Swim ppt ch01

Chapter 1

A Developmental Perspective on Educating Infants and Toddlers

©2014 Cengage Learning.All Rights Reserved.

Introduction

• What do people who work with young children need to know?

• What do they need to be able to do?

Answers are found in research and professional standards


Taking a Developmental Perspective

• Developmental Perspective– Each child’s genetic code interacts with

environmental factors to result in ‘full potential’– From the moment of birth, the child and the

people around the child affect each other– Teachers must learn to be mindful in all of their

interactions• Magda Gerber’s 10 principles of caregiving


Taking a Developmental Perspective

• Four developmental domains will be used in this book:– Physical– Emotional– Social– Cognitive/Language

• Once you understand the normative patterns or milestones, you can more easily recognize and honor the unique patterns that each child demonstrates


Using a Developmental Profile

• Evaluate each child in all the skill behaviors of the age range in order to establish an average age level for each of the four developmental areas on the profile– Appendix A: Developmental Prescription– By comparing relative strengths and weaknesses,

curriculum can be designed to enhance each child’s development

– Development is a continuing process wherein children grow in the same direction at different rates


Theories on Child Development

• Past theories and views

– John Locke– Jean-Jacques Rousseau– Charles Darwin– G. Stanley Hall– Arnold Gesell– Alfred Binet

– Erik Erikson– John Watson– Skinner and Belmont– A. Bandura– Jean Piaget– Bowlby


Theories on Child Development

• More recent theories and views:– Brain Development Theory: Based upon

innovations in technology– Ecological Systems Theory: Brofenbrenner– Socialcultural Theory: Vygotsky


Unique Patterns of Development

• A controversy:– Universal versus unique patterns of development

• Only through taking a developmental perspective and paying close attention to both universal and unique patterns of development will we be able to determine the practices to optimally enhance the growth and development of individual infants and toddlers


Current Trends in Development and Education

• Current trends considered in this section reflect the research being completed concerning brain development, attachment theory, and sociocultural theory– More children in nonfamilial care settings– Family Grouping– Continuity of Care– Primary Caregiving Systems– Partnering with Families– Early Head Start


Valuing Cultural Diversity

• Accept the challenge to develop a multicultural curriculum that involves both parents and children

• Respect, embrace and value differences• Create scripts for getting to know each family• Respect infants’ wants, needs and desires• Understanding Bronfenbrenner’s Bidirectional

relationships


Spotlight on Research

• Essential Life Skills for Infants– Minds in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills

Every Child Needs (Galinsky 2010)– Recognize and build on the competencies of very

young children– We must recognize how each area of

development works with other areas to result in complex understanding and behaviors


Checkpoint Discussion Questions

• Justify why an infant-toddler teacher should employ a developmental perspective in his/her work.

• Explain what the four developmental domains are and why it is useful, yet artificial, to divide development in this manner.

• Select two developmental theories. Compare and contrast them; in other words, explain how they are alike and how they are different.

• Explain some of the current trends in early care and development.

• How does the diversity of families in today’s society influence early education programs and teachers?
