Chapter 5 Cognitive Development Child Development for Students

Chapter 5 Cognitive Development Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Chapter Outline What is cognitive development? Behaviourist theories Constructivists theories, e. g. Piaget Social constructionist theories, e. g. Vygotsky Theories of multiple intelligences Environmental factors affecting cognitive development Promotion of cognitive development How Aistear promotes cognitive development Revision questions Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

What is Cognitive Development? Imagination Creativity Memory skills Concentration skills Problem-solving skills Concept formation Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Imagination Imagination is the ability to form mental images of objects or concepts that are not present or that do not even yet exist. Closely linked to the concept of imagination are problem solving and original thought, which should be encouraged. Symbolic play helps children realise that one thing can represent another - important later on for skills such as reading and writing. Role play, which involves the child becoming somebody or something else, also helps develop many other important skills. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Creativity Creativity is the expression of imaginative ideas in a unique and personal way. Children often come home from playschool with identical art and craft work, this is not being creative. Children should be given the resources to help them develop their creativity and be allowed to go about it themselves. Sometimes adults do provide a framework, e. g. a theme, within which children work creatively, but the activity should not be too adult led. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Memory Skills Memory is a vital part of learning and, therefore, cognitive development. It involves three tasks: ◦ (1) Encoding - putting information into storage ◦ (2) Storage - retaining information over time ◦ (3) Retrieval - taking information out of storage Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Memory Skills Memory skills depend on: how much there is to be learned; whether the new memory is linked to existing information; whether learner understands what is being learned; repetition. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Memory Development Infantile or childhood amnesia - brain’s prefrontal lobes are immature. Memory span improves throughout childhood; this is important to know so that too much information is not presented at once to very young children. Repetition of key information is important. See example of how this memory theory translates into practice p. 98. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Concentration Skills Concentration is the skill of focusing your attention on a task. Children will be encouraged to concentrate if: ◦ activities are at the correct level for them; ◦ activities are interesting and attractively presented; ◦ adults encourage and praise the child’s efforts. As a rule of thumb, a child’s usual attention span is between 3 -5 minutes per year of a their age (passive activities, e. g. TV, do not count). Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Encouraging Concentration Skills Encourage children to sit and listen to full stories. Encourage children to complete activities, e. g. a jigsaw, before moving on to the next one. Play games, e. g. board games, that require children to persevere to the end. Limit time spent at activities that do not promote concentration skills, e. g. passively watching videos, etc. ADHD and ADD both affect children’s ability to concentrate (see textbook pp. 99 -100). Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Problem-solving Skills The ability to figure out and solve problems is another very important aspect of cognitive development. When children begin to try to solve problems, they take a trial and error approach (up to about age two). Later, children will begin to identify the problem facing them and work out a possible solution before they try anything out. This is called the hypothesis approach. Well-thought-out challenges should be set for children to encourage problem-solving skills. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Concept Formation Concepts are the mental pictures we hold in our heads about the world. There are two basic types of concept: ◦ (1) Concrete concepts, e. g. dogs, chairs, cars and flowers ◦ (2) Abstract concepts, e. g. justice, fractions and time. Concept formation is a vital part of cognitive development; it helps us to organise and make sense of the world around us. Piaget believed that children have difficulty with abstract concepts until they reach the formal operational stage of cognitive development (at approximately age 12). Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Behaviourist Theories of Cognitive Development (see p. 101) We learn as a result of conditioning, of which there are two types: ◦ Classical (Pavlov) ◦ Operant (Skinner) Critics of the behaviourist approach believe that human learning is much more complex than this – lots of things are learned despite never being punished or rewarded. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget (1896 -1980) believed that children actively construct their own cognitive worlds and are not just passive receivers of information (vessels into which information is poured). Piaget believed that as a result of exposure to the environment around them, children adjust and build their mental structures to suit what they are experiencing. He called this adaptation. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Key Concepts Related to Piaget’s Theory Schema: A mental structure that represents some aspect of the world, e. g. zebra, how to walk down steps. Assimilation and Accommodation: Children adapt and change their schemas over time. Assimilation is when children incorporate new information into their existing schemas and accommodation is when children adjust their schemas in light of this new information. Organisation is another term used by Piaget and refers to the capacity of the human mind to organise and link or combine different schemas together. Which schemas are required to walk down stairs holding a beaker of juice? Equilibrium and disequilibrium: All human beings are motivated to seek equilibrium (to understand). Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Piaget’s Stage Theory of Cognitive Development According to Piaget, individuals go through four stages of cognitive development. He believed at each stage a child’s reasoning or way of processing information is qualitatively different from the stage that came before or after; it is not just that a younger child possesses less information than an older one. Piaget’s four stages are as follows: ◦ ◦ Sensori-motor stage (0 -2 years) Pre-operational stage (2 -7 years) Concrete operational stage (7 -11 years) Formal operational stage (11+ years) Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Sensori-motor Stage (0 -2) During the sensori-motor stage the infant progresses from a newborn - focusing almost exclusively on immediate sensory and motor experiences - to a toddler who possesses a capacity for thinking. Six sub-stages (see p. 104). Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Sensori-motor Stage The development of object permanence is one of the major feats of the sensori-motor stage. Object permanence is the understanding that objects or people continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard or touched. At approximately seven months, an understanding of object permanence begins to emerge. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Pre-Operational Stage (2 -7) During the pre-operational stage, the child does not yet perform operations. Operations are internalised actions that allow children to mentally carry out tasks. A child who is capable of operations is also able to mentally reverse actions. There are two sub-stages: ◦ Symbolic function ◦ Intuitive thought Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Symbolic Function Sub-stage This stage occurs between two and four years. During this stage children become able to represent people and objects when they are not present. They use scribble designs to represent people, houses, cars, animals, etc. There are two limiting features of this stage: ◦ Egocentrism (profoundly to age four) ◦ Animism (bold table) Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Intuitive Thought Sub-stage At this stage children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know answers to all sorts of questions: When? Where? Why? Children are not yet able to understand the principle of cause and effect; a child is not able to mentally represent what would happen if a car hit them. Another characteristic of this stage is centration. Children tend to focus or centre on just one characteristic of an object or idea, showing an inability to decentre (see conservation experiment p. 107). Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Concrete Operational Stage (7 -11) This stage lasts approximately from age 7 to 11 or 12. Can conserve – number first, volume last. Can problem solve at this stage as long as the problems are concrete in nature, e. g. Anna is taller than Nina, Anna is smaller than Lily who is the smallest? OK if props present. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Formal Operational Stage (11+) Piaget argued that it is not until this stage that children can reason hypothetically and understand abstract concepts, e. g. ask a 9 - or 10 -year-old what justice is and they are likely to give an example rather than an abstract explanation. Children at the formal operational stage are more likely to give a general definition. They also take a more organised approach to problems, e. g. give a child aged 11+ a bunch of keys to open a lock. A child at the formal operational stage will approach the task in a more organised way than a younger child. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theories Criticisms of Piaget’s theories centre around three issues: ◦ Experiments were carried out in unnatural laboratory settings ◦ Many experiments didn’t make human sense ◦ No account taken of the effects of education, training and culture. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Vygotsky’s Theory of Cognitive Development The zone of proximal development What a child can do on his own V what he can do with help He is at the top of the zone if he needs loads of help and at the botom if he needs minimal help Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Scaffolding Concrete levels of support to learning child in direct alignment to the Childs developmental level Very important concepts for those working with children Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Theories of Multiple Intelligences Robert Sternberg’s (1949 -) triarchic theory of intelligence. Analytic intelligence: Can analyse, evaluate, compare and contrast – suits school system. Creative intelligence: Can imagine, invent, design and create –not many school subjects relate well to this. Practical intelligence: Can do things, assess and solve practical problems – not many school subjects relate well to this. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Howard Gardner (1943 -) Verbal or linguistic: good with words, e. g. journalist. Logical or mathematical: good with numbers and patterns, e. g. computer programmer. Bodily or kinaesthetic: good physical skills, e. g. athletes. Visual or spatial: can think three-dimensionally, e. g. architect or artist. Naturalist: understands the natural world, e. g. farmers. Intrapersonal: good self-knowledge; like to work independently, e. g. authors Musical or rhythmical: musicians, dancers. Interpersonal: good people skills, e. g. nurse. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Learning Styles Visual learners: learn best by looking and reading, e. g. while studying take notes on post-its or prompt cards, mind maps. Auditory learners: learn best by listening, e. g. record notes onto tape and listen, read aloud. Kinaesthetic learners: learn by doing. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Environmental Factors Affecting Cognitive Development Adoption studies show that a child’s IQ is normally closer to the biological than adoptive parents, supporting the nature debate. Lucurto (1990) found that when children’s environment improves, their IQ rises by 12 points. The ‘Flynn Effect’ – children’s IQ scores have risen steadily worldwide due to better and longer education. Socio-economic status is the biggest predictor of educational attainment – free pre-school year designed to counteract this. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Cognitive Skills – Cultural Differences Different types of cognitive skills are valued worldwide, e. g. in more traditional societies practical intelligence is valued. In traditional societies there is more emphasis on guided practice: the child works alongside the adult learning new skills. In industrial societies much education is left to outside institutions, e. g. schools. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Promoting Cognitive Development Talk and interact with a baby from birth. Try to provide the baby with good routines. Provide a stimulating environment when the baby is awake. Use child-directed speech (motherese). Provide plenty of interesting activities for the child. Allow children to safely explore the wider environment through visits to the park, beach, zoo, etc. Provide plenty of reading and writing materials for children. Have children help out with household tasks in a meaningful way: cooking, cleaning, gardening, gathering and sorting laundry, etc. Read with and for children and ask them their opinions on what they have read. Older children: supervise and support homework in a positive way (Level 6). Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

