Cognitive Development of Young Children Ass2

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COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN

PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

Process of Cognitive Development.

As a biologist, Piaget was interested in how an organism adapts to its environment

(Piaget described as intelligence.) Behavior (adaptation to the environment) is controlled

through mental organizations called schemes that the individual uses to represent the world and

designate action. This adaptation is driven by a biological drive to obtain balance between

schemes and the environment (equilibration). Piaget hypothesized that infants are born with

schemes operating at birth that he called "reflexes." In other animals, these reflexes control

behavior throughout life. However, in human beings as the infant uses these reflexes to adapt to

the environment, these reflexes are quickly replaced with constructed schemes. Piaget

described two processes used by the individual in its attempt to adapt: assimilation and

accommodation. Both of these processes are used throughout life as the person increasingly

adapts to the environment in a more complex manner. Assimilation is the process of using or

transforming the environment so that it can be placed in preexisting cognitive structures.

Accommodation is the process of changing cognitive structures in order to accept something

from the environment. Both processes are used simultaneously and alternately throughout life.

An example of assimilation would be when an infant uses a sucking schema that was developed

by sucking on a small bottle when attempting to suck on a larger bottle. An example of

accommodation would be when the child needs to modify a sucking schema developed by

sucking on a pacifier to one that would be successful for sucking on a bottle.

Preoperational stage

Piaget's second stage, the Pre-operational Stage, starts when the child begins to learn

to speak at age 2 and lasts up until the age of 7. During the Pre-operational Stage of cognitive

development, Piaget noted that children do not yet understand concrete logic and cannotmentally manipulate information. Childrens increase in playing and pretending takes place in

this stage, however the child still has trouble seeing things from different points of view. The

children's play is mainly categorized by symbolic play and manipulating symbols. Such play is

demonstrated by the idea of checkers being snacks, pieces of paper being plates, and a box

being a table. Their observations of symbols exemplifies the idea of play with the absence of the


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actual objects involved. By observing sequences of play, Jean Piaget was able to demonstrate

that towards the end of the second year, a qualitatively new kind of psychological functioning

occurs, this is known as the Pre-operational Stage.

A. The preoperational stage, Piaget's second stage, is marked by rapid growth in

representational,or symbolic, mental activity.

B. Advances in Mental Representation

1. Language is our most flexible means of mental representation.

2. Piaget believed that sensorimotor activity provides the foundation for language, just as

it under lies deferred imitation and make-believe play.

C. Make-Believe Play

1. Make-believe play increases dramatically during early childhood.

2. Piaget believed that through pretending, young children practice and strengthen newly

acquired representational schemes.

3. Development of Make-Believe Play. a. Over time, play becomes increasingly detached

from the real-life conditions associated with it. b. Make-believe play gradually becomes less

selfcentered

as children realize that agents and recipients of pretend actions can be independent of

themselves. c. Play also includes increasingly more complex scheme combinations. d.

Sociodramatic play is the make-believe play with peers that first appears around age 2 1/2 and

increases rapidly until 4 to 5 years. e. The emergence of sociodramatic play signals an

awareness

that make-believe play is a representational activity.

4. Advantages of Make-Believe. a. Today, Piaget's view of make-believe- as mere

practice of representational schemes is regarded as too limited. b. In comparison to social

nonpretend activities, during social pretend preschoolers' interactions last longer, show more

involvement, draw larger numbers of children into the activity, and are more cooperative. c.

Preschoolers who spend more time at sociodramatic play are advanced in general intellectual

development and seen as more socially competent by their teachers. d. In the past, creating

imaginary companions, invisible characters with whom children form a special relationship, was

viewed as a sign of maladjustment. Yet recent research demonstrates that children who have

them display more complex pretend play, are advanced in mental representation, and are more

sociable with peers.

D. Spatial Representation

1. Spatial understanding improves rapidly over the third year of life. With this


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representational capacity, children realize that a spatial symbol stands for a specific state of

affairs in the real world.

