CompetenciesforEarlyChildhoodProfessionalsAreaII ...

1 17Ra tionale: child dev elopm ent is the fou nd ation upon whichearly ch ildh oo d ause the psyc ho moto r, socioe motional,cogn itive, and lingu isticdevelopme nta l domains are inter- related,ea rly childh oo d profess iona ls in alltypesof progr ams ( ., familychild care hom es, early ch ildh ood educationcente rs) must com preh en d both th e process es of de ve lopmentand the adu lt srole in supporting eac h child s gr owth , developmen t, and :Humangrowt h, de velop men t, and learningbec ome prog re ssiv ely complexove rtime and are infl ue nced th rough a varie ty of expe rien ces and interactions. growth , de ve lopme nt, and learn ing proceed in predictablepa tternsref lect ing inc rea si ngly co mplexlevelsof org anizationacrossthe lifespan. Ea ch de vel opme nta l stag e has distin cti ve characteristics; how ever,progression oc cur s ov er time, bu ilding from the exp erie nces of earl iersta ges.

2 The psychomoto r, socio emotional, cogniti ve and linguisticdo ma ins ofdev el opme nt are integ rated with in the chil d so that as one area is affected,othe r are as ar e also affec te d. De ve lopme nt proce ed s at varyingrates from child -to- child , as well asacrossdev elopm ental domains fo r individua l children, refle cting th e uniquenat ure of ea ch chi ld. De ve lopme nt and learnin g are lifelo ng proce sses that must be nurturedinthe adult s wh o ca re for child ren . Pare nts and fa mi ly members gro w an d dev elop in their understandings ofthe ir chil dren as learnersand as members of communities outsidethehome . Community mem bers gro w in th eir ab ili ty to implement pro gramsan dpra ct ice s tha t mee t th e develo pmen tal and lea rn ing needs of youngchil dre n. Ea rl y chi ldhoodpro fes sion als rec ogn ize tha t as membersof the profession,the y int era ct wi th otherearly child ho od professionals as lifelong lea rn caus e growt h and de velopmen t are ge nerallypredictable, early child hoo dpr of essi on als can recogni ze miles to nes of hea lthy de velopment and signs ofpo tential de lay or di sabi ldre n exp res s th ei r de velo pi ng abi lities, interests,and lea rn ing in a vari ety ofway s; there fo re, as se ssmen t mus t refl ec t this dive rsity of express ion.

3 Beca us e growt h, devel op ment, and learningoccurin a var iety of way s,docu ment ation and as sess ment tool s and strategiesmus t ca pture thisvar iet y. Ear ly chi ldhood pr of es si on al s mus t be ab le to comprehend the pa tt er ns oftypi cal and at ypi cal deve lopm ent as they observeand inte rp re t childre n sdeve lopm ent al progress. Inf or mat ion gat heredon chi ldren s growth ,deve lopm ent , and lear ning is sh ared withear ly chi ldhoo d pr of es si on al s and wi thpare nt s/ guard ians to prov ide ongoi ng supportfor co nt inued prog res s or int er ve ld deve lopm ent the or ies and res ea rch guidepr ac tice for ear ly chi ldhood pro fe ss iona ls. Devel opm en ta l theor ies and ongo ing researchon hum an dev el opm ent and lea rni ng informprof es sional pr actices in the fiel d of ear lychi ldhood deve lopm en t and ed ucat ion. Res ear ch in hu ma n devel opm en t, learning,and teach ing young chi ldre n ser ve s as a guide to pla nn ing, implementing ,and ref lect ing on pr act ices em pl oyed by ea rly childhood pro fe ss iona ls.

4 Bas ed on cur re nt research on typi cal and atypical deve lopm en t, ea rl ychi ldhood prof es sional s impl em ent incl usiv e pra cti ces th at support andmaxi mize devel opm en t and lear ni ng for all enc ies fo r Early Chi ldh oo d ProfessionalsArea II:UnderstandingChil d GrowthandDevelopment18 Chi ldren are act ive learnerswh o draw on the ir dir ect physical/sensoryand socialexpe rience s to construct their own un de rs ta ndi ngs of the worldarou nd th em. Chi ldre n de ve lop a sen se of comp etenceand the abilityto interactef fe ct ively in soc ial co ntexts as th ey live and play in env ironme nts cha ra c-ter ized by mut ual respe ct. Chi ldre n const ruct kno wled ge about the wor ld in whichthey live throu ghchi ld-i ni ti at ed and tea ch er- su pp ortedplay. Chi ldre n de ve lop small an d large mo tor ski lls thro ugh playfulac tivity withpe er s and ca ring ad ult s.

