Section 8: Physcial Development in Early Childhood

Skeletal Growth

The process by which bones get longer and wider, driven by cartilage cell division at the growth plates and bone-building cells. This development happens mainly during childhood and adolescence before stopping in early adulthood.

Cerebellum

A structure that aids in balance and control of body movement

Reticular Formation

A structure in the brain stem that maintains alertness and consciousness

Hippocampus

Inner brain structure that plays a vital role in memory and spatial understanding

Amygdala

Inner brain structure that processes novelty and emotional information

Corpus Callosum

A large bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres

Pituitary Gland

A pea-sized master organ that controls body growth, metabolism, and reproduction that releases two hormones that induce growth

Growth Hormone (GH)

A hormone that is necessary from birth on for development of almost all body tissues

Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

A hormone that prompts the thyroid gland to release thyroxine, which is necessary for brain development and for GH to have its full impact on body size

Preoperational Stage

The second phase in Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, spanning ages 2 to 7, characterized by symbolic thinking, pretend play, and rapid language growth, but lacking concrete logic.

Sociodramatic Play

An advanced form of cooperative pretend play where children interact to take on specific roles, create shared storylines, and imitate real-life or imaginary scenarios

Symbol–Real-World Relations

Experiences with diverse symbols strengthen preschoolers’ understanding that one object can stand for another

Dual Representation

viewing a symbolic object as both an object in its own right and a symbol. Dual representation is aided by pointing out similarities between models and real-world spaces and providing opportunities to make drawings and label them and to observe others doing the same.

Egocentrism

Failure to distinguish others’ symbolic viewpoints from one’s own

Conservation

The idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same, even when their outward appearance changes

Centration

Focusing on one aspect of a situation while neglecting other important features

Irreversibility

An inability to mentally go through a series of steps in a problem and then reverse direction, returning to the starting point

Hierarchical Classification

Organization of objects into classes and subclasses on the basis of similarities and differences

Egocentric Speech

A young child talking aloud to themselves without considering the listener's perspective, primarily categorized into repetition, monologues, and collective monologues.

Private Speech

Self-talk used by young children aged two to seven to communicate with themselves, guide their behavior, and regulate emotions.

Intersubjectivity

Two people who begin a task with different understandings arrive at a shared understanding

Scaffolding

Adjusting the support offered during a teaching lessons to fit the child’s current level of performance

Assisted Discovery

An educational approach where adults guide children's hands-on exploration using strategic support, open-ended questions, and scaffolding rather than leaving them to learn completely unassisted.

Peer Collaboration

An interactive learning and working method where individuals of similar status or expertise exchange ideas, share information, and work together toward a shared goal.

Academic Programs

Teachers structure learning through formal lessons, often using repetitive drills and despite evidence that formal academic training undermines motivation and emotional well-being, early childhood teachers are pressured to take this approach

Child-centered Programs

Teachers provide activities from which children select, and much learning takes place through play

Montessori Education

A child-centered approach that places equal emphasis on academic and social development

Guided Play

integrates the child's autonomy and playful exploration with adult-guided instruction, or scaffolding. Enables teachers to preserve the voluntary, engaging, and flexible features of play. Also ensures that children focus on content relevant to learning goals.

Project Head Start

A comprehensive American federal program launched in 1965 that promotes school readiness for children from low-income families through education, health, and family support.

Fast-Mapping

Connecting new words with underlying concepts after only a brief encounter

Mutual Exclusivity Bias

The assumption that words refer to entirely separate categories

Syntactic Bootstrapping

Discovering word meanings by observing how words are used in syntax

Overregularization

Overextension of grammatical rules to words that are exceptions

Semantic Bootstrapping

A theory of language acquisition suggesting that children figure out the grammar and sentence structure of their native language by first understanding core meaning concepts.

Pragmatics

The branch of linguistics and philosophy that studies how context contributes to meaning, focusing on implicature, speech acts, and the cooperative principle. It explains how people communicate deeper intentions beyond the literal words they say.

Recasts

Restoring inaccurate speech into correct form

Expansions

Elaborating on children’s speech, increasing its complexity