Chapter Nine

1. Chapter Nine The Play Years: Cognitive Development

2. How Young Children Think: Piaget and Vygotsky • Piaget — believed young children were limited by their egocentric perspective • Vygotsky —recognized how social context helps shape cognitive development

3. Piaget: Preoperational Thought • Ages 2 to 6 • Centration — tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation • Egocentrism or ego-centration • Focus on appearance — ignores all attributes except appearance • Static reasoning — assumes the world is unchanging • Irreversibility — fails to recognize that reversing a process can restore whatever existed before transformation

4. Conservation and Logic Conservation — principle that amount of substance is unaffected by changes in appearance applied to liquids, numbers, matter, length understanding develops after age 7, and then slowly and unevenly

5. Vygotsky: Children as Apprentices One Theory theory-theory - the idea that children attempt to construct a theory to explain everything they see and hear Children efforts are embedded in social context Apprentice in thinking — child whose intellectual growth is stimulated and directed by older people Guided participation — social experience and exploration with a mentor

6. Scaffolding Scaffolding — sensitive structuring of child’s participation in learning encounters Zone of proximal development (ZPD) — skills too difficult for child to perform alone but that can be performed with guidance and assistance of adults or more skilled children Private speech —when people talk to themselves and new ideas are developed and reinforced Social mediation — use of speech to bridge gap between child’s current understanding and what is almost understood

8. Theory of Mind Personal understanding of human mental processes Sudden understanding that mental phenomena may not reflect reality Contextual Influences: Brain maturation (prefrontal cortex) General language ability An older sibling Culture that anticipates the future

9. Language Emergent literacy—skills needed to learn to read Is early childhood a sensitive or a critical period for language development?

10. Vocabulary 2 to 6 olds learn average of 10 words per day Fast mapping — speedy and not precise way a child assimilates new words by mentally “charting” them into interconnected categories

11. Grammar includes the structures, techniques, and rules used to communicate meaning Overregularization - apply a rule when they should not Grammar

12. Learning Two Languages Two points of view bilingualism is an asset, even a necessity, child should become proficient in own 1st language Best solution: children become “balanced bilinguals,” fluent in 2 languages

13. Early Childhood Education Montessori Schools - structured, individualized projects (originally for poor children) Child-Centered use a Piaget-inspired model that allows children to discover at their own pace Readiness Programs Alternative programs stress academic readiness

14. Reggio-Emilia children encouraged to master skills not normally seen until age 7 artistic expression, exploration of the environment, and collaboration between parents and teachers encouraged

15. Head Start Program for ages 3 to 5 from low-income or minority homes Seems to have long-term benefit What is high-quality education? safety, adequate space, and equipment low adult-to-child ratio trained staff curriculum geared to cognitive development learning includes creative/constructive play Research and Applications