1. WestEd.org Infant/Toddler Group Care Supporting Cognitive Development

2. WestEd.org Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to: List and describe the 10 infant/toddler cognitive foundations found in the CA I/T Learning and Development Foundations. Plan and carry out caregiving routines and care teacher- child interactions in a positive, nurturing, and intentional manner that invites the infants and toddlers to participate as partners in the routines. Intentionally plan indoor and outdoor play environments to provide rich opportunities for infants/toddlers to practice skills and explore the properties of the materials in their environment. Incorporate the families’ cultures into both the learning environment and routines.

3. WestEd.org Cognitive Development Cognitive development refers to the process of growth and change in intellectual/mental abilities such as thinking, reasoning, and understanding. It includes the acquisition and consolidation of knowledge. Infants draw on social-emotional, language, motor and perceptual experiences and abilities for cognitive development. Infants are attuned to relationships between features of objects, actions, and the physical environment. California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations, California Department of Education, 2009.

4. WestEd.org Activity: Dyad Discussion With a partner, make a list of some of the cognitive skills and knowledge infants and toddlers practice. Be prepared to share your list with the group.

5. WestEd.org Cognitive Foundations (Knowledge and Skills): Understanding Cause and Effect Spatial Relationships Problem Solving Imitation Memory Number Sense Classification Symbolic Play Attention Maintenance Understanding of Personal Care Routines

6. WestEd.org Activity: Dyad Discussion (continued) With the same partner, make a list of examples that illustrates an infant’s practicing your assigned foundation(s) at the ages of 8 months, 18 months, and 36 months. Be prepared to share your list of examples as we watch the Cognitive Foundation DVD clips.

7. WestEd.org California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations, California Department of Education, 2009. Cognitive Development

8. WestEd.org Cultural Context There is a substantial variation in how intelligence is defined within different cultures (Sternberg and Grigorenko, 2004). As a result, different aspects of cognitive functioning or cognitive performance may be more highly valued in some cultural contexts than in others. California Infant/Toddler Learning & Development Foundations, California Department of Education, 2009

9. WestEd.org Summary Experts describe infants as active, motivated, and engaged learners who possess an impressive range of cognitive competencies (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, 2000) and learn through exploration (Whitehurst and Lonigan, 1998).

10. WestEd.org Revisit Learning Objectives Participants will be able to: List and describe the 10 infant/toddler cognitive foundations found in the CA I/T Learning and Development Foundations. Plan and carry out caregiving routines and care teacher- child interactions in a positive, nurturing, and intentional manner that invites the infants and toddlers to participate as partners in the routines. Intentionally plan indoor and outdoor play environments to provide rich opportunities for infants/toddlers to practice skills and explore the properties of the materials in their environment. Incorporate the families’ cultures into both the learning environment and routines.