Chapter 5: Physical and cognitive dev in early childhood Flashcards
What ages are early childhood
3 to 5
What happens to the rate of growth
It slows down (height and weight)
What’s the most obvious physical change in this period of development
Growth
How much does the average child grow and gain weight every year during early childhood
about 2 and a half inches in height
and 5 to 7 pounds
/year
What happens to chubbiness at the end of early childhood
Body fat slows down
Chubby babies often look leaner
What causes most of the variation in growth patterns
Genetics (heredity)
but environmental experiences too
What changes dramatically about the brain in this period
The local patterns within the brain.
The amount of brain material in some areas can nearly double, followed by a dramatic loss of unneeded cells
Where does the most rapid growth in the brain take place
The prefrontal cortex
What are some of the Key things the prefrontal cortex is involved in
Planning, organizing new actions and maintaining attention to tasks.
What are the two changes (that began before birth) that contribute to the brain’s growth
- The number and size of the dendrites increase
- Myelination continues
What is myelination
Process through which axons are covered with a layer of fat cells
-> which increases the speed and efficiency of information traveling through.
What are axons
Nerve fibers that carry signals away from the cell body
What is myelination important for (what abilities)
Myelination in some parts of the brain responsible for things like hand-eye coordination is not complete til age 4.
While other areas related to focusing attention is not complete until middle/late childhood.
What happens to motor development
It gets better, and explains higher level of physical activity
What are long-term negatives effects for children who fail to develop basic motor skills
- May be less able to join in group games
- participate in sports during school year and adulthood
What are gross motor skills
Abilities that involve the large muscles of the arms, legs and torso.
What happens the motor skills from beginning to end of this stage
They get better
How much sleep should they have
10 to 13 hours of good-quality sleep
What are some sleep problems that children can experience
- Narcolepsy
- Insomnia
- Nightmares
What are some developmental problems associated with sleep issues
- Being overweight or obese
- Having ADHD
What affects children’s eating behaviors
Caregivers’ behavior
Eating improves when caregivers eat with them on predictable schedules, make mealtime pleasant occasions.
What are the characteristics that enhance young children’s safety
- Social skills and ability to regulate emotions
- Impulse control (not going into street to catch a ball)
- frequent use of personal protections (ex helmets)
- Parent protective beh
- Home safety equipment (ex smoke alarms)
- absence of playground hazards
- Injury prevention and safety policies and programs
- Availability of positive activates
- active surveillance of environmental hazards
prevention policies
What one major danger to children from parents
Parental smoking
-> put them at risk for health problems ex asthma and tuberculosis
What’s Piaget’s first stage of development
The sensimotor stage: Where infant becomes increasingly able to organize and coordinate sensations and perceptions with physical movements
How long does the Preoperational stage last
From age 2 til 7
What happens in the preoperational stage
It’s Piaget’s second stage
Children here begin to represent the world with words, images and drawings.
They form stable concepts and begin to reason.
The child does not yet perform operations
What does ‘operational’ in Piaget’s terms mean
They are reversible mental actions that allow children to do mentally what before they could only do physically.
e.g. Mental adding and subtracting
What is Preoperational thought
The beginning of the ability to reconstruct in thought what has been established in behavior
What are the two substages of The preoperational stage of Piaget
- The symbolic function Substage
- The intuitive thought substage
What is the Symbolic Function Substage
The child (2-4 y/o) gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present.
- children use scribble design to represent things
- They use language more effectively
- Engage in pretend play
What are two limitations of the symbolic function substage
- Egocentrics
- Animism
What is egocentrism
Inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s perspective.
Who initially studied egocentrism
Jean Piaget and Barbel Inhelder
How did Jean piaget and Barbel inhelder study children egocentrism
By devising the three mountains task.
this experiment showed that children in the preoperational stage often pick their own view.
what is Animism
The belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action.
What is the Intuitive Thought Substage
The second stage of Piaget’s preoperational thought. between ages 4-7
Here children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of questions
Why does Piaget call the second stage of preoperational thought Intuitive
Because young children seem so sure about their knowledge and understanding, but they are unaware of how they know what they know
What’s is another limitation of preoperational thought
Centration
What is centration
A centering of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all other
How is centration most clearly evidenced
In young children’s lack of conservation.
