PHYSICAL Development

Key points teachers need to know about Physical Development

-- Children grow and mature physically during K-12 schooling
-- Physical characteristics have implications in the classroom.
-- As children grow, their attention spans expands.

Grade
Levels
Characteristics Implications for teaching
(what teachers can do)
K-2nd ! can not control physical behavior
! gross motor skills improving
! fine motor skills difficult
! difficulty coloring within lines
! tires quickly
! reversals common
! often stands up to do work
! in a hurry
! noisy in the classroom
! teach private space
! include gross motor activities
! begin to introduce fine motor skills
! dont require perfect drawing
! give times of rest
! have students touch right, left arms
! allow appropriate times for standing
! provide appropriate times for quick
movement
! allow for some noise in your
classroom
3rd-5th ! full of energy
! needs physical release
! increased coordination
! fine motor skills developing
! loves a physical challenge
! numerous injuries
! able to focus attention
! likes competition
! provide active learning opportunities
! include stretch breaks during lessons
! include increasing complex physical
tasks
! provide challenges
! prior to activities, explain how to be
safe
! expect students to stay focus
! provide appropriate competition
6th-8th ! individuals mature at different rates
! more illness
! need for more sleep
! physical aggression not uncommon
! fine motor capacity good
! individual motor skills accelerate
rapidly
! food important for growth spurt
! boys are usually a year behind girls
! skin problems emerge
! hygiene is a key issue
! coordination doesnt keep up with
body changes
! assure students their development is
fine
! encourage students to eat healthfully,
get good sleep, drink water, and wash
hands
! provide appropriate ways to relieve
anger
! include fine motor tasks and projects
! encourage students to establish good
eating habits
! assure students their development is
normal
! encourage students to accept others
! encourage healthy hygiene habits

COGNITIVE Development
Main Theorist: Piaget

Key points teachers need to know about Cognitive Development:
Stages of Cognitive Development
" Sensorimotor: birth -2 Develops schemes through sense and motor activities
" Preoperational: 2-7 years old gradually able to conserve and decenter buy not capable of
operations
" Concrete operational: 7-11 years old solves problems by generalizing from concrete experiences.
" Formal operational: 11 years old and older able to deal with abstractions, and solve problems
systematically, engage in mental manipulations

9th-12th ! boys have a growth spurt
! girls may be fully mature physically
! sexually aware
! virtually all go through puberty
! alcohol and drugs often include
physical well-being
! circadian rhythm often changes
! preoccupied with looks
! accept changing bodies
! be sensitive to female concerns
! recognize relationship issues
! accept changing bodies and moods
! encourage healthy living as students
look up to their teachers
! consider starting school later!
! Seek to refocus attention off of looks
Grade
Levels
Characteristics Implications for teaching
(what teachers can do)
K-2nd ! have short attention span (about 5-7
minutes)
! tire easily
! break rules because they forget
! learn best through concrete learning
experiences
! like to talk
! learn best through repetition
! eager to learn
! change learning activities every 5-7
minutes
! give time to rest
! kindly remind students
! provide hands-on learning tasks
! ask students to think about their own
lives
! provide lots of opportunity to practice
! celebrate the joy of learning
3rd-5th ! have 8-10 minute attention span
! ask more in-depth questions
! want to discover how things work
! like to take things apart
! like to review learning tasks
! have increased interest in rules
! are intellectually curious
! are able to memorize
! realize they can control their learning
! change learning activities every 8-10
minutes
! ask deeper, thought-provoking questions
! provide ways for students to investigate
! let students be detectives
! provide opportunities for review/practice
! explain the rationale for rules
! tap into students curiosities
! ask students to memorize
! give choices for learning

