1. Introduction 2. Fact or Fiction? 3. Piaget and Vygotsky 4. Children’s Theories 5. Language 6. Early Childhood Education 7. Closing Thoughts

[Video: Early Childhood – Cognitive Development Introduction] Instruction: Click to play video. This presentation covers early childhood cognitive development related to advances in thought, language, and early-childhood education for children between ages of 2 and 6. [Video: Early Childhood – Cognitive Development Introduction]

Fact or Fiction? Fiction Fact 1. Preoperational intelligence is symbolic and self-centered. 2. A 3-year-old is likely to believe that the same amount of ice cream is actually more when it is transferred from a large bowl to a small bowl. 3. Most 3-year-olds can picture someone having a different belief about where an object is hidden. Instruction: Click to reveal each statement, then the category. Please note, this page is available to use with a clicker system. 4. A young child who says, “You comed up and hurted me” is demonstrating a lack of understanding of English grammar. 4

Piaget: Preoperational Thinking preoperational intelligence: Piaget’s term for cognitive development between the ages of 2 and 6; it includes language and imagination (which involve symbolic thought), but logical, operational thinking is not yet possible. conservation: The principle that the amount of substance remains the same (i.e., is conserved) even when its appearance changes. Which glass contains more? Instruction: Automatic animation. According to Piaget, if a child responds that one glass has more liquid than the other, that child focuses on one idea (the concept of centration), ignores other attributes (the concept of appearance), notices only the immediate condition (the concept of static reasoning), and doesn’t understand how to revert the process and recreate the liquid’s level from a moment earlier (the concept of irreversibility). Piaget was correct: young children are not as logical as adults or older children. But, he didn’t realize how much they actually do understand. 5 5

[Video: Piaget’s principle of conservation] Piaget: Preoperational Thinking Instructions: Click to see a video about Piaget’s principle of conservation.   In this video clip, you’ll see conservation task in action. How does this task show whether or not a child is in Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development?  [Video: Piaget’s principle of conservation]

Vygotsky: Social Learning guided participation: The process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations. scaffolding: Temporary support that is tailored to the learner’s needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process. Instruction: Automatic animation. According to Vygotsky, children learn because their mentors present challenges, offer assistance (but without taking over); add crucial information, and encourage motivation. A verbal example of scaffolding is when a child’s question is answered with details that build vocabulary and understanding—for instance: What is that? That is a hose, h-o-s-e. What do you think is inside of it? That’s right! Water is inside. We use the hose to clean the sidewalk and water the flowers. 7 7 7

[Video: Learning Through Participation] Vygotsky: Social Learning Instructions: Click to play a video that demonstrates Vygotsky’s perspective on learning. This video clip shows a Mayan girl learning with her mother. How do the concepts of guided participation and scaffolding explain what you observed in this video clip? [Video: Learning Through Participation]

What categories do children ages 3 to 5 years ask questions about? Theory-Theory What categories do children ages 3 to 5 years ask questions about? Percentage of Questions Asked by 3- to 5-Year-Olds, by Domain Human behavior 47% Biology 31% Objects 9% theory-theory: The idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear by constructing theories. Instruction: Click to begin the animation that reveals the results of this study. Children seem to figure out why adults act as they do before deciding to copy those actions. Children are likely to follow an adult’s example if something the adult attempts is successfully achieved. Children also develop theories before they employ their impressive ability to imitate. Nonliving natural things 9% Other 4% Source: Adapted from Kelemen et al., 2005. 9 9

Theory of Mind Where will Max look for the bone? theory of mind: A person’s theory of what other people might be thinking. Instruction: Automatic animation. In order to have a theory of mind, children must realize that other people are not necessarily thinking the same thoughts that they themselves are. That realization is seldom possible before age 4. So this young child would say that Max will think the bone is in the blue bowl. Piaget would point out that preschool children focus on appearance and static conditions; also, they are egocentric, believing that everyone shares their perspective! 10 10 10

Theory of Mind [Video: Theory of Mind: Representational Change] Instructions: Click to play a video about theory of mind. In this video clip, you’ll see theory of mind tested—first in a younger and then in an older child. In what way(s) is the animation on the slide similar to and/or different from the test for theory of mind shown in this video clip? [Video: Theory of Mind: Representational Change]

