Lecture 6: Early Childhood

myelination

rapid brain growth in first 4-5 years

coordination

fine motor skills; hand-eye and detail-orientation

what is behavior like in early childhood?

most active

handedness

the preference for using one hand over the other

when is sleep walking/talking most prevalent

early childhood

how should nutrition be during early childhood?

meals should be consistent, tastes develop in time, empty calories are a threat

contextual factors

things not at forefront, something going on in the background that isn’t obvious but influences development

examples of contextual factors include:

impoverished incomes/neighborhoods and parental negligence/abuse

preoperational stage

mentally relating to world and others

symbolic function

mental representation of obejcts

intuitive thought

early, basic reasoning (not fully aware)

egocentrism

self-oriented, limited perspective

centration

paying attention toward only one thing

zone of proximal development

the range of tasks, by level of difficulty

what is the zone of proximal development enhanced by?

social guidance (peers and teachers)

implications of the zone of proximal development

encourage social activities to foster both social and cognitive development