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Social Development
Main Theorist(s): Erickson
-Psychosocial Theory...extends over a persons lifetime (8 developmental stages), each stage contains a
psychosocial crisis (is a new social/psychosocial challenge the person experiences and preferably
masters) with either a positive or negative response...crucial for an individual to develop sense of self and
self identity in order to achieve intimacy
-focuses on how nurture (a persons environment-in this case social encounters) has a large influence on
a persons development
Marcia : identity development in adolescents and young adults
Phinney: ethnic identity (psychosocial attitudes toward and behaviors related to membership in an ethnic
and racial group pg. 50)

Key points teachers need to know about Social Development:
-Eriksons theory revolves around how a person (or childs) environment greatly influences his or her
development. There are actions that teachers can take at the psychosocial development stages that give
a student the best possible chance for successfully overcoming several of the crises. The developmental
stages/crises are neither fixed at a specific age group nor are they critical periods. A child typically
6th-8th ! have 11-22 minute attention span
! prefer new tasks and experiences
! are able to abstract
! can establish and modify rules
! can see multiple perspectives
! love to argue
! like work that feels grown-up
! have interest in current events
! like to challenge authority
! can sustain reading for longer period
! change learning activities every 11-22
minutes
! provide new challenges
! offer abstract thinking tasks
! let student set and modify rules
! include multiple perspectives in learning
! "let students debate ideas
! " include research projects,
interviewing
! " include current events in class
discussion
! provide appropriate ways for students to
express ideas
! provide lots of reading opportunities
! need a classroom environment that is
open, supportive, and intellectually
stimulating
9th-12th ! have 14-28 minute attention span
! have more liberal political ideas
! admit errors and revise work
! become aware of problems in larger
world
! respond well to academic variety
and challenge
! easily bored
! solve problems systematically
! change activities every 14-28 minutes
! provide opportunities to discuss ideas
! let students revise to improve work
! provide ways to discuss and tackle larger
problems
! provide challenging tasks
! add variety
! ask students how they arrive at solutions
! need a classroom environment that is
open, supportive, and intellectually
stimulating
wrestles with industry and inferiority in elementary and middle school, but that is not to say that children
dont find themselves in that crisis during their high school or even college years. Though it is well studied
and well supported that certain consequences, whether they be beneficial or detrimental to a childs
development, result from each crisis, such consequences are not permanent. With intentional direction
and encouragement from adults around them, students development stories can be rewritten.


Grade
Levels
Characteristics Implications for teaching
(what teachers can do)
K-2nd ! Initiative vs. guilt - children need
opportunities to try new things
! ethnic identity (sense of
belonging)
! Learn gender consistency
! Developing a self-concept
! Develop social competence
(increased verbal strategies)
! Develop gender identity (when a
child biologically identifies as
male or female - age 6)
! Experience gender constancy
(when a child will comprehend
that their gender will not change
despite their actions, behaviors,
clothing descions, etc. - age 4
or 5)
! Social responding greatly
matures
! Able to respond simultaneously
to more than one peer (pg. 57)
! Learn how to include others in a
current activity
! Boost sense of initiative - give
students appropriate jobs to help out
around the classroom, dont provide
unsolicited help, avoid being overly
critical
! Teachers help students build a
positive self-concept through praise
and positive feedback
! Be aware of students and their
actions referring to gender roles (ex:
trucks for boys and dress up for
girls)
! Be aware your students are imitating
your gender-specific actions
! (AMY!)
3rd-5th
! Industry vs Inferiority
! peers and teachers are very
influential in the students life
! influencers either provide
opportunity for success or
failure; they help students
develop confidence or they can
make students feel as if they
are not competent with school
related material
! developing peer group
formation and identification of
his or her role in the group (pg.
57)
! patterns of social exchanges
form
! Still rely on authority figures to
guide behavior, but are
beginning to rely on peers as
well to establish norms

! be conscious of activities or
teaching approaches that involve
competition among the students or
focus on skill levels
! make sure to instill in students the
knowledge that they CAN be
successful,
! provide opportunities/tasks that
students will be able to complete so
they do not feel inferior
! avoid grouping students by ability so
as not to compare
! highlight mastery of skills in all
settings/areas
! have high expectations for all
students, not just for ones with high
skill level
! Begin establishing a system where
the students hold each other
accountable for behavior, while you
are still the overseer

