teacher is just not a person who teaches the students but a teacher is also a facilitator, a guide on a journey of intellectual and personal growth. But how do we tailor the approach to meet the needs of each unique learner ? This is where the vital science of child development comes in.


The principles of development help teachers to understand that the order or sequence of development in children is generally the same. However each and every child is unique in its rate of development. In a classroom there can be children the same age who have progressed to different levels in each developmental area.


Knowledge of developmental stages will be most significant for a teacher dealing with a class comprising students of mixed age groups. Individual differences among the students can be the basis for multiple modes of teaching and multiple modes of assessment. The individual differences of students in a classroom are advantageous as they lead teacher to explore a wider pool of cognitive structures.


Understanding the principles of development will help teachers to:

1.     Understand how students learn and why some students grasps concepts quickly while other students struggle to do so.

2.     To provide the student proper guidance.

3.     Provide the children with appropriate learning opportunities.

4.     Curriculum development.

5.     Be clear about teaching diverse learners and providing a variety of learning situations.

6.     To keep appropriate expectations from students.

7.     Understand the individual differences.

8.     Plan the appropriate activities to help children in successfully developing skills according to their developmental stage.

9.     Adapt instructional strategies based on the knowledge of developmental factors.

10.  Effectively handling the different learning styles of the learners.

11.  Assessing the individual needs of all students and teach them accordingly.

12.  Assist children with learning difficulties to succeed at the school.

13.  Help socially unskilled children and adolescents to prevent the emotional difficulties.


CONCLUSION

 Understanding child development allows teachers to weave a rich learning experience that caters to each student's individual needs. By recognizing the common developmental sequence alongside the distinct pace of each child, teachers can create a classroom that fosters intellectual and personal growth for all.


Thanks for reading!


 

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