lecture 10 early cog dev

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Cognitive Development

of Early Childhood

Lecture 10:

C6035 Human Development



Cognitive Developmental

ChangesPiaget¶s Preoperational Stage of Development

Preoperational stage stretches fromapproximately 2 to 7 years of age

Signifies time when stable concepts are formed,mental reasoning emerges

Egocentrism begins strongly & then weakens

Magical beliefs are constructed

Child does not yet think in operational way

Operations being internalized sets of actions thatallow child to do mentally what before didphysically



Piaget¶s Preoperational Stage

of DevelopmentSymbolic Function Substage

First substage of preoperational thought,occurring roughly between ages of 2 & 4

During which young child gains ability torepresent object mentally that is not present

Egocentrism feature of preoperationalthought in which child is not able todistinguish between one¶s own perspective

& someone else¶s perspective Animism limitation within preoperational

thought, whereby child believes thatinanimate objects have µlifelike¶ qualities &

capable of action



Piaget¶s Preoperational Stage

of DevelopmentIntuitive Thought Substage

Second substage of preoperational thoughtoccurring approximately between 4 & 7 years

Children begin to use primitive reasoning & wantto know answers to all sorts of questions

Centration focusing of attention on onecharacteristic to the exclusion of all others-

inability to shift quality or function from one set of criteria to another

Conservation evidence of centration in child¶sidea of amount remaining same regardless of how container changes



Vygotsky¶s Theory of

Development Zone of Proximal Development range of tasks

too difficult for children to master alone butwhich can be learned with guidance &

assistance of adults or more skilled children Scaffolding changing the level of support over

course of a teaching session-more skilledperson adjusts amount of guidance to fit

student¶s current performance level Language and Thought young children use

language to plan, guide & monitor their behavior in self-regulatory fashion - called this inner

speech or private speech.



Evaluating and Comparing

Vygotsky¶s and Piaget¶s Theories Vygotsky¶s emphasis on importance of

inner speech

Piaget¶s views such speech asimmature

Vygotsky¶s theory is social constructivist

approach which emphasizes socialcontexts of learning-fact that knowledgeis mutually built & constructed



Teaching Strategies Based on

Vygotsky¶s Theory in classroom

Use child¶s zone of proximal development, by

teaching to child¶s upper limit

Use scaffolding when children need help with

self-initiated learning activities, by helpingmove to higher level of skill & knowledge

Use more skilled peers as teachers

Monitor & encourage children¶s use of privatespeech

Assess child¶s ZPD, not IQ

Transform classroom with Vygotskian ideas



Information Processing

Study of different cognitive processes of mentalworld of young children

Attention child¶s ability to pay attention changesdrastically during preschool years Visualattention to television increases during period,but they tend to react to features (color, sound,size) to exclusion of content

Memory In short-term memory individual retaininformation for up to 15 or 30 seconds

Short-term memory increases during earlychildhood

Studies of memory & children, speed of repetition was powerful predictor of memoryspan



Task Analysis

Information processing psychologists

have found that when tasks are made

interesting & simple

Children display greater cognitive

maturity than Piaget realized



The Young Child¶s Theory of

Mind Children¶s developing of the mind

includes awareness that mind exists

It has connections to the physical world

It can represent objects & events

accurately or inaccurately

It can actively interpret reality &

emotions



Language Development

Stages and Rule Systems Brown¶s Stages Mean length of utterance

(MLU) is a good index of child¶s language

maturity. Stages indicate growth of language

complexity

Stage 1 - 12 to 26 months of age = MLU 1.00 to 2.00







Rule Systems: Morphology,

syntax, semantics & pragmatics As children move beyond two-word

utterances, they know morphology rules

Begin using plurals & possessive forms of nouns,

Put appropriate endings on verbs,

Use prepositions &various forms of verb to be

As children move to elementary school, they

become skilled at using syntactical rules to

construct lengthy & complex sentences



Literacy and Early Childhood

Education Literacy begins in infancy

Reading & writing skills should build on existing

understanding of oral & written language

Too many preschool children are being

subjected to rigid, formal pre-reading programs

with expectations & experiences that are too

advanced for cognitive levels of development Instruction should be built on what children

already know about oral language, reading &

writing



Early Childhood Education

Variations in Early Childhood Ed Child-Centered Kindergarten involves

whole child by considering physical,

cognitive, & social development &child¶s needs, interests & learning styles

Experimenting, exploring, discovering,

trying out, restructuring, speaking, &listening describe excellent kindergarten

programs



Early Childhood Education

Variations in Early Childhood EdMontessori Approach philosophy of

education in which children are given

considerable freedom and spontaneityin choosing activities

Allowed to move from one activity toanother as they desire

Does not emphasize verbal interactionbetween teacher, child, & peers



Developmentally Appropriate &

Inappropriate Practices Education of Young Children

Knowing that children develop at

varying rates, educators and

psychologists promote programs in

which child¶s specific developmental

level is taken into consideration These programs emphasize hands-on

activities versus paper-and-pencil

activities or other large group strategies



Education for Children Who Are

Disadvantaged Project Head Start designed to provide

children from low-income families

opportunity to acquire skills &experiences important for success in

school

Project Follow Through different typesof educational programs where enriched

programs are carried through first years

of elementary school



Effects of Early Childhood

Education Studies show that children who attend

preschool or kindergarten

Interact more with peers, both positively

and negatively

Are less cooperative with & responsive

to adults

Are more socially competent & mature



Nonsexist Early Childhood

Education Important goals of nonsexist early

childhood education programs

1.F

ree children from constrainingstereotypes of gender roles

2. Promote equality for both sexes byfacilitating each child¶s participation in

activities 3. Help children develop skills that will

enable them to challenge sexiststereotypes & behavior



Does Preschool Matter?

The issue is not whether preschool is

important, but whether home schooling can

closely duplicate what competent preschool

program can offer Psychologist David Elkind believes early

childhood education should become part of

public education, but on its own terms

Early childhood should have its own

curriculum, its own methods of evaluation &

classroom management, & its own teacher-

training programs



School Readiness

Expectations for young children¶s skills

& abilities need to be based on

knowledge of child development & ways

in which children learn

Basic principle of child development is

that there is tremendous normal

variability both among children of samechronological age & within an individual

child

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