PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD PHYSICAL CHANGES During an infants second year, growth rate begins

to slow down but both gross and fine motor skills progress rapidly. The infant develops a sense of mastery through increased proficiency in walking and running. Improvement in fine motor skills also contributes to the infants sense of mastery in the second year. Body Growth and Change Height and Weight The average child grows 2 inches in height and gains 5 7 lbs a year. Increments decreases each additional year. Girls are only slightly smaller and lighter than boys and continues until puberty. Trunks lengthen but the head is still larger for their bodies. Body fat also shows a slow, steady decline during the preschool years. Girls have more fatty tissues; boys have more muscle tissues. Two of the most important contributors to height differences are ethnic origin and nutrition. Why are some children unusually short? o Congenital factors genetic or prenatal problems. Mothers who were smoking. o Physical problem or an emotional difficulty that decelops in childhood. Children who are chronically sick, physically abused, or neglected may not secrete adequate growth hormones. o Growth hormone from the pituitary gland deficiency. The Brain The increasing maturation of the brain combined with opportunities to experience a widening world, contribute to childrens emerging cognitive abilities. Changes in the brain during early childhood enable children to plan their actions, attend to stimuli more effectively, and make considerable strides in language development. It undergoes dramatic anatomical changes. Brains experience rapid, distinct spurts of growth. Local patterns of within the brain change. Amount of material in some areas can nearly double in as little as a year, followed by a drastic loss of tissue as unneeded cells are purged and the brain continues to reorganize itself. 3 6 years: rapid growth takes place in part of the frontal lobe, prefrontal cortex, involved in planning and organizing new actions and in maintaining attention to tasks. Also in charge of memory and critical thinking. Number and size of dendrites increase Myelination continues increasing the speed of information travelling. o Linked it to the maturation of number of childrens activities. Scientists are beginning to chart connections between childrens cognitive development and changes in brain structures, brain circuits (groups of neurons that communicate with each other), working together to carry out particular functions, and the transmission of information between neurons. o Concentration of dopamine increases from 3 6 years of age o Dopamine is used in a neural circuit that has an important function in attention and working memory (a type of memory that is like a mental workbench, holding information while we perform a cognitive task) o this neural circuit is located in the prefrontal cortex is important in the development of attention, memory, math skills, and emotional self-regulation. Motor Development Gross Motor Skills As children move their legs with more confidence and carry themselves more purposefully, moving around in the environment becomes more automatic. At 3 years of age, children enjoy simple movements hopping, jumping, and running back and forth - just for sheer delight. Source of considerable pride and accomplishment. Throws ball underhand. At 4 years of age, same activities but they become more adventurous. Able to climb stairs with one foot on each step for some time. At 5 years of age, children are even more adventurous. It is not unusual for self-assured 5-year-olds to perform hair-raising stunts on practically any climbing object. Be careful in explaining about flying, etc. Fine Motor Skills

At 3 years of age, children have the ability to pick up the tiniest objects between their thumb and their forefinger for some time, but they are still somewhat clumsy. They can build up surprisingly high blocks of towers but not in a completely straight line. 4 years of age, childrens fine motor coordination has improved substantially and become much more precise. By age 5, further improved. Hand, arm, and body all move together under better command of the eye.

