Assignment - Infancy and Early Childhood

Instructions

Part A: Exploration Activity 1-Researching the Linguistic Abilities of Infants

As noted linguist Noam Chomsky has pointed out, language is what describes "the human essence." In your Module 2 textbook reading, you learned how the process of language acquisition begins during infancy. For this exploration activity, you will listen to a short talk by the language researcher Dr. Patricia Kuhl. The title of Dr. Kuhl's talk is the "Linguistic Genius of Babies," which you can find at

http://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius_of_babies.html.

Note that subtitles and a transcript are available for Dr. Kuhl's talk on the TED website. Another example of the type of research Dr. Kuhl has described to determine if babies can detect particular sounds is available at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXWGnryjEaY. This YouTube video features Canadian researcher Janet Werker.

After listening to Dr. Kuhl's presentation, develop answers for the following questions in your own words:

1. Why does Dr. Kuhl refer to babies as "citizens of the world"? Also, what does she mean by the expression a culture-bound listener?

2. The term critical period is similar to the term sensitive period that is discussed in your textbook. What is the critical period for sound perception?

3. Describe the technique that Dr. Kuhl and Werker used to investigate the critical period for sound perception.

4. Summarize the research that led Dr. Kuhl to conclude that babies need humans to learn. What comment would you make to parents who were considering purchasing language DVDs or audiotapes for their infants to listen to and learn from?

5. Describe the technological innovation that Dr. Kuhl argues is responsible for the start of a "golden age" for knowledge about infant brain development. What can researchers now easily study that they could not do before?

Part B: Exploration Activity 2-The Disappearance of Play?

Childhood is synonymous with play. Recently, however, child development experts point to a marked reduction in the amount of time children spend in unstructured play activities. In 2000, this decline prompted the American Pediatrics Association to publish a paper highlighting research findings linking play with a host of positive developmental outcomes. Smartphones, tablets, and video gaming systems have waylaid children even further. An article by Witherspoon and Manning (2012) reviews the decline in play, the decline in outside play specifically, and the increase in children's playful use of technology in recent years.

Read the following article that is available online through PsycARTICLES at the TRU library:

Witherspoon, L., & Manning, J. P. (2012). Active gaming: The future of play? American Journal of Play, 4(4), 464-487.

Answer the following questions, in your own words, based on your reading of the textbook and the Witherspoon and Manning article:

1. What six factors define play? How do online or technology-based games fail to meet these definitional criteria?

2. In what ways is play critical to child development?

3. Parents are often concerned that their children do well scholastically. How sympathetic are you to the view that educational activities are of more value for youngsters than unstructured playtime?

Part C: Discussion 2-Gender Messages Directed at Children

Go to the "Discussions" area on the left-hand navigation menu and complete the second formal discussion posting entitled "Discussion 2: Gender Messages Directed at Children."

Children's emerging understanding of gender is one of the developments discussed in this module's reading. The environment around a child is a rich source of gender-based information. For this discussion, you are asked to locate an example of media directed at young preschool children, for example, a television program, video, book, video game, or website. Consider the media resource you have selected in terms of its gender messages. Does your example present gender stereotypes or more neutral or cross-gendered messages, e.g., girls taking part in stereotypically boy activities and vice versa?

In the Discussions area, post a brief description of the resource you identified. Present your observations regarding the gender messages embedded in your media example. How does the content and messages in your selection differ from, or mirror, the media influences you were exposed to as a child? Finally, describe how exposure to your resource might impact a child's gender socialization and gender schemas.

Comment or respond to a fellow student's input.

Part D: Written Questions

Write a response in your own words to each of the following questions:

1. Draw from your course reading to describe two examples of how the perceptual capacities of infants match those of adults, and one example of how they differ. Note that perceptual capacities are those related to the senses, such as sight.

2. Teaching a child to tie his/her own shoes can be a difficult task for both parents and child. It can take many sessions of practice.

Explain how a parent might use scaffolding in this process.

3. In many cultures, stories about magical figures are told to children by caregivers. Describe the features of pre-operational thought that would explain why children in this age group willingly believe such stories. Explain your choices.

4. Suppose you are the parent of a child with a difficult temperament (see the discussion in the textbook). Describe the difficulties that your child has that relate to temperament. Explain what the parenting challenges would be associated with your child's temperament and describe how you would meet those challenges. Give some practical examples of parenting strategies that would help to build secure attachment in your child, and would help your child get along with his/her peers.