CH 9 (Early Childhood: Cognitive Development) Free Essay Example from StudyTiger

____&____were famous for their descriptions of cognition.

Jean Piaget & Lev Vygotsky

preoperational intelligence

-Piaget's 2nd stage of cognition -early childhood (2-6 yrs old) -includes language/imagination (which involves symbolic thought), but logical, operational thinking (reasoning processes) is not yet possible at this stage. (but they're no longer limited to just senses/motor skills)

symbolic thought

a major accomplishment of preoperational intelligence that allows a child to think symbolically, including understanding that words can refer to things not seen and that an item can symbolize something else -when children can think symbolically, they become more adept at pretending and it allows the language explosion as a child can talk about what they think, imagine/remember

What are 4 limitations of preoperational thought that make logic difficult until about age 6?

centration focus on appearance static reasoning irreversibility

centration

a characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child focuses (centers) on one idea, excluding all others

egocentrism

-a type of centrism -Piaget's term for children's tendency to think about the world entirely from their own personal perspective -literally ''self-centeredness'', but egocentrism does not mean selfishness

focus on appearance

a characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent. (A thing is whatever it appears to be)

What is the following an example of? A girl given a short haircut might worry that she has turned into a boy; a tall child is thought to be older.

focus on appearance

What is the following an example of? Young children may insist that lions/tigers seen at the zoo or in books cannot be cats b/c the children ''center'' on the house pet aspect of the cats they know. Or they may insist that a daddy is a father not a brother b/c they center on the role that each family member fills for them.

centration

What is this an example of? A boy gives his mom a model car as a birthday present. He even carefully wraps the present and gives it to his mom /w an expression that shows that he expects her to love it.

egocentrism

static reasoning

a characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child think that nothing changes. Whatever is now has always been and always will

irreversibility

a characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child thinks that nothing can be undone. A thing cannot be restored to the way it was before a change occurred

What is the following an example of? A child cries when the mom puts lettuce on her sandwich. Overwhelmed by her desire to have things ''just right'' she might reject the food even after the lettuce is removed b/c she believes that what is done cannot be undone.

irreversibility

What is the following an example of? Many children can't imagine that their own parents were once children. Once they grasp that, they still don't understand developmental change.

static reasoning

What is the following an example of? A young boy wants a live TV show turned off while he goes to bathroom and become furious and unbelieving when his parents tell him a particular program cannot be pasued

static reasoning

the principle that the amount of a substance remains the same even when it changes appearances

conservation

What does the following instance show? Suppose there are 2 identical glasses that contain the same amount of a liquid. When one glass is pour into a wider jar and the other into a taller, narrower glass, they will insist that the narrower glass (in which the liquid level is higher) has more.

This shows that preoprational children don't understand conservation of liquids b/c they focus on what they see (appearance), noticing only the immediate (static) condition. It doesn't occur to them that they could reverse the process and re-create the liquid's lvl of a moment earlier (irreversibly).

the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive

animism

Closely related to animism is treating nonhuman animals as similar to humans. For example, a dog might be told wishes/worried by a child who believes the pet understands.sympathizes. Or a dead bird discovered by a child might bring forth tears and require a burial ceremony. Children simultaneously hold rational/irrational ideas. Magical sayings are common. Wishing on a star/eyelash, saying ''Cross my heart and hope to die'', holding one's breath when passing a cemetery, and much more are frequent behaviors even if their parents belittle them.

Egocentric reasoning leads many children to believe that clouds, mountains and trees have feelings, goals, and capabilities. For instance, a child might talk to a tree and ask for its protection from the rain. This is an example of what?

animism

Piaget was right that young children are not as logical as older children, but he didn't realize how much they understand. Piaget underestimated cognition during early childhood, just as he did during infancy. He relied on words spoken in an experimental setting rather than on nonverbal signs in a play context

Piaget thought that preoperational children can't classify objects properly, that they don't grasp that dogs/cats are all categories of animals. But this isn;t necessarily accurate. Children are confused about the relationships between superordinate categories and subordinate categories . However, even a 3-rd old can classify things if the categories are ones they use often, such as that cereal/toast are part of breakfast.

