Early Childhood MTEL

Covers all categories of the Early Childhood MTEL

Jean Piaget

Developed theories on the way humans learn and on stages of development:
- Sensory Motor
- Pre-operational,
- Concrete Operations,
- Formal operations

Comparison of the developmental theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky:

Piaget described child development as a result of individual exploration while Vygotsky saw it as stimulated by social interaction.

1. Sensory Motor (Jean Piaget Cognitive 1st Stage of Development)

Jean Piaget, first stage of development, birth-toddler, children begin to understand their senses

2. Pre-Operational (Jean Piaget Cognitive 2nd Stage of Development)

Jean Piaget, second stage of development, children begin to understand symbols, lasts until early elementary school 2-7 years old, make believe play, thinking is intuitive as they are "egocentric"

3. Concrete Operations (Jean Piaget Cognitive 3rd Stage of Development)

Jean Piaget, third stage of development, lasts until late elementary, learn to manipulate symbols, objects, and other elements example: displacement of water

4. Formal Operations (Jean Piaget Cognitive 4th Stage of Development)

Jean Piaget, fourth stage of development, adolescent/early teen--\> adulthood, allows critical thinking, hypothesis, systematic organization or knowledge, and more

Benefits of play in the child's early life:

Enforces:
- Abstract thinking
- Spatial reasoning (ex. treasure map/hunt)
- social skills
- early leadership skills
- self-confidence and sense of self

Benjamin Bloom

detailed classification of critical thinking and learning skills/objectives into tiered levels from simplest to highest. Goal is for teachers to teach @ all levels of thinking: knowledge, understanding/comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation

Bloom's 1st Level of Taxonomy

Knowledge: most basic level of learning, learn terms and facts: define, label, recall, memorize, list

Bloom's 2nd level of Taxonomy:

Understanding/Comprehension: requires students to grasp the meaning of a concept: classify, explain, ID, locate, review

Bloom's 3rd level of Taxonomy

Application: take previous learning and use it in a new way: demonstrate, illustrate, distinguish, write, chose, dramatize

Bloom's 4th level of Taxonomy

Analysis: breakdown information into parts and use those parts: calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, distinguished, examine, experiment

Bloom's 5th level of Taxonomy

Synthesis:
- students take analyzed parts from pervious level and incorporate them into creating new wholes: collect, compose, design, manage, plan, organize, formulate

Bloom's 6th Level of Taxonomy

Evaluation: least achieved/highest level, requires students to judge value of material based on experience, prior knowledge, opinions, and/or resulting product- requires them to assess, appraise, predict, rate, support, evaluate, judge, and argue

Lawrence Kohlberg

"Kohlberg Stages of Moral Development": 6 stages grouped into three levels: pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional

Pre-Conventional

"Kohlberg Stages of Moral Development"
(Egocentric: up to age nine)
a. punishment/obedience: morality is based on established rules. Children see that following the rules and/or avoiding negative consequence defines moral behavior
b. instrumental purpose: whatever satisfies the child is considered moral by that child

Conventional

"Kohlberg Stages of Moral Development"
(Socio-centric: age nine to adolescence)
a. Interpersonal: children begin to understand that good behavior is expected, and achieving those expectations is moral
b. Social system: adolescents at this stage understand that there is a need for them to fulfill obligations and expectations, and that this is considered moral behavior

Post-Conventional

"Kohlberg Stages of Moral Development"
(Adulthood)
a. social contract: we understand that various cultures, as well as individuals, have different definitions of morality, and good moral behavior is seen as living up to the moral standards of that person's social norm
b. Universal Ethical Principles: reasoning is based on ethical fairness and individuals are able to judge themselves and others based on their sense of morality

Erikson

Theory that humans go through eight stages of development as they go from infancy to adulthood

Bronfenbrenner

Developed the ecological systems theory to explain how everything in a child and the child's environment affects how a child grows and develops.

Labeled different aspects or levels of the environment that influence children's development, including the:
-Microsystem: small, immediate environment the child lives in.

