"In spite of their many advances, preschoolers can be illogical, egocentric, and one-dimensional in their thinking," observe Heather Tomlinson and Marilou Hyson in Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age Eight. Piaget referred to these years as a 'preoperational' stage of development, emphasizing that children ages 2 to 7 are less capable in their thinking compared with older children. More recent research indicates that preschoolers have greater cognitive abilities than has been sometimes assumed, at least when children are in familiar situations and tasks are clearly explained to them."
"Preschool children can appear to know or understand more — or less — than they actually do. At times they seem mature and relatively advanced in their thinking, and then later seem limited and inflexible. As preschoolers move from and between simpler to more complex thinking skills, it is helpful to remember that they are not merely functioning less effectively than older children or adults; their narrow focus on a limited amount of information at any given time is actually useful while they are learning so many things so rapidly. That is, because they are just on the cusp of grasping a variety of concepts, words, and skills at a new level, they learn best when they can attend to just one thing at a time... rather than attending to multiple things."
Since the first edition in 1987, Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs has been an essential resource for the early child childhood field. Fully revised and expanded, the third edition comes with a supplementary CD containing readings on key topics, plus video examples showing developmentally appropriate practice in action. Based on what the research says about development, learning, and effective practices, as well as what experience tells us about teaching intentionally, this book articulates the principles that should guide our decision making. Chapters describe children from birth through age 8 in detail, with extensive examples of appropriate practice for infant/toddler, preschool, kindergarten, and primary levels.
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Displaying All 2 CommentsResources for Infant Educarers
Ojai, California, United States
Bottom line: S L O W D O W N when interacting with very young children. They need time and space to respond responsibly to adult thoughts, plans, guidance. And the less we do, the more they will do. So "unbusy your mind and unbusy your body. Be fully there." wrote infant specialist Magda Gerber (Dear Parent: Caring for Infants with Respect", p. 5). Then you will surely observe how keen their attention skills are becoming, so your respect for their thinking process will soar.
GH Reid Elementary
Richmond, Virginia, United States
I wish you would send a copy of this to Arne Duncan. The man is not dealing with reality.
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