Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Chapter 7 © 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor.

Physical and Cognitive

Development in Early Childhood

Chapter 7

© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.

7 - 2

Chapter Outline

• Physical changes• Cognitive changes• Language development• Early childhood education


7 - 3

Physical Changes

• Body growth and change• Motor development• Sleep• Nutrition and exercise• Illness and death


7 - 4

Body Growth and Change

• Height and weight– Average growth is 2.5 inches and 5 to 7 pounds

per year during early childhood– Growth patterns vary individually– Two most important contributors to height

differences• Ethnic origin and nutrition

– Growth hormone: Produced by the pituitary gland to stimulate the body to grow


7 - 5

Body Growth and Change

• The brain– Brain growth slows during early childhood• Brain reaches 95% of adult volume by 6 years

• Changes in child’s brain structure– Myelination: Axons are covered and insulated

with a layer of fat cells– Rapid, distinct spurts of growth especially in the

frontal lobes


7 - 6

Figure 7.1 - A Myelinated Nerve Fiber


7 - 7

Motor Development

• Gross motor skills– Simple movements at age 3– More adventurous at age 4– Hair-raising risks at age 5

• Fine motor skills– Still clumsy at 3 years– Improved fine motor coordination at 4 years– Body coordination by 5 years


7 - 8

Sleep

• Should sleep 11-13 hours each night without interruption

• Can experience narcolepsy, insomnia, and nightmares


7 - 9

Sleep

• Children’s sleep problems and negative developmental outcome later on:

– Alcohol use problems in adolescence– Attention problems– Impaired brain development– Overweight– Emotional problems (depression, anxiety, etc.)


7 - 10

Nutrition and Exercise

• Overweight young children– Serious health problems in early childhood– Strongly influenced by caregivers’ behavior– Categories for obesity, overweight, and at risk for

being overweight • Determined by body mass index (BMI)

– U.S. has second highest rate of childhood obesity

• Exercise should be a daily occurrence


7 - 11

Nutrition and Exercise

• Malnutrition in young children from low-income families– 11 million preschool children are experiencing

malnutrition– Biggest problem is iron deficiency anemia


7 - 12

Illness and Death

• The United States– Leading causes of death in U.S. children are:• Motor vehicle accidents• Cancer• Cardiovascular disease

– Environmental tobacco smoke• Plays a major role in asthma


7 - 13

Figure 7.2 - Main Causes of Death in Children 1 through 4 Years of Age


7 - 14

Illness and Death

• State of illness and health of the world’s children– Devastating effects of health occur in countries

with high poverty rates– Dramatic increase in deaths due to HIV/AIDS,

especially in poor countries


7 - 15

Cognitive Changes

• Piaget’s preoperational stage• Vygotsky’s theory• Information processing


7 - 16

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage

• Preoperational stage– Piaget’s second stage• Remember sensorimotor stage?

– Ages 2 to 7 years– Children represent the world with words, images,

and drawings• Form stable concepts and begin to reason• Cognitions are dominated by egocentrism and magical

beliefs


7 - 17


• Operations: Reversible– Mental actions that allow children to do mentally

what they formerly did physically

• Symbolic function substage: Child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present


7 - 18


• Egocentrism: Inability to distinguish one’s own perspective from someone else’s

• Animism: Belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action


7 - 19


• Intuitive thought substage: Children use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to questions

• Centration and the limits of preoperational thought– Centration: Centering attention on one

characteristic to the exclusion of all others– Conservation: Altering a substance’s appearance

does not change its basic properties


7 - 20

Figure 7.6 - Piaget’s Conservation Task


7 - 21

Figure 7.7 - Some Dimensions of Conservation: Number, Matter, and Length


7 - 22

Vygotsky’s Theory

• Children think and understand primarily through social interaction

• Zone of proximal development (ZPD): Range of tasks that are too difficult for the child alone but that can be learned with guidance

• Scaffolding - Changing the level of support– Good metaphor for how are brains create new

pathways


7 - 23

Vygotsky’s Theory

• Language and thought– Children use speech to communicate socially and

to help them solve tasks– Private speech - Use of language for self-

regulation– Inner speech becomes their thoughts– More private speech = more social competence


7 - 24

Vygotsky’s Theory

• Teaching strategies - Vygotsky’s theory can be applied to education– Assess child’s ZPD– Use the child’s ZPD in teaching– Use more-skilled peers as teachers– Place instruction in a meaningful context– Transform the classroom with Vygotskian ideas


7 - 25

Vygotsky’s Theory

• Evaluating Vygotsky’s theory– Social constructivist approach: Emphasizes social

contexts of learning and asserts that knowledge is mutually built and constructed through social interaction