-Mesosystem: How the different parts of a child's microsystem work together for the sake of the child

-Exosystem: Workplaces/extended family/neighborhood/etc

-Macrosystem: The largest and most remote set of people and things to a child but which still has a great influence over the child (cultural values, economy, wars, etc.)

Lev Vygotsky

higher mental function develops through child's interactions with adults and other children- develops language, culture, and family background

Studies on the importance of play- through play child develops abstract meaning needed to differentiate between objects in the world

Metacognition theory about speech- connection w/ speech and thought, thoughts are inner speech- thoughts develop through social interactionL

Constructivist Learning

Students create their own reality of knowledge and how to process and observe the world around them. Allows students to construct learning opportunities

1. Learner creates knowledge

2. Learning constructs and adds meaningful new knowledge to existing

3. Leaner shapes and constructs knowledge by life experiences and social interactions

4. in constructivist learning communities, student, teacher, and classmates establish knowledge cooperatively on daily basis

Dynamic and ongoing

Cognitive Approach to Leaning

Teaching the student to process his or her own learning and mastery of skill provides the greatest learning and retention opportunities in the classroom.

- Students are taught to develop concepts and teach themselves skills in problem solving and critical thinking
- student becomes active participant in leaning process and teacher facilitates conceptual and cognitive learning process

Cognitive Processes

Include changes in intellectual abilities such as:
- attention
- memory
- knowledge
- problem solving
- imagination
- creativity
- Language

What role does the Parental/Family Influence play in the child's life?

Impacts:
- Attitude
- resources
- Encouragement available in the home environment (this may be attributes for success or failure.)
- High income families vs low income families, family crisis

Inadequate nutrition of children leads to:

- social withdrawal
- lower test scores
- delayed motor skill development
- delayed physical growth
- and lower expectations from parents/teachers and less environmental probing

What kind of organizations do trained home visitors model verbal interactions and parenting techniques through the use of selected books and toys to enhance early literacy?

Parent-child home program

Solitary Play

a child plays alone, unaware of any other children playing nearby

cooperative play

children play together, creating dramas or taking turns

parallel play

Two or more children playing next to each other but not with each other

Things to consider in understanding and creating learning conditions for students with disabilities and exceptionalities:

- activities based on specific learning objectives
- select activities that optimize student learning including use of manipulative and group learning
-introduce activities and concepts in an instructional sequential order
- use child-centered approach to address needs and abilities of all students
- help students identify their own learning needs and structure experiences that meet these needs
- pay attention to emotional needs
- watchful and take times to teach children how to control or modify behavior
- use safe interventions
- establish environment that promotes appropriate behavior of all students

Exposure to trauma and abuse in the child's early life can impact the child in this way:

- Developed anxiety
- Learned helplessness
- depression
- Inability to form healthy relationships with others
- Higher chance for violence later in life

Exposure to environmental toxins result in:

- brain damage
- growth stunts on the of the brain
- Lead poisoning

Emotional disturbances

lack of control- results in uncommon behaviors

Neurotic Disorder

TRAUMA or EMOTIONAL STRESS may lead to students to become nervous and afraid of simple things- may stay away from experiences that are necessary for social and emotional development

anxiety, social isolation, sleep problems, abdominal pain, headaches

Signs of learning disabilities in pre-school:

- trouble pronouncing words
- difficulty rhyming
- they might struggle to learn the alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and days of the week
- can't follow directions or follow routines
- difficulty doing tasks that require fine motor skills (coloring, cutting, buttoning, writing)

Dyscalculia

Learning disability in math
- problems doing math problems
- understanding telling time
- learning money

Dyslexia

Learning disability in reading (includes reading and writing)

Dysgraphia

Learning disability in writing (problems writing, spelling, and/or organizing ideas)

Dyspraxia (sensory integration disorder)

Learning disability with fine motor skills:
- hand-eye coordination
- balance
- manual dexterity

Dysphasia/Aphasia

Learning disability with language:
- problem understanding spoken language
- poor reading comprehension
(can possibly be paired with receptive language delay)

Auditory Processing Disorder

Difficulty hearing differences between sounds:
- issues reading, with comprehension, and language

Psychotic Disorder

loss of contact with reality, failure to connect with others

Substance abuse by parents before birth leads to:

- poor brain development
- neurological disorders
- Physical disabilities and delays (such as Fetal Alc. Syndrome)

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD)

Problems sitting still, focusing, following instructions, staying organized, and completing day to day tasks on time (such as homework \-- for kids)

fetal alcohol syndrome (characteristics)

Developmental delay and cognitive impairment, along with eyes that are smaller than average, a poorly developed upper lip, and flattened cheekbones.