Describe Vygotsky's approach to cognition

Social Cultural theory -emphasizes that the thinking of young children, instead of being egocentric, is shaped by the wishes/emotions of others -emphasized the social & cultural aspect of young children's cognition in contrast to Piaget's emphasis on the individual. He believed that children are guided as apprentices within their zone of proximal development. Other ppl are mentors, providing the scaffolding that helps children master various skills and concepts.

Vygotsky believed that every aspect of children's cognitiive development is embedded in social context. Children are curious/observant, they ask questions and seek answers from more knowledgeable peers. These answers are affected by the mentors' perception/ethnotheories--that is, their culture.

How is a child an apprentice in thinking, according to Vygotsky?

-someone whose intellectual growth is stimulated/directed by older and more skilled members of a society -parents are usually the first mentors though other teachers, family members/peers are mentors as well.

the process by which ppl learn from others who guide their experiences/explorations -thinking occurs as child/mentor engaged in this, sharing social experiences/explorations

guided participation

According to Vygotsky, children learn b/c their mentors do what?

-present challenges -offer assistance (w/o taking over) -add crucial information -encourage motivation

One of the signs of a socially attuned 3 yrd old is that when another child copies, the first child smiles and soon reciprocates, copying something the copier did. Shared joy is the result of this social interaction. Overall, ability to learn from mentors indicate intelligence according to Vygotsky.

What indicates intelligence according to Vygotsky?

ability to learn from mentors (via guided participation)

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

the skills--cognitive/physical--that a person can exercise only /w assistance, not yet independently -proximal means near, so ZPD includes the ideas that children are close to understanding and skills they are close to attaining but not yet able to master independently. How/when the child learns depend, in part, on the wisdom/willingness of mentors to provide scaffolding

scaffolding

temporary support that is tailored to a learner's needs/abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process

when a person imitates an action that is not a relevant part of the behavior to be learned. This is common among 2-6 yr olds when they imitate adult actions that are irrelevant/inefficient/time-consuming

overimitation

The power of scaffolding is demonstrated when 2-6 year olds ____.

overimitate

The best teachers use various hints, guidelines, and other tools to provide the child /w a scaffold for learning.

What are the 2 ways in which language advances thinking?

1.) private speech=the internal dialogue that occurs when ppl talk to themselves -aids cognition/self-refletction 2.) social mediation=human interaction that expands/advances understanding, often through words that one person uses to explain something to another. -words entice ppl into ZPD, as mentors guide children to learns #s, recall memories and follow routines.

the internal dialogue that occurs when ppl talk to themselves -aids cognition/self-refletction

private speech

human interaction that expands/advances understanding, often through words that one person uses to explain something to another. -words entice ppl into ZPD, as mentors guide children to learns #s, recall memories and follow routines.

social mediation

Though all the objects of a culture guide children, Vygotsky believe that WORDS are especially pivotal. The mind needs language. Talking, listening, reading, and writing, are all tools to advance thought and informal scaffolding leads to advances in language/cognition

Note: though all objects of a culture guide children (via scaffolding), observation plays a critical role as every child watches other ppl and tries to do what they do.

Words are tools that enable many children to do what 3 things?

-count objects, /w one # per item (called one-to-once correspondence) -remember times/dates -understand sequence

Mentoring and language are found to be pivotal in the cognitive accomplishments of many young children--in #s, memory, logic and much more

Words are the mediators between brain potential and comprehension! Words are tools for learning!

