1. Intellectual Development from One to Three
Chapter 12
Intellectual Development from One to Three

2. Chapter Objectives
Summarize how heredity and the environment shape intelligence
Describe 4 methods of learning used by young children
List the 7 areas of intellectual activity
List 11 ways to help guide a child’s learning
Identify 4 parts of language that children have an inborn ability to decipher
Summarize how to evaluate toys for young children

3. Brain Development from One to Three
12.1
Brain Development from One to Three
Intellectual Development from One to Three

4. Brain Development Discussion Starter
Why can a 3-year old perform more tasks than a 1-year old?
New Term: Neuroscience
Is the modern study of the brain
Neuroscience is what has told us that children need experiences to develop. It was believed that all a child needed to develop correctly was food, shelter, clothing, and a loving, safe environment.

5. The Role of Intelligence
Intelligence is the ability to interpret and understand everyday situations and to use prior experiences when faced with new situations or problems
The ability to learn
Shaped by heredity and environment
Toddlers and preschoolers form attitudes about learning that can last a lifetime
Given many opportunities, children will develop positive attitudes toward learning

6. Concept Development
Concepts are general categories of objects and information
Young children often over-apply labels:
EX: all round objects are balls OR all animals are dogs
First categorize things by shape, color, and size
Balls are round, so are cookies and plates
Grass and leaves are green
Relationship between big and little may not be realized until 18 months
Concepts regarding what is alive and what is not wont be developed until later (clouds, toys, cartoon characters, etc.)
Concepts of time improve during these years
Show more patience
“Soon” now has meaning

7. Methods of Learning Piaget’s Four Periods of Learning Age
Characteristics
Sensorimotor
Children learn through their senses and own actions
Preoperational
(2-7 Years)
Children think in terms of their own activities and what they perceive at the moment
Concrete Operations
Children can think logically but still learn best through experiences
Formal Operations
People are capable of abstract thinking

8. Methods of Learning Incidental Learning
Incidental learning is unplanned learning
Example:
Five month old Evan pushes a button on a musical toy and discovers that this action causes music to play.
After this happens a few times, Evan learns a cause-and-effect situation.
Then he pushes the button on purpose to hear music

9. Methods of Learning Trial-and-Error Learning
Trial-and-Error learning is learning that takes place when a child tries several solutions to find one that works
At about months this is seen as experimenting
More advanced for a 3 year old
Example:
Krista is a 3 year old and wants to play with the robot her brother is playing with.
First, Krista grabs the robot, her brother cries and mom makes her give it back
Next, Krista asks if he wants to go play in the sandbox, he says no.
Finally, she offers up one of her favorite toys and her brother hands over his robot.

10. Methods of Learning Imitation
Imitation is learning by watching and copying others
Older children become annoyed when a younger sibling copies everything they do
The younger child uses the older child as a model for behavior of all kinds
Both skills and attitudes can be imitated
EXAMPLE:
A toddler watches an adult on the telephone and picks up an inanimate object and pretends it’s a phone

11. Methods of Learning Directed Learning
Directed learning results from being taught, often by parents, or other caregivers, teachers, or older siblings
Occurs in schools or other areas of formal instruction like the home
Direct learning involves an older person purposely teaching a specific skill
EXAMPLE:
Joel’s kindergarten teaching helps him learn the letters of the alphabet by showing pictures of items that begin with the same letter

12. Intellectual Activity Areas
Attention
To adults, in order to complete tasks, we have to focus our attention on one thing; blocking out much of the extra sensory information. Infants and young children cannot do this.
Young children and infants attention bounces back from one sensory bit of information to another rapidly as they try to make sense of all the messages
EXAMPLE: while putting a child’s shirt on and reaching for their pants, they have wondered out the door to see what was going on in the next room
The more a child can block out extra sensory information, the better they can learn and focus their attention skills

13. Intellectual Activity Areas
Memory
Older children and adults have long-term and short-term memory
Short-term memory is brief and allows people the accomplish many every day tasks without making the brain store that information
EX: remembering a phone number long enough to call
Long-term memory is for more important data
First it enters short term memory
Second it is judged on its importance
Last it is stored in long-term memory
Babies demonstrate memory early
A 1-year old who was frightened by a dog may be afraid of all animals for a time
A 3-year old will remember the specific dog and compare it to others
3-year olds can also recall a celebration and look forward to the next one
Develop long-term memory skills at age 3

14. Intellectual Activity Areas
Perception
Perception is the information received through the senses
Reinforced as connects with established parts in the brain
Caregivers play a key role in the development of perception
Simply talking about what you and the child are doing can help perception
Use descriptive observations that a child can understand and expand on
EX: “ Look at the blue block. Your shirt is blue too. Let’s build a tower using only blue blocks.”
2 and 3 year olds seem to always ask questions “why?” “What’s that?”
Responding to the questions will help further perception
Always answer a question, if left unanswered a child’s perception of asking questions has been damaged

15. Intellectual Activity Areas
Reasoning
Necessary to solve problems and make decisions
Recognize relationships and form concepts
Making decisions involves choosing from different alternatives
Children learn through practice to make good choices
First, let the child choose between two options (both not causing harm)
A 1-year old can choose between two books at bedtime
A 3-year old can choose between two different shirts
Caregivers need to take note about asking questions that can elicit (bring about) negative responses
EX: Instead of asking “Would you like to have fish for dinner?” ask “Would you like peas or corn with your fish for dinner?”

