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Stages of Cognitive Development

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Stages of Cognitive Development

AED202

October 12, 2013

Lisa Miller

Infancy: Ages birth to two years of age From the time a baby is born they have the ability to learn. A remarkable sense of hearing is one of the same as will be for their entire life. The attention span is drawn to any source of stimulation. As they mature into the later stages of infancy, the skills of classifying becomes a concept that is basic at the start but becomes more complex as maturity and brain development occur. Placing basic items such as toys in one area while their articles of clothing go completely in another area is mastered. The visual compression becomes more precise after age one year to which exploring their world becomes very interesting and curious.

Early Childhood: Ages two to six years of age. Within this stage children have a very short attention span. This short span causes distraction mainly discovered in the early academic years. Instructors know they only have a limited time to capture the students’ attention so changing activities often can have the students succeed. Children’s prior knowledge differs markedly depending on their cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds (Child development: Educating and Working With Children and Adolescents, 2004).

Middle Childhood: Ages six to ten years of age These children develop longer attention spans and distractibility is reduced. The knowledge base increases as exposure to outside stimuli is presented. An increase of symbolic nature of thought and knowledge is evident.

Early Adolescence: Ages ten to fourteen years of age The ability to work on a single task for a lengthy amount of time is expressed when attempting to learn the basic academic concepts. These concepts are essential as they lead to more complex ones at the high school level. The knowledge base increases

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