COGNITIVE DEV IN PRESCHOOL YEARS Chapter 11

PRESCHOOLER THOUGHT Preschoolers think differently than adults Preschoolers’ thinking is tied to concrete objects, perceptions, action Through concrete manipulation of objects, preschoolers construct an understanding of the world BUT preschoolers can plan, think before acting, reflect on what is not present Irregular, intertwined dev: rarely clear differentiation between stages

PREOPERATIONAL THOUGHT See p. 225 Perception-based thought Unidimensional thought Irreversibility Transductive reasoning (faulty causal thinking) Egocentrism

SYMBOLIC THOUGHT Develops over time: pretend play use of paper art reading and writing

PIAGETIAN TASKS CONSERVATION: preschoolers lack conservation ie. they don’t understand that properties and amounts stay the same even when physical appearances change See chart p.230 Conservation of number, category, continuous quantity

PIAGETIAN TASKS SORT BY CATEGORIES Easiest to hardest: color, then shape, then size Preschoolers generally can’t sort by more than one category at one time

CRITICISMS OF PIAGETIAN THEORY May have underestimated intellectual abilities of preschoolers Cultural variations show different timetables of dev, BUT universal fundamental characteristics of preoperational thought were described by Piaget Altering Piaget’s research methods has led to different conclusions

CRITICISMS OF RESEARCH Cultural bias Linguistic or cultural barriers

VYGOTSKY Interaction and communication between child and others, especially adults, is the normal learning environment and leads to higher developed reasoning in children Scaffolding naturally occurs during learning This is an argument for socializing and talking in the preschool learning environment

SELF-DIRECTED SPEECH Helps children guide thinking Helps children think at higher levels

FIELD SENSITIVE/ INDEPENDENT Field independent kids: don’t seek outside help when problem-solving Field dependent kids: learn through interaction with others Cooperative projects and play meet the needs of these kids

NEW PERSPECTIVES To understand the learning process we must know more about: Attention: seems to be improved with verbal guidance Theories of the Mind: When we are aware of our thought processes, we can control or modify them.When we can think about how others feel, we can interact more effectively

THEORIES OF THE MIND See p 240 Internal Emotional States Motives and Intentions: aggressive kids are less able to judge intentionality Knowing and Remembering Dev of Theories of the Mind are universal and appear generally at about 2 yr

Theories of the mind are enhanced through play and social interactions

AUTISM A communication disorder Trouble making sense of the world as a whole Change is disturbing Varies in degree: high to low functioning

HANDS-ON/MINDS ON A period of exploration is followed by teachers presenting planned challenges and using scaffolding to dev thought