How do children learn words/ideas?

by developing theories, especially to explain the purpose of life and their role in it

theory-theory

the idea that children attempt to explain everything that see/hear by constructing theories -according to theory-theory, the best explanation for cognition in young children is that humans always seek reasons, causes, and underlying principles to make sense of their experiences

theory of minds

-a person's theory of what other ppl might be thinking -in order to have a theory of mind, children must realize that other ppl are not necessarily thinking the same thoughts that they themselves are. That realization seldom occurs before age 4.

How are explanations sought during early childhood?

-most children's questions are about human behavior/characteristics. -questions were often about the underlying purpose of whatever the child observed, though parents usually responded as if children we asking about science instead.

Children develop theories about intentions before they employ their impressive ability to imitate. They do not mindlessly copy whatever they observe

The development of a theory of mind can be seen in everyday life: young children are bad at deception. Older children are more likely to lie and they are more plausible liars than younger children. Beyond the age differences, the better liars are more advance in theory of mind. (As their lying improves, that's indication of developing theory of mind). Closely related to young children's trouble /w lying are their belief in fantasy and their static reasoning, which make it difficult for them to change their minds

The idea that thought may not reflect reality is beyond very young young children, but then it occurs to each child rather suddenly after age 3. This idea leads to the realization that ppl can be deliberately deceived or fooled--an idea that requires some theory of mind

Being a good liar and realizing that ppl can be deliberately/deceived or fooled requires ____

a theory of mind.

What is this an indication of? Children see Waldo put a doll into a blue house. Waldo leaves and the children see someone place the doll into the red house. When asked where Waldo will go to look for his doll, the children answer ''the red house''.

--lack of theory of mind -they confuse what they recently learned /w what they once thought and what someone else might think.

Brain maturation, culture, linguistic competence, family context and experiences all affect the attainment of a theory of mind. -In developing a theory of mind, age-related maturation of the pre-frontal cortex is critical. Children /w more mature pre-frontal cortex are high in executive function and can tell more plausible lies. -As bros and sis argue, agree, compete and cooperate & as older siblings fool younger ones, it downs on a 3 year old that not everyone thinks as they do. -language development is also significant, esp if mother-child conversations involve thoughts/wishes

______ is the premier cognitive accomplishment of early childhood.

language learning

Scientists once thought that early childhood was a CRITICAL PERIOD for language learning--the only time when a first language can be mastered and the best time for learning a 2nd/3rd language. However, millions of ppl have learned languages after age 6; the critical period hypothesis is false. Instead,early childhood is a sensitive period for language learning--for rapidly/easily mastering vocab, grammar, and pronunciation. Young children are ''language sponges'' b/c they soak up every drop of language that they encounter.

What is the critical period hypothesis of language learning?

said that the only time when a first language can be mastered and the best time for learning a 2nd/3rd language -but this is FALSE

What is the sensitive period hypothesis for language learning?

-says that early childhood is a sensitive period for language learning--for rapidly/easily mastering vocab, grammar, and pronunciation.

Brain maturation, myelination, scaffolding, and social interaction make early childhood the ideal time for learning language.

fast-mapping

-the speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentatively placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning (rather than figuring out the exact definition after hearing the word used in several contexts -it's easier to map a word when it's connected to a familiar one -the more linguistic clues children have already, the better their fast mapping is -fast mapping accelerates as new words are learned b/c each work makes it easier to learn other words

after learning a words, children use it to describe other objects in the same category

logical extension

The avg child knows about 500 words at age 2 and more than 10, 000 at age 6. Fast mapping is only one of the many techniques that children use to learn language: when a word does not refer to an object on the mental map, children use other ways to master it.

Which activities in early childhood aid reading a few years later in elementary school?