Handedness Origin and Development of Handedness o Genetic inheritance. The handedness of adopted children was not related to the handedness of their adopted parents, but of their biological parents. o Right-handedness is dominant in all cultures and it appears before the impact of culture. o Thumb sucking or leaning preferences Handedness, the Brain, and Cognitive Abilities o Right-handed individuals primarily process speech in the brains left hemisphere o Left-handed are more likely to have reading problems, unusually good visual-spatial skills, and the ability to imagine spatial layouts. o Expected in mathematicians, musicians, architects, and artists. Nutrition Eating habits are important aspects of development during early childhood. It affects their skeletal, growth, body shape, and susceptibility to disease. An average preschool child requires 1,700 calories/day, but energy needs of individual children of the same age, sex, and size vary. Requirements depend in part of their physical activity, the efficiency with which they use energy, and their basal metabolism rate (the minimum amount of energy person uses in a resting state). Overeating Fast-food meals preference; foods which contain fats that is too high for good health. The daily limit for calories from fat should be approximately 35%. May cause Type II diabetes (obesity + low fitness level) and lower self-esteem To prevent obesity, parents and children should learn to view food as a way to satisfy hunger and nutritional needs, not as proof of love or as a reward for good behavior. o Snacks should be low in fat, simple sugars, and salt, FIBER! Routine physical activity should be a daily occurrence. Life should be centered around activities, not meals and television. Malnutrition Iron deficiency anemia that results to chronic fatigue. o Failure to eat adequate amounts of quality meals and dark green vegetables. Malnutrition is directly linked to cognitive deficits because of negative effects in brain development. But may also have been caused by biological and socioemotional factors. o Children who are underfed are also often less supervised, less stimulated, and less educated than children who are well nourished. o Poverty interacts with childrens nutritional status to affect physical and cognitive development. o Linked to more aggressive, hyperactive, externalizing problem, and excessive motor behavior. Illness and Death Characteristics of the home that may threaten childrens health is (1) Parental smoking (2) Less vitamin C (3) Poor health status of many young children from low income families (4) Children in poverty face a higher risk for lead poisoning. (5) Proficiency in English The State of Illness and Health of the Worlds Children The State of Worlds Children by UNICEF Under-5 mortality rate is result of a wide range of factors, including the nutritional health and health knowledge of mothers, the level of immunization, dehydration, availability of maternal and child health services, income and food availability in the family, clean water and safe sanitation, and the overall safety of the childs environment. Reduction in poverty and improvements in nutrition, sanitation, education, and health services.

Poverty hunger, malnutrition, illness, problems in health care servies, unsafe water, and lack of protection from harm.

COGNITIVE CHANGES Piagets Preoperational Stage 2 to 7 years of age. Children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. They form stable concepts and begin to reason. Dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs. Child does not yet perform operation, which are reversible mental actions; they enable children to do mentally what before they could do only physically (e.g., mentally adding and subtracting numbers) Preoperational thought is the beginning of the ability to reconstruct in thought what has been established in behavior. Symbolic Function Substage First substage of preoperational thought, 2 -4 years of age. The young child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present. Expands the childs mental world. Young children use scribble designs to represent people, houses, cars, and so on; they begin to use language and engage in pretend play. Their thought still has important limitations, two of which are egocentrism and animism. Egocentrism is the inability to distinguish between ones own perspective and someone elses perspective. o Failure to consider others perspective before replying. o Children often pick their own view rather than the dolls view o Preschool children frequently show the ability to take anothers perspective on some tasks but not others. Animism is the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action. Failure to distinguish the appropriate occasions for using human and nonhuman perspectives. The Intuitive Thought Substage Second substage of preoperational thought, 4 7 years of age. Child begins to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of questions. Although he is starting to develop his own ideas about the world he lives in, his ideas are still simple, and he is not very good at thinking out. He has difficulty understanding events that he knows are taking place but which he cannot see. His fantasized thoughts bear little resemblance to reality. o Exhausting adults around them with why questions emergence of interest in reasoning and in figuring out why things are the way they are. Piaget: intuitive substage because young children seem so sure about their knowledge and understanding yet are unaware of how they know what they know. They know something but know it without the use of rational thinking. Centration and the Limits of Preoperational Thought Centration limitation of preoperational thought a centering of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others. Clearly evidenced in young childrens lack of conservation, the awareness that altering an objects or a substances appearance does not change its basic properties. Conservation-of-liquid task the failure demonstrates centration and ability to mentally reverse actions. Children often vary in their performance on different conservation tasks. A child might conserve volume but not number. When the childs attention to relevant aspects of the conservation task is improved, the child is more likely to conserve. Attention is important to explaining this! Vygotskys Theory Like Piaget, Vygotsky was a constructivist. Social Constructivist Approach emphasizes the social contexts of learning and the construction of knowledge through social interaction. Move from individual to collaboration, social interaction, and sociocultural activity. Piaget: children construct their knowledge by transforming, organizing, and reorganizing previous knowledge. Vygotsky: children construct knowledge through social interaction. Proximal development and use of knowledge. The Zone of Proximal Development

Range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but can be learned with guidance and assistance of adults or more skilled children. Tasks of the limits of learners abilities Vygotskys belief in the importance of social influences, especially instruction, on childrens cognitive development is reflected in his concept of the zone of proximal development. Lower limit: level of skill reached by the child working independently. Upper limit: level of additional responsibility the child can accept with assistance of an able instructor. Captures the childs cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing and can be accomplished only with the assistance of a more skilled person. buds or flowers of development, to distinguish them from the fruits of development, which the child already can accomplish independently.