What is children’s lack of conservation
The lack of awareness that altering an object or substance’s appearance does not change its basic properties.
What’s the beaker test
A test devised by Piaget to determine whether a child can think operationally
In the test, two identical cups contain the same amount of liquid then one of them is poured into another cup that is taller and thinner.
failing the test means children are still in the preoperational stage
What some dimensions of Conservation
(that children can’t conserve
Number, Matter and Length and area
sometimes, a child can conserve something but sot the other
What did Rochel Gelman say about the conservation task
That When attention is improved, they are more likely to conserve
He believes conservation appears earlier than Piaget thought and attention is esp. important in explainign conservation.
Was Vygotsky constructivist
yes
What is Vygotsky’s theory
The social constructivist approach
What does the social constructivist approach emphasize
The social contexts of learning and the construction of knowledge through social interaction.
What does Vygotsky think about children’s cognitive development
That it depends on the tools provided by society
and that their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live
Who created the concept Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Vygotsky
What is Zone of proximal dev (ZPD) for Vygotsky
It’s his term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but can be learned with guidance
What is the ZPD’s lower limit
Level of problem solving reached by child working alone
What is ZPD’s upper limit
Level of additional responsibility child can accept with assistance of instructor
What concept is closely linked to the idea of ZPD
Scaffolding
What is scaffolding
Changing the level of support
According to Vygotsky, why do children use speech
For social communication
but also to help them solve tasks, to plan, guide, monitor their behavior.
How did Piaget vs Vygotsky see Private Speech
Piaget saw it as egocentric and immature
Vygotsky saw it as an important tool of thought
Who emphasized that all mental functions have external or social origins
Vygotsky
When and how do children internalize their egocentric speech in the form of INTERNAL SPEECH
Transition occurs between 3 and 7
and self-talk/inner speech becomes their thoughts.
For Vygotsky why do children talk to themselves
They are using language to govern their behavior and guide themselves
What curriculum is inspired by Vygotsky’s theory
‘Tools of the Mind’
its an education curriculum that emphasizes children’s dev of self regulation and cognitive foundations of literacy.
What does Tools of Mind focus on
- Cultural tools
- development of self-regulation
- Zone of proximal development
- Scaffolding
- Private speech
- Shared activity
- Dramatic play
In both theories of Piaget and Vygotsky, what do they have in common about children’s teaching
That teachers are important and serve as facilitators and guides.
Does Piaget put emphasis on the sociocultural context
No
What type of constructivist is Vygotsky
Social constructivist
What type of constructivist is Piaget
Cognitive constructivist
What are Piaget’s stages
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete operation
Formal operational
What are Vygotsky’s stages
He didn’t propose general stages of development
What are the key Processes of Vygotsky
Zone of proximal development
Language
Dialogue
Tools of the culture
What are the key Processes of Piaget
Schema
Assimilation
Operations
Conservation
Classification
What the role of language in Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories
For Vygotsky, language has a major role in shaping thought
for Piaget, language has a minimal role and is directed by cognition
What are the views on education of Vygotsky and Piaget
For Vygotsky, education plays a central role - helps the, learn the tools of the culture
For Piaget, education merely refines the child’s cognitive skills
What are some critics of Vygotsky
- That he wasn’t specific enough about age-related changes
- That he overemphasized the role of language in thinking
What is Attention
Focusing of mental resources on select information
What are the 2 aspects of attention young children make advances in
- Executive attention
- Sustained attention
What is executive attention
involves:
- planning actions
- allocating attention to goals
- Detecting and compensating for errors
- Monitoring progress on tasks
- Dealing with novel or difficult circumstances
What is sustained attention
Focused and extended engagement with an object, task, event or other aspect of the environment
What is sustained attention also referred as
Vigilance
When does the greatest increase in vigilance happen
During preschool years
What is memory
The retention of information over time
= A central process in children’s cognitive development
For how long is information retained in the short-term memory (if no rehearsal)
30 seconds
What is one method of assessing short-term memory
The Memory-span task:
Hear a short list of stimuli (e.g. digits) then asked to repeat them
What does the speed-of-processing explanation highlight
That the speed in which a child processes info is an important aspect of the child’s cognitive abilities
Do children have good memories
Yes. their memory becomes more accurate during early childhood (increases).
and they can remember a great deal if they are given appropriate cues and prompts.