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Emotional Development
Main Theorist(s): Peter Salovey and John Mayer (introducing emotional intelligence)--Daniel Goleman
(expanded to five: emotional understanding, responding to others emotions, emotional regulation, self-
motivation, emotions in relationships)
National Center for Innovation and Education -- SEL program principles guide classroom interventions:
1) Caring relationships are the foundation of lasting learning.
2) Emotions affect how and what we learn.
3) Goal setting and problem solving provide focus, direction, and energy for learning.

Key points teachers need to know about Emotional Development:
-Temperament- individual differences in emotions, activity, and self control that determine our response to
stimuli
6th-8th Crisis:
Identity vs. Identity diffusion
! Delineation between same-sex
and opposite-sex genders
relationships.
! Rigid social structures
! Psychosocial moratorium is a
time where adolescents
experience few responsibilities
and many opportunities for
exploring different roles
! This period can last many years
and is necessary for apt
development
! Structured freedom is healthy
and promotes proper growth
! During this time, students begin
to create their own philosophies
and beliefs
! Beware of creating a too competitive
environment
! Minimize comparisons between
students
! Focus on skill mastery
! Have high expectations for your
students
! Encourage variety through allowing
students to explore different
interests
! Incorporate peer and cultural
reference in the classroom
! Encourage students to consider
alternatives to the norm.
! Debate moral issues and provide
multiple perspectives
9th-12th Crisis:
Identity vs. Identity diffusions
! The teenager must achieve a
sense of identity in occupation,
sexroles, politics, and religion
Intimacy vs. isolation
! The adolescent must develop
intimate relationships or suffer
feelings of isolation
! Development of more rigid social
structures and subgroup norms
for behaviors
Intimacy vs. Isolation
! focus on developing close,
personal relationship with peers
! Isolation: fear of rejection
! Students employ cognitive
capabilities to enhance social
relationships
! encourage students to explore their
interests as they think about who
they want to be
! debate moral issues to provide
students with multiple perspectives
! involve peer groups somehow in a
positive way (teamwork, cooperative
groups including a variety of people)
! Encourage the importance of
developing close friendships
! Be available to students to confide in
and serve as a mentor
! Encourage students to serve society
! Focus on positive feedback on their
performance.
! Students who do not develop a
sense of self are more likely to suffer
when building intimate relationships
with others so promote identity
discussions in the classroom
-A childs temperament affects how students engage in and respond to classroom activities and academic
achievement
-Parents are a childs first emotional influences, but that declines around age 6 and the school becomes
an important influence on a childs management of emotions
-EI (emotional intelligence) is the ability to perceive, express, and manage emotions. Seen as a predictor
of success along with intellectual IQ
-Empathy develops as young as age 2 and continues to develop throughout school
Students ability to understand their emotions is linked to greater self-confidence, because understanding
emotions allows them to feel greater control over their inner self. (64)
Positive, supportive peer relationships translate into greater social accomplishments and academic
success. (67)

Grade
Levels
Characteristics Implications for teaching
(what teachers can do)
K-2nd
! Understanding of behavior and
consequences improves and
becomes more complex
! Empathy is learned and grows
as language develops/emotional
understanding improves
typically/more frequently shown
toward people the child already
knows
! Parents beliefs about emotion
and (often) socialization of
gendered expression/responses
shape how students respond to
feelings of anger (tendency of
boys to show) and sadness
(tendency of girls to show)
! Childrens understanding of
others emotions is often linked
to their understanding of their
own emotions
! Capable of feeling shame and
guilt
! Can easily recognize emotions
such as happiness and anger,
but have more trouble sensing
more subtle expressions (fear,
surprise, hope)
! Children who display victim
tendencies are more likely to
be bullied and harassed by their
peers.

! As their language improves,
active behavioral and cognitive
strategies for regulating their
emotions develop.