2. Insight into one type of symbol-real world relation, such as that represented by a

photograph, helps preschoolers understand others, such as simple maps.

3. Providing children with many opportunities to learn about the functions of diverse

symbols, such as picture books, models, maps, and drawings, enhances spatial representation.

E. Limitations of Preoperational Thought

1 . Piaget described preschool children in terms of what they cannot, rather than can,

understand.

2. Operations are mental representations of actions that obey logical rules.

3. In the preoperational stage, children's thinking is rigid, limited to one aspect of a

situation at a time, and strongly influenced by the way things appear at the moment.

4. Egocentric and Animistic Thinking. a. Egocentrism is the inability to distinguish the

symbolic viewpoints of others from one's own. b. Piaget's most convincing demonstration of

egocentrism involves a task called the three mountains problem (see Figure 9.1). c. Animistic

thinking is the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, such as thoughts, wishes,

feelings, and intentions. d. Young children's thinking is so closely tied to their own point of view

that they do not accommodate, or revise their thinking, in response to feedback.

5. Inability to Conserve. a. Conservation refers to the idea that certain physical

characteristics of objects remain the same, even when outward appearance changes. b.

Preoperational children's inability to conserve highlights several related aspects of their thinking.

1) Centration is the tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect other important

features. 2) Perception-bound describes thinking that is easily distracted by the concrete,

perceptual appearance of objects. 3) In focusing on states rather than transformations, children

treat the initial and final states in a problem as completely unrelated. 4) Irreversibility is the

inability to mentally go through a series of steps in a problem and then reverse direction,

returning to the starting point.

6. Transductive Reasoning. a. Transductive reasoning is reasoning from one particular

event to another particular event, instead of from general to particular or particular to general. b.

Preschoolers link together two events that occur dose in time and space in a cause and effect

fashion.

7. Lack of Hierarchical Classification. a. Hierarchical classification is the organization of

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

groups.


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BIODATA OF THE CHILD

Name : Jeevan Raj a/l Raja Vadivel

Date of Birth : 6 November 2008

Gender : Male

Age : 4 years 6 months

Race : India

Religion : Hindu

Preschool : Pra Sekolah, SJKT Bukit Jalil, Puchong KL.

Hobby : Playing toy cars

Siblings : Sridharan ( 11 years old)- male

Jeevika (9 years old) - female

Address : D-11-4, PPR Kg. Muhibbah, Jln. Puchong K.L.

Mother : Kavitha ( single mother and working as a clerk)

Father : Raja Vadivel ( passed away on 2008)


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BACKGROUND OF THE CHILD

Jeevan Raj is a 4 and 6 months boy who is studying at Pra Sekolah SJKT Bukit Jalil. He

is yet to be 5 years old. His class mates are all 5 years and above. So, he is the youngest in his

classroom.

Talking about him, he is an active boy, loves to play with his toy cars, he has a collection

of it. He is not serious on his studies yet, he doesnt like to study in a formal situation.

His mother who is working has very little time to spent with him daily. He and his siblings

are taken care by their own aunty, who stays with them. Both his siblings are in the same school

with him.

His routine will be, morning to school, in the school he is more interested in playing with

his friends, rather than following the lessons taught. Afternoon back from school, he always has

a nap, later in the evening not always to the playground but sometimes with his siblings. Heenjoys himself over there. He is very active and joints all the children.

He seems to be quite talented in mathematics, as the mother. Very jovial person and

always cheered up. Loving and very helpful. He is not given full attention on his talents. The

mother who is a working mother seems to be busy. The care taker does not provide anything for

his learning improvement. His siblings are also not very keen on studies.

As he stays in a flat which has small rooms and share with his auntys children, this

makes the house to be vey conjuncted. There is no condusive situation for him to learn.

