ECE445 TOPICS IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
| Course Code: | 4110445 |
| METU Credit (Theoretical-Laboratory hours/week): | 3 (3.00 - 0.00) |
| ECTS Credit: | 5.0 |
| Department: | Early Childhood Education |
| Language of Instruction: | English |
| Level of Study: | Undergraduate |
| Course Coordinator: | |
| Offered Semester: | Fall and Spring Semesters. |
Course Objectives
- Develop an understanding of basic concepts of cognitive development.
- Comprehend factors that set the biological bases of cognitive development.
- Identify sociocultural perspectives on cognitive development.
- Develop an understanding of infant perception and cognition.
- Characterize the significant aspects of children’s learning to use symbols.
- Recognize the ways of young children’s learning to think on their own.
- Recognize memory development.
- Develop an understanding of language development from a cognitive development perspective.
- Recognize social cognition.
- Identify the relationship between schooling and cognition.
- Understand the approaches to the study of intelligence.
- Recognize modern research perspectives on cognitive development.
Course Content
Biological, social, cultural bases of cognitive development. Nature of perception, development of memory and language. Symbols role in thinking, individuals role in learning to think on their own and problem solving. Analysis on the nature of recent studies in cognitive development in early childhood. Early childhood education and cognitive development.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Students will be able to describe the role of developmental function and individual differences in cognitive development.
- Students will be able to explain the dynamic nature of cognitive development.
- Students will be able to describe the models of gene-environment interaction.
- Students will be able to understand the development of the brain.
- Students will be able to understand the connection between developmental biology and cognitive development.
- Students will be able to describe the role of culture on cognitive development.
- Students will be able to describe cognitive development by means of sociocultural theory.
- Students will be able to explain the basic perceptual abilities of young infants.
- Students will be able to examine auditory development and visual perception.
- Students will be able to explain the aspects of Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory.
- Students will be able to discuss their knowledge of young children’s everyday expressions of symbolic function.
- Students will be able to identify the nature of the executive function.
- Students will be able to examine the development of problem-solving.
- Students will be able to understand age differences in children’s eyewitness memories.
- Students will be able to discuss the consistency and stability of memory.
- Students will be able to describe language development.
- Students will be able to discuss major theories on language development.
- Students will be able to discuss social cognitive theory.
- Students will be able to examine the development of self-concept.
- Students will be able to discuss academic skill development and its relationship with cognitive development.
- Students will be able to discuss different approaches to the study of intelligence.
- Students will be able to discuss up-to-date research on cognitive development.
- Students will be able to analyze the educational system's nature concerning up-to-date cognitive development studies.
Program Outcomes Matrix
| Level of Contribution | |||||
| # | Program Outcomes | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | To have the knowledge about 0-72 month old children's cognitive, motor, language, social and emotional development and self help skills and to be able to make applications to support this area. | ✔ | |||
| 2 | To be able to take measures for the protection of children's health. | ✔ | |||
| 3 | To know the importance of game in pre-school education and to support the education and development of the child through play. | ✔ | |||
| 4 | To recognize the pre-school education institutions in the scope of the purpose, structure and functioning of the Turkish education system. | ✔ | |||
| 5 | To have information about classroom management approaches to be used in educational environments and to effectively implement these approaches. | ✔ | |||
| 6 | To have information about international programs that are applied in the field of pre-school education and to use these programs' aspects that are appropriate to our culture in classroom practice. | ✔ | |||
| 7 | To be able to conduct research in the field of pre-school education and analyze and interpret research findings. | ✔ | |||
| 8 | To be able to prepare, implement and evaluate Turkish, science, math, art, music, movement, games, reading and writing preparation and field trip activities that support different areas of development (cognitive, motor, language, self-care, social and emotional) of pre-school children and can be planned as individual, small group, large group and integrated groups. | ✔ | |||
| 9 | To be able to use and to allow students to use audio-visual teaching materials appropriate for pre-school age children for their development. | ✔ | |||
| 10 | To be able to take responsibility and to fulfill these responsibilities in individual and group work. | ✔ | |||
| 11 | To understand the importance of family involvement in children's education and to plan activities related to family involvement. | ✔ | |||
| 12 | To have knowledge about literary genres prepared for pre-school children and to examine existing publications in terms of literary and artistic perspectives. | ✔ | |||
| 13 | To have knowledge about the importance and purpose of the use of formal and informal assessment methods appropriate for the age level and developmental level of pre-school children, and to apply and interpret different evaluation methods and to be able to interpret findings. | ✔ | |||
| 14 | To be able to follow/access, understand and question scientific publications for pre-school education. | ✔ | |||
0: No Contribution 1: Little Contribution 2: Partial Contribution 3: Full Contribution