Chapter 9: Early Childhood: Cognitive Development

(The book never said that any of these were strengths or weaknesses, they just characterize preoperational thought. If you have thoughts on what may or may not be a strength or weakness, feel free to let me know!) Weakness: logical thought isn't possible yet; evident in centration, focus on appearance, static reasoning, and reversibility Strengths: nonverbal communication is logical. Gestures and understanding comes before language.

egocentrism: sees the world only from their perspective selfishness: choose to care only about one's self, interests, benefits, etc.

natural object are alive, respect for nature, and the belief in superstition adults understand that it's not real, and all just pretend.

the children play and animate the toy, emulating the behavior modeled by their family. They get to enforce proper behavior of others (I have the wrong edition, so this is just my assumptions. If there is something in your book about toys and scaffolding, I would be super appreciative to hear it!)

Children learn best from their peers, so when other students are speaking, then the whole class benefits.

Private Speech promotes reflection and allows the individual to work out ideas both audibly and internally.

Yes. Although "adult theories" are much more complex than children's, it is part of human nature to seek understanding, and that understanding is manifested in theories, regardless of an individual's age.

They have a better understanding of the world around them and can speculate about others' thoughts.

The maturation of the prefrontal cortex. This occurs around age 4 and is not as much affected by experience. Language development, as well as the child's culture, also plays a major role in developing a child's theory of mind.

Children engage in fast-mapping, in which they quickly and at times imprecisely learn and categorize words. This mental mapping constitutes a large portion of the vocab. explosion these children experience.

It aids the language explosion because they categorize words into a mental map.. Rather than memorizing definitions of that word.

First, children speak by repeating what they hear. Second, they learn grammar rules and try to apply them to words that don't follow grammar rules (exceptions to the rules).

13) ????

14) Being less self-conscious about what they say and how they say it along with myelination, quickens the language-learning process for children. Bilingual children's brains function better overall and may have some resistance to Alzheimer's.

15) By immersion in language, encouragement and appreciation to keep learning and speaking the language is how language loss can be avoided.

Stimulation of the brain- to foster intellectual development. Also social interaction with others and being active. *Might want to double check if this is right, again my book did not state this specifically I only drew conclusion from common sense and the text.

They allow for the students to follow their interest and go at their own pace. Allow their students to collaborate together and learn from others. Teachers give tasks that most adults would consider play.

They teach the students to master skills that are usually not mastered until age 7. Very spacious, nice environment that sparks creativity. They encourage and foster artistic ability. Works on long-term projects of their choosing.

Many aspects of Montessori's philosophy are in accord with current developmental research. That is one reason this kind of school remains popular. (Pg 278)

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. Every child naps, snacks, and goes to the bathroom on schedule as well. Teachers also give praise for good works. In teacher-directed programs, the serious work of schooling is distinguished from the unstructured play of home. The only problem is that they don't stress social interaction. (Pg 279)

The program is thought to be effective not only because of the direct teaching in school but also because relieving some of the parent's stress allows them to provide more cognitive stimulation for their children. (Pg 281)

Certain children benefited from Head Start more than others did, with benefits most apparent for children with the lowest family incomes, or those living in rural areas, or those with disabilities. (Pg 282)

Children in intervention preschools scored higher on tests, were more likely to succeed, and more likely to go to college. (Pg 283-284)