Terms
A child's natural ability to exercise control over physical and emotional behavior in the face of changing circumstances.
Self-regulation (moving away from a loud noise)
An attitude, opinion, or feeling that is preconceived or decided, usually unfavorably.
Prejudice (A teacher ignores all of the children with disabilities in her classroom)
The curriculum planning philosophy expressed by NAEYC that defines and describes what is developmentally appropriate for young children in childhood programs serving children and families, birth through age eight.
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) (A first grader is asked to read a picture book rather than a chapter book)
Gardner's theory, which proposes that we may possess several different kinds of intelligence and that one form of intelligence is not better than another; all nine are equally valuable and viable.
Multiple Intelligence (Musical, Linguistic, Logical, and Kinesthetic intelligences)
An activity of a 3- or 4-year-old child playing with other children in a group; the child drops in and out of play with minimal organization of activity.
Associative Play (2 children play with similar toys but don't communicate)
The formation of symbols or mental representations, allowing children to solve problems by thinking before acting.
Symbolic Theory (Using a banana as a phone)
The level of competence between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with assistance.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) (AR learning)
Any attitude, belief, or feeling that results in unfair treatment of an individual or group of individuals. Also a test, process, procedure, or use of the results that unfairly discriminates against one individual or group in favor of another.
Bias (The only children called on are the white boys.)
Piaget's theory of modification of existing cognitive information. Cognitive schemes are changed to accommodate new experiences or information.
Accommodation (Recognizing that a horse is different than a zebra)
A type of play organized for some purpose by the 4-year-old and older child. It requires group membership and reflects a child's growing capacity to accept and respond to ideas and actions not originally their own.
Cooperative Play (2 children working together to stack blocks into a tower)
An integrated way of thinking of or forming mental images.
Schema (A child knows "cat." They see a dog and call it "cat."
A mature state of perceptual development. According to Piaget's theory, a baby thinks that objects, including people, cease to exist the moment they stop seeing them. An older child starts to search for the missing object or person.
Object Permanence (Peek-a-boo)
An attitude that actively challenges prejudice, stereotyping, and unfair treatment of an individual or group of individuals
Anti-bias (All children are given a chance to participate in fun Friday regardless of race, gender, religion, or ability)
The study of the mind, emotions, and behavioral processes.
Psychosicial (A baby develops trust with a consistent caregiver)
The play of young children introduced to new situations that focuses on an activity rather than the environment.
Onlooker Play (A child waiting to be “served breakfast” from another child at a play kitchen)
The adjustable support the teacher offers in response to the child’s level of performance.
Scaffolding (Demonstrating a task for a child)
A balance of one's cognitive schemes and information gathered from the environment; assimilation and accommodation.
Equilibrium (A child learns that dogs are different than cats and therefore make a new mental category)
Piaget's process of cognitive development, which occurs when a child handles, sees, or otherwise experiences something.
Assimilation (A child knows that a beach ball is a ball. They see a basketball for the first time and notice is round and bouncy, therefore they call it a ball)
Vygotsky's theory that learning is culturally dependent, with individuals from different cultures learning differently. The role of culture is central this theory, requiring educators to consider its effects on the learning environment. Immersion in a professional subculture influences what and how learners think.
Sociocultural Theory (A teacher demonstrates how to tie a shoe and provides guidance when a child attempts to do it themselves)
Observable play in older toddlers and young 3-year-olds that emphasizes being near another child while playing with an object rather than playing with a child.
Parallel Play (2 toddlers building separate block towers at the same table)
Refers to children (infants or toddlers) who occupy themselves by watching anything of momentary interest.
Unoccupied Behavior (A newborn splashing their hands in bath water and watching their body movements)
A stage in which chldren only think about the world in relation to themselves
Egocentric (A boy knows he has a sister, but can't comprehend that his sister has a sibling)
FUN FACT!!! How much of a child's brain is developed between birth and 5 years of age?
90%
Bronfenbrenner's theory that the child's environment shapes learning and behavior; in fact, human behavior, development, and learning are thought of as reactions to the environment.
Enviromentalist Theory (Microsystem-->Mesosystem-->Exosystem-->Macrosystem-->Chronosystem)
A type of play that allows the child to transfer objects into symbols (things that represent something else) and images into people, places, and events within their experiences. Symbolic play occurs during Piaget's preoperational stage (2 to 7 years). Superhero fantasy play is considered a type of symbolic play for a young child.
Symbolic Play (Using an empty bowl as a steering wheel of a spaceship)