The Cognitive and Psychological Development of a Child - Essay Example

Development Stage: Preschoolers (3-5 years old) Human beings go through various stages of development. The cognitive and psychological development of a person can be traced as far back as infancy. At each stage of development, milestones can be attained by the child. This paper shall discuss one particular stage of development – the preschool stage (3-5 years old). It shall discuss the expected learning capacity and milestone of the child and what teachers and parents can do to nurture, to maximize, and to guide the child through this development stage. The preschooler During the preschool stage, the child is more aware of the outside world. His consciousness now starts to include people outside his immediate family. Children at this stage also learn behavior which allows them to be independent of their parents. Their learning is mostly accomplished by imitating or mimicking their parents, other members of their family, or their playmates (Bastable, 2003). Their physical development follows the pattern started during their infancy years, but their movements and skills are more refined and focused. Guidance and supervision of their movements is still very important at this stage because preschoolers lack sufficient judgment about their movements. Their sense of safety and security in their actions lack sufficient discretion, hence they are likely to experience falls and tumbles. The preschooler is also still very much in the self-centered or egocentric stage. Other viewpoints are often ignored by these children. Sexual identity and curiosity also sets in at this stage as preschoolers become more aware of their body and their different body parts. They fear pain and body mutilation; they see health as a reward for good behavior and as a go-signal for them to play with their friends; on the other hand, they see illness as a punishment for some wrong they have committed (Bastable, 2003). Cognitive development The toddler “has the capacity for basic reasoning, has the beginnings of memory, and begins to develop a sense of understanding of the concept of causality (what causes something to happen)” (Bastable, 2006). Persistent questions of why abound during this stage as the child is now developing a natural curiosity and awareness of the world. These children start to retain memories of events that are happening in their daily lives; they also start to retain many of the things being taught to them. They also understand basic reasoning and explanations given to them by their parents and their teachers. This stage of a child’s development is labeled by Piaget as the preoperational stage. It is when “preschoolers use symbols, especially language and make-believe play, to represent their sensorimotor discoveries, but thinking lacks the logic of older children” (Beck, 2001). Preschoolers can classify or categorize things and objects but often do not understand the relationship of these objects with each other. They also understand things and explanations literally and are bound to believe what they see and hear. They tend to be animistic in their thinking and they are likely to bestow life to inanimate objects. “Children in this cognitive stage mix fact and fiction, tend to generalize, think magically, develop imaginary playmates, and believe they can control events with their thoughts” (Bastable, 2003). Children in this development stage have very short attention spans. They are unlikely to sit still and wait for something or someone; they have little patience about waiting or postponing an activity. They do however understand that some routine and familiar activities have their designated time. They know when meals are eaten and when they can play or watch their favorite television programs. During these familiar activities, their attention span slowly lengthens and they are able to sit still long enough to watch their favorite shows (Bastable, 2003). However, during these moments, their attention span cannot be sustained for prolonged periods. They may be able to sit still for a short cartoon segment, but would wander off after about 15 minutes or if something else captures their attention. They have plenty of energy to expend and sometimes their inability to expend or release excess energy makes them frustrated and angry. They also start to develop a healthy and often overactive imagination which includes fears of separation from their parents, pain, disapproval, and aggressive behavior from other children (Bastable, 2003). The expected learning outcome for this stage of development is the teaching of appropriate social behaviors like waiting their turn, giving others a turn, and realizing that their playmates also have needs. “By the end of the preschool years, well-regulated children can wait for a turn, resist the temptation to grab a desired object from another child, clean up after a play period with little or no adult prompting, willingly help another child or adult with a task, and persist at a challenging activity” (Berk, et.al., as quoted by Singer, et.al., 2006). Play can be used as a learning activity for children; they can use play to express their feelings of joy, sorrow and frustration. Through play, they learn to master their fears and other emotions. They also learn to control negative impulses by talking to themselves or by doing something else. Self-regulation is learned and developed by the child during the preschool stage. This learned behavior helps to prepare them for the expected school-age stage where they will be integrated into a larger school and learning community. It also prepares them to cope with the more complex social and academic interactions during their school-age years. Teaching Strategies Various strategies that best fit this stage of development are available to educators, to parents, and other caregivers. The most important consideration for educators at this point in the child’s development is to remember that the child’s unique qualities can be used as a tool for learning. Each child is different, what may work for one child may not work for another. By recognizing and acknowledging their peculiarities, the child’s full potential at this stage may be achieved. A dominant activity for the preschool child is imaginative play. Imaginative or make-believe play can be used to capture the attention of the child; it can be used also to draw the child to participate in the social interaction. “Many studies show that make-believe strengthens a variety of mental abilities including sustained attention, logic, memory, reasoning, and creativity” (Berk, 2008). This make-believe play will gradually become more complex and interactive with other children and with the environment. It will also become the bridge and the venue for more learning. The educators are prompted to give the preschoolers ample space and toys for their make believe activities. Supervision over these activities is important, and these activities should not be overly controlled. Both realistic and unrealistic materials may be given to the preschoolers. During conflicts in play, educators and parents can guide the children to resolve their conflicts constructively. During this stage of the child’s development, it is important to engage the child in interactive book reading. This helps develop their creative, deductive, and cognitive reasoning. Animated story-telling helps the child develop causality and reasoning. Outings to libraries, museums, zoos, and other social interactive settings also help nurture the child’s development. I have discovered in my field work that giving children a chance to be in an interactive and hands-on setting is necessary for adequate learning. It is also important in this stage of the child’s development to point out letter sound correspondencies. This will help develop their language and communication skills and guide their development towards more tangible and concrete concepts. During my field work, I discovered how important it is for children to be active and to engage in activities that can capture their attention. Prolonged and sustained attention in the preschooler can eventually help increase memory retention and prepare the child for the next stage of learning. The role of the educator is not just about helping and guiding the child in achieving milestones in the current development stage, but it is also about easing the child into the next stage of development. Theorists also emphasize that part of the learning process in the preschool stage of development is dual-encoding. Dual encoding “ – the ability to perceive an object simultaneously as being both what it appears and what it is in reality – is an inherent part of the pretend situation” (Trad, 1989). They start to distinguish between objects and actions and between actions and meanings. As they start to do so, they are now more open to interpreting objects and actions beyond what these appear to be. This integrative part of their learning is important because it will assist the child in later differentiating the real from the imagined. This will eventually help children overcome their fears. It also helps them understand that when they are scolded by their parents, it does not mean that they are no longer loved. This gradual break from fantasy into reality will slowly and gradually transition into a greater sense of self-awareness. The pre-school development stage is a bridge between infancy and childhood; between fantasy and reality; between the simple and the complex. It is a crucial stage in the cognitive and social development of the child which eventually leads up to more complex and integrative learning stages. The educators’ role in this stage may be likened to a tight-rope walker – balancing the play and the cognitive importance of education into the life of the preschooler. Works Cited Bastable, S. 2003. Nurse as educator. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Bastable, S. 2006. Essentials of patient education. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Berk, L. 1996. Infants, Children, and Adolescents. Boston: Allyn & Bacon Berk, L. 2001. Awakening childrens minds. New York: Oxford University Press Berk, L. 2008. Infants, Children, and Adolescents: Chapter 9-Cognitive Development in Early Childhood. Houston Community College Central Learning Web. Retrieved 21 June 2009 from http://learning.cc.hccs.edu/Members/abrooks/folder.2008-10-10.6743139328/Chapter%2009%20PP.ppt Singer, D., et.al. 2006. Play. New York: Oxford University Press Trad, P. 1989. The preschool child. Canada: John Wiley & Sons Read More