Day 9: Play Years Cognitive Development

4/3/19

ECE 31 & 131: Spring 2019 1

Cognitive and language development during the play years• Learning strategies and accomplishments

Today’s class

• Bring observation narrative to class next Wednesday

• Bring list of examples of language use – “exact quotes”

• Chapters 9 & 10 guides due 4/10• Third research project:

The play years child – due 4/17

Review: All developmental areas are interrelated. Advances (or delays) in any one area influences the others. What are the areas of development we study?

According to Piaget

• La maduración cerebral interactúa con la experiencia para producir el desarrollointelectual

• El ser humano construye un conocimientopersonal del mundo según sus experiencias.

•Brain maturation expects and depends upon experience to construct cognition and intelligence.

•We construct knowledge and understanding of the world based upon our own experiences.

The way a child “thinks” and constructs knowledge progresses in stages.

•During infancy the child constructs knowledge mostly through sensory and motor experiences.

•Knowledge then progresses through symbolic and preoperational thought.

Hay diferencias en la manera en que

el niño �piensa� y construye

conocimientosegún su etapa de

desarrollo.

Knowing this, what would you do as parent or caregiver?

Symbolic representation

• What examples did you observe in a child in the toddler classroom?

• What examples in a child in the preschool classroom?

• Begins to anticipate results

• Predict and plan before acting

• Imagine, mentally, things or situations not present.

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Stage 2Preoperational intelligence

How is it different from the sensorimotor stage?ü Little scientists: curiosity &

experimentationü Symbolic thinking. Imaginative, magical

thinking. Pretend play ü Fluid boundary between fantasy and

reality: nightmares, fears and “lies” ü Lots of ideas and lots of questions and

frequently asking “Why?”Obstacles to logical thinking:v Centration – focus on only one aspect

v Egocentrism – point of view: personal experiencev Focus on appearance – nothing changesv Static reasoning – nothing changesv Irreversibility – no going back v Animism – objects are alivev Not logical – limited ability to reason Sensorimotor learning strategies are

still important.

Day 9: Play Years Cognitive Development

4/3/19

ECE 31 & 131: Spring 2019 2

§ Conservation§ Classification § Seriation§ Prediction and

planning§ Problem solving§ Taking another’s

point of view

Gradually children develop abilities for logical thinking and reasoning : Symbolic and

sociodramatic play, imaginative fantasy play are all key learning methods. • Through play children

make sense of aspects of their own real lives in order to assimilate, accommodate, and understand real-life experiences.

Pretend play

Los niños representan en sus juegos aspectos de su realidad a fin de asimilar, acomodar y comprender nuevas experiencias.

Learning strategies and construction of knowledge

What abilities are these 3-year olds developing? What knowledge are they constructing? How?

Little scientistsat work

What abilities is this child demonstrating? How is she “constructing knowledge”?

Four-year old

What is her �zone of proximal development”?

What skills are demonstrated here?

Learning strategies and knowledge results

• Improved classification skills

• Beginning writing• Creativity if/when

encouraged

• Imitate adult models

• Imaginative & more elaborate dramatic play

Four-year olds

What abilities are these five-year olds demonstrating? What might they be learning?

How are they constructing knowledge?

Day 9: Play Years Cognitive Development

4/3/19

ECE 31 & 131: Spring 2019 3

Learning strategies and knowledge results

§ Predict and plan§ Improved

concepts of number, quantity, size

§ Classification along two or more categories

§ Solve problems§ Egocentric, but

with improved ability to take other’s point of view

When you are observing pay attention to the characteristics and accomplishments of

the child as a unique individual.

Expect and appreciate individual differences between children of the same or similar age.

Environment as the third teacher

During your observations take notice of how the environment influences the child’s learning and growth in each area of development.

What areas are represented here ? à

What does the word “environment” include?

Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective regarding cognitive development

Children learn within a social and cultural

context from more experienced

peers or adult role models.

Vygotsky proposes that language is the foundation for all advanced cognitive processes.

Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspectiveWhat is “private

speech”? – Self-directed

speech to guide one’s own learning.

Why is it so important?

– Develops internal thinking and thought processes.

Day 9: Play Years Cognitive Development

4/3/19

ECE 31 & 131: Spring 2019 4

Guided participation La participación guiada

Guided participation includes dialogs with adults or more experienced peers through which the child attains higher levels of ability or expertise.

Guided participation is Vygotsky’s term for the social support received during the learning process Key ideas:•teachable moments •minimum help•scaffolding

The teacher as facilitator enables the child, through scaffolding, to perform more complex activities.

According toVygotsky: All learning happens

within a zone of proximal

developmentThe learner participates in

activities slightly above her/his abilities with guided participation &

minimum help from adults or more experienced peers.

La zona de desarrollo próximo

What do you now understand better about how children learn during the play years?

What strategies do children use to build knowledge?

What did you learn about “facilitating” children’s learning?

Five minute writeAnswer any or all of the following: