The cognitive growth of children, to the chagrin of their parents, is a relatively messy process. The adult mind can become exasperated with a child 's perceived inability to see the world as the parent does. However, a child 's mind must start with the rudimentary stages of thinking to build a base upon which further thinking can be built. In the preoperational stage, children are becoming capable of crude abstract thought with the ability to reason, and symbolic function which allows them to “represent something that is not physically present” (Feldman, 2014, p. 173). Nurturing this stage requires the recognition of an underdeveloped mind, and using tools to help the mind develop. In a preschool classroom, there are many types of stimulus that address preoperational thinking and give children the tools to become capable of operations. The purpose of this paper will be to address three types of stimulus from a preschool classroom – a storybook (Curious George), math posters, and a science tool (triple beam balance) – and how they address preoperational thinking and growth toward operational thinking.
Curious George Storybook Curious George is a well-known series of children 's books. The greatest lesson …show more content…
In a chemistry class, for instance, a student may use the balance to carefully weigh compounds before mixing into a solution. In a preschool classroom, the triple beam balance relates more to how much objects weigh in relation to other objects. Carefully distributed around the balance can be found miscellaneous items such as one rock, ten marbles, and a bundle of tissue paper. The children can be asked which item is the heaviest, and many will respond that the bundle of tissue paper is due to its relatively larger size compared to the other two items. This is known as centration, or “the process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus” (Feldman, 2014, p.
Curious George Storybook Curious George is a well-known series of children 's books. The greatest lesson …show more content…
In a chemistry class, for instance, a student may use the balance to carefully weigh compounds before mixing into a solution. In a preschool classroom, the triple beam balance relates more to how much objects weigh in relation to other objects. Carefully distributed around the balance can be found miscellaneous items such as one rock, ten marbles, and a bundle of tissue paper. The children can be asked which item is the heaviest, and many will respond that the bundle of tissue paper is due to its relatively larger size compared to the other two items. This is known as centration, or “the process of concentrating on one limited aspect of a stimulus” (Feldman, 2014, p.