1. Cognitive Development of Preschoolers

2. Preoperational Thinking
Piaget’s stage of cognitive development from the ages 2-7
Piaget refers to this as the time before children begin to be able to make truly logical connections in their thinking
Children are reasoning from particular to particular rather than understanding how particular cases relate to the whole set of possible cases

3. Centration
Tendency of preoperational thinkers to focus attention on one aspect if any situation, while ignoring others
Concepts are limited by one outstanding appearance or perception, to the exclusion of true understanding based on being able to consider the total picture

4. Ability to Decenter
Ability to focus on details, while still keeping the whole in mind
This is the skill required in learning to read, to be able to perceive the individual letters as part of the word
This is also used in math transformations which require an understanding of transformations

5. Egocentrism
Causes preschoolers to interpret every event in reference to themselves and makes it very difficult for preschoolers to understand other’s point of view or feelings
It also causes them to leave out vital bits of information when they are telling something that happened to them, and then they get frustrated when you don’t know everything

6. Egocentrism Con’t
As preschoolers interact with other people of various ages, they become less egocentric
As we provide them opportunities for a wider understanding of the world they live in they will become less egocentric

7. Concreteness
Preschoolers understand objects, situations, and happenings they have experienced much better than something they have only heard about
They also frequently literally interpret words, and miss the humor of some jokes

8. Effects of Concreteness
Much of academic learning deals with ABSTRACTION, and most children under the age of 7 deal with the world in concrete terms, and prior life experiences
If a child has not had enough first hand experiences, then he really has a tough time in school when everything is abstract, with few hands-on learning opportunities

9. Conceptual Words
Because of the preschooler’s desire to please us, often children will memorize things, and we will think that they have the concept, when they only have the facts memorized. Counting and spelling their name are 2 examples where they may know the facts, but have no understanding of the concept

10. Assimilation
Taking in of new information

11. Accommodation
Process here the child takes in the new information and then puts it with something they already know and reach a conclusion based upon it
As they manipulate, experience, do interact, observe, play, and problem solve, they organize the information, and then move to a clear understanding of the concept

12. Adaptation
When the child has made the knowledge his own. Piaget says that children create knowledge, we cannot pour it into them

13. Cognitive Resolution
Assimilation + Accommodation = Adaptation