16. Intellectual Activity Areas
Imagination
Very prominent about 2 years of age
Active imaginations improves learning because it allows the child to try new things
Child can act out a variety of roles
Children use imagination to convey what they see and hear themselves
Important to respect and respond carefully to a child’s imagination
They may use imagination as a tool for controlling their fears
EX: throwing a monster out the window

17. Intellectual Activity Areas
Creativity
Creativity is a mental ability that involves using the imagination to produce original ideas
Often displayed through objects for others to see
May also be in daydreams, dramatic play, or silly stories
Mostly developed during early childhood and lasts a lifetime
Promotes self-esteem and confidence
How to encourage creativity?
Allow the child free time or uninstructed play

18. Intellectual Activity Areas
Curiosity
Curiosity helps develop the brain and learning
Curiosity is what makes children want to know more about the world around them
Parents can accidentally stifle curiosity by overprotecting the child
Toddlers are extremely curious about the world around them
They get into everything; peeking around every corner
They become very curious about their parents and caregivers activities
Encourage curiosity whenever possible
If a child wants to stop during a walk and watch a snail, its stimulating to their brain development

19. Let’s Review!
1. Why is it vital that young children have a stimulating environment?
2. Describe how trial-and-error learning supports Piaget’s description of the Sensorimotor period
3. Why is curiosity important?

20. Encouraging Learning from One to Three
12.2
Encouraging Learning from One to Three
Intellectual Development from One to Three

21. Brainstorm
What might be some interesting daily routines that would be excellent learning opportunities for this age group?

22. Guiding for Learning Reading Readiness
Depends on a large part of the caregivers environment they create
Reading to a toddler should be a well-established daily routine
Interact with young children while reading
Have them predict the story
Reading Readiness means learning the skills necessary for reading, including letter recognition and the understanding that letters from the alphabet combine to form words on a page
Before age 3, reading readiness focuses on exciting a child about reading
Last stage of reading readiness is letter recognition
Understanding that letters from the alphabet combine to form words
Encourage children to guess each letter and praise when they guess correct

23. Reading Readiness Bedtime Accomplishes More Than You Think!
Children learn how to handle books and turn pages
They begin to associate written words that appear on the page with words being read aloud
Finishing a book creates a sense of accomplishment
Especially when the child can read some of the text.

24. Readiness for Learning
Math Readiness
Math readiness is the level of knowledge of basic math concepts
Number recognition is a large concept
Like reading, caregivers need to make learning math enjoyable
Explore sizes, shapes, amounts, and proportions long before they enter a formal classroom
“Are there two bananas left this morning or only one?”
Counting and number recognition can be taught by making game for finding numbers
How quickly can a child find the number 3 in a grocery store
Blocks and puzzles also help shape recognition
Also help in learning shape names
Sorting is a good mathematical skill
Sort items by color, shape, and size

25. Readiness for Learning
Guide for Learning
Suggestions to guide learning
Give your time and attention
Allow time for thinking
Give only as much help as the child needs
Encourage children to draw their own
conclusions
Demonstrate how to solve problems
Model problem solving
Maintain a positive attitude
Keep explanations simple
Allow children to explore and discover
Help children understand the world and how it works
Take frequent breaks
Children need unconstructed play time

26. Language Abilities Speech Development
Between a child’s 1st and 2nd birthdays, children work at learning new words
At 12 months a child may speak 2 to 8 words
By age 2, it jumps to 50 words
At this time, children will use 1-2 words versus an entire sentence to express themselves
Encourage language development by talking to young children about their lives
At age 2, children should start developing small sentences
“Doggie bark”
At 2-1/2 years of age, children begin to learn basic grammar rules
Children will add an “s” onto words to make them plural
Most 3-year olds can:
Say their name and age
Make all vowel sounds and say all consonants
Speak without repeating a word or syllable
Use sentences of at least 4 words
Be understood by others
Answer what and where questions
Understand what is meant by words like us, in, or under
Follow simple commands

27. Speech Development Sign Language
Baby sign language is a way to teach infants how to communicate using hand gestures
Hand gestures are easier for a child to communicate using hand movements versus their vocal cords (Fine vs Gross motor skills)
Studies have shown that children that use sign language to communicate are about 1 full year ahead in other areas of language and speech development
Baby Sign Language.com

28. Language Abilities Speech Difficulties
A child that does not seem to understand what is said, does not speak at all, or speaks very little should be thoroughly examined
Most public school districts provide hearing tests
CAREER:
A speech-language pathologist is a specialist who is trained to detect and help correct speech problems
Some difficulties can be treated as early as 3 years of age
Hearing problems, learning disabilities, and mood disorders can affect speech development

29. Speech Difficulties Articulation
Articulation refers to the ability to use clear, distinct speech
Its normal for children to have trouble articulating words until at least age 4
Skip syllables or leave off endings of words
Most problems correct themselves over time
Instead of correcting pronunciation of words, set a good example by saying words correctly
Instead of saying “ba-ba” say “bottle”

30. Speech Problems Stuttering
Stuttering is when a person speaks with a sporadic repetition or prolonged sound
Some parents mistake hesitations in speech for stuttering
“ Johnny…Johnny….Johnny. He….he…he hit Zoe!”
In this case the child’s language development is still immature
True stuttering can be identified by the rhythm, pitch, and speed of speech
It is rapid, forced, short, and sharp in sound
“I c-c-c-can’t g-g-g-go outside”
Causes are not completely understood
Some overcome with speech therapy
Some outgrow it
Never finish a child’s words, children need time to finish on their own

31. Playtime! Toy Selection One-Two Years Two-Three Years Three-Four Years
Motor control
Large muscle
Exploration
Metal pans, wooden spoons, etc.
Two-Three Years
Coordination is key
Child-size vacuum cleaner or lawn mower, telephone, plastic or wooden tools
Crayons, play dough, books
Three-Four Years
Improved motor skills
IMAGINATION
Dolls, construction sets, dress up clothes
Music
Puzzles
Large gross motor skills