Learning from their mistakes: glimpses of symbolic functioning in two-and-a-half to three-year-old children.

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Authors

McMullen, Mary Benson. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
Darling, Carol Anderson. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

Publisher

Early Years, 23 (1) pp.55-66, 2003

Introduction

The current development of provision for under fives and childcare initiatives in the UK, and the intention to provide good quality learning experiences for young children means that there is an increased demand for information about the way young children learn. This cross-sectional study of 36 children aimed to investigate the period of development in children's problem-solving skills between the ages of 30 and 36 months. The children in the study were all North American Caucasians from middle class backgrounds, and attended the same preschool part-time. The children who took part were selected opportunistically, based on parents' permission.

Two search and retrieval tests were used: the "Teddy Bear Token Test" and the "Four Door Test", to find the responses of children to different, but related problems. The researchers found that there were significant and consistent differences between the youngest and oldest children in their approach to problem-solving tasks. They also found a "middle-aged" stage of problem-solving approach, indicating a transitional phase in learning. Knowledge of these three different stages of thinking could have implications for the ways early years carers and educators interact with children in order to encourage the process of acquiring higher order thinking skills.

Keywords:
USA; Cognitive development; Foundation; Reception; Early years; Teaching methods; Thinking skills; Transition

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Research Home Themes \| Find digests \| About the digests resources glossary researchers contact TRIPS Introduction How do children's problem-solving skills develop between the ages of 2½ and 3? What do we know about young children's thinking? What did the research show? How were the tests performed? How can teachers and other adults help improve children's thinking? Implications Where can I find out more? Send us your feedback Collated digests To find out more about collated digests click here Get Word Reader Learning from their mistakes: glimpses of symbolic functioning in two-and-a-half to three-year-old children. This digest found in Early years Thinking skills Send to a friend Word doc 50KB Printer friendly Collate for later Authors McMullen, Mary Benson. Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA. Darling, Carol Anderson. Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA Publisher Early Years, 23 (1) pp.55-66, 2003 Introduction The current development of provision for under fives and childcare initiatives in the UK, and the intention to provide good quality learning experiences for young children means that there is an increased demand for information about the way young children learn. This cross-sectional study of 36 children aimed to investigate the period of development in children's problem-solving skills between the ages of 30 and 36 months. The children in the study were all North American Caucasians from middle class backgrounds, and attended the same preschool part-time. The children who took part were selected opportunistically, based on parents' permission. Two search and retrieval tests were used: the "Teddy Bear Token Test" and the "Four Door Test", to find the responses of children to different, but related problems. The researchers found that there were significant and consistent differences between the youngest and oldest children in their approach to problem-solving tasks. They also found a "middle-aged" stage of problem-solving approach, indicating a transitional phase in learning. Knowledge of these three different stages of thinking could have implications for the ways early years carers and educators interact with children in order to encourage the process of acquiring higher order thinking skills. Keywords: USA; Cognitive development; Foundation; Reception; Early years; Teaching methods; Thinking skills; Transition