Kathleen Stassen Berger

Part III

Chapter Nine

The Play Years: Cognitive Development

Piaget and Vygotsky
Childrens Theories
Language
Early-Childhood Education
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The Play Years: Cognitive Development

thinking and learning from age 2 to 6
remarkable advances in language and thought
the simple sentence of the typical 2-year-old that are
nonstop, complex outpourings of a talkative 6-year-old,
who can explain almost anything

Piaget and Vygotsk

famous for their description of cognition the
eager learning of children are compatible in
many ways

Piaget
Piaget: Preoperational Thinking
preoperational intelligence

cognitive development between the ages of about 2 and

6; it includes languages and imagination (in addition to
the senses and motor skills of infancy), but logical,
operational thinking is not yet possible

Piaget
Obstacles to Logical Operation

centration
a characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child
focuses (centers) on one idea, excluding all others
egocentrism
Piagets term for childrens tendency to think about the world
entirely from their own personal perspective
focus on appearance
a characteristic of preoperational though in which a young child
ignores all attributes that are not apparent

Piaget
Obstacles to Logical Operation
static reasoning

thinking that nothing changes: Whatever is now has

always been and always will be

irreversibility

the idea that nothing can be undone; the inability to

recognize that something can sometimes be restored to
the way it was before a change occurred
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Piaget
Conservation and Logic
conservation

the idea that the amount of a substance remains the

same (i.e., is conserved) when its appearance changes

Piaget

Piaget
Limitations of Piagets Research

Piaget underestimated the conceptual ability of young

children and infants
designing his experiments to reveal what children
seemed not to understand, rather than to identify what
they could understand
relied on the childs words rather than the childs
nonverbal signs in play context

Vygotsk
Vygotsky: Social Learning

young children can be very sensitive to the wishes and

emotions of others
young children have social thoughts

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Vygotsk
Children as Apprentices

cognitive development is embedded in a social context

curious and observant
ask questions

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Vygotsk
Children as Apprentices
apprentice in thinking

a person whose cognition is stimulated and directed by older more

skilled members of society

guided participation

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

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Vygotsk
Children as Apprentices
guided participation

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Vygotsk
Scaffolding

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

the skills that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet
independently
ZPD applies to the ideas or cognitive skills a person is close to
mastering as well as to more apparent skills

scaffolding

temporary support that is tailored to a learners needs and abilities

and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given
learning process

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Vygotsk
Language as a Toll
private speech

internal dialogue that occurs when people talk to themselves (either

silently or out loud)

social mediation

a function of speech by which a persons cognitive skills are refined

and extended through both formal instruction and casual
conversation

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Childrens Theories
Theory-Theory

the idea that children attempt to explain everything they

see and hear by constructing theories

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Childrens Theories
Theory of Mind

a persons theory of what other people might be thinking

children must realize that other people are not necessarily
thinking the same thoughts that they themselves are thinking
the realization is seldom possible before age 4

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Childrens Theories
Belief and Reality: Understanding the Difference

a sudden leap of understanding occurs at about age 4

between age 3 6 children come to realize that thoughts
may not reflect reality

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Childrens Theories
Contextual Influences

maturation of the brains prefrontal cortex appears to be

the reason for the age-related advance in children

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Language
is pivotal to cognition in early childhood
is the leading cognitive accomplishment in early childhood
24-month-olds begin this period with short sentences and
limited vocabulary
6-year-olds end it with the ability to understand and
discuss almost anything

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Language
critical period

a time when a certain development must happen if it is

ever to happen

sensitive period

a time when a certain type of development is most likely

to happen and happens most easily

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Language
Vocabulary

new words are added rapidly

at age 2 knows about 500 words

at age 6 about 10,000 words

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Language
Fast-Mapping

the speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which

children learn new words by mentally charting them into
categories according to their meaning

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Language
Words and the Limits of Logic
logical extension

used to describe other objects in the same category

use of available vocabulary to cover all the territory they
want to talk about

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Language
Grammar

grammar of language includes the structure, techniques, and

rules that are used to communicate meaning
parts of grammar: word order and word repetition, prefixes and
suffixes, intonation and emphasis
overregularization

the application of rules of grammar even when exceptions occur, so

that the language is made to seem more regular than it actually is

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Language
Learning Two Languages

bilingualism is an asseta necessity

language-minority children are at a disadvantage (not the
dominant language of the nation)
more likely to:
do poorly in school
feel ashamed
become unemployed as adults

learning the majority language is crucial

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Language
What is the goal of having a second language?

research supports that children should learn at least two

languagesthe language-sensitive years of early childhood are the
best time
soon after the vocabulary explosion, young are able to master two
languagesdistinct sets of words and grammar
Young children have difficulty with pronunciation in every language,
but this does not slow down their learning of a second language

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Language
Bilingualism, Cognition, and Culture

Since language is integral to culture, bilingualism is

embedded in emotions of ethnic pride and fear. This
reality hampers developmental research.

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Language
Constant Change
The basics of language learning

explosion
fast-mapping
overregularization
extensive practice

apply to bilingual learning

Languages continually change

Negro to Black to African American

hip-hop; e-mail; DVD; spam; blog; cell (phone); rap (music); buff (in shape)
other languages are basic English vocabulary salsa, loco, amour
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Early-Childhood Education
a hundred years ago children had no formal education
until first grade
today 3 5-year-olds in developed nations are in school
early educational institutions differ, but names do not
indicate the nature of the program

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Early-Childhood Education

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Early-Childhood Education

Child-Centered Programs
Montessori Schools
The Reggio Emilia Approach
Teacher-Directed Programs
Intervention Programs
Head Start
Experimental Programs

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Early-Childhood Education
Costs and Benefits

quality early-childhood education matters

financial aspects are especially significant
parents pay the bulk of the cost or preschool in the United States
quality child care:
safety
adequate space and equipment
low adult-child ratio
positive social interaction among children and adults
trained staff and educated parents
continuity helps
How long has each staff member worked at the center?

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