Overall his environment in his home and surroundings does not help him much for hiscognitive development, he depends a lot on the classroom and the educators for his

developmental milestone.

For my project, I observe him on his cognitive development : classification, number, time

and space. He gave very good response.


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FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

CHILD COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST

CHILDS NAME : JEEVAN RAJ

DOB ; 6 NOVEMBER 2008

PROGRAMME : COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN

OBSERVER : SIVASAKTHI PACKIRISAMY / 012012030667

DATE OBSERVED : 2 MAY 2013

ITEM

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:

CLASSIFICATION, NUMBER,

TIME AND SPACE

COMMENTS

1. Sorts objects by

-shape /

He did it without any problem, just need to

explain and give him example.

2. Sorts objects by

- Colour /

He did this very easily but he could name the

colours yet.

3. Sorts objects by

- Size /

He did it without any problem, just need to

explain and give him example.


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4. Sorts objects that have

two things

- Shape&colour

/

He did it , just need to explain and give him

example. Little bit of confusion at first later

no problem.


two things

- shape & size

/



no problem


two things

- colour & size

/


example. Little bit of confusion at first laterno problem


three things

- Shape, size &

colour

/



no problem

8. Counts how many

present ( 1-10)

X He could not count in sequence, he seems to

know 1-10 but could not count objects

correctly.

9. Can build a block

enclosure

/ He could build a block, he made a kind of

truck, and arch.

10. Knows what happens

today

X He could not say what really happens, just

telling what he was doing.


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I have done the observation on Classification, Classification is a skill young children

develop by working with real objects through hands-on activities. Children need time to touch,

feel, and work with actual objects in order to be able to truly understand the meaning of

classification. As we begin to explore the concept of classification with young children, keep in

mind that young children of the same chronological age are often on many different

developmental levels. As a teacher, we will need to observe each child carefully to see how

they can adapt the activity to meet their individual needs.

There are many different ways to integrate the concept of classifications . I have used

the common preschool topics or themes that contain many opportunities for classification.

For the first activity which involves sorting objects with one thing, by colours, size and

shape meant to be very easy but he still needed some assistance and guidance before he could

sort appropriately.

For the second skill, which is sorting objects with two things, by shape and colour,

shape and size, and colour and size , he needed more time and I had to show him example,

later he took time to do.

For the third skill, which is sorting objects with three things, by shape , colour and size,

he was little confuse but after explaining and I had to show him example, later he took time to

do.

The counting activity was simple, but the problem he can say 1 -10 but when it comes tocounting with objects he does mistakes. Either he would skip the objects or skip the number. He

could not sequence correctly.

Activity on building block, he was very excited and started to create as he likes. As he

loves car, he tried to form one as a car .He seems to be very interested in this activity.

When I asked what happened today, he was not concern to answer. He was just telling

about the car he made.

So overall I could say he had averagely done the objective of cognitive development for his

age.This childs observation shows that his developmental milestone in mathematical is in the

average for each activity conducted.

His cognitive development could be improved with the recommendation below. Ive

some suggestion includes theories and findings.


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CONCLUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Early development of number concepts is critical in developing positive attitudes about

mathematics at an early age. Special methods and activities will assist children to develop early

numeracy skills. These methods will need to include the use of motivating and engaging

concrete materials that children can manipulate. Young children need to experience a lot of

'doing' and 'saying' before written numerals will make sense to them.

As early as 2 years of age, many children will parrot the words 'one', 'two', 'three', 'four',

'five' etc. However, rarely do they understand that the number refers to an item or a set of items.

At this stage, children do not have 'number conservation' or 'number correspondence'.

