Cognitive Development of Pre-Schoolers BY Helen Grace Calar

COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT OF
PRESCHOOLERS
PRESENTED BY:
HELEN GRACE A. CALAR
PRESCHOOLERS’ SYMBOLIC
AND INTUITIVE THINKING
 Symbolic substage – children show progress in their cognitive

abilities by being able to draw objects that are not present, by
their dramatic increase in their language and make-believe
play.
 Intuitivesubstage – children begin to use primitive

reasoning and ask a litany of questions
BRAIN CONNECTIONS IN THE
PRESCHOOL YEARS
 Ourbrain is composed of numerous cells called

neurons that connect to each other to function.
 Cell
connections are called synapses or synaptic
connections.
PRESCHOOL YEARS
The child’s billion cells have the ability to make almost

countless connections that prepare the child for
intricate pathways to learn language, acquire logical
mathematical skills, interact with people, grow in his
feelings and emotions, and even express himself in art.
PRESCHOOL YEARS
Experts have shown specific areas of brain activity that

respond to environmental stimulation. The brain forms
different connections that are different for each person.
The quality of these connections depends on the quality
of stimulation and exposure provided by the
environment.
PRESCHOOL YEARS
Highly stressful environments marred by trauma

and chaos affect the cognitive development of
preschoolers. High levels of stress hormones
may lead to diminished brain growth in areas
needed for memory, learning, and emotional
attachment. It may also lead to anxiety,
hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior.
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
 Children’slanguage development becomes increasingly
complex in the four main areas: phonology, semantics, syntax,
and pragmatics.
 Fastmapping – a process by which children absorb the
meaning of a new word after hearing in once or twice in
conversation.
• Children with mild to severe speech difficulties can
be referred to a specially trained professional called
a speech pathologist.
LANGUAGE AND
SOCIAL
INTERACTION
Vygotsky believed that young children use

language both to communicate socially and to plan,
guide, and monitor their behavior in a self-
regulatory fashion.
INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY:
ATTENTION AND MEMORY
 Thismodel conceptualizes children’s mental

processes through the metaphor of a computer
processing, encoding, storing, and decoding data.
THE YOUNG CHILDREN’S
THEORY OF MIND
 Thisrefers to individuals’ thoughts about how

mental processes work.
 Itincludes awareness of one’s own thought
processes, social cognition, understanding that
people can hold false beliefs, ability to deceive,
ability to distinguish appearance from reality and
fantasy from reality.
RECEPTIVE
LANGUAGE
The child is able to understand both

verbal and non verbal forms of
communication.
PRE-READING AND PRE-
MATH: MATCHING
The child is able to match identical

objects, colors, shapes, and symbols.
PRE-READING AND PRE-MATH:
COPYING LETTERS AND
NUMBERS
The child is able to recite the

alphabet and numbers in sequence.
ATTENTION AND ACTIVITY
LEVEL
The child is able to sustain attention

and modulate his activity at age-
expected levels.
HIGHER-ORDERED MENTAL
ABILITIES: CONCEPT
FORMATION
The child develops basic concepts pertaining
to object constancy, space, time, quantity,
serration, etc. and uses these as the bases for
understanding how materials are categorized
in his/her environment.
ABILITIES: CAUSE AND EFFECT
RELATIONSHIP
The child is able to understand the

cause-effect relationships.
MEMORY: EPISODIC MEMORY
The child is able to recall people he

has met, events, and places he has
been to.
MEMORY FOR CONCEPT-BASED
KNOWLEDGE: SEMANTIC MEMORY
The child is able to store verbal

information in short and long-term
memory.
ABILITIES: LOGICAL
REASONING
The child is able to follow the logic

of events and draw accurate
conclusion by evaluating the facts
presented to him.
ABILITIES: PLANNING &
ORGANIZING
The child is able to plan and organize

a simple, familiar activity.
ABILITIES: CREATIVE THOUGHT
The child is able to generate new

ideas or concepts, or new
associations between existing ideas
or concepts.
ABILITIES: COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY
The child is able to shift to more

adaptive cognitive processing strategies
in order to effectively deal with new
and unexpected conditions in his/her
environment, including problem
situations.
THE ROLE OF CAREGIVERS:
FOR THREE YEAR OLDS
1. Speak with children.

2. Add new information to children’s sentences.
3. Teach them to memorize first and last names
4. Provide books for them to read.
5. Encourage interest in reading and writing.
FOR THREE YEAR OLDS
6. Count objects of interest.

7. Explain why and how things happen with the help
of a reference book.
8. Provide sets like toys and other objects that go
together.
9. Sing simple songs.
FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS
1. Read aloud and encourage children to look at

their own books.
2. Say nursery rhymes and fingerplays together.
3. Encourage interest in writing and words.
FOR FOUR YEAR OLDS
4. Teach important number and space concepts.

5. Teach the correct use of the telephone.
6. Encourage them to help you plan and plant a
garden.
FOR FIVE YEAR OLDS
1. Add drama to your reading sessions.
2. Ask them to tell you a story.
3. Ask “what if” questions.
4. Involve them in writing “thank you” notes and
other greeting cards.
5. Give them opportunities to sort, group, match,
count, and sequence.
FOR FIVE YEAR OLDS
6. Take questions seriously.

7. Encourage them to count anything of interest.
8. Encourage interest in jokes, nonsense, and riddles.
9. Give opportunities to express dramatic and
creative interest.
Thank QUESTION TIME!
you!

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COGNITIVE

 Symbolic substage – children show progress in their cognitive

 Intuitivesubstage – children begin to use primitive

 Ourbrain is composed of numerous cells called

The child’s billion cells have the ability to make almost

Experts have shown specific areas of brain activity that

Highly stressful environments marred by trauma

Vygotsky believed that young children use

 Thismodel conceptualizes children’s mental

 Thisrefers to individuals’ thoughts about how

The child is able to understand both

The child is able to match identical

The child is able to recite the

The child is able to sustain attention

The child is able to understand the

The child is able to recall people he

The child is able to store verbal

The child is able to follow the logic

The child is able to plan and organize

The child is able to generate new

The child is able to shift to more

1. Speak with children.

6. Count objects of interest.

1. Read aloud and encourage children to look at

4. Teach important number and space concepts.

6. Take questions seriously.

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