Kathleen Stassen Berger

Prepared by Madeleine Lacefield

Tattoon, M.A.

1

Part III

The Play Years: Cognitive Development

Chapter Nine

Piaget and Vygotsky

Children’s Theories

Language

Early-Childhood Education

2

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…

3

Piaget and Vygotsk

…famous for their description of

cognition… the eager learning of

children… are compatible in many

ways…

4

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

5

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

6

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

7

Piaget

• Conservation and Logic

– conservation

• the idea that the amount of a substance

remains the same (i.e., is conserved)

when its appearance changes

8

Piaget

9

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

10

Vygotsk

• Vygotsky: Social Learning

– young children can be very sensitive to

the wishes and emotions of others

– young children have social thoughts

11

Vygotsk

• Children as Apprentices

– cognitive development is embedded in a

social context

– curious and observant

– ask questions

12

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

13

Vygotsk

• Children as

Apprentices

– guided

participation

14

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

15

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

16

Children’s Theories

• Theory-Theory

– the idea that children attempt to explain

everything they see and hear by

constructing theories

17

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

18

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

19

Children’s Theories

• Contextual Influences

– maturation of the brain’s prefrontal

cortex appears to be the reason for the

age-related advance in children

20

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

21

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

22

Language

• Vocabulary

– new words are

added rapidly

• at age 2

knows about

500 words

• at age 6 about

10,000 words

23

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

24

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

25

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

26

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

27

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

28

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.‖

29

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

30

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

31

Early-Childhood Education

32

Early-Childhood Education

• Child-Centered Programs

• Montessori Schools

• The Reggio Emilia Approach

• Teacher-Directed Programs

• Intervention Programs

• Head Start

• Experimental Programs

33

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?‖