(language development, /w both vocab and attention to sound of words predictive of fluent reading) 1.) book reading 2.) parent education 3.) preschool programs 4.) code-focused teaching--in order for children to learn to read, they must break the code from the written word to the spoken word. Teaching children to recognize the letters of the alphabet and to know the sounds each make is impo4tant 5.) language enhancement--within each child's ZPD, adults need to build vocab and grammar, expanding on what the child already knows,

the structures, techniques, and rules that are used to communicate meaning, -word order, word repetition, prefixes/suffixes, intonation and emphasis are all part of this.

grammar

the application of the rules of grammar even when exceptions occur, making the language more ''regular'' than it actually is

overregularization

What is the following an example of? English-speakin children learn to add an ''s'' to form the plural. However, some children ____that final ''s'', talking about foots, mouses, etc.

overregularization

In general, genes affect expressive (spoken or written) language more than receptive (heard or read) language. Thus, some children are relatively talkative or quiet b/c they inherit that tendency, but experiences (not genes) determine which words and grammatical constructions they understand.

Bilingual children site both languages in the same areas of their brain yet manage to keep them separate. This separation allows them to activate one language and temporarily inhibit the other, experiencing no confusion when they speak to a monolingual person. Their brains overall function better an may even have some resistance to Alzheimer dementia in old age.

People who learn a 2nd language in adulthood show different activation sites for each language and are slowed down, especially if they silently translate as they listen and speak, A few fortunate adults who learn a 2nd language after puberty activate the same brain area for both;they tend to be unusually skilled bilinguals

People who learn a 2nd language in adulthood show different activation sits for each language and are slow down, especially if they silently translate as they listen and speak, A few fortunate adults who learn a 2nd language after puberty activate the same brain area for both;they tend to be unusually skilled bilinguals

True or False. Early childhood is the best time to learn a language.

True

To speak well, young children need to be ''bathed in language''--the emphasis is on hearing and speaking in every situation

Pronunciation is particularly hard to master after childhood in any language. From infancy one, hearing is more acute than vocalization. Almost all children pronunciation difficulties in their first language, but they are blithely unaware of their mistakes and gradually learn to speak clearly /w whatever accents they head.

In early childhood, children transpose sounds/convert difficult sounds to easier one. Mispronunciation, however, doesn't impair fluency primarily b/c young children are more receptive than expressive--they hear better than they talk,

B/c schools in all nations stress the dominant language, some children make a language shift, becoming more fluent in school language than in their home language. -children may shift in talking but not understanding.

a person who is fluent in 2 languages, not favoring one over the other

balanced bilingual

Young children's vocabulary in 2 languages is directly connected to how much language they hear. For a child to become a balanced bilingual, adults need to expose that child to twice as much talk as usual

When ECE programs are compared, the most important variables are teachers who know to to respond to the needs of young children and have time to do so. This is achieved via a combination of teacher education and experience and relatively few children per teacher

When ECE programs are compares, the most important variables are teachers who know to to respond to the needs of young children and have time to do so. This is achieved via a combination of teacher education and experience and relatively few children per teacher

Educational institutions for young children are referred to by various names or structures but these labels are not reliable indicators of the quality of an institution. Each ECE program emphasizes different skills, goals and methods. THE QUALITY OF THE HOME/EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TEACHERS HAVE MORE IMPACT ON YOUNG CHILDREN THAN DOES THE LABEL OF THE PROGRAM.

What are the 3 categories of ECE programs?

child-centered teacher-directed intervention programs

Today many 2-6 yrs olds are in school b/c research finds that preschool education provides a foundation for later learning; it documents the rapid development and great learning potential of the early years. Especially by ages 3-4, children learn best if they have extensive practice in hearing/speaking, in fine/gross motor skills.and in literacy/numeracy, all of which preschool provides.

Today many 2-6 yrs olds are in school b/c research finds that preschool education provides a foundation for later learning; it documents the rapid development and great learning potential of the early years. Especially by ages 3-4, children learn best if they have extensive practice in hearing/speaking, in fine/gross motor skills and in literacy/numeracy, all of which preschool provides.

