Learning Objectives
- Describe advances in mental representation during the preschool years, including changes in make-believe play.
- Describe what Piaget believed to be the deficiencies of preoperational thought.
- Discuss recent research on preoperational thought and note the implications of such findings for the accuracy of Piaget’s preoperational stage.
- Describe three educational principles derived from Piaget’s theory.
- Contrast Piaget’s view of children’s private speech with that of Vygotsky.
- Describe features of social interaction that foster cognitive development.
- Discuss how Vygotsky’s ideas have been applied in educational settings.
- Summarize recent challenges to Vygotsky’s theory.
- Describe the development of attention, memory, and problem solving during early childhood.
- Discuss preschoolers’ understanding of mental activities, noting factors that contribute to early metacognition, as well as limitations of the young child’s theory of mind.
- Describe early literacy and mathematical development during the preschool years, and discuss appropriate ways to enhance children’s development in those areas.
- Describe the nature of early childhood intelligence tests, and explain the impact of home environment, preschool, kindergarten, and child care, and educational television on mental development.
- Trace the development of vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skills in preschool children, and cite factors that support language development in early childhood.
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