General
Session 2a - Child development
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A] Introduction
The brain is the centre of human development and brain development takes place throughout life but the window period for maximum brain growth is the golden 1000 days (conception - five years).
In this module, we will explore:
- The critical periods in brain development
- What factors promote brain development
- What stressors hinder brain development
- What teachers and school leaders can do to support positive brain development
- The five child development domains
- Development milestones and their implications to teaching and learning
Click on the icon below to access the tutorial related to this unit of study.B] Tutorial content
Click the 'package' below to access the tutorial materials and activities.
- Complete the activity
C] Activities
Forum discussion
Discuss the following two topics by accessing the forum discussion tool below:- What can teachers and school leaders do to promote positive child development in your schools?
- Having watched the video titled: 'How does income affect childhood brain development', discuss whether or not you agree with their correlation between income levels and brain development? How can you influence change with regards to this in your district?
Each person should post at least two comments and two replies.
- Post replies: 2 Make forum posts: 2
Assignment
Having viewed the tutorial where the following five areas were identified as aiding 'positive child development', using the tool below rate the performance of your school in each of these learning practices:
- Teaching through learning trajectories
- Using a mix of instructional methods
- Using tiered intervention approaches
- Ensuring continuity and alignment
- Engaging in language-rich play
Summary
Children require holistic development and you, as the school leader, need to ensure that your school is able to promote this development.
Sometimes, however, a child displays atypical development and does not exhibit the achievement of expected development milestones. In these cases, teachers need to have the skills to assist the children appropriately.
In the next module, we will be examining how to support children with special needs.
E] Module resources
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