Development Through the Lifespan Chapter 7 Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; Any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Physical Development in Early Childhood Body Growth Slows Shape becomes more streamlined Skeletal Growth Continues New growth centers Lose baby teeth Asynchronies Brain, lymph nodes grow fastest

Brain Development in Early Childhood Frontal lobe areas for planning and organization develop. Left hemisphere active Language skills Handedness Linking areas of the brain develop Cerebellum, reticular formation, corpus callosum

Influences on Physical Growth and Health Heredity and Hormones Growth hormone, thyroid-stimulating hormone Emotional Well-Being Psychosocial dwarfism Nutrition Infectious Disease Immunization Childhood Injuries

Factors Related to Childhood Injuries Individual Differences Gender Temperament Poverty, low parental education More children in the home Societal conditions International differences

Motor Skill Development in Early Childhood Gross Motor Skills Walking, running smoother Catching, throwing, swinging, riding Fine Motor Skills Self-help: dressing, eating Drawing

Progression of Drawing Skills Scribbles – during 2nd year First Representational Forms Label already-made drawings – around age 3 Draw boundaries and people – 3–4 years More Realistic Drawings – preschool to school age Early Printing – Ages 3–5

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Ages 2 to 7 Gains in Mental Representation Make-believe Play Limitations in Thought — Cannot Perform Mental Operations Egocentrism Conservation Hierarchical Classification

Limits on Conservation Centration – Focus on one aspect and neglect others Irreversibility – Cannot mentally reverse a set of steps

Early Childhood Development of Make-Believe With age, make-believe gradually becomes: More detached from real life conditions Less self-centered More complex Sociodramatic Play

Piagetian Class Inclusion Problem

Follow-Up Research on Preoperational Thought Egocentric Thought Can adjust language to others and take others’ perspectives in simple situations. Animistic thinking comes from incomplete knowledge of objects. Illogical Thought Can do simplified conservation Can reason by analogy Use causal expressions Categorization Everyday knowledge is categorized. Appearance versus reality Make-believe helps children tell the difference. Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2004

Educational Principles Derived from Piaget’s Theory Discovery learning Sensitivity to children’s readiness to learn Developmentally appropriate practice Acceptance of individual differences

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory and Early Childhood Private Speech Helps guide behavior Gradually becomes more silent Zone of Proximal Development Scaffolding supports children’s learning. Assisted discovery and peer collaboration also help children learn.

Model of Information Processing System

Improvements in Information Processing Attention Planning Memory Memory Strategies Everyday Experiences Theory of Mind Metacognition Emerging Literacy Mathematical Reasoning Ordinality, Counting, and Cardinality

Development of Theory of Mind Awareness of Mental Life – infancy – age 3 Mastery of False Beliefs – around age 4

Individual Differences in Early Childhood Mental Development Factors Contributing to Individual Differences: Home environment Quality of child care, preschool or kindergarten Child-centered versus academic Early intervention programs Television Educational TV

Child Care Arrangements for Preschoolers

Language Development in Early Childhood Vocabulary Fast-mapping Grammar Overregularization Conversation Pragmatics Supporting Language Development Expansions Recasts