Ages and Stages of Cognitive Development

It is your role to help staff members understand the critical elements of child development. This lesson provides a brief overview of how cognition (thinking skills) develops from birth through age 12. Staff members have read similar information in their own lessons, so this is intended to provide you with consistent information and terminology. The information and resources are intended as a reference for you or as something you can provide to staff members as a refresher.

Infant and Toddler Milestones

Infants' and toddlers' thinking skills grow as they interact with the world and people around them. As you learned in the first lesson, early experiences matter. Consistent, nurturing experiences help infants and toddlers make sense of the world. Those experiences literally build brain architecture. As infants and toddlers develop, they begin to understand and predict how things work: they open and close a cabinet door over and over, they fill and dump a cup of water in the water table, they bang a spoon on a high chair to hear the sound.

You will help staff members understand these milestones. Staff received a chart about infant and toddler development in their own lessons. It's important that you help them keep in mind that individual differences exist when it comes to the specific age at which infants and toddlers meet milestones; each child is unique. As highlighted in the Communication and Physical courses, milestones provide a guide for when to expect certain skills or behaviors to emerge. Here is a reminder about general cognitive developmental milestones:

Preschool Milestones

During the preschool years, amazing changes happen in children's "thinking skills." Their memories are becoming stronger-they often remember surprising details. They can share their ideas in new and interesting ways. Their imaginations are becoming a primary vehicle for play and learning. They begin to compare, contrast, organize, analyze, and come up with more and more complex ways to solve problems. Math and scientific thinking become more sophisticated.

Read the table below that lists some cognitive developmental milestones in preschool.

School-Age Milestones

School-age children's thinking skills become increasingly sophisticated as they encounter new people, places, and ideas. They develop the ability to learn in abstract ways from books, art, movies, and experiences. The chart below highlights cognitive development during the school-age years.

Helping Staff Members Use their Knowledge of Cognitive Development

Staff members must use their knowledge of child development to work appropriately with the children in their care. Be prepared to teach staff effective strategies for facilitating cognitive development. When working with staff members in the classroom, observe as they engage with children to ensure they do the following:

Meeting the Cognitive Development Needs of All Learners Including those with Special Needs

Teach staff members about your program's commitment to serving all children and youth. In their own courses, staff members have learned strategies for meeting the needs of individual learners. There are also additional inclusion modules that staff members may complete (i.e., KIT). Staff members will need your support to know how and when to use the strategies they have learned. Teach staff members to recognize the range of abilities in their classrooms or programs. It is critical to understand the needs of children with individualized education programs (IEPs), but it is equally important to understand that all children and youth need individualization. Help them consider and plan for the preschooler who needs an extra challenge, the toddler who is learning more than one language, or the pre-teen who sits quietly by herself. Work with the training and curriculum specialist to identify training needs for the staff in your programs and to make sure that all children are getting the support they need.

Management Practices that Support Understanding of Cognitive Development

As a program manager, you are accountable for supporting the development of all children and youth. You can use the following strategies to help staff members understand the development of children and youth with a range of needs and abilities:

• Hold high expectations for all staff members when it comes to children and youth outcomes by setting learning goals for all age groups. Have a strengths-based approach. Begin conversations by discussing what the child, youth, or family brings to the program and what they can do.
• Focus on outcomes. Discuss with staff members the development and learning goals that are appropriate for each individual child. Then help plan experiences to meet those goals.
• Seek out knowledge of the cultures and preferences of the families served and ensure those preferences are integrated throughout the program. Ensure that you know how culture may influence development and interactions.
• Support staff in the development of knowledge and skills needed to understand child development by seeking out resources and providing encouragement. Advocate for maximum participation. Recognize when a child is capable of more than is being offered. Make sure all children have the opportunity to challenge themselves and participate to the maximum extent possible.
• Provide community-based resources such as guest speakers; support attendance to workshops and conferences for teachers.
• Use multiple data sources such as classroom observations to evaluate and provide feedback on how effectively teachers are implementing the curriculum cycle.
• Ensure professional development plans have identified goals for effectively implementing the curriculum cycle based on classroom observations.
• Recognize skilled teachers who demonstrate an understanding of child development and have them mentor less-experienced teachers. Arrange for the staff member to observe others who have strong or creative methods for observing and documenting children's development.
• Interact. Talk to every child. Communicate that every child has a place in your program. Jump in and help when needed.

Every day, you and your staff intervene in the developmental lives of children and youth. As a result, it's imperative that you and your staff are intentional about the decisions you make. Intentional means that you and your staff know why you do what you do and as a result are purposeful in everything you do. In other words, intentionality doesn't leave anything to chance. You support intentionality by scheduling time for staff and trainers to meet and discuss the goals they have for children and youth based on their observations. When staff members have time for meaningful conversations, it leads to the planning of meaningful experiences, which in turn leads to positive outcomes for children and youth.

Watch this video that summarizes the main ideas of this lesson and affirms your role in supporting cognitive development.