Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
>> "childcare video magazine" is
an activity of the Calif
Department of Education, child
development division...
And far West Laboratory, Center
for Child and Family Studies.
100,000 years ago, humankind
discovered fire.
It changed forever the way we
live.
500 years ago, Galileo
discovered that the earth isn't
at the center of the universe.
This changed the way we think
about our place in the cosmos.
Today's explorers make their
discoveries with the whole world
watching.
>> ...ignition and liftoff.
>> We share with them the
excitement of liftoff, the
adventure of flight, the
exploration of space.
>> ...102-degree roll.
>> Adult fascination with the
secrets of the universe is the
same fascination we see in
infants.
they concentrate.
They solve problems.
They experiment...
Following the same path of
discovery as Galileo.
When you watch infants closely,
you start to get a feeling for
just how important discovery is
to them.
They're busy trying to make
sense out of their experiences.
Hundreds of times a day, they
are uncovering the mysteries of
the world,
Learning from what they see,
hear, feel, taste, and touch.
bye, see ya.
Hello.
I'm Gary Thompson, director of
the Oakland parent child center.
One of t
me most about infants and
toddlers is their constant quest
for knowledge.
No matter what infants are
doing, they're taking in
information.
They order, classify, integrate,
kind of like a computer.
In this video we will explore
the process of discovery and
show how infants and toddlers
learn.
>> infants use every means they
have to learn about things.
They start with simple sense and
motor experiences...
And move toward figuring things
out in their heads.
Young learners use materials in
any way that occurs to them...
And learn lessons as much from
getting it wrong as getting it
right.
Many of the early lessons can be
grouped into the following 6
discoveries:
How to use tools...
>> Yeah!
>> the relationship between
cause and effect...
the understanding that objects
are permanent...
how things move and fit in
space...
the power of imitation...
[boy laughs]
how to organize action and
thought into patterns, schemes
for learning...
they are the building blocks for
all other discovery.
By using learning schemes like
banging and mouthing, a child
gains valuable information about
things.
Early on, schemes are simple.
Mouthing, banging, handling, and
shaking Lead to discovering the
properties of objects and how
they are best used.
Infants will try their schemes
on just about everything.
In the process, they learn about
objects and get ideas about new
ways to act.
Eli is explori
with his toys.
As he studies them--how they
move, how they feel--he learns
to treat them differently and in
the process begins to understand
the concepts of similarity and
difference.
experiences with hard things...
soft things...
noisy things...
sticky things...
give children information that
helps them put objects into
shake" or "things to pull."
Sometimes, the schemes a child
knows, such as moving objects
back and forth and up and down,
don't work too well.
Infants practice adapting and
combining schemes until they
perfect one that works.
Practice not only makes perfect,
but leads to experimentation.
There's always something more to
figure out.
As children grow older, they
become more selective in the way
they handle things.
They don't need to use every
scheme they know on every
object.
Instead, they pick and choose,
no longer using basic schemes
like mouthing and banging when
they're exploring such qualities
as size, shape, and color.
infants also d
related to the actions of
people...
Such as connecting music to
dance.
And the appropriate use of
things like cups, forks, and
spoons.
Scheme development helps
children discover how objects
are best used and how to use
them in new and interesting
ways.
It is the foundation for all
other discoveries.
as infants develop, they begin
to understand that events and
outcomes are caused.
They learn to cause things to
happen themselves and to search
happen.s for ways to make things
>>
Very good.
>> young infants don't know the
relationship between cause and
effect.
Brett is surprised when a toy
rolls away and doesn't seem to
realize that he caused it.
Through exploring and
experimenting, the connection
between cause and effect starts
to become clear.
Gradually, infants learn that a
specific action, such as turning
the *** on the Music box, will
produce a predictable outcome.
We'll use this windup
cheerleader to illustrate how
children develop an
understanding of cause and
effect.
for safety's sake, stay close if
you use this type of toy.
7-month-old Judy is fascinated
with our cheerleader.
>> Is she gonna get you?
>> At her stage of development
she explores the toy, and in the
way she knows how may even be
trying to get it going again.
20-month-old Ellio
fascinated, too.
