Cognitive and Conceptual Development
"Concepts are fundamental to human cognition because of their use in many forms of thinking, such as problem-solving, categorization, and inductive inferences" (Farrar & Montgomery, 2015, p. 186). To apply your understanding of cognitive and conceptual development, it is important to first understand the three different theories of concept development that are commonly used. Chapters 5 in your primary text discuss the following theories: the classical view of conceptual development (the ideas that all concepts are defined by a set of necessary and sufficient features), prototype or probabilistic view (concepts are compared to a prototype based on family resemblance or similarity), and the theory-based concept view (explanatory principles, such as an object's origins, are a component of conceptual representation) (Farrar & Montgomery, 2015). In this discussion, you will apply your understanding of these three theories by examining the relationship between cognitive and conceptual development. Before responding in this discussion, review the Week Three Instructor Guidance page for additional information, resources, and support.
Case Study: Please refer to the case study in the Introduction section of Chapter 5 of your textbook for this week's discussion. Address the following points as they relate to the case study:
Explain which theories of conceptual development are present in the case study. Provide an example to support your thinking.
Examine the relationships between cognitive and conceptual development that are present in the case study.
Discuss which theory of cognitive development would support Ms. Serrano's experience with her students. Support your response with evidence from the text.
Consider your current or future work setting. Provide two strategies you can use to support conceptual development in the children with whom you currently work or will work with. Support your response with at least one scholarly source
Discusion 2
Theory of Mind is a theory of psychological and developmental roots that is defined by the ability of a child to attribute mental states such as beliefs, feelings, knowledge, thoughts, intents to oneself and others and to understand that others have beliefs and feelings that are different than one's own. The diagram below represents the five foundational components of theory of mind that emerge between ages 2 and 5 that were shared in Chapter 6 of our course text, Cognitive development of children: Research and application . Understanding this developmental sequence is critical in being able to support children as they grow and develop cognitively.
Before responding to this discussion, review the Week Three Instructor Guidance page for additional information, resources, and support.
For this discussion, choose one of the scenarios below to create an example for:
Option 1: Provide an example of one conceptual perspective-taking challenge a child faces when interacting with teachers and peers upon entry into preschool or kindergarten.
Option 2: Provide an example of how 3- and 4-year-old children's gullibility places them at risk.
Option 3: Provide an example of either a drawback or benefit of trying to accelerate preschoolers' understanding of deception.
Option 4: Provide an example of how you can apply Theory of Mind to understanding symptoms associated with either autism or Asperger's disorders.