Child Development and Pedagogy

Child Development and Pedagogy is one of the most important subjects included under teaching entrance exams such as UPTET, CTET and other Teacher Eligibility Tests (TET). Child Development and Pedagogy aims to evaluate candidates about their knowledge of how to efficiently focus on teaching young children in engaging manner along with concentrating on a child’s overall development. It is a unique combination of theory and logical reasoning and the candidates can easily clear out the subject if they have read properly beforehand. Here is a blog that aims to bring you a detailed overview of Child Development and Pedagogy, its key topics, reference books as well as some important questions.

Highlights

Particulars	CTET Paper 1 Highlights	CTET Paper 2 Highlights
Exam mode	Online	Online
Number of subjects/sections	5	4
Names of subjects	Child Development and Pedagogy Language-I Language-II Mathematics Environmental Studies	Child Development and Pedagogy Language-I Language-II Mathematics and Science or Social Studies/Social Science
Duration of exam	2.5 hours (150 minutes)	2.5 hours (150 minutes)
Total questions	150	150

What is Child Development and Pedagogy?

An important subject included in Child Psychology, Child Development focuses on the elements of the process of the internal as well as external growth of a child with an emphasis on physical, cognitive, social, and personality development. This concept essentially encompasses the educational psychology of teaching and learning and how it can be facilitated during the growth years of a child (age group of 6-11 years and 11-14 years in different modules) especially through cognitive development as well as social and personality evolution of the individual.

Child Development and Pedagogy Syllabus

While preparing for the concept of Child Development and Pedagogy, there are a wide range of topics that you must know about. These topics have been given a rundown in the following table:

Child Development on Intelligence Theories	Concept of Development	Basic Concept of CDP
Socialization Process	Gender as a Social Construct	Principles of Child Development
Cognition and Emotion	Learning Development Theories	Children Thinking
Method of Teaching	Thinking and Learning	Child Development with Special Needs
Concepts of child-centred and progressive education	Distinction between Assessment for learning and assessment of learning	Cognition & emotions

Child Development and Pedagogy Reference Books

In order to gear up for the above-mentioned topics, you must have the necessary reference books to save precious time on researching about every topic separately. Here is the list of prominent books on Child Development and Pedagogy that you need to have while preparing for teaching exams such as TET:

S.No	Child Development and Pedagogy Books	Authors
1	Child Development & Pedagogy for CTET & STET (Paper 1 & 2) 2nd Edition	Shalini Punjabi
2	Wiley’s Child Development and Pedagogy Exam Goalpost for CTET and TETs Exams, Paper I-II, Class I-VIII	DT Editorial Services
3	A Complete Resource for CTET: Child Development and Pedagogy	Sandeep Kumar
4	Thought and Language	Lev Vygotsky
5	PRAGYA’s Child Development and Pedagogy: CDP for CTET	N.K Ullah
6	CTET and TETs Child Development and Pedagogy Paper 1 and 2	Arihant Experts

Exam Pattern

Paper 1

Subject	Number of Questions	Maximum Marks
Child Development and Pedagogy	30	30
Language I	30	30
Language II	30	30
Mathematics	30	30
Environmental Studies	30	30
Total	150	150

Paper 2

Subject	Number of Questions	Maximum Marks
Child Development and Pedagogy	30	30
Language I	30	30
Language II	30	30
Mathematics and Science(for Mathematics and Science teacher)	60	60
Social Studies/Social Science(for Social Studies/Social Science teacher)	60	60
Total	150	150

How to prepare for Child Development and Pedagogy section?

Here are a few essential tips that candidates must keep in mind at the time of preparation for the Child Development and Pedagogy section of the CTET 2020 exam.

• Students must have a thorough understanding of syllabus: The key to success in Child Development and Pedagogy section of CTET exam is to have a complete understanding of the syllabus and pattern. 
• Students are advised to study each topic minutely under the syllabus to have an understanding of the basic concepts of each section.
• Students can practice CTET question papers for testing themselves. This will help them gain confidence in the section. There are many papers and mock tests available for Child Development and Pedagogy questions.
• Another important tip is to not leave any question blank. The marking scheme prescribed for CTET 2020 indicates one mark for every correct answer without any negative marking in the exam. 

Important Questions and Answers

Now that you know the basics of this concept, we have curated a list of some of the important practice questions on Child Development and Pedagogy. 

1. As a teacher, who firmly believes in the social constructivist theory of Lev Vygotsky, which of the following methods would you prefer for assessing your students?

(a)  Collaborative projects
(b)  Standardized tests
(c)  Fact-based recall questions
(d)  Objective multiple-choice type questions

2. According to NCF, 2005, the role of a teacher has to be-

(a)  Authoritative
(b)  Permissive
(c)  Dictatorial
(d)  Facilitative

3. Research suggests that in a diverse classroom, a teacher’s expectations from her students,_____ their learning.

(a)  Have a significant impact on
(b)  Are the sole determinant of
(c)  Should not be correlated with
(d)  Do not have any effect on

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4. Inclusion of children with special needs:

(a)  Is an unrealistic goal
(b)  Is detrimental to children without special needs
(c)  Will increase the burden on schools
(d)  Requires a change in attitude, content and approach to teaching.

5. A teacher can enhance effective learning in her elementary classroom by:

(a)  Offering rewards for small steps in learning
(b) Encouraging competition amongst students
(c) Drill and practice
(d) Connecting the content to the lives of the students

6. Primary school children will learn most effectively in an atmosphere:

(a)  Where their emotional needs are met and they feel they are valued
(b)  Where they are mostly happy and playing games
(c)  Where the teacher is authoritative and clearly dictates what should be done
(d)  Where the focus is only on mastering primarily cognitive skills of reading, writing and mathematics

7. Which of the following is the most effective method to encourage conceptual development in students?

(a)  New concepts need to be understood on their own without any reference or help
(b)  Give students multiple examples and encourage them to use logic
(c)  Replace the students’ incorrect ideas with correct ones by asking them to memorize
(d)  Imposing your own views and ideas on the students and eliminating theirs

8. A child sees a crow flying past the window and says, “ A bird”. What does this suggest about the child’s thinking?

A. The child has previously-stored memories
B. The child has developed the concept of a ‘bird’
C. The child has developed some tools of language to communicate his experience

(a)  A and B
(b)  B and C
(c)  A, B and C
(d)  Only B

9. The cephalocaudal principle of development explains how development proceeds from:

(a)  General to specific functions
(b)  Differentiated to integrated functions
(c)  Rural to urban areas
(d)  Head to toe

10. A 5-year-old girl talks to herself while trying to fold a T-Shirt. Which of the following statements is correct in the context of the behaviour displayed?

(a)  Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky would explain this as the egocentric nature of the child’s thoughts.
(b)  Jean Piaget would explain this as egocentric speech, while Lev Vygotsky would explain this as the child’s attempt to regulate her actions through personal speech.
(c)  Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky would explain this as the child’s attempt to imitate her parents
(d)  Jean Piaget would explain this as social interaction, while Lev Vygotsky would explain this as an exploration.

1. a
2. d
3. a
4. d
5. d
6. a
7. b
8. c
9. d
10. b

Child Development and Pedagogy Worksheet

Thus, we hope that this blog has provided you with the key topics and questions to practice on Child Development and Pedagogy and which will help you crack your TET exam successfully. If you are aspiring to follow the path of an educator but don’t know which program to opt for, let our Leverage Edu experts guide you in selecting a suitable course and university that can equip you with the requisite training and knowledge to build your career in the esteemed profession of teaching.