Kathleen Stassen Berger
Part III
Chapter Nine
Early Childhoods: Cognitive Development
Piaget and Vygotsky
Children’s Theories
Language
Early-Childhood Education
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Piaget and Vygotsky
• Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are
famous for their descriptions of
cognition.
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Piaget: Preoperational Thinking
• preoperational intelligence: cognitive
development between the ages of about 2
and 6.
– languages
– imagination
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• four characteristics of thinking in early
childhood which make logic difficult:
– centration
– focus on appearance
– static reasoning
– irreversibility
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Obstacles to Logical Operation
• centration: characteristic of preoperational thought in
which a young child focuses on one idea
• egocentrism: children’s tendency to think about the
world entirely from their own personal perspective
• literally means self-centered
• focus on appearance: characteristic of preoperational
thought where young child ignores all attributes that are
not apparent
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• static reasoning: thinking that nothing changes
– whatever is now has always been and always will be
• irreversibility: idea that nothing can be undone
– inability to recognize that something can be restored
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Conservation and Logic
conservation: idea that amount of a substance
remains the same when appearance changes
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Vygotsky: Social Learning
•
First leading developmentalist to emphasize
the other side of early cognition.
–
–
•
young children not always egocentric
can be very sensitive to the wishes and
emotions of others
Emphasizes social aspect of young
children’s cognition in contrast to Piaget’s
emphasis on the individual.
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Scaffolding
• zone of proximal development (ZPD): skills
a person can exercise only with assistance
– ideas or cognitive skills a person is close to
mastering as well as to more apparent skills.
• scaffolding: temporary support tailored to a
learner’s needs and abilities
– aimed at helping master next task
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• private speech: internal dialogue that occurs
when people talk to themselves
– silent or out loud
• social mediation: function of speech where
person’s cognitive skills are refined and
extended
– both formal instruction and casual conversation
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Children’s Theories
• Both Piaget and Vygotsky
realized that children
actively work to
understand their world.
– seek to explain what they
experience
– why and how people
behave as they do
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• theory-theory: idea that children
attempt to explain everything they see
and hear by constructing theories
• theory of mind: person’s theory of
what other people might be thinking
– must realize other people are not thinking
the same thoughts that they are
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Language
•
Critical period for language learning due to:
–
–
–
•
brain maturation
myelination
social interaction
Early childhood is a sensitive period for
rapidly and easily mastering:
–
–
–
vocabulary
grammar
pronunciation
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Grammar
• Grammar of language includes
structures, techniques, and rules that
are used to communicate meaning.
– word order
– word repetition
– prefixes and suffixes
– intonation
– emphasis
16
Learning Two Languages
• Bilingualism is an asset.
• Important to speak the majority
language as well as the minority one.
– Is a nation better off if all its citizens speak
one language?
– Should there be more than one official
language?
• Switzerland has 3
• Canada has 2
17
Bilingualism, Cognition, and Culture
• Debate over bilingual education inseparable
from issues of:
–
–
–
–
ethnic pride
identity
prejudice
fear
• These subjective factors get in the way of
objective developmental research.
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• Bilingualism has both
advantages and
disadvantages for early
cognition and literacy.
• Children who speak two
languages by age 5 are:
– less egocentric.
– more advanced in their
theory of mind.
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Constant Change
• Basics of language learning apply to every
language a young child learns.
–
–
–
–
–
naming
vocabulary explosions
fast-mapping
overregularization
extensive practice
• Established languages continually change as
each new generation revises it to meet current
needs.
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Early-Childhood Education
• Early educational institutions:
–
–
–
–
preschool
nursery school
day care
pre-primary
• Each early-childhood educational program
emphasizes somewhat different:
– skills
– goals
– methods
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Child-Centered Programs
• Programs that stress children’s development and
growth.
• Child-centered programs that use a Piaget-inspired
model allows children to discover ideas at their own
pace.
–
–
–
–
physical space and materials
puzzles
blocks of many sizes
toys
• Child-centered programs also encourage artistic
expression.
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Early-Childhood Education
• Child Centered:
• Montessori
Schools
• The Reggio
Emilia Approach
• Teacher-Directed
• Head Start and
Intervention
Programs
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• Costs and benefits of the different
approaches:
–
–
–
–
safety
adequate space and equipment
low adult-child ratio
positive social interaction among children and
adults
– trained staff and educated parents
– continuity helps
– “How long has each staff member worked at the
center?”
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