Recognizing Difficulties & Supporting Students’ Physical Development
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Some children might experience difficulties with physical development. By observing children during physical activities and noting any persistent difficulties, teachers can identify potential issues and provide appropriate interventions or referrals. Here are some strategies to consider both for situations where you believe a child may be struggling due to physical development concerns and for helping promote improvement in physical development:
- Differentiated instruction: Offer alternative approaches to accommodate students with varying levels of proficiency. For instance, allow additional time for assignments requiring specific motor skills that may be emerging among your students, provide adaptive tools or technology, or offer alternative methods to demonstrate understanding (Subban, 2006).
- Multi-sensory techniques: Incorporate multi-sensory experiences into classroom activities to engage different sensory pathways and enhance physical development. For example, using textured materials, manipulatives, or sensory bins can provide tactile feedback and stimulate fine motor development, while incorporating movement such as jumping, dancing, or throwing/catching a ball during academic activities can support learning and gross motor skills (Shams & Seitz, 2008).
- Provide opportunities for practice: Create opportunities for the student to practice and improve their physical skills. For example, you could incorporate activities that involve fine motor skills (e.g., coloring, cutting, threading beads) or gross motor skills (e.g., hopping, skipping, balancing) into the classroom routine (Agarwal, Nunes & Blunt, 2021).
Assessing physical development can be done through observation, work samples, and standardized assessments when needed. Regular observation during classroom activities can provide valuable insights into students’ gross and fine motor abilities such as handwriting legibility or coordination in practical tasks.