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.

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 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.