At first he relates to the
cheerleader as Judy did.
But then he examines it more
closely.
It's almost as if you can see
his mind working, inspecting the
toy.
As he explores, he tries to
cause it to move again.
He uses his hand to get the
baton going.
He bangs its head in imitation
of how the caregiver got it to
move And finally gives it back,
Maybe to get the caregiver to
start it moving again.
He knows more about cause than
Judy does but hasn't yet learned
the connection between turni
the *** and causing movement.
tonito, with 2 1/2 years of
experience behind him, has no
problem finding out what makes
the gorilla jump.
He goes right for the windup
***.
He's made the connection.
Throughout infancy, children are
continually discovering links
between cause and effect.
And searching out causal
mechanisms.
They learn that they can cause
things to happen with their own
bodies...
That other people and objects
can cause things to happen...
and that specific parts of
objects, like wheels, light
switches, and buttons on
cameras, can cause specific
effects.
>> sense and motor actions like
mouthing, rubbing, and dropping
are building blocks for future
learning.
As children explore and play,
their thought processes grow in
a purposeful and in an o
way.
When a child makes a discovery,
it may not by itself seem like
much, but even a tiny insight is
part of a larger learning
process.
A new insight, such as
"something causes a toy to move"
is influenced by previous
insights: "Things move..."
>> is she gonna get you?
>> ...and influences future
ones.
"Hey, I can turn a *** and make
a toy move."
Each insight leads to new
insights and greater knowledge.
All learning takes place this
way.
With this in mind let's take a
look at the next two
discoveries--Use of tools and
object permanence.
>> A tool can be anything: A
cry, a hand, a caregiver, or an
object,
Anything children can use to
accomplish what they want.
Infants learn to extend their
power through the use of tools.
They learn that a tool is a
means to an end.
[crying]
young infants learn to use their
bodies to get what they want.
For example, early crying
usually brings a nurturing
response.
After repeated responses, the
child learns to use the cry to
get her needs met.
infants use their bodies as
tools in lots of different ways.
By reaching out for things...
object...
By crawling to a desired
them...
By pulling what they want to
by learning to use even their
mouths as tools, they get done
what they want to get done.
Another way infants demonstrate
their growing awareness of tool
use is by getting people to do
things for them.
They often use their caregiv
as tools.
the caregiver is seen as an
effective way to get things
done.
>> You do it.
>> It might not seem very
complimentary to be treated as a
tool.
>> Want me to get it?
>> But using you as a tool is an
important step in an infant's
cognitive growth.
Your going along with them is a
great gift.
Of course objects are tools,
too.
Janea is figuring out that she
can get the hammer she wants by
using the towel as her tool.
>> there is the hammer!
Yay!
>> Sherman is using a chair to
get to a toy.
As children grow older, they
develop this type of tool-use
strategy in their heads.
At these later stages of
infancy, ideas have become
tools.
Johnny has come up with the idea
of using the abacus as a tray.
>> Whoa!
>> Trying something new may not
always work, but it's the idea
that counts.
With this new thinking ability,
he can accomplish many things.
for young babies, out of sight
often means out of mind.
Infants are not born knowing
about the permanence of objects.
They learn this important lesson
gradually.
Repeated experiences with such
things as a bottle or a mother's
face help children discover that
familiar objects are permanent.
One of the ways infants show
their initial understanding of
this concept is by identifying
and tracking objects.
They learn that though a thing
moves or is temporarily out of
sight, it still exists.
Being able to hold an object in
memory even when it is hidden
from sight is a major
intellectual achievement.
4-month-old Eli doesn't yet do
this.
At 7 months, Judy is just
starting to get the picture and
hold a favorite doll in memory.
>> where
can you figure that out?
>> she knows something's
happening.
>> there she is.
>> and certainly seems to
recognize the doll When it
reappears.
20-month-old Elliot has
car in memory for quite some
time and searches for it,
confident of its existence.
It's obvious that he knows what
he's looking for.
>> you found your car.
Good job!
>> by the time a child is
Sophia's age, she has a clear
sense that things are permanent.
She can keep in mind the book
and where it went.
When asked, she can even find
it.
>> where is it?
>> Sophia has come to know that