Educators understand and apply knowledge of student growth and development.
This standard emphasizes that teachers should be aware of how students grow, develop, and learn over time. It is important to know that motor skills, sensory abilities, and overall physical health, and the basic needs according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs have a great impact on students’ learning. Also, with a deep understanding of how students regulate emotions, develop self-esteem and empathy, teachers can better support students’ emotional and social development.
Regarding learning, teachers need to understand that the mechanism of memory and working memory, the significance of spaced practice, interleaving, elaboration, dual coding, concrete examples, and retrieval practice can maximize the results of learning in students.
This standard also reminds teachers to expand their flexibility to facilitate students’ different styles and needs of learning. Each learner has a unique perspective and different life experience, which can help or hinder his or her learning. Likewise, learners have preferred styles and methods for interactions that affect their motivation. Teachers can create adaptations of modifications, meaning tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to facilitate students’ growth and development.