What does the accuracy of a young child’s eyewitness depend on
factors like the type, number and intensity of suggesting techniques
What is autobiographical memory
Involves memory of significant events and experiences.
What does executive function encompass
It’s a concept that encompasses a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the develpment of the prefrontal cortex
What does executive function involve
Managing one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and exercise self-control
What does executive function involve in early childhood
developmental advances in
- cognitive inhibition
- cognitive flexibility
- goal-setting
- delay of gratification
What did Walter Mischel and his collegues do
Conducted a number of studies of delay of gratification with young children
During delay of gratification test, what did Mischel mean by cool adn hot thoughts
Cool thoughts = engaging in non-marshmellow related thoughts and activites
Hot thoughts= Looked at the marshmellow
What does it mean that children have a Theory of mind
They are curious about the nature of the human mind
Theory of mind refers to awarness of one’s own mental processes and those of others
What changes in the theory of mind happens in Ages 2 to 3
Children begin to understand these 3 mental states:
- perceptions: that other people see what is in front of their eyes, not the child’s eyes
- Emotions: can distinguish between positive and negative emotions
- Desires: Child understand that if someone wants something, he or she will try to get it.
What changes in the theory of mind happens in ages 4 to 5
Realization that people can have false beliefs (beliefs that are not true)
what changes in the theory of mind happen beyond age 5
Theres a deepening appreciation of the mind itself and not just an understanding of mental states.
Between what ages does the transition from saying simple sentences to complex sentences happen
Ages 2 and 3
What is Phonology
It refers to the sound system of a language, including the sounds used and how they may be combined
What is morphology
It refers to the units of meaning involved in word formation.
- using plural and possessive forms of nouns, putting endings on verbs, using prepositions, articles, and various forms of the verb to be.
What’s some of the best evidence for changes in children’s uses of morphological rules.
Overgeneralization of the rules.
eg ‘foots’ instead of ‘feet’
Talk a bit about Jean Berko’s experiments
It was an experiment to see if young children understood morphological rules.
They were presented with a card with ‘wug’ on it for example, and were told fill the missing word ‘wugs’
most of the words used were made up and only made to see if children could make the plurals or past tenses of words they’ve never heard before
What is syntax
Involves the way words are combined to form acceptable phrases and sentences.
What are semantics
Aspect of language that refers to the meaning of words and sentences.
it also characterizes early childhood
How can children learn so many new words so qickly?
One possible explanation is Fast Mapping.
What is Fast mapping
It involves children’s ability to make an initial connection between a word and its referent only after a limited exposure to the word
What are the six key principles in young children’s vocab learning
- Children learn the words they hear more often
- Children learn words for things and events that interest them
- Children learns words best in responsive and interactive contexts rather than passive
- Children learn words best in contexts that are meaningful (words in context rather than isolated facts)
- Children learn words best when they access clear info about the word meaning
- Children learn words best when grammar and vocab are considered
What are pragmatics
The appropriate use of language in different contexts .
this also characterizes young children’s language development.
e.g:
- learn rules of convo and politeness
- adapt their speech to diff settings
- dev. linguistic skills
+ they become increasingly able to talk about things that aren’t there.
What does the child-centered kindergarten emphasize and what are its 3 principles
educating the whole child and promoting his or her cognitive, physical and socioemotional development.
Emphasis on the process of learning, not what is learned.
1) each child follows a unique developmental pattern
2) young children learn best through firsthand experiences with ppl and materials
3) play is extremly important in development
What is the Montessori approach
It’s a philosophy of education in which children are given considerable freedom and spontaneity in choosing activities.
It encourages children to make decisions at an early ages.
fosters independence and the dev of cognitive skills
What are some critics of the Montessori approach
- That it deemphasizes verbal interaction between teacher and child and peers
- restricts imaginative play
- relies too much on self-corrective materials
What is Developmentally Appropriate Practice - DAP
based on the knowledge of the typical development of children within a particular age span and uniqueness of the individual child.
it also emphasizes the importance of creatin settings that encourage children to be active learners
What is the Project Head Start
A program designed to give children from low-income families the opportunity to acquire skills and experiences that are important for success in school.
What are 2 Controversies in Early childhood Education
- What the curriculum should be
- Whether preschool education should be universal in the United states
