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Chapter 9 Powerpoints
Citation preview
Kathleen Stassen Berger
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Part III
Early Childhoods: Cognitive Development
Chapter Nine
Piaget and VygotskyChildren’s TheoriesLanguageEarly-Childhood Education
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Piaget and Vygotsky• Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are
famous for their descriptions of cognition.
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Piaget: Preoperational Thinking
• preoperational intelligence: cognitive development between the ages of about 2 and 6.– languages– imagination
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• four characteristics of thinking in early childhood which make logic difficult:
– centration
– focus on appearance
– static reasoning
– irreversibility
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Obstacles to Logical Operation
• centration: characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child focuses on one idea
• egocentrism: children’s tendency to think about the world entirely from their own personal perspective
• literally means self-centered
• focus on appearance: characteristic of preoperational thought where young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent
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• static reasoning: thinking that nothing changes– whatever is now has always been and always will be
• irreversibility: idea that nothing can be undone – inability to recognize that something can be restored
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Conservation and Logic
conservation: idea that amount of a substance
remains the same when appearance changes
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Vygotsky: Social Learning
• First leading developmentalist to emphasize the other side of early cognition.
– young children not always egocentric– can be very sensitive to the wishes and
emotions of others
• Emphasizes social aspect of young children’s cognition in contrast to Piaget’s emphasis on the individual.
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Scaffolding• zone of proximal development (ZPD): skills
a person can exercise only with assistance– ideas or cognitive skills a person is close to
mastering as well as to more apparent skills.
• scaffolding: temporary support tailored to a learner’s needs and abilities– aimed at helping master next task
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• private speech: internal dialogue that occurs when people talk to themselves– silent or out loud
• social mediation: function of speech where person’s cognitive skills are refined and extended – both formal instruction and casual conversation
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Children’s Theories
• Both Piaget and Vygotsky realized that children actively work to understand their world. – seek to explain what they
experience– why and how people
behave as they do
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• theory-theory: idea that children attempt to explain everything they see and hear by constructing theories
• theory of mind: person’s theory of what other people might be thinking– must realize other people are not thinking
the same thoughts that they are
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Language• Critical period for language learning due to:
– brain maturation– myelination– social interaction
• Early childhood is a sensitive period for rapidly and easily mastering:
– vocabulary – grammar– pronunciation
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Grammar• Grammar of language includes
structures, techniques, and rules that are used to communicate meaning. – word order
– word repetition
– prefixes and suffixes
– intonation
– emphasis
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Learning Two Languages
• Bilingualism is an asset. • Important to speak the majority
language as well as the minority one.– Is a nation better off if all its citizens speak
one language? – Should there be more than one official
language? • Switzerland has 3• Canada has 2
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Bilingualism, Cognition, and Culture
• Debate over bilingual education inseparable from issues of:– ethnic pride– identity– prejudice – fear
• These subjective factors get in the way of objective developmental research.
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• Bilingualism has both advantages and disadvantages for early cognition and literacy.
• Children who speak two languages by age 5 are:– less egocentric.– more advanced in their
theory of mind.
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Constant Change• Basics of language learning apply to every
language a young child learns.– naming – vocabulary explosions– fast-mapping– overregularization– extensive practice
• Established languages continually change as each new generation revises it to meet current needs.
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Early-Childhood Education• Early educational institutions:
– preschool– nursery school– day care– pre-primary
• Each early-childhood educational program emphasizes somewhat different:– skills– goals– methods
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Child-Centered Programs
• Programs that stress children’s development and growth.
• Child-centered programs that use a Piaget-inspired model allows children to discover ideas at their own pace. – physical space and materials – puzzles– blocks of many sizes – toys
• Child-centered programs also encourage artistic expression.
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Early-Childhood Education
• Child Centered: • Montessori
Schools• The Reggio
Emilia Approach
• Teacher-Directed• Head Start and
Intervention Programs
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• Costs and benefits of the different approaches:– safety– adequate space and equipment– low adult-child ratio– positive social interaction among children and
adults– trained staff and educated parents– continuity helps– “How long has each staff member worked at the
center?”
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