NBPTS EMC PE cheat sheet

EMC Content Knowledge: Developmental and Learning Sciences

• Early childhood spans roughly birth to age 8 (NAEYC), aligning with grades P–3; EMC candidates must know physical, cognitive, language, and social-emotional milestones across this range.

• Piaget's sensorimotor stage (0–2) centers on object permanence and reflexive schemes; preoperational (2–7) shows symbolic thought, egocentrism, and conservation failure.

• Vygotsky's zone of proximal development is the gap between independent performance and performance with adult or peer scaffolding; private speech is a self-regulation tool, not a deficit.

• Erikson's early stages: trust vs. mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs. shame (1–3), initiative vs. guilt (3–6), industry vs. inferiority (6–12); each stage's resolution shapes classroom behavior.

• Bowlby and Ainsworth attachment patterns (secure, insecure-avoidant, insecure-resistant, disorganized) predict separation behavior and adult-response needs in early settings.

• Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model nests child development in microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem; family–school–community links sit in the mesosystem.

• Maslow's hierarchy is often misapplied as strict order; in practice safety and belonging needs must be met before higher-order learning engagement is reliable.

• Montessori, Reggio Emilia, HighScope, and Waldorf differ in child versus teacher direction, documentation, and materials; EMC assessment items test the underlying philosophy, not brand names.

• Universal Design for Learning (UDL) requires multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression; it is distinct from differentiation, which adapts to individual readiness.