Chapter 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Question 1

what age group is early childhood group?

Answer 1

2-5 years old

Question 2

what are some physical changes in the body and the brain during early childhood?

Answer 2

-body growth: growth rate slows, gains about 2 inches per year and 5-7 pounds per year
-brain: increased maturation of brain combines with life experiences help influence cognitive abilities, big growth in FRONTAL CORTEX, myelination continues

Question 3

TRUE or FALSE: gross and fine motor skills improve dramatically in early childhood?

Answer 3

TRUE!

Question 4

how much sleep should 3-4 year olds get on a daily basis?

Answer 4

10-13 hours

Question 5

how much exercise should 3-4 year olds get on a daily basis?

Answer 5

3ish hours

Question 6

TRUE or FALSE: eating behaviors improve when the caregiver eats with the children on a predictable schedule and a model choosing nutritious meal

Answer 6

TRUE

Question 7

what are the leading types of accidents in young children?

Answer 7

drowning and car accidents

Question 8

why is the death age so young in impoverished countries?

Answer 8

due to lack of modern medicine
-often dies from dehydration and malnutruition

Question 9

according to Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory, what stage would Early Childhood fall into?

Answer 9

Preoperational Stage (ages 2-7 years old)

Question 10

what are some things that children can do/understand during the preoperational stage?

Answer 10

-begins to represent the world with images and words
-can use language effectively
-pretend plays

Question 11

define egocentrism?

Answer 11

the inability to distinguish between your perspective and other people’s perspectives
(can only see the world from one view)

Question 12

what are some limits of preoperational thoughts?

Answer 12

-conservation: awareness that altering an object’s appearance does not change its basic properties
-centration: centering of attention of ONE characteristic to the exclusion of all others
-animism: belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of actions

Question 13

what does Vygotsky’s sociocultural cognitive theory tell us about cognitive development?

Answer 13

-children learn though social interactions
-cultures determines what and how children should learn

Question 14

what is the Zone of Proximal Development according to Vygotsky?

Answer 14

the range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but can be learned with assistance of adults of more-skilled children

Question 15

what does scaffolding mean?

Answer 15

you are changing the level of support given
(ex: starting heavily supported then reducing your help)

Question 16

what are some teaching strategies?

Answer 16

1. assess the child’s ZPD
2. use the child’s zone of proximal development in teaching (note that it should start high!)
3. use more skilled peers as teachers
4. monitor and encourage kiddos!
5. plave instructions in a meaningful context

Question 17

what is the difference between executive attention and sustained attention?

Answer 17

executive: involves planning actions, allocating attention to goals, detecting and compensating for errors, dealing with novel circumstances
sustained: focused and extended engagement

Question 18

what are some deficiencies in attention during early childhood?

Answer 18

1. most likely to pay attention to stimuli= SALIENT
2. no systematic, planned attention

Question 19

TRUE or FALSE: during early childhood, your short term capacity decreases?

Answer 19

FALSE: it increases!

Question 20

what is executive function?

Answer 20

umbrella-like concept that encompasses several higher-level cognitive processes

Question 21

what is the Theory of Mind?

Answer 21

the awareness of one’s own mental processes and the mental processes of others

Question 22

if you have autism, you likely have…

Answer 22

an impaired theory of mind

Question 23

how does language develop throughout early childhood?

Answer 23

-increase capability of understanding and producing all sounds of their language
-demonstrates knowledge of morphology rules
-learns and applies rules of syntax
-semantics!
-advances in pragmatics (appropriate use of words in difference contexts)