Kathleen Stassen Berger

Part III Chapter Nine

The Play Years: Cognitive Development
Piaget and Vygotsky Childrens Theories Language Early-Childhood Education
Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.
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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-yearold 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
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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
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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
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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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