Intellectual Development1-3

The Role of Intelligence

• Intelligence- the ability to interpret or understand everyday situations and to use that experience when faced with new situations or problems– Shaped by heredity and environment

• An environment that promotes learning includes:– interactions with family members – Availability of playthings– Encouragement

Methods of Learning

• Incidental learning- unplanned learning– Repetition of cause and effect

• Trial and Error learning- when a child tries several solutions before finding one that works

• Imitation- learning by watching and copying others• Directed learning- learning that results from being taught

Identify the method used to learn the following:

• A dog wags its tail when scratched• Licorice ice cream tastes terrible, but peanut

butter sandwiches taste good• New dance moves• How to make pasta

Concept Development

• As children learn to think they organize the information and start to form concepts– Concepts- general categories of objects and information

• Children learn concepts by using three principles:– Think that labels are for whole objects, not parts– Believe that labels apply to the group to which the

individual objects belong, not the particular object– Believe that any object can only have one label• hard for them to understand pronouns

Concept Development

• As a child matures, concepts become more accurate – Ex: understands difference between “mama” and

“woman”• Learn to categorize objects by shape, color, and size• Concepts of life are not learned until later– Ex: think that everything that moves or works is alive

• Concept of time improves during the second and third year

Discussion

• Today-• Tomorrow-• Yesterday-

The Mind at Work

• Intellectual activity is broken down into 7 areas that have remarkable development during one to three:– Attention, memory, perception, reasoning,

imagination, creativity, and curiosity

Attention

• As children mature, they gradually develop the ability to ignore most of the information their senses provide and to concentrate on one item of interest; learning is more focused on a particular topic

• One to three year olds have short attention spans, but a three year old has an attention span longer than a one year old

Memory

• Without memory there would be no learning• As children develop they become able to react

to a situation by remembering similar experiences in the past

• Toddler has a fairly good memory by age 2

Perception

• Gradually the brain organizes itself for increasingly complex learning through perceptions

• Perceptions- information received through the senses• The best way to help develop perceptions is for caregivers to

talk about what they and the children are doing• 2 and 3 years olds ask questions constantly that help improve

their perceptions such as:– Why?– What is that?– How does it work?

Reasoning• Reasoning- the ability to solve problems and make decisions

– also important in recognizing relationships and forming concepts• Simple problem solving skills at 4-6 months• More sophisticated reasoning skills develop as age progresses• Children answer the following questions when solving problems:

– What is the problem?– What do I already know about it?– What are the possible solutions?– Which is the best solution?– Did I make the right choice?

Imagination

• Becomes apparent at about 2 years of age• Enhances learning because it allows the child

to try new things and to be different people• Until age 5, children are not sure where reality

ends and imagination begins

Creativity

• Creativity- where imagination is used to produce something– usually an object is produced but not always– ex: object- using clay– ex: non object- day dream

• creativity is mostly developed in early childhood

Curiosity

• Curiosity causes children to wonder why or try new activities

• Parents can overprotect the child or home which can limit curiosity

Encouraging Learning1-3

Readiness for Learning

• Children can learn a new skill only when they are physically and intellectually ready

• Avoid delaying skills that children are ready to learn– Sometimes helping can cause a delay in learning

Guiding and Learning

• Give your time and attention• Take advantage of simple learning

opportunities• Allow time for thinking– Need time to consider choices and make decisions

• Give only as much help as the child needs to succeed– Can help in the final step of a task

Guiding and Learning

• Encourage children to draw their own conclusions– Seeing and doing helps reinforce learning

• Show how to solve problems– Can also model by talking out loud to solve problems

• Maintain a positive attitude• Keep explanations simple and on the child’s level• Allow children to explore and discover• Help children understand the world and how it works• Take frequent breaks

Evaluating Toys

• Is the toy safe?– No small parts, no sharp edges, non-flammable- easily

burned

• Is it well made and durable?– Withstand use

• Will it be easy to care for?• Will it encourage the use of imagination?• Is it colorful?• Will it be easy for the child to handle?

Age Appropriate Toys

• One to two years– Toys that let a child practice body control and

learn through exploration– Anything that allows the child to use large muscles– Examples: metal pans, wooden spoons, plastic

storage containers

2-3 Years

• Toys that let a child develop coordination and understanding

• Like toys that allow them to imitate such as small shovel, plastic tools, play dishes, empty food containers

3-4 Years

• Toys that require small motor skills and increased imagination

• Examples: clay, color, paint, books, swings, slides

Speech Development

• The first three years of life are a window of opportunity for learning words

• By age two a child speaks about 200 words• A child’s language development is influenced

by how other caregivers and older children speak to them

• Encourage language development by speaking in a clear and engaging way

Speech Difficulties

• Using pressure on a child who is a “late talker” can sometimes make it worse

• Speech-language pathologist- trained to detect and correct speech problems

• The following may slow speech:– Poor hearing– Mental retardation– Learning disabilities– Emotional problems

• Problems with articulation are common until three or four– Articulation- the ability to use clear, distinct speech

• Avoid constantly correcting a child’s pronunciation, just set a good example in your own speech

• Stuttering is identified by rhythm, pitch, and speed of speech– Children who stutter need time to say the word on their

own