! Teach appropriate emotional
responses (such as cool
responses) that may include
dialogue, self-calming actions
(three fingers used in class), and
conflict-resolution skills
! Teach goal-setting to improve self-
motivation and a sense of
accomplishment
! Model/teach warm greetings and
host class meetings that foster a
sense of classroom community
! Teach emotional intelligence
(especially timing and staging)
! Model, model, model! Be aware of
your emotions and how you are
perceived by your students.

! Give the students the language to
express how they are feeling (I
statements)
! Help students recognize the emotion
they are feeling.
! Respond positively when students
respond to others in empathetic
ways.
3rd-5th
! Awareness that a person can
experience more than one
emotion at a given time
! Begin to identify, interpret, and
understand emotion, and as a
result, are more likely to show
empathy towards people they
know personally
! Use social referencing as a tool
to gauge personal response to a
situation
! Capable of feeling shame when
contradicting set moral
standards
! Emotions help to develop a
sense of right and wrong
! Ability to perceive subtle
expression of emotion (e.g.
surprise, disgust, fear, anger,
sadness)
! Ability to consider multifactorial
causes for emotions

! Culture and gender play a large
role in emotional expression
! Begin to develop self-
awareness and increased
emotional understanding leads
to greater empathy (which
extends to people they are not
close to)
! Affect how and what they learn,
focus more on more challenging
life situations, ex. loss
! Able to understanding one
anothers emotions better and
comprehend relationships

! Model self-reflective language to
deal with conflict/resolution in the
classroom (I feel __ when __.)
! Minimize triggers that cause the
amygdala to hijack the emotional
self-regulation process by keeping a
safe and stress-free environment
! Teach how to manage emotions
(calming techniques, perspective
taking)
! Your attitude towards content will
reflect students tone toward the
class as well
! Recognize that emotions influence
how and what students learn

! Foster a community that can openly
discuss feelings and why certain
emotions may arise in others and
not for some
! Encourage students to do their best
and never give up
! Have an attitude that accepts
mistakes and view them as a
learning opportunity
! Create a classroom that is safe and
allows students to openly try out
different emotions without the fear of
rejection
! Greet the students warmly everyday
! Try to understand what each student
is dealing with outside of the
classroom, keep open
communication with the school
counselor
! Set up a system of forgiveness/
conflict resolution and ability to
admit wrongdoing
6th-8th
! Experience feelings of shame
! Are better able to regulate their
strong emotions felt during
puberty
! Experience and can adjust to
their often changing emotions
! Feelings of self-consciousness
occur
! Become more in tune to socially
acceptable emotions
! Feelings of empathy increase
! Make each student feel comfortable
in their body and accept and expect
the changes
! Have students identify their negative
and positive moods
! Assure students that what they are
experiencing is normal and nothing
to be embarrassed about
! Have students recognize and reflect
on their publicly displayed emotions

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Moral Development
Main Theorist(s):
Piagets theory has two spectrums: moral realism (rules are followed because of the consequence) and
morality of cooperation (rules are ok to be broken if the reason is great enough).

Kohlbergs theory of moral reasoning has three parts: pre-conventional (younger children focus on the
consequences of their behavior), conventional (children start to conform to family rules and societal laws),
and post-conventional (older children develop their own personal morality and opinions about the morality
of society).

Selmans theory is about how children take on perspectives. Younger children start with an egocentric
viewpoint. Children in early childhood age will take on both a self- reflective role and will begin to
understand the perspectives of others. Once children reach late adolescence they should be able to
understand social conventions (social and conventional system role taking).

Martin Hoffman developed a theory on empathy. His theory states that infants have global empathy
(infants cry when other infants cry), toddlers have egocentric empathy (toddlers try to comfort the crying
adult by giving her their favorite toy), and children before the age of 2 or 3 have empathy for anothers
feelings.

