Understanding Learning and the Mind Chapter 13.1 Child/Human Development

The Role of Intelligence Intelligence- is the ability to interpret or understand everyday situations and to use that experience when faced with new situations or problems. Shaped by hereditary and *environment

Methods of Learning 4 different methods: Incidental learning- is unplanned learning. Trial-and-error learning- takes place when a child tries several solutions before finding one that works Imitation- is learning by watching and copying others. Direct learning- learning that results from being taught.

Discussion Activity What method is used to learn each of the following: A dog wags its tail when scratched New dance moves Licorice ice cream tastes terrible, but peanut butter sandwiches taste good. How to make pasta

Concept Development Concepts- general categories of objects and information Concepts range from categories for objects such as “fruit” to qualities such as color or shape and to abstract ideas such as time A young child believes that anything that moves or works is alive Concepts of time improve during the 2 nd and 3 rd year “soon” “before” “after”

The Mind at Work Attention- 1-3year olds have short attention spans. A 3 yr. old can focus on one activity for much longer than a 1 yr. old Memory- A 1 yr. old may be frightened of a dog, but a 3 yr. old can remember the particular dog and compare it with others By age 2 a toddler has a fairly good memory

The Mind at Work Perception- the information received through senses This sensory information reinforces established connections in the brain and sparks new ones Questions such as “Why?” What is that?” and “How does it work?” helps improve a child’s perception

The Mind at Work Reasoning- is basic to the ability to solve problems and make decisions It’s also important in recognizing relationships and forming concepts Babies show the beginning of simple problem-solving ability at about 4-6 mo. 1-3 yr. olds gradually learn more sophisticated reasoning skills.

The Mind at Work Describe all the sensory information you have around you. What could a young child learn from each of these sensory inputs? How can a child learn from nature even in cold or rainy weather? Is it safe to let children experiment with the different tastes of nature? Why or why not?

The Mind at Work As children solve problems, they basically are answering these questions: 1.What is the problem? 2.What do I already know about it? 3.What are the possible solutions? 4.Which is the best solution? 5.Did I make the right choice?

The Mind at Work Imagination- becomes apparent at about 2 yrs. Of age An active imagination enhances learning because it allows the child to try new things and to be different people– at least in the mind. Until about age 5 children are simply not sure where reality ends and imagination begins

The Mind at Work Creativity- the imagination is used to produce something The product is usually an object that others can see, such a s a finger painting Curiosity- causes children to wonder why or to try new activities