Scaffolding Changing the level of support. A more skilled person adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the childs current performance. As the students competence increases, less guidance is given. Dialogue is an important tool for scaffolding in the ZPD. The childrens unsystematic, disorganized, and spontaneous concepts meet with the skilled helpers more systematic, logical, and rational concepts. the childs concepts become more systematic, logical and rational. Language and Thought Children use speech not only for social communication, but also to help them solve tasks. Young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior, Private speech use of language for self-regulation. Egocentric and immature. Language and thought initially develop independently of each other and then merge. All mental functions have external, or social, origins. Children must use language to communicate with others before they can focus inward on their own thoughts. Transition occurs between 3 7 years of age and involves talking to oneself. Self-talk becomes second nature to children, and they can act without verbalizing. Internalizing their egocentric speech in the form of inner speech thoughts. Children who use private speech are more socially competent. Private speech represents an early transition in becoming more socially communicative. When young children talk to themselves, they are using language to govern their behavior and guide themselves. Children use private speech more when tasks are difficult, when they have made errors, and when they are not sure how to proceed. Teaching Strategies Successfully applied to education. (1) Assess the childs ZPD: Like Piaget, Vygotsky did not believe that formal, standardized tests are the best way to assess childrens learning. Assessment should focus on determining the childs XPD. Determine the nest level at which to begin instruction. (2) Use the childs ZPD in teaching: teaching should begin toward the zones upper limit so that the child can reach the goal with help and move to a higher level of skill and knowledge. Appreciations and encouragement. (3) Use more-skilled peers as teachers: It is not just adults that are important in helping children learn but also more-skilled children. (4) Monitor and encourage childrens use of private speech: Encourage children to internalize and self-regulate their talk to themselves. (5) Place instruction tin a meaningful context: abstract presentations of materials instead of letting children to experience learning in real-world settings. Evaluating Vygotskys Theory Inner speech for Vygotsky is essential while for Piaget it is immature. Piagets theory for teaching is that children need support to explore their world and discover knowledge. Vygotsky: students need many opportunities to learn with a teacher and more-skilled peers. Both: teachers as facilitators and guides rather than as directors and molds. Vygotskys view of the importance of sociocultural influences on childrens development fits with the current belief that it is important to evaluate the contextual factors in learning. Overemphasized the role of language in thinking.

Sociocultural context Constructivism Stages Key processes

Vygotsky Strong emphasis Social constructivist No general stages of development proposed ZPD, language, dialogue, tools of the culture

Piaget Little emphasis Cultural constructivist Strong emphasis on stages Schema, assimilation, accommodation, operations, conservation, classification, hypothetical-deductive reasoning Language has a minimal role; cognition primarily directs language Education merely affects the childs cognitive skills that have already emerged Also views teacher as a facilitator and guide, not a director; provide support for children to explore their world and discover knowledge

Role of language View on education Teaching implications

A major role; language plays a powerful role in shaping thought Education plays a central role, helping children learn the tools of the culture Teacher is a facilitator and guide, not a director; establish many opportunities for children to learn with the teacher and moreskilled peers