7 - 26

Figure 7.10 - Comparison of Vygotsky’s and Piaget’s Theories


7 - 27

Information Processing Theory – i.e., Neuropsych Theory

• Attention – Focusing of mental resources on select information– Executive attention (i.e., initiative, intentional

behavior)• Action planning• Allocating attention to goals• Error detection and compensation• Monitoring progress on tasks• Dealing with difficult circumstances


7 - 28

Neuropsych Theory

– Sustained attention: Focused and extended engagement with:• Object, task, event, or other aspect of the environment• Can be auditory or visual – i.e., different pathways

– Selective, complex, divided, etc.• Dependent on alertness, intact perception, & EF’s

– Deficiencies in attention cause:• Difficulty completing tasks• Difficulty reading, and eventually comprehension• Difficulty development relationships and empathy


How to Measure Attention:

• Digit span test - auditory attention span• Continuous Performance Test – sustained visual• Ruff 2 & 7 Test – Selective• NAB Numbers & Letters Test – Divided• Seashore Rhythm Test – Sustained Auditory• Orientation – alertness/orientation

7 - 29

7 - 30

Neuropsych Theory

• Memory - Retention of information over time– Short-term: Individuals can retain information up

to 30 seconds with no rehearsal– Short term is less than 3 minutes– Assessing short-term memory - Memory-span task• Word Lists, Short Stories, Immediate Recall of Drawn

Figures


7 - 31

Figure 7.12 - Developmental Changes in STM / Auditory Attention Span


7 - 32

Neuropsych Theory

• How accurate are young children’s long-term memories?– There are age differences in children’s

susceptibility to suggestion– There are individual differences in susceptibility– Interviewing techniques can produce substantial

distortions in children’s reports about highly salient events• Dr. A’s forensic example

– 4 y.o. girl’s recall of sexual abuse/trauma


7 - 33

Neuropsych Theory

• Executive functioning: Umbrella-like concept that consists of:• Higher-level cognitive processes linked to the

development of the brain’s prefrontal cortex

– Managing one’s thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and self-control

–Planning, Prioritizing, Organizing, Time Management, Social Appropriateness, Emotional Regulation, Impulse Control, etc.


7 - 34

Neuropsych Theory

• Theory of mind: Awareness of one’s own mental process and the mental processes of others– Developmental changes• Age 18 months–3 years - Children begin to understand

three mental states – Perceptions, desires, and emotions


7 - 35

Neuropsych Theory

• Age 3 to 5 years - Children understand false beliefs• Age 5 to 9 years - Appreciation of the mind• Age 7+ years - Understand the beliefs and thoughts of

others

– Individual differences


7 - 36

Language Development

• Understanding phonology and morphology• Changes in syntax and semantics• Advances in pragmatics• Young children’s literacy


7 - 37

Understanding Phonology and Morphology

• During preschool years, children:– Become sensitive to the sounds of spoken words– Produce all the sounds of their language– Demonstrate a knowledge of morphology rules• What is a morpheme, again? • Use plurals, possessives, prepositions, articles, and verb

forms


7 - 38

Changes in Syntax and Semantics

• Learn and apply rules of syntax• Children learn the words– They hear most often– For things and events that interest them– Better in responsive and interactive contexts than

in passive contexts


7 - 39

Changes in Syntax and Semantics

– Best in contexts that are meaningful– Best when they access clear information about

word meaning– Best when grammar and vocabulary are

considered

– BIG difference in academic performance on standardized achievement tests between rural, urban, and suburban geography when corrected for IQ


7 - 40

Advances in Pragmatics

• Adapt their speech in different settings• Young children’s literacy– Positive orientation toward reading and writing

must be developed– Importance of early language skills• Phonological awareness/discrimination

– “hat” vs. “has” vs. “have” vs. “hack” vs. “half”

• Readiness for school• Reading achievement in high school


7 - 41

Early Childhood Education

• Variations in early childhood education• Education for young children who are

disadvantaged• Controversies in early childhood education


7 - 42

Variations in Early Childhood Education

• Child-centered kindergarten: Education of the whole child and concern for his or her physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development

• Montessori approach: Child is given freedom and spontaneity in choosing activities


7 - 43

Variations in Early Childhood Education

• Developmentally appropriate and inappropriate education– Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP):

Typical developmental patterns of children and the uniqueness of each child


7 - 44

Early Childhood Education

• Education for young children who are disadvantaged– Project head start: Compensatory program

designed to provide children from low-income families:• Opportunity to acquire the skills and experiences

important for success in school

– Controversies in early childhood education• Curriculum controversy• Universal preschool education


Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Chapter 7 © 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor.

Documents

authorized instructor

mcgrawhill education

proprietary material

weightaverage growth

physical changesbody

changethe brainbrain

distinct spurts of growth

fine motor skillsstill