The Developing Person
Through the Life Span
Eighth Edition
Kathleen Stassen Berger
Part III
Chapter Nine
Early Childhood: Cognitive Development
Piaget and Vygotsky
Children’s Theories
Language
Early-Childhood Education
Piaget and Vygotsky
• Piaget: Preoperational Thinking
– Obstacles to Logical Operations
– Conservation and Logic
– Limitations of Piaget’s Research
– Animism in Preoperational Thought
Piaget and Vygotsky
• Vygotsky: Social Learning
– Children and Mentors
– Scaffolding
– Language as a Tool
Children’s Theories
• Theory-Theory
• Theory of Mind
– Belief and Reality: Understanding the
Difference
– Brain and Context
Language
• The Vocabulary Explosion
– Fast-Mapping
– Words and the Limits of Logic
• Acquiring Basic Grammar
• Learning Two Languages
– What Is the Goal?
– Language Loss
Early-Childhood Education
• Child-Centered Programs
– Montessori Schools
– Reggio Emilia
• Teacher-Directed Programs
Early-Childhood Education
• Intervention Programs
– Head Start
– Long-Term Gains from Intensive
Programs
– Other Government Programs
• THINKING CRITICALLY: Costs and
Benefits