Intellectual Development In the First YearChild Development Ch 10

I. Understanding Intellectual DevA. learning abilities during the first year

◦i. from birth – hear, taste, see, smell, feel 1. those are the building blocks of learning

◦Ii. Age of 1: 1. move to desired location by crawling, walking 2. understand and perhaps say some words 3. makes wants known by gesturing 4. play simple games like peek-a-boo 5. handle objects skillfully and manipulate them

B. mind body connection◦ i. information is taken in through senses◦ Ii. Information is transmitted from those

senses through the nerves into the Central nervous system 1. brain and spinal cord 2. info moves through spinal cord to brain

◦ Iii. Brain is key to intellectual dev. 1. receives and interprets messages from body 2. develops ability to send messages to body,

telling the body what to do 3. newborns are simply reflexes

◦Iv. Brain structure 1. cortex

A. outermost layer of brain B. 2nd-3rd month – more clearly developed C. permits more complex learning D. perception also improves

i. learning from senses E. rocking

i. stimulates cortex of brain Ii. Helps with weight gain, devs sight and

hearing, promotes regular sleep

◦2. memory also begins to develop A. stop crying when people in the room –

know help is here B. also develop association

i. people = help

◦3. cause and effect A. one action results in another action or

condition B. sucking = milk C. pull string = toy makes noise

◦4. attention span A. length of time a person can

concentrate on a task without getting bored

B. generally bright babies have short attention spans

C. they get bored with seeing the same objects over and over

D. however, beyond infancy this flip-flops

V. Piaget’s theories1. Swiss psychologist2. intellectual development

progresses in accordance to age3. capacity for logical thought is

not learned, but are determined by genes

4. children cant be forced to develop understanding any faster than their abilities mature

5. don’t push your kids to learn to do things they aren’t ready for

6. give them to opportunity to learn, but don’t force things on them

7. learning stages appear in same order

8. the ages the stages appear are different for all kids

9. 4 major periods of devA. sensorimotor - first stage of learning

◦ i. lasting from birth until the age of 2◦ Ii. Babies learn primarily through senses

and their own actions◦ Iii. Baby is totally egocentric – thinking only

about him/herself◦ Iv. 10 months – object permanence

1. understanding of the fact that objects continue to exist even when they are not in sight

2. go find certain objects, hide toy and they will go look for it

◦V. has 6 different periods - handout

B. preoperational – 2nd stage of learning◦ i. lasting from age 2 to 7◦ Ii. Children think about everything in terms

of their own activities and in terms of what they perceive at the moment

◦ Iii. Moon follows them, tall glass of water is more than short, fat glass

◦ Iv. Understand abstract terms like love, beauty

◦V. pretend stage◦Vi. Blame problems on imaginary friend

C. concrete operations – 3rd stage◦i. lasting from 7 to 11◦Ii. Children are able to think logically

but still learn best from direct experiences

◦Iii. Pouring water from one container to another does not change the amount

◦Iv. Classify animals and foods into groups

◦V. learn adding, subtracting are opposites

D. formal operations – 4th stage◦i. lasting from 11 to adulthood◦Ii. Become capable of abstract

thinking◦Iii. Make plans and goals◦Iv. Learn without direct experience◦V. subtle messages

10. applying Piaget’s theories◦A. you know what a child is capable

of at a certain age◦B. you can better teach them and

understand them◦C. symbolic thinking – use of words

and numbers to represent ideas◦D. not ready for this until older and

can understand what numbers mean without seeing the concrete objects

vi. Heredity vs Environment1. continuing disagreement2. determined by both3. most never develop to full

potential4. you cant force a child to learn

more than capable of5. you can put a learning

environment in front of them to enhance and stimulate learning

**Assignment - ?s on pg 303 1-7

Chapter 10 Section 2I. Helping babies learn

◦A. parents are the babies first and most important teachers

◦B. babies learn more and learn faster when parents and caregivers comfort them, smile at them, talk to them, and play with them

C. providing care◦i. babies learn patterns

1. discomfort, crying, parent comes, feeding comfort

◦Ii. If patterns aren’t established, baby senses no relation b/n his/her expression and comfort of caregiver

◦Iii. No pattern = nobody responds, set on strict schedule, not the babies own schedule

◦Iv. Learn behavior has consequences◦V. they can effect and change

environment◦Vi. This care and learning motivates

babies to learn more

D. Encouraging learningi. those caring for children have a

huge influence on their intellectual development

Ii. Learning doesn’t require money or toys

Iii. Requires attention, knowledge, and time

iv. Suggestions for learning1. learn about child development

◦A. helps you provide learning experiences that are age appropriate and meet individual needs

2. give your time and attention◦A. you can help them thrive by

talking to and playing with them◦B. doesn’t have to be every waking

moment

3. provide positive feedback◦A. when baby tries new skill or activity, show

your pleasure by giving praise◦B. your reaction will encourage baby to try

new things 1. use your personal style to show love for baby

4. Express love◦A. use your personal style to show love for

baby5. Child proof your home so you can

safely let your child navigate and explore and learn about the world around them

e. Toys – the tools of learningi. intellectual and physical

development◦1. learn cause and effect◦2. strengthen muscle, refine motor skills,

learn about the worldIi. Different toys for different ages

◦1. birth- 3 months A. little but look and listen B. bright colors and interesting sounds

stimulate child C. crib mobiles – colorful, noisy, can kick to

move

2. 3-6 months◦A. sense of touch is most important during

this period◦B. need new things to touch, handle, bang,

shake, suck, and chew◦C. choose toys that are small enough to

handle but can’t swallow◦D. teething rings, cups, tattles, plastic toys◦E. squeaky toys◦F. simple picture books with colorful

pictures of familiar objects

3. 7-9 months◦A. noise fascinates at this age◦B. safe household items just as

interesting as toys i. banging pots and pans

◦C. stacking toys, things with lids, and plastic containers are good choices

4. 10-12 months◦A. toys to push or pull if walking◦B. boxes are fun – like to put things in

them and dump them out

5. look for simple toys that encourage participation and use, then move on to more complex toys

6. try and buy toys that kids can use for many years

7. no need to buy the fancy, expensive toys

iii. Developing communication skills1. one of the major tasks for infants is

to learn to communicate with others2. depends on development in all

areas3. communicating without words

◦A. can communicate long before they are able to talk

◦B. crying is first means to communication◦C. within first month, baby cries, pauses

to listen for reaction

◦D. baby soon develops different cries i. hunger – crying mixed with sucking

movements Ii. Pain – crying with groans or whimpers

◦E. babbling is the start to communicating through words

◦F. giggles, grunts, shrieks carry obvious messages

◦G. gestures – push away food, latch on to parent

4. learning to speak◦A. before talk, must learn to associate

meaning with words◦B. depends on the parents talking to the

baby, even it if appears the child doesn’t respond

◦C. go for a walk – talk to baby about what you see

◦D. point to objects while saying name often

◦E. babies need to develop listening habits in order to learn speech

◦F. imitate babbling to encourage development

◦G. first words are simple – mama, dada, ball, bye-bye

◦H. usually don’t combine words into simple sentences until after 1 yr

5. learning through participation◦A. can promote language development

by: 1. use baby’s name often 2. point to and name family members 3. point to body parts and say body parts 4. ask what part you are pointing to 5. play games like peek-a- boo, tell them to

wave bye-bye, or clap hands 6. talk about what is going on around you as

though the baby understands 7. encourage baby to imitate sounds you make