COGNITIVE DEV IN PRESCHOOL YEARS

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COGNITIVE DEV IN PRESCHOOLYEARS

• Chapter 11

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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

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PREOPERATIONAL THOUGHT

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

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SYMBOLIC THOUGHT

• Develops over time
• pretend play
• use of paper
• art
• reading and writing

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PIAGETIAN TASKS

• CONSERVATION preschoolers lack conservation ie.
  they dont understand that properties and amounts
  stay the same even when physical appearances
  change
• See chart p.230
• Conservation of number, category, continuous
  quantity

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PIAGETIAN TASKS

• SORT BY CATEGORIES
• Easiest to hardest color, then shape, then size
• Preschoolers generally cant sort by more than
  one category at one time

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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 Piagets research methods has led to
  different conclusions

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CRITICISMS OF RESEARCH

• Cultural bias
• Linguistic or cultural barriers

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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

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SELF-DIRECTED SPEECH

• Helps children guide thinking
• Helps children think at higher levels

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FIELD SENSITIVE/INDEPENDENT

• Field independent kids dont seek outside help
  when problem-solving
• Field dependent kids learn through interaction
  with others
• Cooperative projects and play meet the needs of
  these kids

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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

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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

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• Theories of the mind are enhanced through play
  and social interactions

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AUTISM

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

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HANDS-ON/MINDS ON

• A period of exploration is followed by teachers
  presenting planned challenges and using
  scaffolding to dev thought