Cognitive and Language Development Chapter 2 Process and

Cognitive and Language Development Chapter 2

Process and Periods � Development- pattern of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes that begin at conception and continue through the life span � Biological processes� Cognitive processes- � Socioemotional processes- � Periods ◦ Infancy- 18 -24 mo. ◦ Early childhood- 24 mo- 5 yrs ◦ Middle and late childhood– 6 yrs-11 yrs ◦ Adolescence- around 12 yrs- somewhere between 18 -21

Developmental Issues �Nature-nurture issue- is development primarily influenced by nature or nurture? ◦ Nature◦ Nurture- �Continuity and Discontinuity-is development a pattern of continuity or discontinuity? ◦ Continuity◦ Discontinuity-

Developmental Issues �Early-later experience issue- are early experiences (infancy) or later experiences the key determinants of a child’s development ◦ Early experiences- ◦ Later-experience-

The Brain: Development of Neurons and the Brain Regions � Myelination- ◦ At 4 yrs◦ At 10 yrs◦ Attention◦ Frontal lobe� Synaptic �- connection and pruning-

Brain Development � Middle and Late Childhood ◦ Brain volume ◦ Prefrontal cortex ◦ Cerebral cortex � Adolescence ◦ Corpus callosum ◦ Prefrontal cortex ◦ Amygdala ◦ Emotional control

Brain Development �Lateralization ◦ Verbal processing ◦ Nonverbal processing �Plasticity ◦ Enriched environments

The Brain and Children’s Education �Left- Brained � �Right-Brained � �Critical period � �Which comes first: biological changes in the brain or experiences to stimulate the brain? �

The Brain and Children’s Education � Both early and later experiences are important in brain development � � Synaptic connections between neurons can have a drastic impact on the learning experience during early and late childhood � � Development of the highest level of the brain (prefrontal cortex) occurs at least through the adolescent years. � � Changes in the brain during adolescence present a challenge in cognitive control � � Brain functioning occurs along a specific pathways and involves integration of functions

Piaget’s Theory Processes are especially important in relation to schemas, assimilation and accommodation, organization, and equilibration. � Schemas � Assimilation � Accommodation

Piaget’s Theory �Organization �Equilibration and Stages of Development ◦ Assimilation and accommodation always take the child to_______ ◦ Motivation for change is the internal search for ____

Piaget’s Stages � ***Cognition is qualitatively different from one stage to another: � Sensorimotor Stage � Preoperational stage ◦ Symbolic function substage �Egocentrism- inability to distinguish between one’s perspective and someone’s else’s perspective ◦ Intuitive thought substage �Centration �Conservation �Not able to perform operations- mental representations that are reversible

Piaget’s Stages � Concrete Operational Stage ◦ Seriation- concrete operation that involves ordering stimuli along some quantitative dimension ◦ Transitivity- the ability to reason and logically combine relastionships � Formal Operational Stage ◦ Hypothetical-deductive reasoning- adolescents can form hypotheses to solve problems and systematically reach a conclusion ◦ Adolescent egocentrism

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory � Neo-Piagetians- Piaget needs to emphasize more on the ability to process information through attention, memory, and strategies. � Estimates of Children’s Competence � Stages � Training � Culture children to reason at a higher level and education

Vygotsky’s Theory � Zone of Proximal Development ◦ Must be aware of where students are in the process of their development and take advantage of their readiness � Scaffolding ◦ Asking probing questions increases scaffolding � Language and Thought ◦ Private speech- use of language for self-regulation ◦ Self-talk-

Vygotsky’s Theory �Social constructivist approach- knowledge is mutually built and constructed �Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky

What is Language �Phonology �Morphology

What is language? �Syntax �Semantics �Progmatics

Language: Biological and Environmental Influences �Vocabulary input �Encouragement, not drill and practice

Language Development � Infancy ◦ 3 -6 months ◦ 10 -13 months ◦ 18 -24 months � Early childhood ◦ Morphological rules◦ Apply rules of syntax◦ Knowledge of semantics or meanings ◦ Changes in pragmatics

Language Development Continued � Middle and Late Childhood ◦ Alphabet principle ◦ Mental vocabulary organization ◦ Advances in vocabulary and grammar �Metalinguistic awareness- knowledge about language, such as knowing what a preposition is. ◦ Metalinguistic awareness

Language Development Continued �Adolescence ◦ Abstract thinking ◦ Subtle abilities with words ◦ Better writers-