"Making Assessment Work: Ten Practitioner Beliefs" was developed by the National Practitioner Advisory Group on Using Data to Inspire SEL Practice (NPAG), a group of social and emotional learning (SEL) practice leaders convened to provide insights on SEL. Educators, program leaders, and policymakers recognize the value of holistically…

Early intervention (EI) and early childhood special education (ECSE) practitioners participating in the Child Outcomes Summary (COS) process must understand age-expected development, the ages at which children typically acquire different skills. This resource provides answers to commonly asked questions about age anchoring as it applies to the COS…

For children age birth to five, physical, cognitive, linguistic, and social-emotional growth and development occur at a rapid pace. While all children in this age range may not reach developmental milestones (e.g., smiling, saying first words, taking first steps) at the same time, development that does not happen within an expected timeframe can…

We discuss the fruits of educational neuroscience research from our laboratory and show how the typical maturational timing milestones in bilingual language acquisition provide educators with a tool for differentiating a bilingual child experiencing language and reading delay versus deviance. Further, early schooling in two languages…

Although parents play a vital role in fostering healthy sexuality-related attitudes and behaviors among adolescents, many parents struggle with how to address sexuality-related topics with their adolescent child. This article provides practitioners with evidence-based frameworks and guidelines on how to work with parents in order to improve their…

Museum educators often think about what they want children to take away with them from museum visits. But at least as important is what children bring to these visits. Research in developmental psychology shows that children and adolescents progress through a sequence of ways of understanding knowledge and knowing--understanding that lies at the…

Research on the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and in particular, exposure with response prevention for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), has only been systematically evaluated in children and adolescents ages 7-17. These treatments do not address the unique characteristics of young children with OCD. This paper discusses…

Discusses Piaget's pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages and shows how this information sheds light on how children approach computers and computing, particularly with the LOGO programming language. (JN)

Discusses four significant areas of gender differences that affect children's approach to formal education: psychosexuality, brain structure, developmental maturity, and academic achievement. Since young males lag in psychosocial development, teachers must learn to assess children's developmental abilities and plan suitable curricular activities…

Supports articles in this "Educational Leadership" issue by Robert Salzer and by Lorrie A. Shepard and Mary Lee Smith concerning overtesting for developmental maturity and school readiness. Underlines differences between screening and readiness tests and sets out criteria for selection and usage--to determine appropriate services for young…

Describes a districtwide thinking skills program developed by teachers in an Illinois elementary school. (MD)

This report deals with teachers' professional development on the job within the context of teaching in schools. It links the quality of learning--and the opportunity to learn--to the quality of a teacher's capacity to know what to teach, how to teach, and to whom. Comments are made on the academic preparation of new teachers and the ways teachers…

Suggests that Piaget's early theory on moral development and moral education can elucidate the discussion about broad or narrow definitions of morality. Explores the connection between interaction and morality, mutual respect, and cooperation. Argues that Piaget's concept of mutual respect is an important educational device for dealing with…

Presents a protocol to teach students research skills in the technology/information age developed by one Westchester County, New York, school district. The district determined that research skills must be modeled and taught, and research skills must be taught developmentally, beginning in the elementary grades. The paper breaks the district's…

Discusses the findings of a recent study concerning the ability of an infant to see an object as a symbol. Reports that infants between 36 and 39 months old significantly outperformed informed infants between 30 and 32 months old on a symbolic task. (TW)