Information Processing Attention Focusing if cognitive resources. Control of attention is still deficient: (1) Salient versus relevant dimensions preschool children are likely to pay attention to stimuli that stand out, or are salient, even when those stimuli are not relevant to solving a problem or performing a task. Shift to cognitive control of attention to the relevant information so that children act less impulsively and reflect more. (2) Planfulness preschool children tend to use a haphazard comparison strategy: not examining all of the details before making a judgment. Childrens ability to control and sustain their attention is related to both their achievement-related skills and their social skills school readiness. Young children who have difficulty regulating their attention are more likely than other children to experience peer rejection and to engage in aggressive behavior. Young childrens experiences in their home and child care can influence the development of their attention and memory. Memory The retention of information over time central process in childrens cognitive development. To understand the infants capacity to remember we need to distinguish implicit memory from explicit memory (comes in many forms relatively permanent or long-term and short-term memory). Short-Term Memory o Individuals retain information for up to 30 seconds if there is no rehearsal of the information. o Using rehearsal (repeating info after it has been presented), we can keep info in short-term memory for much a longer period. o Test: memory-span task. Short-term memory increases during early childhood. o Rehearsal of information is important; older children rehearse the digits more than younger children. Speed and efficiency of processing information are important especially the speed with which memory items can be identified. Speed of repetition was a powerful predictor of memory span. o The speed with which a child processes info is an important aspect of the childs cognitive abilities. How accurate are young childrens long-term memories? o Memory becomes more accurate. Young children were less likely than older children to reject false suggestions about events. o Factors that can influence the accuracy of a memory: There are age differences in childrens susceptibility to suggestion preschoolers are the most suggestible age group to misleading or incorrect postevent info. There are individual differences in susceptibility suggestibility is linked to low self-concept, low support from parents, and mothers insecure attachment in romantic relationships. Interviewing techniques can produce substantial distortions in childrens reports about highly salient events children are suggestible not just about peripheral details but also about the central aspects of an event. False claims have been found to persist for at least three months. Young children are capable of recalling much that is relevant about an event. o Whether a young childs eyewitness testimony is accurate or not may depend on a number of factors such as type, number, and intensity of the suggestive techniques the child has experienced.

Reliability of young childrens reports has much to do with the skills and motivation of the interviewer as with any natural limitations on young childrens memory. (1) Interviewer should be required to electronically preserve their interviews with children. (2) A research-validated interview schedule with children needs to be developed (3) Programs need to be created to teach interviewers how to use interviewing protocols.

Strategies and Problem Solving Strategies consist of deliberate mental activities to improve the processing of information. o Rehearsing information and organizing it are used to remember more effectively o Young children do not use these to remember Even children as young as 2 years of age can learn a strategy. During early childhood, the relatively stimulus-driven toddler is transformed into a child capable of flexible, goaldirected problem solving. o 3- to 4-year olds cannot understand that a single stimulus can be described in incompatible ways from two different perspectives. They fail to understand that it is possible to provide multiple descriptions of the same stimulus. o 4 years of age, children acquire the concept of perspectives, which allows them to appreciate that a single stimulus can be described in two different ways. The Young Childs Theory of Mind Theory of mind awareness of ones mental processes and the mental processes of others. Changes as they develop through childhood. Studies of theory of mind view the child as a thinker who is trying to explain, predict, and understand peoples thoughts, feelings, and utterances. Main changes occur at: o 2 3 years of age Children begin to understand three mental states Perceptions (egocentrism) the child realizes that another person sees what is in front of her eyes and not necessarily what is front of the childs eyes. Emotions the child can distinguish between (+) and (-) emotions. Desires the child understands that if someone wants something, he or she will try to get it. o Children refer to desires earlier and more frequently than they refer to cognitive states such as thinking and knowing o The way that desires are related to actions and to simple emotions o They understand that people will search for what they want and that if they obtain it, they are likely to feel happy, but if they dont, they will keep searching for it and are likely to feel sad or angry. o 4 5 years of age Children came to understand that the mind can represent objects and events accurately or inaccurately. Realization that people can have false beliefs (not true) develops in a majority of children. They often underestimate when mental activity is likely occurring. They fail to attribute mental activity to someone who is sitting quietly, reading, or talking. Understanding of their own thinking is also limited Difficulty reporting of their thoughts. o Beyond Age 5 It is only beyond the preschool years that children have a deepening appreciation of the mind itself rather than just an understanding of mental states. Not until the middle and late childhood do children see the mind as an active constructor of knowledge or processing center and move from understanding that beliefs can be false to realizing that the same event can be open to multiple interpretations. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Two word 3, 4, 5 simple sentences that express a single proposition complex sentences (represent the way young children perceive and understand their world) Young childrens understand sometimes gets away ahead of their speech. As they learn special features of their own language, there are extensive regularities in how they acquire that language.