What condition that affects learning and development, and specifically occurs as the result of brain damage to a child during pregnancy, birth, or early infancy?

Cerebral Palsy

A 3 year old child is highly sensitive to noise and becomes fixated on certain tasks and objects. This child has difficulty regulating anxiety and recognizing nonverbal communication. These behaviors of what syndrome?

Asperger's syndrome

The psychological process during early childhood in which children try to take on the qualities of important people in their environment is called

Identification

Early Infant Autism

- infant lays apathetic and oblivious in crib, -
- different case to case, some don't present until 18 months
- usually have language disturbances
- often misdiagnosed.

Identifying Emotionally Disturbed Children

lower academic performance, social skill difficulties, classroom behaviors that are highly disruptive, aggressive behaviors, delinquency (social aggression), withdrawn behaviors, schizophrenia and psychotic behaviors

can't stay on task, shouts out when angry

teen girls: eating disorders
Family: does not mean the family is dysfunctional, but may be: abuse and neglect, lack of supervision, poor adult role models, lack of proper health care and nutrition

Mild Learning, intellectual, and behavioral disabilities

little interest in school work, prefer concrete rather than abstract lessons, possess weak listening skills, perform poorly on verbal or written work, respond better to active learning vs passive, prefer to receive special help in regular classroom, modifications

Characteristics of Learning Disability

hyperactivity, perceptual difficulties (visual, auditory), perceptual-motor impairments (poor integration of visual and motor systems), disorders of memory and thinking (memory deficits, trouble with problem solving), impulsiveness, academic problems in reading, math, etc- significant discrepancies in ability levels

Developmental or Intellectual Disabilities characteristics:

- IQ of 70 or lower
- limited cognitive ability (delayed achievement in language related subjects)
- deficits in memory,
- impaired formulation of learning strategies
- difficulty in attending to relevant aspects of stimuli

Characteristics of Autism

- apparent sensory deficit,
- severe affect isolation,
- self-stimulation,
- tantrums and SIB,
- echolalia (parrot talk),
- deficits in behavior and self care skills

Speech and Language delays

speech patterns should be 100% intelligible by age 5, 70% at 2
must know differences between developmental speech, word development, and language delays so that they can be a focus in speech education

Advanced or Artistically Talented Students

give them additional work to do to keep them motivated and avoid them becoming bored at school

Differentiated Instruction

effective teachers seek to connect all students to the subject matter through multiple techniques

Content: what is the teacher going to teach? What do they want the students to learn? Differentiating content means that students will have access to content that piques their interest about a topic, while challenging them and promoting intellectual development

Process: instructional organization and deli is maximized for the diverse student group- dynamic and flexible grouping activities where instruction and learning occurs both as a whole class, teacher led activities, and peer learning

Product: Teacher should individually adjust expectations and requirements placed on students to demonstrate their knowledge or understanding

Differentiated classroom: get to know students so that you can differentiate in groups

Inclusion, Mainstreaming, and Least Restrictive Environment

Policies under IDEA- let children with special needs be part of the general ed population as much as possible

504

For students with a physical or emotional disability
example: priority seating, food for diabetic children, medication given at nurses office, extra time on assignments

Role and influence of family in development and learning

- teacher must show respect to all families, set a tone that their mission is to develop students into the best person they can be, various cultures have different views, share personal things so that parents feel their kids are in "the right hands", act like you are a partner with the parents in the children's education,

Conference

to tell information to parents, to gather information from parents about the child, or to request parent support in an area

Collect materials and prepare for conference ahead of time

Set a positive tone to put parents at ease- don't have too much small talk- start with positive comments and strengths but do not exaggerate. If you address an issue or concern, focus on observable behaviors and concrete results or information. Do not make judgmental comments.

