Title: Analyze child development theories and their implications for early childhood education best practices.
Course: Early Childhood, Education, and Services II (19153-II) > Section: Promoting Physical, Cognitive, Social, and Emotional Development

Analysis should include comparing and contrasting various theorists (e.g. Skinner, Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson) and their theories on instructional methods and showing their implications for child development and childcare practices.

Process/Skill Questions:

Thinking

- What is a theory?
- Who are past theorists that researched early childhood development?
- What were the theorists’ beliefs on how children learn and develop?
- What are developmentally appropriate practices?
- What levels of cognitive development are common at specified ages and stages (e.g., infancy, toddler, preschooler, school age)?
- What levels of physical development are common at specified ages and stages (e.g., infancy, toddler, preschooler, school age)?
- What levels of social and emotional development are common at specified ages and stages (e.g., infancy, toddler, preschooler, school age)?
- How do children learn problem-solving skills?
- When do children generally learn rote counting skills?
- How do children express ordering skills?
- When do children develop an understanding of time or temporal relationships?
- How can play benefit children?
- What activities promote physical, social, and emotional development in in children?
- When do children form a sense of self, and how do they express it?

Communication

- What skills are necessary to communicate with children with different developmental needs?
- How can an early childhood professional communicate with children with different developmental needs?
- How can early childhood professionals provide a partnership between home and school?
- How can early childhood professionals share standards and practices with parents and children?
- What factors enhance or limit the ability to communicate with children of different ages and developmental needs?

Leadership

- What leadership qualities are required to implement developmentally appropriate practices?
- What factors enhance or limit the ability to communicate with children of different ages and developmental needs?

Management

- What training and resources are required to implement developmentally appropriate practices?
- What management strategies can be developed to encourage the use of developmentally appropriate practices?

Teacher Resource:

- Virginia’s Milestones of Child Development