How Aistear Promotes Cognitive Development While all of Aistear’s four themes promote cognitive development, theme exploring and thinking does so directly. See pp. 114 -115 of textbook for details of this aspect of the Aistear curriculum. See sample cognitive development observation pp. 116 -120. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Revision Questions 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Which six elements make up cognitive development? What is symbolic play and why should it be encouraged in children? What is role play and why should it be encouraged in children? Define the term ‘creativity’. Suggest ways in which children can be encouraged to express their creativity. Which three tasks are involved in memory? What is childhood amnesia? Suggest ways in which childcare workers can help children to develop their memory skills. Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Revision Questions 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Why is the development of concentration skills important? Suggest ways in which childcare workers can help children to develop their concentration skills. Describe attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder. What problems can the disorder pose for the child? Describe how children’s approach to problem solving changes as they get older. How do behaviourists believe children learn? In Piagetian theory, what do the following terms mean: (a) schema, (b) assimilation, (c) accommodation, (d) organisation and (e) equilibrium and disequilibrium. Describe Piaget’s (a) sensori-motor and (b) pre-operational stages of development. Piaget believed that children under four years are egocentric. What did he mean by this? Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013

Revision Questions 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. What is animism? Piaget believed that children under seven years cannot conserve. What did he mean by this? Describe two main criticisms of Piaget’s theories. What did Vygotsky mean by the zone of proximal development? What is scaffolding in relation to children’s cognitive development? List six ways in which childcare workers can promote cognitive development in children. Which of Aistear’s themes is most closely linked to cognitive development? Child Development for Students in Ireland 2 nd Edition © Eilis Flood 2013