Be a good listener and end the conference with a plan of action between parents and teacher.

Follow up a day or two after

Community as Resource

Community is a vital link to learning for young students

mentoring, financial support, support learning outcomes and future education

Promote a sense of community within the classroom: school involvement and connections with community correlates with higher graduation rates

meaningful connections

Basic household chemicals, such as vinegar, vegetable oil, baking soda, and food coloring, are helpful in demonstrating what?

How different types of matter behave when mixed or changed.

Keeping a class pet, ant farm, and plants in the classroom help children do what?

Develop a basic sense of biology.

different types of physical matter, such as clay, liquids, sand, and ice, are especially important in teaching what?

The basics of physical science

What allows teachers to build a foundation for the subject matter that will be included in the lesson and increase students' ability to understand what the text is about?

Introducing background information

What activity models fluent reading and enables the teacher to talk to their students about what was just read in order to demonstrate critical thinking skills

Read Aloud/Think Aloud

Traditional Literature

opens up a world where right wins over wrong, where hard work is rewarded, helpless victims find vindication- worthwhile values that children ID with in kindergarten

powers, talking animals, heros inspire children

ideal for providing predictable and repetitive elements that can be grasped by children

Folktales/Fairy Tales

adventures of animals or humans and the supernatural characterize these stories

hero is usually on a quest and is aided by other worldly helpers

story focuses on good, and evil rewarded by punishment

Fables

animals that act like humans are featured in these stores and usually reveal human foibles or teach a lesson

Myths

stories about events from earliest times, such as origin or world, and are considered to be true in their societies

Legends

similar to myths, but tend to deal with events that happened more recently

Tall Tales

purposely exaggerated accounts of individuals with superhuman strength

Modern Fantasy

stories start out based in reality and then enter worlds of unreality

Science Fiction

robots, spacecraft, mystery, civilizations from other ages "what if" aspect in the story

Modern Realistic Fiction

stories about real problems that children face- by finding hopes and fears they share with other, children can find insight into their own problems- good to know that a child can be brave and solve their own problems

Historical Fiction

presented in a historically-accurate setting- good opportunity to introduce children to history in a beneficial way

Biography

reports events about someone's live- lets children see how people can make a difference, allows children to chose an occupation to dream about

Informational Book

non fiction, provide information about something that the child wishes to learn about

Earliest Literature

board books, concept books (animals, shapes, colors), alphabet books, wordless picture books, easy-to-read books, picture books

Early Elementary Literature

chapter books (grade 2-4)
Anid Blyton, J.K Rowling, Jacquelin Wilson, Jane Yolen, Betsy Byars

Major Themes associated with literature for young children

choices, morals, values, different is fine but hard, good guys win and bad guys are simply bad, magic and adventures are natural, being good is nice

science fiction, fantasy, horror and ghost stories, action and adventure, historical fiction, biography, educational books (text books)

simile

comparison using "like" or "as",

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Symbolism

when something comes to stand for something else, ex. black cat and bad luck

Repetition

A writer may use repetition to underscore the importance of a part of a work to point to the central theme, helpful to young readers

US Government

Checks and Balances

Gives each branch a way to check, or limit the powers of the two other branches

Animism

assigning human qualities to objects "the sun was mad and burned me"

Toddlers solve problems using...

their sensory perceptions

Viktor Lowenfeld

taught art to blind students, combined stages of art with human development to educate these students, wrote "Creative and Mental Growth (1947)"

Conventional Writing

writing with a purpose with audience in mind

Pre-conventional

child writes in scribbles and assigns a message to the symbols

Experimental Writing (Emerging)

writes in simple forms of language "are" as "r"

Early Writing

children start to use a small range of familiar txt forms and sight words in their writing. topics they chose are important to them

Elements of Fiction

Rational Numbers

can be expressed as the ratio of two integers, a/b where b does not equal 0, includes integers (positive and negative numbers), fractions and mixed numbers, terminating and repeating decimals

Whole Numbers

natural numbes and zero

Irrational Numbers

square route of 5, pi