EDUC3750

10 Things Every Educator

Should Know About
Human Development

Anjali Manaktola
 The Impact of the Prenatal
Environment

#1

We know that when a child walks through the

doors of a classroom there is a wealth of life
experiences that he or she brings in. But how
many of us considers the experiences a child
has prior to birth?

There are many genetic disorders that are

inherited from the parents: Huntington’s
disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Haemophilia, and
Mental Retardation are some examples. While
we may not be able to exert control over
genetic disorders, the mother can control
certain aspects of the intrauterine
environment. Teratogens cause damage to a
developing embryo or fetus. Reduction or
absence of known teratogens increase
chances of having a healthy baby.
Known teratogens:
• Pesticides
• Alcohol (causes Fetal Alcohol Syndrome)
• Smoking (causes ADHD)
• Chemicals
• Radiation
Knowledge of a student’s prenatal
environment can help teachers understand
their student’s disorders, diseases, and/or
allergies. By understanding characteristics
of disorders and students’ learning abilities
that may have been affected as a result of
a disease, teachers can cater to the needs
of their students in a more effective
manner. As educators, we should be aware
of the agents that affect children’s
learning and intelligence.
 Physical Changes

#2
Any grade 9 teacher will have no difficulty
describing the impact of raging hormones on
student behaviour! The intermediate/ senior
age group poses an interesting challenge to
educators due to the physical changes that
they are going through. Girls Boys
• Hips grow in proportion • Shoulders grow in
By their middle school years, students have to shoulders proportion to hips
fine-tuned their motor skills and have no • Greater coordination of • Increased strength and
difficulty coordinating large muscle groups. fine motor skills, and greater gross motor skills
Their immune systems take a hit and start to visual spatial skills as • 150% more muscle
decline – this means students in this age group well as balance production
are prone to more illnesses. During this • More fat production
period, students go through 2 major
developmental changes: growth spurt and
sexual maturation. Girls and boys develop
differently and across different time periods.

As teachers and role models of intermediate and

senior students, we need to be sensitive to the
changes that the students are going through.
Becoming aware of the physical development of our
students helps educators better understand the
strengths and weaknesses of our students, and their
abilities and needs. Students need our support and
guidance to mature physically and mentally.
 Your Students’ Brains

#3

It’s no surprise that the brain is where much

of student learning happens. As such, it only
makes sense to take a closer look at what
really goes on in the brain so that we can
improve student learning.

Myelination is the process by which new

cells called glia form. This process results in
faster communication between brain cells.
In adolescents, mylenation occurs
predominantly in the frontal lobe – the area
that is responsible for judgment, language
production, working memory, and
socialization (among other things). This
means that these processes are being
improved during the adolescent years.

The localized development of adolescent brains will

certainly impact the way in which an educator
should construct lessons, and furthermore our
interaction with the students in our class. Knowing
that the “executive” part of the brain is not
completely developed in teenagers, it is
unreasonable for teachers to expect the same level
of organizational, planning, and decision-making
skills as adults. It is also important to acknowledge
the developmental delay that is present in boys’
brains.
 Cognitive Development

#4

Adolescents typically have no difficulty

imagining what situations may be like
without having experienced them in
concrete ways. For example, “What if I had
a million dollars?” According to Piaget’s
stages of cognitive development, this is
referred to as formal operational thought.
This is particularly useful when thinking
about abstract concepts – both within and
outside the confines of the curriculum.

For intermediate/senior educators, the fact that most of

their students are at a formal operational stage of cognitive
development means that teachers can use abstract
examples and theories in their classroom. Class discussions
can be incredibly rich and engaging, and can involve moral
and ethical dilemmas that would be difficult to discuss in
primary and junior classes.

Of critical importance here is to consider those students

who are not cognitively developing at the same rate as their
peers. It is important to be aware of these students and
understand their difficulty in comprehending their inability
to think beyond concrete facts. As teachers, we should
ensure that our classroom allows for opportunity to learn
through the use of manipulatives to better understand
abstract concepts.
 All the Different Personalities
in Your Class

#5

The word personality is thrown around in

everyday language to mean the thing about
each individual that makes them unique.
Research in psychology has used the Myers-
Briggs Indicator of a way to categorize the
different personalities into 16 distinct
groups. Through a series of specific
questions, individuals are found to be a
combination of either Extroversion or
Introversion, Sensing or Intuition, Thinking
or Feeling, and Judging or Perceiving.

Building a positive learning that is conducive to student success starts with a teacher who is well aware of
the diverse range of personalities that may be present in her classroom. In addition, students should be
aware that there are a diverse range of students in the classroom. The MBTI personality test and a reflection
activity is an excellent starting point. In an ideal classroom, each student’s learning style would be catered
to. As teachers, we have a strong tendency to teach in the ways in which we prefer to learn. Upon analysis of
the various MBTI personality types, the need for teachers to be flexible is apparent. A high school teacher
may have a class that is composed of different mix of personalities and learning styles in every period of the
day. Each lesson plan needs to be modified, and the approach the teacher uses for each class differs
depending on the what the personality composition in the class is.
 Why Siblings Matter

#6

Recently, scientists have been investigating

the impact of birth order on personality and
behaviour of individuals. The underlying
message from this research is that every
child has a role in the family. Characteristics
of an only child, 1st born, 2nd born, middle
child, and last child differ immensely.

Birth Order Traits Associated with the Child

Cautious when interacting with other students, has a
1st Born strong inclination to try and please others, high
achiever, and natural leaders.

