Modern Theories II: Core Knowledge (a.k.a. Nativism)

Question 1

Nativist Theory views the child as possessing “core knowledge” that has been important over evolutionary time (be able to provide and explain an example of this)

Answer 1

Child as primate scientist
• Children have innate cognitive capabilities that are the product evolutionary processes
• Focus on human universals (e.g. language, social cognition, biological categorization, using numbers)
The Core Knowledge

Question 2

The Core Knowledge

Answer 2

• Children have core knowledge in the form of either specialized learning mechanisms or informal theories
• Psychology
• Biology
• Physics
• Language
• Number
• These theories/ structures focus attention so infants can learn from their environments rapidly and efficiently
• Initial theories act as the foundation for future learning; with experience theories that are refined over time

Question 3

Innovative methods have found infants to be far more competent than Piaget proposed (be able to provide an example of this)

Answer 3

o Infant math- infants as young as 5 months seem to be able to know the difference between 1 and 2 and use that knowledge to perform simple arithmetic (do this by using teddy bears, kids expect there to be 2 if another one is added)

Question 4

Pros of Nativism

Answer 4

• Has contributed new and important methodology
• Describes infants and young children as more competent than previously believed
• Compelling explanation for speed of learning in infancy

Question 5

Cons of Nativism

Answer 5

• Can never fully distinguish innate versus experience

* Doesn’t explain why older children sometimes seem less competent than infants

Question 6

Applications to education

Answer 6

• Acknowledge and consider children’s prior knowledge and/ or misconceptions when designing instruction
• Dedicate extra time to topics inconsistent with core knowledge e.g. rational numbers