Carol Gilligan believed women are more focused on responding to others needs in intimate relationships
and have a caring orientation while men are more focused on independence and individuality and have
a justice orientation. There is no evidence that there are separate orientations --justice versus caring--
but Gilligan suggested for more attention on the roles of caring and empathy in moral reasoning. (Lillian)

Eisenbergs theory talks about the human tendency for prosocial behavior which encompasses
voluntary actions that are intended to benefit others through helping or sharing. Prosocial reasoning and
behavior increases as children move through the five levels. In one of the levels children become capable
of using perspective taking and empathy, which is the ability to understand anothers situation,
psychological state and emotions. (Lillian

Key points teachers need to know about Moral Development:

-Children go through stages of moral reasoning and development as they mature. Generally children in
the early stage believe that right and wrong are determined by the consequences of behavior and that
rules are absolute.
9th-12th Adolescents experience:
! intense emotions
! frequently changing emotions
! awareness of emotions
! understand consequences of
emotions
! ability to navigate personal
relationship even when strong
emotions exists.
! Model emotional regulation
! Acknowledge stressful/hard days,
but continue to teach effectively
! Reassure students that its OK to
feel a lot of things and encourage
students to think through how to
deal with emotional situations
! Assign journal/dyads and have
students identify how they are
feeling, why, and what they can do
! Establish consequences for
inappropriate emotional behavioral.
-Egocentrism is a focus on self with little consideration for other people or their perspectives. This
happens in the earlier stage. This may help teachers understand why students are acting and reasoning
with a limited perspective.
-Eventually children focus on external authorities and standards of society to determine what is right and
wrong. Teachers can help students to move beyond this stage (which does not happen with all people) by
helping them to begin thinking about and establishing personal convictions about what is right and wrong.

-Research in prosocial behavior found that girls and boys do not have different levels of empathy.
However, girls may be expected to have higher levels of empathy. Therefore, teachers can expect for all
students to have empathy. Teachers can help students to practice perspective-taking skills for all students
because it helps our moral development for both genders.

-Aggressive behavior are due to biological predisposition, family influences, peer influences, cultural
differences and exposure to violent games etc. Teachers should know that some aggressive children
could have sociomoral developmental delay in which they see themselves as the victim ( they externalize
blame) or think that their actions are not serious (they mislabel or minimize their actions). Some students
might rationalize their aggressive behaviors to decrease the empathy- based guilt that they feel. Some
students may also have hostile attributional bias, which is a tendency to interpret another persons
intentions as hostile.

-Family play a big role in the students moral development. Partner with the parents to promote moral
development of the students. Model appropriate behavior and develop instructional strategies. Most
importantly, practice what you preach regarding moral conduct!

-Peer interaction is important for learning how to share and cooperate with others. Teachers should
encourage peer interactions by using cooperative learning strategies, which will help students practice
cooperating with others to determine fairness and justice.

-Teachers can help create a classroom with a climate of trust and an ethic of caring, where students feel
safe, supported and cared for. Some suggestions for this is for teachers to
-interact with students outside of class
-share minor personal information
-use physical posture to that show a trusting and caring attitude ex. lean down
-be consistent and predictable in responses and routines

-Teachers can establish standards and consequences by
-helping students understand reasons behind rules
-including prosocial behavior in rules for the classroom
-holding regular class meetings on collaborative problem solving to stop misbehavior in class
-giving students more opportunities to contribute to make rules and make choices

-Teachers can combine learning with service and get involved in community service.

-Teachers can include moral dilemmas in the academic content that they are teaching

-Teachers can encourage students to challenge the status quo in order to further their perspective-taking
skills and advance their moral reasoning.

(Lillian)

Grade
Levels
Characteristics Implications for teaching
(what teachers can do)
K-2nd Early elementary students are in the
moral realism stage defined by Piaget in
which they see moral choices by their
consequences and see rules as
absolute.
In Kohlbergs theory of moral
reasoning, early elementary students are
at the preconventional stage where they
focus on consequences of behavior and
personal rewards.
In Eisenbergs Theory of prosocial
behavior early elementary students will
focus on their own self interests
(hedonistic orientation), but will help
others in need (needs orientation).
In Hoffmans empathy theory, these
age children show global and egocentric
empathy.

