Piagets Preoperational Stage 2 7 years of age

Piaget’s Pre-operational Stage 2 -7 years of age (Jean Piaget 1896 -1980) Revised: February 29, 2012

l Review time out and time in article

Piaget’s Preoperational Child (2 -7 years) (Second Stage) l. Piaget – Cognitive Stage Theorist – l Cognitive Development-processing of information Key features – – – – – Not able to use logic Intuitive Thought Use symbols or mental representation Absence of sensory or motor cues Symbol, object, thought, or word l represent something not physically present Refer past & future events More flexibility & planning in problem solving Magical Thinking Years!!! Learn best – Play, Active Exploration, Hands-on Learning

Immature Aspects of Preoperational Thought (Piaget) l Ability to reason – developing l Flaws or immature aspects l Centration – l Inability to decenter Irreversibility – Fail to understand action can be reversed

Immature Aspects of Preoperational Thought (Piaget) (Flaws or errors continued) l Focus on states rather than transformations – – l Fail to understand significance of transformation between states Conservation/two things are equal altered appearance Transductive reasoning – Do not use deductive or inductive reasoning

Immature Aspects of Preoperational Thought (Piaget) (Flaws or errors continued) l Egocentrism – l Assume everyone else thinks, perceives, and feels as they do. Animism – Attribute life to inanimate objects (defined Sir Edward Taylor, anthropologist, 1871)

Immature Aspects of Preoperational Thought (Piaget) (Flaws or errors continued) l Inability to distinguish appearance from reality – l Confuse what is real with outward appearance Teachers-Understanding preoperational thinkers Insights, perspectives and patience

Language l Acquire new words rapidly – – l Age two – 50 to 400 words Between 3 & 5 years, 50 new words per month Age three – 1000 words Age six – 8 -14, 000 words Reference to past & future – Forming past & future tenses, plurals

Language (continued) l Acquire grammatical rules of their language – Error called overregularization may occur l – Use correct syntax l l l Overuse basic rules of language How words should be ordered to convey a particular meaning Rule of syntax – order of words – phrase or sentence Economic Poverty – – – Below average development of language Over represented among children with reading difficulties. Research, middle-class three-year-olds approximately twice vocabulary same-aged children from lower income families

Gender Identity – Preschool Age l Develops early l Awareness-one’s femaleness or maleness l Tied to self-concept l Gender constancy – realization gender stays the same regardless of how one looks or behaves.

Gender Identity – Preschool Age l Sex-appropriate toys – l Gender segregation increases – l “Boys” & “girls” toys (trucks, dolls) Play same-sex peers Anti-bias Approach – Address stereotypes, social justice

Preoperational-Social Interactions l l Increasingly reciprocal, coordinated, more complex Experiment in everyday & imaginary roles – l Engage in play! Reflected in play – stages – Least to most socially complex l l l Nonsocial activity (onlooker and solitary) Parallel play Associative play Cooperative play Advances in cognition, perspective taking, and communication skills

Differences in Children l l Most typical development Some significant delays & differences Identified – developmental disabilities Child with a disability – – – First and foremost a child All children are typical in many ways Instead of ‘disabled child’, ‘child with a disability’

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (Lev Vygotsky 1896 -1934)

Vygotsky l l l Developing his theories same time as Piaget (20’s & 30’s) Theories incomplete – death at young age Social interaction - fundamental role development of cognition Like Piaget, children learn best through play!! Emphasis-studied cultures and societies – How they approach problem solving

Zone of Proximal Development Level at which a child can almost but not fully perform a task independently, but can do so with the assistance of someone more competent such as a parent, teacher or even older child.

Vygotsky l Video on Zone of Proximal Development – l http: //youtu. be/Zu-rr 2 PRNk. E Scaffolding – – Supports learning & problem solving Encourages independence & growth Simple to complex skill building Scaffold removed when child can do job alone

Four Stages of Life l You believe in Santa Claus. l You don’t believe in Santa Claus. l You are Santa Claus. l You look like Santa Claus.

Learning Styles l Student Learning – Identify & understand own learning style – Differences between learning styles – Develop strategies for classroom learning l Make most of your strengths l Compensate for areas you want to improve – Current Future Teachers l How best to present curriculum l Learn best-play, hands-on active exploration (kinesthetic learner)

Visual Learners (Learn through seeing): l l Need to see teacher's body language & facial expression Prefers sitting at the front of the classroom l May think in pictures l Prefers visual displays – including: diagrams, illustrated textbooks, overhead transparencies, videos, flipcharts and handouts.

Auditory Learners (learn through listening): l Verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through & listening to others l May interpret underlying meanings of speech through: – listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed l Written information –meaning when heard l Prefer reading text aloud & using a tape recorder

Kinesthetic (Tactile) Learners (Learn through, moving, doing and touching): l Hands-on approach l Prefer actively exploring the physical world l Hard to sit still for long period l May be distracted by need for: – – Activity Exploration

Learning Styles l Reflect on the following questions to discover insights about your learning style: 1. How could knowing your learning style be of benefit to you personally? 2. How can it be helpful in your interactions with others? 3. How do you think this could help you in your studies? 4. How do you think this could help you during lectures? 5. How do you think this could help you when taking notes? 6. After identifying your learning style, is there anything your instructor might do differently in presenting information each week to help you learn the information? (Two questions extra credit on mid-term!)