Engaging children with a variety of measurement concepts is a great beginning. Forinstance, children enjoy telling us that they are 'bigger' than their sister or brother or 'taller' than

the lamp or that they are 'higher' than the dishwasher. Young children will also think that they

have 'more' in their cup simply because their cup is taller. This type of language needs to be

promoted and children need parental guidance to help with the misconceptions of these

concepts through experimentation. The bathtub is a great starting point, using a variety of

plastic cylinders/cups and containers. At this age, perception is the child's guide, they do not

have any other strategies to guide them in determining which has more or less, is heavier or

lighter etc. A parent or day care provider can provide great learning experiences to assist youngchildrens' misconceptions through play.

Classification is a pre-number concept that children need lots of experimentation and

communication with. We classify on a regular basis without even considering what we're

actually doing. We look in indexes that are alphabetized or numerically arranged, we purchase

groceries in areas of food groups, we classify to sort laundry, we sort our silverware before

putting it away. Children can benefit from a variety of classification activities which will also

support early numeracy concepts.

3 to 4 Year Olds

recognize and look for geometric shapes in the environment

enjoy sorting and classifying objects, usually only one characteristic at a time color, shape,

or size


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begin to classify things by their uses

notice and compare similarities and differences

use words to describe size and quantity relationships "My bowl is the biggest!"

4 to 5 Year Olds

enjoy playing games involving numbers

struggle with classifications that are not obvious

count objects or people up to 10 or 20 with less skip-counting or double counting

understand that symbols represent complex patterns

solve multiple-piece puzzles by recognizing and matching geometric shapes

use concepts such as height, size, and length to compare objects

5 to 6 Year Olds

start to add small numbers in their heads, but still are more comfortable adding real objects

they can actually touch and move

classify objects according to more than one characteristics sorting the blue round blocks

and the red square ones

use their longer attention spans to focus on activities that interest them

use positional words to explain spatial relationships for example, "on top of the table,"

"behind the chair"

Some of these ways of thinking may not even seem like math, and their names may seem

strange. But all of these developing skills provide children with a strong foundation for

understanding math. With help and support from child care providers and parents, children

gradually learn these skills that will help prepare them for formal math later on.

Young Children's Mathematical Reasoning.

a. A beginning grasp of ordinality, or order relationships among quantities, is displayedby toddlers.

b. In the early preschool period,children start to attach verbal labels to different amounts and states.

c. By age 4, most childrenhave established an accurate one-to-one correspondencebetween a short sequence of numberwords and the items they represent.

d. The cardinality principle, grasped between the ages of 4 and 5, states that the lastnumber in a counting sequence indicates the quantity of items in the set.


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e. Cross-cultural research suggests that basic arithmetic knowledge emerges universally,although ways of representing number vary.

A. Tests for preschoolers sample a wide range of verbal and nonverbal cognitiveabilities.

B. Early Childhood Intelligence Tests.

1. Verbal questions on intelligence tests measure capacities such as vocabulary andsentence memory. Nonverbal questions assess spatial reasoning.

2. Intelligence tests do not sample the full range of human abilities, and performance canbe affected by cultural and situational factors. Cultural bias in intelligence testing is a hotlydebated topic.

3. Test scores are important predictors of school achievement.

Preschoolers who develop well intellectually have homes rich in toys and books, andparents who are warm and affectionate, who stimulate language and academic knowledge, who

make reason able demands for mature behavior, and who solve conflicts with reasoning ratherthan force.

The home plays a major role in the generally poorer intellectual performance oflow-SES children in comparison to their higher-SES peers

The Influences of Nature and Nuture on Development

Nature is responsible for the growth of a person from the fetus level until development into a

normal adult. The genetic makeup of a human being is responsible for their sex, skin color, color

of their eyes and hair as well as distinguishing features which are inherited. Nature can only

assist in the growth of a fetus into a normal well-developed adult who may have inherited some

special talents. Thus it can be concluded that nature uses the genetic coding to help in physical

development and does impart some positive or negative traits to an individual. However, it is

nurture which can be utilized to improve positive traits and diminish the effect of negative traits

in a child.

