Description
To cope with the environment they live in, children need to learn about their physical and social worlds; acquire language; regulate their bodies, emotions, and thoughts; and gain competence in literacy, maths, science, and other knowledge domains. This collection outlines important dimensions of their early cognitive development and describes approaches for promoting it. Carol Copple received her doctorate in human development from Cornell University and joined the faculty of Louisiana State University. As senior research psychologist at the Educational Testing Service, she directed a prekindergarten program for enhancing young children’s thinking skills and wrote Educating the Young Thinker: Classroom Strategies for Cognitive Growth with Irving Sigel and Ruth Saunders. At the National Association for the Education of Young Children from 1993 to 2010, Dr. Copple headed the publications program, authored numerous books, and played a leading role in developing the association’s position statements and education initiatives. She is now an early education consultant based in Nashville, Tennessee. About This Book Part I Cognitive Development from Birth through Age 8 1. Cognitive Development in the First Three Years of Life 2. Cognitive Development in the Preschool Years 3. Cognitive Development in the Kindergarten Year 4. Cognitive Development in the Primary Grades 5. Becoming Enthusiastic and Engaged Part II Approaches for Promoting Cognitive Development in the Early Childhood Classroom Section 1: Symbolic Thought in the Early Years 6. Chopsticks and Counting Chips: Do Play and Foundational Skills Need to Compete for the Teacher’s Attention in an Early Childhood Classroom? 7. Moving into Uncertainty: Sculpture with 3- to 5-Year-Olds 8. Building Foundations for Spatial Literacy in Early Childhood Section 2: Executive Function and the Development of Self-Regulation 9. Recognizing and Supporting the Development of Self-Regulation in Young Children 10. Thinking Out Loud: Development of Private Speech and the Implications for School Success and Self-Control 11. How Planning and Reflection Develop Young Children’s Thinking Skills 12. Developing Self-Regulation in Kindergarten: Can We Keep All the Crickets in the Basket? Section 3: Higher-Order, Complex Thinking 13. Let’s SQUiNK about It! A Metacognitive Approach to Exploring Text in a Second Grade Classroom 14. From High Chair to High School: Research-Based Principles for Teaching Complex Thinking 15. Science in Kindergarten
