Question

Your answers to these kinds of questions demonstrate an ability to comprehend and apply ideas discussed in this chapter.  Please use the key terms from the chapter to help you answer the following questions.  I expect thorough, well-thought out answers for each question.  Make sure to number your answers to the questions accordingly and proofread before submitting.  

1. What is myelination? What is its role in development?

2. Describe the major milestones in motor development in early childhood, and explain how this information could be used by parents and teachers.

3. What does Piaget mean by operations? Explain how preoperational thought differs from sensorimotor thought.

4. Describe short-term memory, and indicate how it changes in young children.

5. Explain what Erikson means by saying that early childhood is dominated by feelings of initiative versus guilt.

6. Identify and discuss the components of moral development. Discuss how current theorists conceptualize moral development.

 

1. What is myelination? What is its role in development?

2. Describe the major milestones in motor development in early childhood, and explain how this information could be used by parents and teachers.

3. What does Piaget mean by operations? Explain how preoperational thought differs from sensorimotor thought.

4. Describe short-term memory, and indicate how it changes in young children.

5. Explain what Erikson means by saying that early childhood is dominated by feelings of initiative versus guilt.

6. Identify and discuss the components of moral development. Discuss how current theorists conceptualize moral development.

Answer 1

1. What is myelination? What is its role in development?

Myelination is the process of fatty coating around a neuron's axon for its protection and improves its conduction as well. Myelination begins even before the birth in the brain stem and cerebellum while it ends in the frontal cortex late in adulthood. The main role of myelination is in making a healthy nervous system and brain. It also allows the faster processing of complex information as the brain grows.

2. Describe the major milestones in motor development in early childhood, and explain how this information could be used by parents and teachers.

Motor development is related with physical growth and strengthening bones and muscles development, ability to touch, walk, smell and touch. There are basically four milestones in motor development in early childhood - motor, sensory, communication, and feeding milestones and these include - walking, crawling, rolling, and talking.

There are two types of motor skills - gross and fine. Gross motor skills require continuous movement and involve movement of big muscles like standing, walking, or crawling while fine motor skills require daily practice and involve small muscles like wrist or finger movements. Less or no uses of these muscles can lead to impairment or disability.

The development of motor skills starts in early childhood so it is critical for parents and teachers to involve children in activities related with motor development such as - stacking colored blocks or coins in limited time, playing in sandpits and making shapes or castle on it, basketball to help their hand balanced, art related activity, and so on.   

3. What does Piaget mean by operations? Explain how preoperational thought differs from sensorimotor thought.

Jean Piaget's not only explains the cognitive development of a child in four stages but also the nature of intelligence. By operation Piaget means that a child can do operation in his or her mind. He or she can do operations on the world or any object in it.

From birth to two years a child remains in the sensorimotor stage. In this stage a child acquires all of its knowledge and experiences through its five senses. It is a revolutionary phase of learning and growth. A child interacts with its surrounding environment and learns as well as discovers new things and how these things exist in the world. Children not only learn walking and crawling but also involved in learning language from their surrounding people. When children discover that things which exist individually they start giving them names or words.

The preoperational stage begins after the sensorimotor stage and remains till seven years. It is the stage of language foundation. In the preoperational stage children learn to use words and think objects in the form of symbols and pictures. They become egocentric and able to see things and situations from others' perspectives. They learned to think about objects, things, and the world around them in a concrete form.

4. Describe short-term memory, and indicate how it changes in young children.

A short-term memory, which is of 30 seconds or less, is the capacity of holding short and small information in the mind which can be readily available and retrieved when the needs arises. For example someone told you his or her phone number or address then it would be stored in your mind for a short period of time. Manipulation in this information doesn’t happen. After short term memory child develops long term memory which can store comparatively more information for much longer period of time.

Memory starts developing in children from the start of age three. After three years children show a critical and enormous advancement in memory and this enhancement happens till adolescence. This stage includes four types of memory:

Short term Memory: Explained Above.

Working Memory: This memory is responsible for reasoning and logic while taking cognitive, decisive, and behavioral decisions. It is a high speed short term memory which deals with immediate response and calculation. For example when you listen to one's address and also work out simultaneously how to get there becomes possible through working memory. It can also be understood when you listen to a story and also understand it parallely.

Long Term Memory: It stores rather more and limited information for a longer period of time or for life time. For example when you return any past event or learned skill comes in long term memory.  

Autobiographical Memory: As the name suggests it is a system of remembering one’s personal personal information, episode, or history. It encompasses experiences of childhood, remembering when you first learned cycling and so on. Facts and truths about the world like G.K/General Knowledge is also an example of autobiographical memory.

5. Explain what Erikson means by saying that early childhood is dominated by feelings of initiative versus guilt.

This is the late stage of preschool and spans between ages 3-5 years. This stage is the third stage of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. It says during the initiative versus guilt children start manifesting their power and control over the people and world. When they successfully complete this stage they develop a sense of purpose and capable of leading others. But those who fail in this stage perceive a sense of guilt, lack of initiative and self doubt. When everything works well, a child develops an ego as well. In this stage children develop a sense of trust in the world which includes feeling of individuality as well.

6. Identify and discuss the components of moral development. Discuss how current theorists conceptualize moral development.

There are four components of moral development:

Moral Sensitivity: It is the awareness of ethical issues are part of any situation, when to use them and knowing how our actions affect others.

Moral Reasoning or Moral Judgement or Ethical Development: It deals with what is wrong or right in an event and what should people do in a particular condition. It is about moral and logical theories.     

Moral Integrity: It is being consistently honest and truthful and adhering to strong morals, values and principles. It also means being accurate and regular in daily practice and behavior.  

Moral Courage: It is the courage to do what is right according to ethics and morality regardless of what consequences may arise. One needs courage to take action when there is a fear, dilemma or doubt about the consequences. It includes careful thoughts.

Piaget has divided moral development in two stages while Kohlberg describes it in six stages where each of them further divided into three separate levels - Preconventional Morality, Conventional Morality, Postconventional Morality. According to Kohlberg moral development happens throughout the whole life.

Level -1 | Preconventional Morality: In this stage children see rules fixed and unchangeable and not adhering to them associated with punishment.  

Level -2 | Conventional Morality: This stage is also known as good boy/good girl and it is associated with interpersonal growth. It implies living up to societal norms and expectations. It is the stage of maintaining social law and order.

Level -3 | Postconventional Morality: In this stage people become aware and accountable to others view and opinions. Rules are the fundamentals of the society but one must agree with them on logical basis. It is basically a stage of universal ethics and abstract reasoning.