Final: PSY 310 Chapter 9

Symbolic thought allows a child to think symbolically, become much more adept at pretending, and refer to things not seen. Symbolic thought allows the language explosion, since children can now talk about what they think, imagine, and remember. Piaget underestimated cognition during early childhood. He relied on words spoken in an experimental setting rather than nonverbal signs in play content.

Egocentrism is not selfishness. It is a child's inability to see life from anyone's perspective but his/her own.

Animism is the belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive. Children frequently assign human characteristics to nonhuman things. However, adults perform similar activities by talking to their pets or treating them as people.

Scaffolding is temporary support, to help children within their developmental zone. Good mentors provide plenty of scaffolding, encouraging children to look both ways before crossing the street. Reading to children is culture-bound. For example, in the United States, children are encouraged to ask questions and develop their curiosity while being read to. On the other hand, in Peru, they are taught to listen quietly as a sign of respect.

Guided participation is sharing social experiences and explorations. A child's zone of proximal development is increased by the teacher performing a task and allowing the child to copy their behavior with their support and guidance,

Children talk aloud to review, decide, and explain events to themselves, as well as to mediate social interaction that is vital to learning

The term theory-theory refers to the idea that children naturally construct theories to explain whatever they see and hear. Adults also try to "fill in the gaps" by using their experiences to "make sense" of their environment. We refer to it as "jumping to conclusions."

Development of a theory of mind leads to the realization that people can be deliberately deceived or fooled. Once this develops (around age four), it becomes difficult to fool a child since they understand other people are not necessarily thinking their same thoughts and that they can be fooled.

Age-related maturation of the prefrontal cortex seems crucial to developing a theory of mind as is language development, especially if mother-child conversations involve thoughts and wishes. Having older siblings can advance a child up to one year in developing a theory of mind. Culture and social norms are also instrumental.

Early childhood is a sensitive period for rapidly and easily mastering vocabulary, gram- mar, and pronunciation. Brain maturation, myelination, scaffolding, and social interaction make early childhood the ideal time for learning language..

By developing an interconnected set of categories for words, speedy vocabulary acquisition becomes possible. Children hear a word used in context and, instead of figuring out the exact meaning, stick it into one of several "categories" already in place in their mental set.

Initially, children apply rules of grammar where they should not be. For instance, many young children over regularize that final "s," talking about foots, tooths, and mouses. This is evidence of increasing knowledge: children simply repeat words. Once they learn grammar, they try to apply it broadly, resulting in mistakes like those involving suffixes.

Logical extensions are evidence of the limits of logic. Children learn a word and use it to describe other objects that fall in their same "category." For example, after learning the word for ketchup, a child may state they had "ketchup soup" at preschool, not knowing the term "tomato soup" and thinking ketchup was a good fit.

Neuroscience finds that young bilingual children site both languages in the same areas of their brains 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 (Crinion et al., 2006). They may be a millisecond slower to respond if they must switch languages, but their brains overall function better and may even have some resistance to Alzheimer dementia in old age (Bialystok et al., 2009). Studies show that learning a second language during adulthood, usually show different activation areas and there is a slower response to the language.

The attitude of the parents and the larger society about the native language is crucial to retaining it. If a child senses that the native language spoken at home is somehow a liability to them outside of the home, they may drop the native language in favor of the majority culture

Preschools offer a solid curriculum that not all homes can provide. In all cases, they allow for interaction with same-age peers and for child social interaction crucial to development.

Teachers in such programs believe children need to follow their own interests rather than adult directions, so children are allowed to select many of their own activities from a variety of learning areas that the teacher has prepared. Children are allowed to discover ideas at their own pace, and the physical space and the materials are arranged to allow self-paced exploration.

In Reggio Emilia, children are encouraged to master skills that are not usually taught in North American schools until age 7 or so, such as writing and using tools. Every school has a studio and an artist who encourages the children to be creative. Reggio Emilia programs have a low child/teacher ratio, ample space, and abundant materials for creative expression. One distinctive feature of the curriculum is that a small group of children may work on a long term project which allows them to learn to work as part of a team.

Many aspects of Montessori's philosophy are in accord with current developmental research. The goal is for all children to feel proud of themselves and engage in learning, making them a good fit in today's culture.

Unlike child-centered programs, teacher-directed preschools stress academics, usually taught by one adult to the entire group. The curriculum includes learning the names of letters, numbers, shapes, and colors according to a set timetable; every child naps, snacks, and goes to the bathroom on schedule as well. Children are taught to sit quietly and listen to the teacher. Praise and other reinforcements are given for good behavior, and time-outs (brief separation from activities) are imposed to punish misbehavior. Children may assimilate into the elementary system quicker and be better prepared for academia coming from this environment. However, creativity and problem-solving skills may lag behind children coming from child-centered programs.

The goals of Head Start have evolved as the culture evolves. However, Head Start is intended to prepare children in at-risk or low-income homes for their elementary years and help insure success in the future.

Research has looked at different outcomes/aspects and thus arrived at different conclusions about the overall effectiveness. The different conclusions about the effectiveness of Head Start programs can be attributed to the quality and concentration of the individual programs themselves.

Research, particularly on preschool programs for children in low-income families, has proven that high-quality early education benefits children by improving language learning, social skills, and prospects for the future.