Question

1. Describe features of social interaction that support children's cognative development. How does such interaction create a zone of proximal development?
2. List findings indicating that language and communication between parents and children, between teachers and children, and between peers powerfully affect children's gender typing. what recommendations would you make to counteract these influences?

Answer 1

1. Describe features of social interaction that support children's cognative development. How does such interaction create a zone of proximal development?

Cognitive development is a field of study in neuroscience and psychology focusing on a child's development in terms of information processing, conceptual resources, perceptual skill, language learning, and other aspects of brain development and cognitive psychology. Social interaction plays an important role in people’s life starting from the early childhood as infants interact with their caregivers and build the emotional attachment that is the base for future relationships. By social interaction with others children learn how to communicate, play and behave in particular situation. While analyzing the impact of the interaction of self and the society we see that the self generally influences the society. This is done by actions of individuals which lead to the creation of groups, networks and organizations of people. On the other hand society also affects and molds an individual with its shared values and collective norms which helps in giving an individual its identity and a role in the society. Generally if we create and idea of self and interact with others in the society, it gives an impression to the society about the way we think and the way we receive things from the society. Great leaders have a dream and confidence in them which is reflected in their actions and the interaction with the society. Hence it is important to be self-aware and understand self very clearly. Social influences play a significant role in the way in which we respond to situations and how societies as a whole conform to the political rules and regulations. Social influences and pressures also mean that society has to conform to authority figures and follow their orders.

Children are natural explorers, but there is still a lot you can do to help them learn and grow. For example, you need to know what children explore. You also have to meaningfully design your environment and find materials to spark exploration. Finally, you can plan experiences that promote learning. The way you structure and organize your environments and materials for children can make a huge difference in their development.

The zone of proximal development (ZPD) has been defined as: "the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem-solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more capable peers".

The ZPD has become synonymous in the literature with the term scaffolding. Scaffolding consists of the activities provided by the educator, or more competent peer, to support the student as he or she is led through the zone of proximal development. Support is tappered off (i.e. withdrawn) as it becomes unnecessary, much as a scaffold is removed from a building during construction. The student will then be able to complete the task again on his own.

Scaffolding is a process "that enables a child or novice to solve a task or achieve a goal that would be beyond his unassisted efforts." As they note, scaffolds require the adult's "controlling those elements of the task that are initially beyond the learner's capability, thus permitting him to concentrate upon and complete only those elements that are within his range of competence"

2. List findings indicating that language and communication between parents and children, between teachers and children, and between peers powerfully affect children's gender typing. what recommendations would you make to counteract these influences?

Infants and toddlers make strides in acquiring body self-awareness. Psychological self-awareness emerges in early childhood, as language development enables children to talk about their own subjective experience of being. Preschoolers acquire a vocabulary for talking about their inner mental lives and refine their understanding of mental states. As self-awareness strengthens, children focus more intently on qualities that make the self unique. They begin to develop a self-concept, the set of attributes, abilities, attitudes, and values that an individual believes defines who he or she is. This mental representation of the self has profound implications for children’s emotional and social lives, influencing their preferences for activities and social partners and their vulnerability to stress. Another aspect of self-concept emerges in early childhood: self-esteem, the judgments we make about our own worth and the feelings associated with those judgments. The more parents label emotions, explain them, and express warmth and enthusiasm when conversing with preschoolers, the more “emotion words” children use and the better developed their emotional understanding. Knowledge about emotion helps children in their efforts to get along with others. As early as 3 to 5 years of age, it is related to friendly, considerate behavior, constructive responses to disputes with agemates, and perspective-taking ability. Empathy is another emotional capacity that becomes more common in early childhood. It serves as a motivator of prosocial, or altruistic, behavior—actions that benefit another person without any expected reward for the self.

As children become increasingly self-aware and better at communicating and understanding the thoughts and feelings of others, their skill at interacting with peers improves rapidly. Peers provide young children with learning experiences they can get in no other way. Because peers interact on an equal footing, they must keep a conversation going, cooperate, and set goals in play. With peers, children form friendships—special relationships marked by attachment and common interests.