! Piagets Moral realism where
right and wrong are determined
by whether they are punished.
There is no thought to intention
of the behavior, just that the
behavior happened
! Kohlbergs preconventional
stage: punishment/obedience
and egocentrism
! Perspective taking: elementary
students are in the social-
informational role taking stage:
others can have different
thoughts but they most likely
only focus on their own thoughts
and perspective
Children need to be told consequences for
their actions.

Teachers could use positive and negative
reinforcement (maybe use of punishment).

Teachers should encourage sharing and
helping.

Teachers can show how there is an equal
exchange and manipulative reciprocity when
explaining moral reasoning (Lillian).

Teachers can reinforce good examples of
empathy that they see children doing

! Be upfront with the rules and the
consequences of broken rules so
that they learn right away what is
right and what is wrong.
! Children in Kohlbergs first stage are
egocentric and are only focused on
themselves, and the consequences
of their own actions. Teachers can
help children through punishments
that cause them to realize that what
they did was wrong
! Teachers should realize that this
could make it difficult in terms of
fairness in the classroom.
! need to create a climate of trust
! must establish a discipline routine
that allows students to understand
the rules and why they are in place
3rd-5th
develop self-reflection
start growing out of egocentrism
can understand another persons
perspective based on their own
perspective
engage in prosocial behavior based on
what society believes it means to be a
good person

! (adding to what Kara already
said) they can begin to
understand personal decisions
and that in certain situations
breaking rules can be
acceptable
! In older elementary, children
can begin to understand
empathy and their peers
situation or physiological state,
but most engage in prosocial
behavior of either good or
bad person
! they can self-reflect on how
another will feel
! Girls tend to have much more
empathy than boys, whereas
boys grown independence
! They determine outcome of
situations

! model empathy
! encourage students to consider their
emotions in conflict situations
! create activities that cause students
to walk in someone elses shoes
! provide opportunities for students to
do nice things for one another

! discipline with emotions
! show love and affection to help the
childs emotional state
! set high standards and expectations
! be a good role model of moral
conduct
! include the child in decisions,
especially appreciate anothers
perspective
! encourage children to think of
others needs
! encourage peer interaction by using
cooperative learning strategies
! make sure the environment of the
room has an element of trust and
caring and have routine
! interact with students outside of
class, with few personal stories, and
display appropriate physical posture
! help instil importance of rules
! help instil the idea of community
service, and curriculums have
moral issues and from a moral
standpoint
6th-8th
! exercise perspective taking,
ability to understand another
persons situation.
! understands social convention
applicable to larger group rather
than individual basis
! Focus on personal decision
making and how rules can be
bent
! Boys more justice oriented,
focus on individual rights
! Girls more caring oriented,
focus on interpersonal
relationships

! Engage with students outside of
instructional time to create
supportive and trusting atmosphere
! Teacher can share hobbies or
interest and get to know students
likes and dislikes.
! Give students opportunity to
contribute to the creation of rules
! Implement community service into
curriculum
! Discuss moral issues applicable to
lessons.
! Meet students on their level or
putting a hand on their shoulder to
relay trust.

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9th-12th Adolescents begin to:
! develop their own moral code
! increase concern for society as
a whole
! consider ways to benefit society
! develop empathy for anothers
feelings
! Girls tend to be have more
empathy than guys.

! encourage community service
! develop a climate of trust via
consistency in rules and
expectations
! give opportunities for students to
contribute to development of rules
! provide choices for students
! give opportunities for students to
state the rationale for their thinking
! incorporate moral dilemmas in
lessons
! challenge the status quo of
adolescent behavior
! encourage students to challenge the
status quo of society
! include role-playing to encourage
perspective taking skills
! include in-class debates