It is indeed important to recognize that nature in the form of inherited traits does exist but a

persons overall behavior is influenced a great deal by nurture or upbringing and the

environmental factors involved in this upbringing. Several recent studies carried out on infant

and child behavior have shown that there is significant evidence to support the fact that nurture

strongly influences human development especially in the early years. In traditional society most

parents encourage their kids to take part in extracurricular activities like learning music, dance


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or sports in accordance with the childs talents and interests. The talents have been given by

nature but they can only be developed into skills through the hard work of nurture.

How can parents should instill Nurture Self-Esteem and Good Behavior

1. Adopt an Authoritative Parenting Style

Show your child that you truly believe in her potential by setting high expectationsbut also

show her lots of acceptance and affection. For example, start off by giving her one chore to

handle. ("Please take out the bathroom trash on Monday nights.") Let her know how happy you

are when she completes the task. Over time, entrust her with more responsibilities.

2. Plan Age-Appropriate Activities

Let your child solve problems and make contributions to causes that she's interested in. For

example, if she loves animals, encourage her to help out at a local animal shelter. Volunteering

will help your child feel like she's making a positive difference in the world.

3. Show Authentic Appreciation

Parents who lovingly interact with their kids have children with higher self-esteem. So whether

your child is playing in the sand, reading a book or setting up a campsite, express genuine

interest in his activities and hobbies.

4. Foster Modesty

Teach your child humility: Credit his accomplishments without boasting and encourage him to

graciously take pride in his successes.

5. Offer Sincere Support

Telling your child "good job!' is okay, but providing specific, genuine feedback is much better!

Cheer on your son's dedication to his research paper by helping him search for resources or

proofread the final paper. Acknowledge his hard work by listening to his goals.


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6. Focus on Feelings

Sometimes it may be easier for you to pay attention to your child's tantrum or whining rather

than thinking about what's causing the behavior. Encourage your child to recognize what she is

feeling and why she is feeling that way.

7. Teach R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Teach your child to respect people of all cultures and backgrounds. Ignorance plants the seeds

of discrimination, so educate your child about other cultures. Be a role model by acting the way

you want him to behave.

8. Mind Your Manners

Use "Please," "Thank you," and "You're welcome" whenever you can to nurture good manners.

Prompt your child to do the same.

9. Equip Her With Social Skills for Success

Children with poor social skills may feel incompetent or out of control, and develop negative

self-esteem. Gently instruct your child on how to ask a question, enter a group chat, take turns

and respond to anger.

Remember that with cognitive development, you are trying to grow and exercise thinking

skills no acquire information! Academic activities like Brain Quest help your child get

smarter, but they do not necessarily grow their cognitive skills, although some of the spatial

games and riddles are an exception. Real cognition is not adding more content, but more

structure. It is not information but the neural infrastructure that makes the content come alive

connections, conclusions, etc. So you want games which encourage comprehension (what and

why?), analysis (breaking information down), synthesis (putting information together), and

evaluation (So What? or Is it good?). Dont confuse making your kid smarter with exercising

their brain. Of course the two go together, but there are specific ways to get the thinking skills

to stretch and grow that strategy games/toys force while academic learning does not. You dont

have to buy stuff if you dont want to, but if you dont, youll need to make up for it with even

more verbal one-on-one time. Kids this age thrive on skill-building.


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Most cognitive development occurs in tandem with language so that your talking to your

child with more reasoning-based or refined analysis will teach the child how to reason/analyze.

But dont confuse this with your childs talking (expressive) ability, which may not match their

cognitive ability. Three year old boys are ready to learn this stuff, even if they cant talk. This is

easy to forget. Talk through the Who/What/Where/When/Why/How as if they understood it all.

Well be amazed how much it will start coming back to you by the time theyre four and five.

Also remember: All Problems are Opportunities. The more problems your child

encounters and works out, the smarter she will ultimately be. This is because little children learn

a lot by memory and routine. When something is thwarted, however, the routine is interrupted

and they are forced to think up new options. They are also forced to consider outside

information like house rules or consequences.