5 Chi ldre n de ve lop co mm unicatio n skills as they interactwith oth er ch ildr enan d wi th adul ts wh o play an d ta lk with them . Chi ldre n de ve lop the ab ility to thin k and solve pro blemsas they play withma ter ials, idea s, pe ople, an d with variouscomponents of the na tu ra len vi ronment. Chi ldre n de ve lop abilitiesto th ink about and re sp ond in creativ e wa ys to thewor ld in whichthey live as th ey use their imag inatio ns to createnewpossi bil ities thro ugh playfulactivitywith mat erials and othe r ldren are be st unde rstoo d wit hin th e conte xt s of family, cultu re, and society. Al thoughchil dre n are un iqu e individ ua ls, their interaction s with famil yme mbe rs infl uenc e their develo pmen t, dis positio ns, an d lea rning eve n aschi ldre n impa ct their families. Fam ilies also inte ra ct with in en vir on me nt s and cultures,influ en cing andbe ing inf lue nce d thro ug h mu ltip le intera cti ons.

6 Ear ly chil dhoodprofessionals ar e awaretha t familiesan d communityme mbe rs are vital me mb ers of th e bro ader learningco mmunitywhocont ri but e to chi ldr en s he alth y growth , de velop me nt, an d learning. So cie ty ser ve s as a broadcon text in whi ch childrenand their families live,prov idi ng re sourc es and limitations th at supporthe alth y growthan dde ve lopm ent .Practices Based onKnowledge:Ba se d on cur ren t th eor ies an d ongoi ng resea rch in the ar ea s of huma n gro wth,de vel opm ent , and lear ning , ear ly ch ildhood professionalsin var ious care anded ucat ion setti ng s ( , chi ld care ce nt ers , familychild ca re hom es ) mu st :1. Basic Chi ld DevelopmentDem ons tra te kn owl edge of the pr inci ples an d patt erns of child de ve lopment .2. Typic al andAtypical Dev elo pmentUse kn owl edge of chi ld devel op ment an d lea rn ing to ide nti fy the str eng th sand cha llen ges of childre n with typi cal and atypical deve IndividualDif ferencesUse pr ac ti ce s that are res pon sive to theuni que ab ilities , tem pera ment s, lear ni ngsty les, and ge net ic inf lue nces on youngchi ldren as indi vi dual Influen cesonDevelop mentDem ons tra te kn owl edge of the impa ct offam ily, envi ron ment , cu ltur e, and soci ety inthe devel op me nt an d lea rn ing of you ngchi ldren.

7 5. StrategicFacili tationofDeve lopmentSt rat egi cal ly faci litat e deve lopm ent bynur turing chi ldren's act ive eng agem ent inlear ni ng throug h playf ul ac tivi ties .6. Col laborationCol labor at e wi th ot he r pro fess iona ls, famil ies, and co mm unity members toenha nce the devel op me nt an d lea rning of all chil childhoodprofe ssionalsat ALL LEVE LS ha veknowledge rel ate d to:Pro fess ional s at Leve l Iimpl em en t pr ac tices ac co rdi ngto pr og ram gu ide line s andpol ici es .They :Prof es sional s at Lev el IIdem ons trat e the ski lls pre se ntat the pre vi ous lev el . Inaddi tion, they wor kindependent ly and takeinitiat ive in des igni ngenvi ron me nt s to faci litat edeve lop me nt .They:Prof es sional s at Lev el IIIdem ons trat e the ski lls pre se ntat the pre vi ous lev el s. Inaddi tion, they des ign, as ses s,and modi fy the lear ni ngenvi ron me nt to meetchi ldren's changing needs.