Understanding Phonology and Morphology During the preschool years, most children gradually become more sensitive to the sounds of spoken words and become increasingly capable of producing all the sounds of their language. They can produce complex consonant clusters such as str- and mpt-. Notice rhymes, enjoys poems, make up silly names for things, and clap along with each syllable. By the time move beyond two-2ord utterances = knowledge of morphology rules. o Plurals, possessive forms, and tenses. Uses articles, prepositions, and use to be. Overgeneralization of rules! Berko: made-up words to be applied with rules. Changing in Syntax and Semantics Preschool also learn to apply rules of syntax and gains in semantics. Mastery of complex rules for how words should be ordered. Vocabulary development is dramatic. 1 word every walking hour. First grade, 14,000 words. Advances in Pragmatics They become increasingly able to talk about things that are not here and not now. Develop a remarkable sensitivity to the needs of others in conversation. Use of articles the and an. Use the word the when referring to previously mentioned things. Change their speech style to suit the situation. Speak shorter to those who are younger and speak more poliute and formal with the adult. Young Childrens Literacy Positive orientation toward reading and writing can be developed later in life. Instruction should be built on what children already know about oral language, reading, and writing. Early precursors of literacy and academic success include language skills, phonological, and syntactic knowledge, letter identification. Phonological awareness, letter name and sound knowledge, and naming speed in kindergarten were linked to reading success. The number of letters children knew in kindergarten was highly correlated with their reading achievement in HS. All young children should experience feelings of success and pride in their early reading and writing exercises. Parents and teachers need to help them perceive themselves as people who can enjoy exploring oral and written language. Early writing attempts should be encouraged w/o concern for the proper formation of letters or correct conventional spelling. Encouraged to take risks in reading and writing, and errors should be viewed as a natural part of childs growth. Encouraged to be active participants in their learning process rather than passive recipient of knowledge. EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Variations in Early Childhood Education The foundation of early childhood education has been the child-centered kindergarten. The Child-Centered Kindergarten Friedrich Froebels concern for quality education for young children led to the foundation of the kindergarten garden for children Nurturing is still key in the child-centered kindergarten o Emphasizes the education of the whole child and concern for his or her physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. o Instruction is organized around the childs needs, interests, and learning styles. o Emphasis is on the process of learning, rather than what is learned. Honors three principles: (1) Each child follows a unique developmental pattern (2) Young children learn best through firsthand experiences with people and materials (3) Play is extremely important in the childs total development Experimenting, exploring, discovering, trying-out, restructuring, speaking, and listening are frequent activities = closely attuned to the developmental status of 4- and 5-year old children. The Montessori Approach Patterned after educational philosophy of Maria Montessori, an Italian physician-turned-educator, who crafter revolutionary approach to young childrens education.

It is a philosophy of education in which children are given considerable freedom and spontaneity in choosing activities (desire). Teacher acts as a facilitator rather than a director, only shows how to perform and offers help when requested. Encourages children to make decisions from an early age, develop self-regulated problem solvers who can make choices and manage their time effectively. Some believes it neglects childrens social development. Deemphasizes verbal interaction between teacher and child and peer interaction. It restricts imaginative play and that its heavy reliance on self-corrective materials may not adequately allow for creative and for a variety of learning styles.

Developmentally Appropriate and Inappropriate Education Developmentally Appropriate Practice o Reggio Emilia approach o Children learn best through active, hands-on teaching methods such as games and dramatic play. o They know that children develop at varying rates and that schools should focus on improving childrens social development as well as their cognitive development. o Based on knowledge of the typical development of children within an age span (age appropriateness) as well as the techniques of the child (individual appropriateness) Developmentally Inappropriate Practice o Abstract paper-and-pencil activities presented to large groups Education for Young Children Who Are Disadvantaged Project Head Start effort to break the cycle of poverty and poor education for young children in the US. Compensatory program designed to provide children from low-income familiries the opportunity to acquire skills and experiences important for success in school. o Not all created equal. Well-designed and well-implemented early childhood education programs are successful with low-income children. Controversies in Early Childhood Education High-quality early education programs include both academic and constructivist approaches. Lilian Katz: worry about academic approaches to place too much pressure on young children to achieve and dont provide any opportunities to actively construct knowledge. Competent early childhood programs also should focus on cognitive development, not exclusively on cognitive development. Should encourage adequate preparation for learning, varied learning activities, trusting relationships between adults and children, and increased parental involvement. David Alkind: parents who are exceptionally competent and dedicated and who have both times and the energy can provide basic ingredients of early childhood education in their home. Provide variety of learning experiences and exposure to other children and adult, extensive play, then home schooling may sufficiently educate young children. -