This document discusses physical, cognitive, and language development patterns in children from birth to three years old. It covers major topics like brain development, motor milestones, theories of cognitive development from Piaget and Vygotsky, language acquisition, and considerations for children with special needs. The document emphasizes that development results from both innate biological processes and environmental influences through learning and experience.

1. Chapter 2
Birth to Thirty-six Months: Physical
and Cognitive Developmental
Patterns
©2011 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

2. Differences between
Development and Learning
 A controversy:
– Nature versus Nurture
– The best conclusion to date is that child
development is a very complex process
occurring through natural sequences and
patterns that depend on learning and
experience, among other processes.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

3. Development
 Cumulative sequences and patterns that
represent progressive, refined changes
that move a child from simple to more
complex physical, cognitive, language,
social, and emotional growth and
maturity
©2011 Cengage Learning.

4. Learning
 The acquisition of knowledge and skills
through systematic
study, instruction, practice, and/or
experience
 Both overt and internal learning occurs
during the first three years of life.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

5. Patterns of Physical
Development
 Neurological Development
– The brain is a complex system which is divided
into three main parts:
 Hindbrain (autonomic systems)
 Midbrain (connector)
 Forebrain (includes cerebral cortex), marks us as human
– Brain development during infancy is best
promoted when caregivers provide tasks that
challenge children‘s emerging skills and abilities.
– On the other
hand, unresponsive, harmful, stressful, or
neglectful caregiving behaviors affect the
development of the brain negatively.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

6. Patterns of Physical
Development
• Reflexes
• Physical milestones for height, weight, etc.
• Hearing and Vision
• Teething
• Milestones for fine and gross motor control
– Stability, Locomotion, and Manipulation
• Sleep Patterns
• Toilet Learning
©2011 Cengage Learning.

7. Patterns of Cognitive and
Language Development
 Cognitive Development – Piaget’s theory of
reasoning
 Newborns use all their senses—
listening, seeing, tasting, touching, and smelling—to
learn about their world.
 Central to Piaget‘s theory is that there are stages of
cognitive development; that is, four-month-olds are
cognitively different from 24-month-olds. Piaget
contended that the sequence of development is the
same for all children. However, the age and rate at
which it occurs differs from child to child.
 Piaget‘s first two stages of cognitive development
involve children between birth and three years of age.
– Sensorimotor
– Preoperational
©2011 Cengage Learning.

8. Patterns of Cognitive and
Language Development
 All people use these processes and
functions—assimilation,
accommodation, and equilibration—
continually through life.
 Cognitive Structures
 Knowledge Construction
 Types of Knowledge
– Physical knowledge
– Logico-mathematical knowledge
– Social-arbitrary knowledge
©2011 Cengage Learning.

9. Patterns of Cognitive and
Language Development
 Play and Cognitive Development
 Play is the child‘s laboratory for
cognitive trial and error and rehearsal
for real-life problem solving.
 There are many types of Exploratory
and Pretend Play for infants and
toddlers.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

10. Patterns of Cognitive and
Language Development
 Cognitive Development – Vygotsky’s
sociocultural theory
 For Vygotsky, knowledge is co-constructed
through social interactions.
 The most important tool for humans is
language.
 Higher cognitive processes develop from
verbal and nonverbal social interactions.
 Scaffolding involves changing the support
given a learner in the course of teaching a
skill or concept.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

11. Patterns of Cognitive and
Language Development
 Language Development
 Language is a tool for thinking.
 When adults and children talk with infants
and toddlers, they provide examples of the
four basic components of language:
– Phonology
– Semantics
– Syntax
– Pragmatics
 Provide a language rich environment
©2011 Cengage Learning.

12. Patterns of Cognitive and
Language Development
 Infants must learn strategies for
sending verbal and nonverbal messages
to others:
– Eye contact
– Coo
– Babble
– Jargon
– Telegraphic Speech
– Baby signs
©2011 Cengage Learning.

13. Children with Special
Rights
 A new perspective:
– Reframing services for children with identified
special needs from a ―deficit model‖ approach
(i.e., focusing on what children lack) to a special
rights approach
– Teachers must start their work focusing on what
each child can do independently and adding on
what she is entitled to learn with assistance.
– The first source of information should be the child
and family, then specialists who provide ‗at-risk‘
services.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

14. Children with Special
Rights
• Common areas of special rights infants and
toddlers may have regarding physical and
cognitive/language development:
– Children with Motor Disabilities
– Children Biologically at-risk
– Children with Visual Disabilities
– Children with Hearing Disabilities
– Children who are Medically Fragile
– Children with Cognitive or General Development
Disorders
– Children with Language and Communication
Disorders
©2011 Cengage Learning.

15. Spotlight on Research
 Cleft Lip/Palate and Socio-emotional
development
– It has been long assumed that children with
cleft deformities would suffer from a variety of
social and emotional outcomes.
– The importance of early intervention is evident
for children with cleft lip/palate.
– By age 7, children showed nearly equivalent
levels of adjustment (for those with early
intervention).
– Interventions to facilitate positive mother-child
social interactions are particularly vital.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

16. Checkpoint Discussion
Questions
• Explain how the growth of the brain
demonstrates the complex interaction between
nature (i.e., genetics or biology) and nurture
(i.e., environmental factors).
• Name the major milestones for motor
development from birth to three years of age.
• How is toilet learning a complex developmental
accomplishment?
• Why do infant and toddler teachers need to be
aware of developmental patterns in such areas
as seeing (vision), sleeping, and teething?
©2011 Cengage Learning.

17. Checkpoint Discussion
Questions
 Discuss Piaget‘s stages of cognitive
development in terms of learning experiences
for two-year-olds. Include concepts such as
assimilation, accommodation, and
disequilibrium in your answer.
 Provide a specific example of each of Piaget‘s
types of knowledge.
 Use Vygotsky‘s theory to explain how you
would scaffold a toddler with the skill of
dressing, including the concept of private
speech.
©2011 Cengage Learning.

18. Checkpoint Discussion
Questions
 Explain the typical pattern of language
development and the role adults play in
the process.
 Why should infant and toddler educators
think about a child having special rights
rather than special needs?
 Explain three special rights very young
children might have in relationship to
physical and cognitive/language
development.
©2011 Cengage Learning.