Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield Tattoon, M.A.

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Kathleen Stassen Berger

Part IIIThe Play Years: Cognitive

Development

Chapter Nine

Piaget and Vygotsky

Children’s 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…

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Piaget and Vygotsk…famous for their description of cognition… the eager learning of children… are compatible in many ways…

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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•Piaget’s term for children’s 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

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Piaget

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Piaget • Limitations of Piaget’s 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 child’s words rather than the child’s 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 learner’s 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 person’s cognitive skills are refined and extended through both formal instruction and casual conversation

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Children’s Theories• Theory-Theory–the idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear by constructing theories

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Children’s Theories• Theory of Mind

– a person’s 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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Children’s 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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Children’s Theories• Contextual Influences–maturation of the brain’s 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 asset—a 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 languages…the language-sensitive years of early childhood are the best time

•soon after the vocabulary explosion, young are able to master two languages—distinct 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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LanguageConstant 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?”