Conclussion , Piagets view of childrens cognitive development suggests that childrens

how best to teach them. In addition, because children learn by mentally and physical interacting

with the environment, relevant physical activities, accompanied by questions to the lesson of the

activities, are important in educational practice.


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REFERENCE

1.Young Children's Developing Math Skills - extension www.google.com.m

2. Piaget, J. (1969). The childs conception of number(4th ed.). London: Routledge

3. Piaget, J. (1970). Science of education and the psychology of the child. New York: Viking

4. Jurnoul classification skills young children - Google Search www.google.com.my

5. How Do Nature And Nurture Influence Human Development? Which Has More Influence On

Human Development, Nature (Genes) Or Nurture (Environment)? www.google.com.my

6.Classification and Patterning / Early Childhood - appoLearning www.appolearning.com
https://www.google.com.my/#hl=en&rlz=1C2ASUM_enMY506__519&sclient=psy-ab&q=classification+number+for+young+children&oq=classification+%2C+number+for+you&gs_l=hp.1.0.33i29i30l4.273.3701.1.8117.6.6.0.0.0.0.731.3076.2-3j0j1j2j1.7.0...0.0...1c.1.12.psy-ab.hknNAS9fcoU&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.http://www.google.com.my/https://www.google.com.my/#hl=en&gs_rn=12&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=yJBbJs9uMtovULoLfX9mCQ&pq=nature%20and%20nurture%20in%20young%20children%20development&cp=8&gs_id=25&xhr=t&q=list+of+nature+and+nurture+in+young&es_nrs=true&pf=p&rlz=1C2ASUM_enMY506__519&sclient=psy-ab&oq=list+of+nature+andhttps://www.google.com.my/#hl=en&gs_rn=12&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=yJBbJs9uMtovULoLfX9mCQ&pq=nature%20and%20nurture%20in%20young%20children%20development&cp=8&gs_id=25&xhr=t&q=list+of+nature+and+nurture+in+young&es_nrs=true&pf=p&rlz=1C2ASUM_enMY506__519&sclient=psy-ab&oq=list+of+nature+andhttps://www.appolearning.com/categories/55https://www.appolearning.com/categories/55https://www.google.com.my/#hl=en&gs_rn=12&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=yJBbJs9uMtovULoLfX9mCQ&pq=nature%20and%20nurture%20in%20young%20children%20development&cp=8&gs_id=25&xhr=t&q=list+of+nature+and+nurture+in+young&es_nrs=true&pf=p&rlz=1C2ASUM_enMY506__519&sclient=psy-ab&oq=list+of+nature+andhttps://www.google.com.my/#hl=en&gs_rn=12&gs_ri=psy-ab&tok=yJBbJs9uMtovULoLfX9mCQ&pq=nature%20and%20nurture%20in%20young%20children%20development&cp=8&gs_id=25&xhr=t&q=list+of+nature+and+nurture+in+young&es_nrs=true&pf=p&rlz=1C2ASUM_enMY506__519&sclient=psy-ab&oq=list+of+nature+andhttp://www.google.com.my/https://www.google.com.my/#hl=en&rlz=1C2ASUM_enMY506__519&sclient=psy-ab&q=classification+number+for+young+children&oq=classification+%2C+number+for+you&gs_l=hp.1.0.33i29i30l4.273.3701.1.8117.6.6.0.0.0.0.731.3076.2-3j0j1j2j1.7.0...0.0...1c.1.12.psy-ab.hknNAS9fcoU&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.


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TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION (pg. 1)

2. BIODATA OF THE CHILD (pg. 4)

3. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION (pg. 6)

4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION (pg. 9)

5. REFERENCES (pg.15)

6. ATTACHEMENTS

I) PICTURES

II) CD

Documents

Cognitive Development of Young Children Ass2