{"id":903,"date":"2011-12-19T20:20:51","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T20:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/?page_id=903"},"modified":"2025-03-18T17:28:04","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T17:28:04","slug":"cl-1-communicating-and-learning-in-early-childhood","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/cl-1-communicating-and-learning-in-early-childhood\/","title":{"rendered":"CL 1. Communicating and learning in early childhood"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"http:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/BoyHat-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Boy wearing a winter hat smiling at camera.\" class=\"wp-image-3171\" title=\"BoyHat\" srcset=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/BoyHat-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/BoyHat.jpg 559w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How do children learn about and make sense of the world around them?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How do they learn to communicate?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What kinds of experiences best support children&#8217;s cognitive and language development?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How can adults plan for and facilitate children\u2019s learning?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-consider-block-Z1UAe0R wp-block-lazyblock-consider-block\"><div class=\"consider-full\">\n<p><strong>Consider&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\nBeth is giving her ten-month-old daughter Kaylee a bath. Kaylee is holding a washcloth and is surrounded by plastic animals and small buckets. As her mother watches, she sucks water out of the washcloth with a big smile on her face. Beth tells her, \u201cthat is soapy water; it\u2019s yucky\u201d. Kaylee laughs and continues to suck the water&#8230; <strong><span><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/consider-kaylee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more<\/a>&nbsp;<\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-ZvX4gJ wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p>Kaylee isn\u2019t using words, but she is able to express herself. How does her mother show that she understands Kaylee?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you identify examples of communicating and learning in this short scene?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>We know that during infancy and early childhood, emerging communication skills and the capacity to learn grow at an extremely rapid rate. Communication, particularly language, plays a major role in children&#8217;s learning. Language is a mechanism for thinking. Language allows children to imagine, create new ideas and share ideas with others. It also enriches parent-child relationships as they develop a new way of interacting and provides a remarkable lens into the mind of a very young human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this clip, filmed in a home in rural Egypt, Mariam and her mother tell stories and exchange ideas while looking at an English-language children&#8217;s magazine. As you watch, consider how this type of interaction supports communication and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail-Z1dU3JK wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"video-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2022\/05\/90196740.jpg\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">Mom and Mariam (3:52)<\/span>      \n         \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\"><iframe frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/90196740?api=1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-h8nTX wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p>How would you describe the interaction between Mariam and her mother?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How does Mariam&#8217;s mother nurture Mariam&#8217;s understanding of literacy and numeracy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you think this makes Mariam feel?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Young children are born with an astounding capacity to learn, both in the amount they can learn in any one domain or topic and in the variety and range of what they can learn. Children are virtuosos as learners. Their aptitudes, personalities, prior knowledge and cultural assumptions are a central part of how and what they learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>What babies need to grow great brains isn&#8217;t fancy programs. &nbsp;They need daily back and forth, serve and return social interactions, that happen during face-to-face interaction with loving, responsive, caring adults. Babies are intensely curious about their environments. They&#8217;re like scientists that pick up cues from all around them&#8221; (Clinton, 2020, p. 19).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Alison Gopnik (2010) discusses the unique capabilities of babies and very young children. She explains how young children experiment, analyze and develop theories as they encounter new information in the world. She likens the human brain to a computer designed by evolution, which emphasizes the role that evolution has played in the development of babies&#8217; amazing abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The next video is an excerpt from <em>The Beginning of Life<\/em> documentary. In this clip, Dr. Gopnik and other experts talk about the fact that babies learn from birth &#8211;&nbsp;and even before!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail-ZSR0C9 wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"video-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2022\/05\/333136140.jpg\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">The Beginning of Life \u2013 When learning begins (2:50)<\/span>      \n         \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\"><iframe frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/333136140?api=1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-UYloT wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p>How do we know infants are ready to learn at birth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is this such an important message for parents?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Although brain development is &#8220;acultural&#8221;, cultural context is very important in determining how and what children learn<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">and how they communicate. Listen now to Dr. Kang Lee, Canada research chair at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">as he describes how early cultural communication norms are learned by infants.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript-1jIksP wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Lee &#8211; cultural norms and early socialization (1:47)<\/span>\n        \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\">\n         <iframe webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/125282740?api=1\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div><br>\n      <p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/transcript-lee-cultural-norms-and-early-socialization\/\" target=\"_blank\">Lee &#8211; cultural norms and early socialization &#8211; Text Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Barbara Kaiser, an early childhood consultant and author, explains that culture has an impact on how educators view children&#8217;s behaviour because what is considered appropriate may vary from one culture to another. It is important to consider the cultural &#8220;gifts&#8221; that children bring to their experiences outside of their families.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript-PmQTu wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Kaiser &#8211; cultural influences (2:15)<\/span>\n        \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\">\n         <iframe webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/239000382?api=1\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div><br>\n      <p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/transcript-kaiser-cultural-influences\/\" target=\"_blank\">Kaiser &#8211; cultural influences &#8211; Text Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Cultural context also shapes what skills children are most likely to acquire in early childhood and beyond. For example, Penn (1999) describes how young children in the United Kingdom are expected to recognize basic colours (e.g., red, blue, yellow) as a result of preschool attendance, in comparison to Mongolian herder children who, by the same age, will have learnt to distinguish about 320 horses through their colouring in different combinations of varying shades of black, white and grey. Indeed, &#8220;the expectations of the level of visual discrimination the children can achieve, and the uses to which it is put, are very different in each community&#8221; (p. 10-11).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-1xQMRl wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p>Can you think of ways your culture affects how you think, learn, perceive the world and interact with others?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What are other influences on the way you learn?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Can you think of ways to help educators be aware of and sensitive to culturally pervasive perspectives of childhood?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We know that during infancy and early childhood, emerging communication skills and the capacity to learn grow at an extremely rapid rate. Communication, particularly language, plays a major role in children&#8217;s learning. Language is a mechanism for thinking. Language allows children to imagine, create new ideas and share ideas with others. It also enriches parent-child [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":10,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-903","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903"}],"version-history":[{"count":94,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15078,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/903\/revisions\/15078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}