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 cannot mentally 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 1

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 2

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. 3

BIODATA OF THE CHILD

Name

Jeevan Raj a/l Raja Vadivel 6 November 2008 Male 4 years 6 months India Hindu Pra Sekolah, SJKT Bukit Jalil, Puchong KL. Playing toy cars Sridharan ( 11 years old)- male Jeevika (9 years old) - female

Date of Birth : Gender Age Race Religion Preschool Hobby Siblings : : : : : : :

Address Mother Father

: : :

D-11-4, PPR Kg. Muhibbah, Jln. Puchong K.L. Kavitha ( single mother and working as a clerk) Raja Vadivel ( passed away on 2008)

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. He enjoys 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 his cognitive 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.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION CHILD COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT CHECKLIST CHILDS NAME DOB PROGRAMME OBSERVER DATE OBSERVED : ; : : : JEEVAN RAJ 6 NOVEMBER 2008 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG CHILDREN SIVASAKTHI PACKIRISAMY / 012012030667 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.

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.

5. Sorts objects that have two things / shape & size

He did it , just need to explain and give him example. Little bit of confusion at first later no problem

6. Sorts objects that have two things / colour & size

He did it , just need to explain and give him example. Little bit of confusion at first later no problem

7. Sorts objects that have three things / Shape, size & colour

He did it , just need to explain and give him example. Little bit of confusion at first later no problem

8. Counts how many present ( 1-10)

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

He could not say what really happens, just telling what he was doing.

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 to counting 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.

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. For instance, 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 young childrens' 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 9

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 displayed by 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 correspondence between 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 last number in a counting sequence indicates the quantity of items in the set. 10

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 cognitive abilities. B. Early Childhood Intelligence Tests. 1. Verbal questions on intelligence tests measure capacities such as vocabulary and sentence memory. Nonverbal questions assess spatial reasoning. 2. Intelligence tests do not sample the full range of human abilities, and performance can be affected by cultural and situational factors. Cultural bias in intelligence testing is a hotly debated topic. 3. Test scores are important predictors of school achievement. Preschoolers who develop well intellectually have homes rich in toys and books, and parents 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 rather than force. The home plays a major role in the generally poorer intellectual performance of low-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

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1. INTRODUCTION 2. BIODATA OF THE CHILD 3. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 5. REFERENCES 6. ATTACHEMENTS I) II) PICTURES CD

(pg. 1) (pg. 4) (pg. 6) (pg. 9) (pg.15)

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