Assignment:
Child Development Resource Review
Overview
As a professional in the field of child development, you must stay current with the latest research and practices.
Discussion one:
Initial Post - For this discussion, visit the Ashford University Library to locate an article that was published within the last 10 years on an area of child development that you find interesting and meaningful to your professional career. Some examples might include:
- Brain based research
- School readiness
- The role of technology on development
- Diverse family structures impact on development
- Access to health care
- Nutrition and wellness
After finding an appropriate scholarly resource, review and include the following in your discussion:
- Summarize the article in your own words.
- Explain how this article relates to other discussions or content you have learned in this course (ex: ages and stages, developmental milestones/domains/parenting styles).
- Discuss how you might use this knowledge in your future professional role.
- Be sure to provide an APA 6th edition citation within your discussion, so your peers can read your article.
Discussion two:
Initial Post - When students leave for summer vacation, they take with them all of the information they learned throughout the year. Unfortunately, some of this information is not retained as children's main focus during summer is usually "summer fun!" In fact, approximately two months or 22% of instructional time is typically lost during the summer months; as a result, teachers need to spend at least one month re-teaching the material to make up for this "summer regression" (John Hopkins Summer Learning Report, 2002). This summer regression idea can be applied to children who are also entering kindergarten. To ensure a child is ready for kindergarten, professionals who work with young children and/or parents can engage children in fun summertime activities that promote and maintain learning.
For this post you will start by providing a summary describing the stages of child development for children that are entering Kindergarten. Next, you will create an interactive factsheet. This factsheet will highlight each stage supported by activities and/or ideas that will help prepare and engage children for Kindergarten during the summer months. Include specific examples, videos, articles, or pictures of the developmental milestones that a child will need to meet to be successful upon entering kindergarten and provide appropriate summertime activities that families can engage in with their children:
- Motor development (e.g. balance on one foot for 10 seconds)
- Cognitive development (e.g. follow simple 3 step commands)
- Communication development (e.g. says rhyming words)
- Language development (e.g. tells stories)
- Social Emotional development (e.g. communicate needs and feelings)