Cognitive and Language Development

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations (2009)

Teaching Strategies, CDA Training (1999)Feeny, Christensen, Moravcik (2001) Who Am I in the Lives of

Children

WHAT IS COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT? The process of learning to think

and reason How do children develop thinking

skills?–Actively explore their world–Try out new ideas–Observe what happens

JEAN PIAGET

The Study of Knowledge and Development

Three Types of Knowledge Physical Social Logical

1896 - 1980

Cognition

Creativity

SENSORIMOTOR STAGE

Birth to two Objects exist outside of their

visual field - object permanence Learn strictly through sensory

experience within their environment -

PRE-OPERATIONAL STAGE

Ages 2 - 7 Period of Language Development Egocentrism - only see self

perceptions Categorize by single obvious

feature

CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE Ages 7 – 12 Develop ability to handle complex

logic and make comparisons Hypothesize and reason ONLY

about things they’ve experienced themselves

FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE Age 12 – Adult Abstract thinking ability Offer interpretations and draw

conclusions Formulate hypotheses

LEV VYGOTSKY

Advocate of early childhood programs that meet the needs of the whole child

Children need to acquire a set of fundamental competencies that shape their minds for further learning:

– Cognitive– Linguistic– Social-Emotional

Lifelong process of development dependent on social interaction with adults and peers

1896-1934

LEV VYGOTSKY’S THEORIES

Children learn best through social interactions with children and adults

Adults provide mental scaffolding – Give children a framework for

understanding– Gives children support so they can use

their own cognitive skills Adults are guides or facilitators who help

children understand their world

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Changes in cognitive skills are related to intellectual growth and age

Child’s behavior not just result of external stimuli – but also internal stimuli

Social learning leads to cognitive development

Individual differences in children should be recognized and addressed

INFANTS

Learn through everyday experiences Think through daily routines Explore through mouthing, dropping,

banging, squeezing, etc. Learn “object permanence” – Object

exists even when it’s out of sight Begin to understand cause and effect Learn how to use one object to get

another

TODDLERS

Learning all the time! As they develop, the same experiences

take on new meanings Just beginning to understand how things

and events relate to each other – in, out, under

Think concretely and understand words very literally

Can anticipate what will happen next and learn order in daily routines and schedules

Beginning to understand cause and effect.

FOSTERING COGNITIVE GROWTH

What do children need?– Self-confidence and skills to explore their

world– To try out new ideas– To make mistakes– To solve problems on their own– Take on new challenges

What can the teacher do?– Build on child’s natural curiosity– Create an environment for exploration– Ask questions and talk with children– Give children a chance to construct their

own knowledge

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT DEFINITION The process of growth and change

in intellectual/mental abilities:– Thinking– Reasoning– Understanding

Children draw on experiences through all domains:– Social-Emotional– Language– Motor– Perceptual

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

ROLE OF ADULTS

Vital role in supporting cognitive development of infants

Must provide the “base from which infants engage in behaviors and interactions that promote learning.”

Serve as prime source for imitation

Provide the cultural context and determine what knowledge is valuable

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

INFANT FOUNDATIONS

Cause-and-Effect– The developing understanding that

one event brings about another Spatial Relationships

– The developing understanding of how things move and fit in space

Problem Solving– The developing ability to engage in a

purposeful effort to reach a goal or figure out how something works

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

FOUNDATIONS

Imitation– The developing ability to mirror, repeat,

and practice the actions of others, either immediately or later

Memory– The developing ability to store and later

retrieve information about past experiences

Number Sense– The developing understanding of number

and quantityCalifornia Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

INFANT TODDLER FOUNDATIONS

Classification– The developing ability to group,

sort, categorize, connect, and have expectations of objects and people according to their attributes

Symbolic Play– The developing ability to use

actions, objects, or ideas to represent other actions, objects, or ideas

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

INFANT TODDLER FOUNDATIONS

Attention Maintenance– The developing ability to

attend to people and things while interacting with others and exploring the environment and play materials.

Understanding of Personal Care Routines– The developing ability to

understand and participate in personal care routines.

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

LEARNING LANGUAGE Need to be able to communicate

–To understand the world –To function in the world

Language unites people Talking and listening Literacy – reading and writing Literature – the art form that uses

languageCalifornia Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

LEARNING LANGUAGE Significant accomplishment of

early childhood All children learn language in all

cultures at about the same time “Caught, not taught!” Language is tool:

– Communication– Self Expression– Learning

THE TEACHER’S JOB

Provide relationships full of language

Speak honestly and respectfully Listen attentively Use language

– To mediate problems– Communicate information– Share feelings and ideas– Demonstrate usefulness and value

of oral language

LEARN CUSTOMS FROM HOME

Learn to select speech for the setting and the people

Learn to use nonverbal features in communication– Body position– Gestures– Facial expression– Intonation in speaking– Need to be sensitive to cultural

customs – some cultures do not use eye contact

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES

Children learn complex structure, rules, and meanings of language

Normal development - develop ability to create speech

Taught through “language-rich” relationships– Learn through conversations– Learn through play– Learn through planned activities

• Games, stories, songs, rhymes• Taught through structured group activities

LITERACY

Evolving process by which children become literate

Literacy begins at birth – experiences in infancy with language, books, reading

Foster awareness of print-filled world Foundations start long before child learns

to read Include experience with books Each child needs to be read to Even the youngest children must have

books and words throughout their environment

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATIONS From babbling at six months to full

sentences by the end of three Newborns prefer:

– Sounds of their mothers’ voices– The language spoken by their mother

during pregnancy Motherese or parentese –

– Infant-directed speech– Pitch and tone qualities– Sing-song rhythm

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

DEVELOPING LANGUAGE

Preverbal infants communicate through:– Eye contact– Facial expressions– Gestures– Sounds

Infants understand the social processes involved in communication– Learn turn-taking behavior– Learn back and forth conversation-like

responses

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

PERCEPTUAL PROCESSES AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Infants develop ability to perceive inter-

sensory relations in auditory visual events Experience effects language development Infants’ perceptual and perceptual-motor

systems are altered by linguistic experience

Phonetic experience change through native-language patterns

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

LANGUAGE FOUNDATIONS

Receptive language– The developing ability to understand

words and increasingly complex utterances

Expressive language– The developing ability to produce the

sounds of language and use vocabulary and increasingly complex utterances

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

LANGUAGE FOUNDATIONS

Communication skills and knowledge– The developing ability to

communicate nonverbally and verbally.

Interest in print– The developing interest in

engaging with print in books and in the environment.

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations, 2009

RESOURCES

California Infant/Toddler Learning and Development Foundations (2009).

Feeny, Christensen, & Moravcik (2001). Who am I in the Lives of Children?

Teaching Strategies (1999). Caring for Infants and Toddlers

Bodrova & Leong, 2005, The Whole Child. Educational Leadership