-stress child development/growth -teachers in such programs believe children need to follow their own interests rather than adult direction, for example,endorsing the idea that children should be allowed to select many of their own activities from a variety of learning areas that the teach has prepared. -children are allowed to discover ideas and their own pace -encourages artistic exploration -teachers are crucial: in this type of program, teachers organize the classroom /w developmentally appropriate activities for each child and then guide each child toward activities that'll advance learning -often influenced by Piaget and Vygotsky

child-centered care

Montessori schools

schools that offer ECE based on the philosophy of Maria Montessori, which emphasizes careful work and tasks that each young child can do -believed children need structured, individualized projects to given them a sense of accomplishment -emphasizes individual pride and achievement, presenting many literacy-related tasks (ex outlining letters/looking at books) to young children

What is the goal of Montessori schools?

-underlying philosophy= children seek out learning tasks and are not made to sit quietly while a teach instructs them -goal=for all children to feel proud of themselves and engage in learning (Gains in self-confidence, curiosity, and exploration, transfer into more academic tasks)

What are 2 types of child-centered programs?

montessori schools reggio emilia

-children are encourage to master skills that are not usually taught in North American schools until age 7, such as writing and using tools -no large-group instruction /w formal lessons -each child is a creative child full of potential /w personal learning needs/artistic drive -appreciation of the arts: the school has a studio and an artists who encourages children to be creative. Children's art are displayed and there are spacious plant-filled playgrounds and big mirrors -teachers and parents are encouraged to collaborate -low child/teacher ratio, ample space and abundant material for creative expression -basics of math/science are fostered -measurements of achievements are not part of the core belief that each child should explore/learn in his or her own way -one distinct feature of the curriculum is that a small group of children become engaged in long-term projects of their choosing. Such projects foster the children's pride in their accomplishments while teaching them to plan/work together -children are encouraged to investigate their physical world.

reggio emilia

Reggio emilia

a program of ECE that originated in the town of Reggio emilia, Italy and that encourages each child's creativity in a carefully designed setting

-stress academics, usually taught by one adult to the entire group-->curriculum includes learning the names of letters, #s, and shapes according to a set timetable. Every child naps, snacks, and go to the bathroom on schedule as well. -children are taught to sit quietly/listen to the teacher. Praise and other reinforcements are given for good behavior and time outs are imposed to punish behavior -the serious work of schooling is distinguished from the unstructured play of home -teacher's goal=to make all children ''ready to learn'' when they enter elementary schools by teach basic skills, including precursors to reading, writing, and arithmetic, perhaps via teachers asking questions that children answer together. Children practice forming letters, sounding out words, counting objects and writing their name -doesn't stress social skills

teacher-directed programs

a federally funded early childhood intervention program for low-income children of preschool age --the intent of this has changed over the decades. As more children speaking language other than English, literacy has become increasingly stressed and children are encourage to enjoy math/exploration.

Headstart

In western nations, what is the reason for intervention programs?

to help low income children do better in school

Children can learn whatever academic/social skills are taught to them; those who attend preschool are usually advanced in cognitive skills over those who did not. However, all young children need personal attention, consistency, and continuity. It does not help when each adult applies different rules/routines.

Headstart did improve children's literacy/math skills while they were in the program; their oral health and their parents' responsiveness also improved. But many benefits faded by first grade. Certain children benefited more from Headstart than other did, /w benefits most apparent for children with the lowest family incomes, those living in rural areas, and those /w disabilities. These were also children least likely to find other sources of early education. The strongest overall benefits were advances in language/social skills during early childhood, but those advances did not endure past kindergarten, /w one exception--vocabulary.

Many types of preschool programs are successful. It is the quality of early education that matters. Children learn best if teachers follow a defined curriculum and if the child/adult ratio is low. The training, warmth, continuity of early childhood teachers benefit the children in many ways.

Early education can have substantial long-term benefits that become most apparent when the children are in 3rd grade or later. These benefits include: scoring higher on math/reading achievement test, having higher aspirations and possessing greater sense of achievement, more likely to attend college, less likely to go to jail.

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