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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
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COGNITIVE DEV IN PRESCHOOLYEARS 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