The Preschool Years:
Physical & Cognitive Development
Prepared by Ethel Cantu
Based on Development
Across the Life Span,
by Robert Feldman, Prentice-Hall
Introduction
Physiological maturation is related to school readiness
Gross and fine motor skills are developed through play
Boys and girls follow almost identical paths of physical development
Play is the work of childhood
Physical Growth
Grow about three inches, gain about 4 1/2 pounds annually
Body height and weight vary greatly, affected by genetics and nutrition
Growth is slower so children need fewer calories; appetites are smaller
Iron deficiency anemia is problem, also too much salt and sugar in diet
Obesity
Increased food intake may lead to obesity
body weight more than 20 % higher than the average weight for a person of a given age and height;
More common among older preschoolers than it was 20 years ago
Brought about by both biological (genetics, responsiveness to sweets) and social factors (parental encouragement).
Brain Maturation
Brain develops faster than any other part; attains 90% of adult weight by age 5
Myelination (insulates nerves and speeds up transmission of neural impulses) necessary for reading and writing
Hand-eye coordination areas myelinated by 4
Focused attention areas myelinated between 5& 12
Language and intelligence areas by 15
Brain Maturation
Vision improves
Before age 6, eye muscles not developed enough to move eyes slowly and deliberately for reading
Reading readiness depends on maturation, interests,and experiences of individual child, not on age
Activity Level
Preschoolers' level of activity is extraordinarily high.
According to research, the activity level at age 3 is higher than at any other point in the lifespan!
(Eaton & Yu, 1989; Poest et al. 1990)
Motor Skills
Gross motor skills improve dramatically
large body movements
running, climbing, jumping, throwing
Fine motor skills more difficult to master
small body movements
pouring without spilling, using knife and fork, buttoning, using scissors, writing
Some major gross
motor skills in early childhood
Hopping
Skipping
Running
Throwing
Fine Motor Skills
are developing
Using utensils to eat
Drawing shapes
Puzzles
Require much more practice than gross motor skills
Motor Skills
Difficulty with fine motor skills
incomplete myelination
insufficient muscular control
short, fat fingers
Development of fine motor skills is important part of preschool curriculum
Early Childhood Cognitive Development
Children are in Piaget’s preoperational stage of cognitive development
Children use symbolic thought, but not logical thought
Children show centration: focus on one aspect of a situation and ignore others
Memory formation influenced by active participation and adult reminiscing
Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
Able to use symbols: words, numbers, or images without their physical presence
Able to understand basics of cause and effect: ask “why?”, use “because” and “so”
Understand basic number concepts
Able to classify into categories
Gradually develop understanding of identities
The Preoperational Stage
Intuitive thought: primitive reasoning
Curiosity drives knowledge acquisition
Unable to back up conclusions with reasons
Confidence with no logical basis
Leads children to think they know all the answers for how the world operates, but they have no logical basis for their thinking.
The Preoperational Stage
Functionality
Actions, events and outcomes are related to one another in fixed patterns.
pushing pedals moves bike faster
remote button changes channels on TV
The Preoperational Stage
Identity
Certain things stay the same regardless of changes in shape, size and appearance
clay stretched out is the same amount of clay rolled into a ball
Understanding identity is necessary for children to develop an understanding of conservation
Limitations
Difficulty distinguishing fantasy and reality:
know the difference between fantasy and reality, but not always sure that what they imagine is not real
Irreversibility: cannot mentally undo an operation
worry that a cut or broken leg will not heal
Transductive reasoning: one situation is seen as the basis for another; not logical
their bad thoughts caused their illness or parents’ divorce
Centration: focus on only one aspect
come to illogical conclusions because they ignore other aspects
unable to understand conservation
Egocentrism: unable to see things from another’s perspective; self-centered understanding (form of centration)
have difficulty answering questions about another person’s point of view
Conservation:
Learning that Appearances are Deceiving
Preschoolers do not understand CONSERVATION - the
knowledge that quantity is unrelated to the arrangement and physical appearance
of objects
Types of Conservation Problems
Number
Rearranging elements
Substance
Altering shape (clay)
Length
Altering shape, configuration
Area
Rearranging figures
Weight
Altering shape
Volume
Altering shape (water in container)
Memory
Autobiographical memory not accurate until after age 3
Memories fade quickly
Language not developed sufficiently for encoding memories well
Very open to suggestions from adults
Short attention span, Easily distracted
Attend to only one dimension
Memory
Children have limited memory capacity
memory for what they did is better than for what they saw
Preschool children remember events that made a strong impression
most are short-lived,< 1 year
Memories for routines are scripted; tend to blur
riding bus to preschool
Memory
Reliable memories are dependent on development of language to encode and compare memories
Talking about an experience influences how well the child remembers it
Natural conversations about an event help solidify memories of the event
Leading questions shape the child’s recall
Memory
Preschoolers are more suggestible
weaker memories
vulnerable to adult expectations
Reliable memories can be enhanced through
neutral questioning: no rewards for responses
open-ended questions; not yes-no questions
single interview soon after the event
patience
Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development
Cognition develops through social interactions around problem-solving
Abilities increase when tasks are in child’s zone of proximal development
Level where child can almost accomplish task independently
Scaffolding provides support for learning
Just enough assistance to encourage independence & growth
Early Childhood Education
Advantages
Increases in language & memory
Greater independence & self-confidence
Greater social knowledge
Disadvantages
Less polite, compliant, & respectful
More competitive & aggressive
Early Childhood Education
Quality programs effective
Well trained providers, good child-care provider ratio, stimulating curriculum
Head Start
Greater readiness for school
Better school adjustment
Less likely to be retained a grade or be in special education