Chpt 5 (Body and Mind) [Early Childhood] Flashcards
(1) Growth of the Body, (2) Thinking During Early Childhood, (3) Language Learning, (4) Early Childhood Schooling
Myelin
The fatty substance coating axons that speeds the transmission of nerve impulses from neuron to neuron.
Corpus Callosum
A long, thick band of nerve fibers that connects the brain’s hemispheres (left & right), allowing communication between them.
Lateralization
Literally, “sidedness,” referring to the specialization in certain functions by each side of the brain, with one side dominant for each activity. The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body, and vice versa.
Preoperational Intelligence
Piaget’s term for cognitive development between 2-6; includes language and imagination (which involve symbolic thought), but logical, operational thinking is not yet possible at this stage.
Piaget’s emphasized the individual and thought, whereas Vygotsky emphasized sociocultural context and learning.
Piaget: Preoperational Thought
Magical, illogical, and self-centered aspects of cognition for early-childhood thought.
Symbolic Though
An accomplishment of preoperational intelligence that allows a child to think symbolically, including understanding that words can refer to things not seen and that an item, such as a flag, can symbolize something else (such as a country in this case)
Animism
The belief that natural objects and phenomena are alive, moving around, and having sensations and abilities that are humanlike.
Obstacles to Logic
Centration(1) & Egocentrism(2)- (1)A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child focuses (centers) on one idea, excluding all others. (2)Piaget’s term for children’s tendency to think about the world entirely from their own perspective.
Focus on Appearance- A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent.
Static Reasoning- A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child thinks that nothing changes. Whatever is now has always been and always will be.
Irreversibility- A characteristic of preoperational thought in which a young child thinks that nothing can be undone. A thing cannot be restored to the way it was before a change occurred.
Conservation
The principle that the amount of a substance remains the same (i.e., is conserved) even when its appearance changes.
Vygotsky: Social Learning
Emphasized that each person’s thinking is shaped by other people; his focus on the sociocultural context contrasts with Piaget’s emphasis on the individual.
Mentors
Someone who teaches a person by examples, encouragement, and directly. Anyone can become a mentor; peers, relatives, neighbors, etc.
Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky’s term for the skills – cognitive and physical – that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently.
Scaffolding
Temporary support that’s tailored to the learner’s individual needs & abilities, aimed to help the learner master the next task. Not by making it easier, but by guidance.
Private Speech
One part of how Vygotsky viewed language as pivotal: The internal dialogue that occurs when people talk to themselves (silently our out loud)
Social Mediation
Second part of how Vygotsky viewed language as pivotal: Human interaction that expands and advances understanding. (Often through words that one person uses to explain something to another).