What is the word for each of these? Vocabulary What is the word for each of these? Horse Camel Fast mapped as… Zebra Fast mapped as… Donkey Fast mapped as… Instruction: Click to reveal how a child would likely fast-map these animal names Egocentrism is an asset when it comes to fast-mapping. If a child knows what a horse is, it's easy for that child to say horse for any animal that is fast-mapped in that category of animal. Same would be true, say, of a child who knows house--structures for residence (from a hut to a tent to an igloo to a manor) could easily be fast-mapped as house. Children do not worry that they might be wrong; they center on their own concept.   Not worrying about making an error is important because it enables acquiring new words, when those errors are corrected. The “mapping” allows the new words to be learned at least by category while the exact definitions are not yet quite refined. At age 2, a child may know between 100 and 2,000 words; by age 3 and 4, the amounts might rise to 5,000 and 10,000 respectively. Some 5-year-olds might know up to 20,000 words. These great leaps are referred to as the vocabulary explosion. Horse Horse Horse fast-mapping: The speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentatively placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning. 12 12

[Video: Word Learning: Clip A] Vocabulary Instructions: Click to play a video about fast-mapping. In this video clip, you’ll watch two children presented with new, unfamiliar objects. What does this video clip show you about how children learn new words? [Video: Word Learning: Clip A]

Overregularized plural Grammar overregularization: The application of rules of grammar even when exceptions occur, speaking as if the language is more regular than it actually is. How do children make nouns plural? Correct singular noun mouse tooth leaf sheep Correct plural noun Overregularized plural Instructions: Click to reveal the correct and overregularized plural forms of the nouns. Learning each aspect of a language—such as grammar, vocabulary, or pronunciation—follows a particular developmental path, partly because parts of the brain myelinate at specific rates and every language has both easy and difficult constructions. Some children are relatively quiet because they inherit that tendency, but experience determines which words and grammatical constructions they understand (Kovas et al., 2005). mice teeth leaves sheep mouses tooths leafs sheeps

Learning Two Languages balanced bilingual: A person who is fluent in two languages, not favoring one over the other. Can you speak? Can you speak? Se puede hablar? Pouvez – vous parler? Instruction: Neuroscience finds that young bilingual children site both languages in the same areas of the brain yet manage to keep them separate.   A child is more likely to become fully/balanced bilingual if exposed to both languages daily during the crucial ages 2-6. In 2010, in the United States, 20 percent of school children spoke one language at home and English at school, with 75 percent of that 20 percent also speaking English well. Können Sie sprechen? Você pode falar? あなたは話すことができる？ Potete parlare? 你能说话吗？ Вы можете говорить?

Developmental Programs Child-Centered/Developmental programs support child development by encouraging children to follow their own interests rather than adult direction. What are child-centered programs like? Instruction: Montessori schools emphasize individual pride and accomplishment, presenting literacy-related tasks. The Reggio-Emila approach is a famous program of early childhood education that originated in the town of Reggio Emilia, Italy. It encourages each child’s creativity in a carefully designed setting. Montessori school Reggio Emilia program

Developmental Programs Instructions: Click to play a video of another care center in action. The center you’ll see in this video is in the United States. What do you see this in the video clip that you think would have a positive impact on a child’s development? [Video: Best Practices in Childcare: Observing a Care Center in Action]

Teacher-Directed Programs What are teacher-directed programs like? Instruction: Automatic animation. Many teacher-directed programs were inspired by behaviorism, which emphasizes step-by-step learning and repetition. Praise and other reinforcements are given for good behavior, and time-outs are imposed to punish misbehavior. teacher-directed programs stress academics, usually taught by one adult to a group of children. 18 18

When Where Why Who What Intervention Programs What are the 5 W’s of Head Start? The United States of America From 1965 to the present When Where Federal government and legislation Why Who Instruction: Click to reveal the details about Head Start. Early research findings were not consistent, but a last wave of numerous studies has shown that in England as well as the United States, early education helps disadvantaged children. Originally intended to lift families out of poverty by promoting literacy; also provides dental care, immunizations, teaching of English, and helping parents teach their children and solve their own conflicts What Federally subsidized early education programs for children to get a “head start” on their formal education

Costs and Benefits What did longitudinal research reveal about a preschool program in Michigan? Major Findings for High/Scope Participants at Age 40 Arrested 5+ times by 40 Program group No-program group Earned $20,000+ at 40 Graduated from high school Instruction: Click each square in the legend to reveal the study results. Two years in the intensive High/Scope preschool program changed the lives of dozens of children from impoverished families. The program had a positive impact on many aspects of their education, early adulthood, and middle age. You can’t see this result on the graph, but the study also revealed that girls who attended High/Scope fared much better than boys. Homework at 15 20 40 60 80 Percent Source: Schweinhart et al., 2005, p. 196

Closing Thoughts From what you saw in this presentation, what makes it possible for young children to make huge leaps in thinking and learning? Summarize how these events unfold in children between the ages of 2 and 6 or 7.