Early Childhood- Cognitive development

cognitive development between ages 2-6 includes language and imagination suggests logical, operational thinking is yet possible at this stage

Major accomplishment of preoperational intelligence Allows a child to think symbolically, including understand that words can refer to things not seen or that an item can symbolize something help helps explain animism

involves the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive is related to egocentric reasoning may be involved with rational as well as irrational ideas

includes characteristic of preoperational thought whereby a young child focuses (center) on one idea, excluding all others; may include egocentrism

characteristic of preoperational thought whereby a young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent

characteristic of preoperational thought whereby a youngchild thinks that nothing changes Whatever is now has always been and will always be

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

the principle that the amount of substance remain the same (conserved) even when its appearance changes

young children fail to understand the conservation of liquids because they focus (center) on what they see (temperance) noticing only the immediate (static) condition It does not occur to them that they could reverse the process and recreate the liquids level of a moment earlier (irreversibly)

Conversation task require words Modification of tasks resulted in better performance of younger children Piaget underestimated cognition during early childhood

the process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations

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

every aspect of children's cognitive development is embedded in the social context

someone whose intellectual growth is stimulated and directed by an

present challenges offer assistance (without taking over) Add crucial information encourage motivation

Process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations

Skills that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently

Tendency of children to copy an action that is not a relevant part of behavior that is to be learned Common among 2-6 year olds when they imitate adult actions that are irrelevant and inefficient

the mediator between brain potential and comprehension

Internal dialogue or private speech social mediation

using one-to-one correspondence Remembering time and dates Understanding sequences

Children attempt to explain everything they see and hear ]children develop theories about intentions before they employ their impressive ability to imitate

Involves person's theory of what most people might be thinking, which is not necessarily the same thoughts the child is thinking Is slow to develop but typically beginning in most children at about age 4 Can be seen when young children are trying to escape punishment by lying

Children's ability to develop theories that correlates with the maturity of the prefrontal cortex and with advances in the executive processing Context and experience are relevant Context and culture matter

Vocabulary- 100-2000 words Sentence length- 2-6 words Grammar: Plural; pronouns; many nouns, verbs, adjectives Questions: Many "what's that?" questions

Vocabulary: 1000-5000 words Sentence length: 3-8 words Grammar: conjunctions, adverbs, articles Questions: Many "why?" questions

Vocab: 3,000-10000 words sentence length = 5-20 words Grammar: dependent clauses, tags at sentence end Questions: Peak of "Why" questions; many "How?' and "When?" questions

Vocab: 5,000-30000 sentence length = some seem unending Grammar: Complex, depending on what the child has heard. Some children correctly use the passive voice and subjunctive Questions: some about social differences and many other issues

Language is pivotal to every kind of cognition in early childhood A sensitive period or best time to master vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation Average child knows about 500 words at age 2 and more than 10,000 at age 6

Vocabulary builds quickly and comprehension greater than production Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions and many nouns mastered

speedy and sometime imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentatively placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning

code-focused teaching Book reading Parent education Language enhancement Preschool programs

structure, techniques, and rules that communicate meaning word order and word repetition, prefixes and suffices, intonation and emphasis

Application of rules of grammar even when exceptions occur Makes language seem more "regular" than it actually is ex. mouse is not mouses but mice

a person who is fluent in two languages, not favoring one over the other Occurs if adults talk frequently, listen carefully and value both languages

within 5 years

young children who are taught two languages might become semi-lingual, not bilingual, at risk for delayed, incomplete, and possibly even impaired language development

Soon after the vocabulary explosion children who have heard two languages since birth usually master two distinct sets of words and grammar, along with each language's pauses, pronunciations, intonations, and gestures, Proficiency is directly related to how much language they hear

Becoming more fluent in the school language than in their home one

quality matters if the home educational environment is poor, a good preschool program aids health, cognition ans social skills If a family provides extensive learning opportunities and encouragement, the quality of the preschool is less crucial

Support child development by encouraging children to follow their own interests rather than adult direction

emphasize individual pride and accomplishment, presenting literacy related tasks (such as outlining letters and looking at books)

involves a famous program of early-childhood education that originated in the town of reggio emilia, Italy; encourages each child's creativity in a carefully designed setting

programs that stress academics, usually taught by 1 adult to a group of children Help children learn letters, numbers, shapes, and color as well as how to listen to the teacher and sit quietly Make a clear distinction between work and play Are less expensive since the child to adult ratio can be higher

Most widespread early-childhood education program in the US Begun in 1965 and funded by the federal government Initially the program was thought to be highly successful at raising the children's intelligence 10 years later, early gains were found to fade Originally intended to lift families out of poverty and help immigrants out

successful strategies vary depending on child, home background and national values Programs containing English and Spanish instruction were more successful than immersion

early intervention is effective if it is sufficiently intense with effective teachers

Perry (high/scope) Abecedarian Child-parent centers

40 states sponsor public education for young children- although usually only for low income 4 year olds Leading state is Oklahoma Only 4 states have high-quality programs- Alabama, Alaska, North Carolina, Rhode Island