8 They al so mo del excel lentpr act ices and encoura geot her s to deve lop prof ici encyin ski :Prof es si on al s at Le vel IVdem ons tr at e th e ski lls pr ese ntat the pr evi ou s level s. Inaddi ti on, they pro videlea de rship fo r planning,impl eme ntin g, asse ssing, andmodi fying th e prog ra m toens ur e contin uousimprov em en t. Th ey con du ctinq uir y to ad vance theundersta nd ing of bestpra cti ces fo r the ircom mun :1. Ba si c Chil d Deve lopmentalPa tter ns an dPri nc iple sRecogniz e ba sicpa tt erns ofdevelo pment tha t ch ar ac te rizeagegro ups( , 0-3mo ., 4-6mo ., 6-9mo.,9-12 mo . 12-18mo ., 18- 24 mo .,24 -36 mo.,3- year-o lds,4- ye ar -old s,5- yea r- olds), whilealsounders tandingtha t in dividualchildrendo not fo llowth esegeneralpat ter ns pre ciselyId entify physi cal , motor, co gn it ive,ling ui stic , soci al , andemotio nalmil estonesof de vel opmentShare inform ationon ch il d growthanddevelo pm ent wit h othe r profes-si onals andfamily membersCommunicatemaj or theories,research,andis suesreleva nt tochild growth , development ,andlearningto earlychildhood stafforassistants, families,andcommunitystakeholders19 Com pet enc Adaptationof PracticesasDevelopmentProceedsAr e awareth at childre n of dif ferentages andde ve lopment al levelsreq uir e diffe re nt method s of car e,educat ion,andguidan ceAdapt practicesfor nur turi ngchildr en as devel op ment progres sesMo delfo r other s howto adapted ucational practice s to fac ili tat ede vel opmentat inc re as ing lyco mplex andch al lenging le velsShareknowledgewi th ot he rsregardingcu rrenttheories.

9 Research,and policies thatenhancedevelopm entandle arn ingfrombi rthto De velopmentalDo mai nsDe monstra te awarenessth atdevelopment occursin dif fer entdomains(e .g., physical, cog niti ve,linguis tic,so cial,emotion al)De scr ib e th e diffe rentdo mains ofde vel opmentDe monstr ateawareness th atde vel opmentcanprogres s atvari ou s ra tes in di ffe rentdo mainsHel p others understand howdevel op ment occursin dif fer entdomainsand thatde vel opment ca nprogres s at var iousratesin di ffe rentdomainsNurture ability in otherstocomprehend thatratesofdevelopmentva ry Inte rconnectedness of DomainsRecognizetha t area s ofde velopmentar e in te rc on nectedUnderst andtha t active lea rni ngexperi encescan facili tatedevel op ment in more thanonedomainsi multan eouslyUs e knowle dgeof int erc onnect -ednessof do mai ns to: De si gn holistic lea rningex per iences thatca pi tali ze on theinte rconnectednessof dom ainstopr omote development Expla in thebe ha vi orsof childrenba sedon devel opment acrossdi ffer entdo mainsShare wi th others ( ,fa milyme mbers,as sistant s, sta ff)

10 Currentthe oriesandres earchtha t ex plainhowdevelopment is inte rconnectedacr ossdomains and ho w thi sin formati on canbe applied in facili-tat ingearlych ildhoodde vel Sta ges VersusCont inuo usDeve lop mentDemons tr at e awareness th atdevelo pment can be describ ed inter msof br oadsta geswit hinwhic hdevelo pment pro ceeds gr adu all yandcontinuouslyEx pla in howcontinu ou s increm entalch angesare rel atedto br oadde vel opmental stag esHelpot he rs comprehend theedu cat ion al impli cationsof vi ewingdevelopmentas co nti nuousversusstage-dependentAd vocateto others practic es tha tfos ter contin uo us developmentalpro gression whileusingstagesorbenchmarksto guideexpectati onsandpl an curriculumCom Variability in DevelopmentalMi les to nesRe cogniz e thatth e age ra ng es inwhichde ve lopment typ ic allyoc cursar e br oa d and over lapUse observ ati ons, work sampl es,and otherassessmenttoolstodetermine a ch il d s cu rre nt sk ill sand abilit iesCommuni cateto ot hersho wdevelopmentis as sessed an d theim plic ati onsof as se ssment forcurriculumde vel opmentStayup-to-dateon bestpractices(derivedfr om ev idence-basedresearch)fo r assessingdevelop -mental sta tus,make resourcesavailable to stafffo r ongoi ngdevelopm entalassessment s, andanalyzedate collected212.