2nd or Middle Tend to be competitive with other students, and has
Born
difficulty following rules (rebel). Perfectionists, and
suppress their emotions. Enjoy writing activities.
Has little difficulty in group work activities, but tends to
Last Born procrastinate work. Works hard to please teacher,
and enjoy being the teacher’s pet.
Has difficulty with cooperative learning activities or
group work. Tends to be more mature than other
Only Child students, and as a result does not always understand
peers’ behaviours. Gets along well with the teacher.
By determining the order in which a
student was born in his or her family, an
educator can learn a lot about the
characteristics or behaviour of that
student. The proportion of first borns or
only children in the class can have a big
impact on the overall dynamics of the
class. As teachers, we should take
initiative to learn about the families of
our students so that we can better cater
to their individual needs.
 Generational Differences

#7

It’s not surprise that there are apparent

differences between generations; but, what
is so unique of the students of today, the
“millennial generation”? According to
research conducted by Howe and Strauss
(2000), the millennial generation are unique
in their characteristics when compared to
the generations prior to them. This
generation is fascinated by new technology.
They respond well to public activism, and
tend to gravitate toward group activities.
American data indicate that they are racially
and ethnically diverse – so much so that
about 20% of them have one immigrant
parent.

Part of being an effective educator is the responsibility

of being aware of and responding to the needs of your
students. Incorporation of the use of technology in
activities (as much as resources in the school will allow
for) will engage students and interest them.
Furthermore, use their positive response to public
activism in lesson planning. For example, a teacher
wanting to exemplify the disadvantages of stem cell
research can take students on a field trip to an activist
demonstration or rally against the issue.
 Co-operative Learning
Activities are Effective “Tell me and I will forget. Show me
#8 and I will remember,. Involve me
and I will understand.”

There has been a considerable amount of

psychological research on the academic and
social benefits of cooperative learning. In
general, research has indicated that
organizing learners into teams that are
composed of a variety of different
individuals (for example, gender, race,
ability level) results in greater pro-social
interaction. Even more applicable to the
classroom are research studies that have
shown that cooperative learning activities
create learners that are more accepting and
respectful of differences in the classroom,
have an increased ability to relate to more
kinds of people, and have a greater
understanding and appreciation of the
different strengths that diverse people can
bring to a team.

Group work provides opportunities for students to learn from each other, so that they can facilitate
intellectual, psychological, social, and emotional growth of their peers. Although many educators continue to
practice teacher-directed approaches, we need to ask ourselves whether or not our students are really
learning. This is a more effective means of allowing self discovery in individuals, compared to a teacher
directed approach. It is important to keep this in mind when developing lessons and conducting everyday
classroom activities.
 How Memory Works

#9

There is a wealth of research indicating the

impact of neural connections in the learning
process. New concepts and ideas are
incorporated in already existing schema of
ideas. While some scientists have studied how
the learning process occurs at the molecular
level, the research is of great value at the
behavioural level as well.

Bloom’s theory on learning (1954) indicates a hierarchy through which the learning process occurs; lower
order thinking skills would include knowledge and comprehension, while higher order thinking skills include
synthesis and evaluation. Of particular relevance to the issues at hand is the mention of synthesis as a
process by which higher order learning occurs. Synthetic questions would encompass those that ask
students to integrate, create, compose, generalize, or substitute the various concepts that they learn.
Students put the isolated concepts together and work on forming a whole and creating a new meaning or
structure with the use of those concepts, which encourages students to construct a “big picture” through
the use of the learned concepts. This is the point in a students learning where connections and links are
created and strengthened.
 The Importance of Teaching
the Whole Child

#10

The concept of teaching the whole child highlights the

importance of teaching being a holistic process that
includes taking physical, emotional, cognitive, social
and cultural components into consideration during
curriculum development and implementation. This
makes the material more meaningful to each individual
(as it has been developed with their individual needs in
mind) and it helps in forming connections to what they
already know, and their everyday lives.

Teachers have a tendency to teach students in ways in

which they, themselves, learn best. Unfortunately,
that creates a barrier for those students who do not
have similar learning styles to that of the teacher. As
teachers we must learn to be flexible to break through
these limitations and ensure that no one child in our
classroom is being left out due factors or reasons that
we can improve. Therefore, we can ensure that we are
taking on a holistic approach by making sure that the
students in the class are learning intellectually,
emotionally, and psychologically. Being aware of the
different forces that impact a child’s development
allows teachers to assist students to grow in many ways
that go beyond simple content knowledge. Teachers
have an everlasting impact on the lives of students and
should use their gift to create individuals who can think
analytically and creatively.
Resources:

Bloom, B.S., (Ed.). (1954). Taxonomy of education objectives: The classification of

educational goals; Handbook I: The cognitive domain. New York: Longman
Publishers.Piaget, J. (1965). The Moral Judgement of a Child. The Free Press: New
York.
Howe, N. & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials rising: The next great generation. New York ,
Vintage Books.
Johnson, D.S., Johnson, R., & Anderson, D. “Social Interdependence and Classroom Climate.”
The Journal of Psychology, 114, 13-142.
Laffier, Jennifer. EDUC3750 Lecture Presentations August 27, 2007 – November 15, 2007.
Faculty of Education, University of Ontario Institute of Technology.
Slavin, R.E. “Cooperative Learning: Applying Contact Theory in Desegregated
Schools.”Journal of Social Issues, 41(3), 45-63.