Question:
Can anyone point me to some sites on "learning windows" i.e. what skills a
child is most receptive to learning at what age? My search strategies so
far haven't been very productive. I'm also interested in research on
cross-over between different kinds of learning: for instance, a 1994 study
showed that preschoolers given piano lessons for 8 months had increased
spatial abilites, and some recent research shows that early bilingualism
gives children more creative ways of thinking.
Answer:
Read stuff by Piaget. His theories have been borne out time and time again (in
spite of what Herman Rubin, our local crackpot "professor" may say - he's never
studied children, by the way - only studied mathematics, supposedly).
The abstract stage is around beginning of puberty. Further research into how
the brain functions bears out the fact that after the age of 12 or so, learning
becomes more difficult as the "neural pathways" become set.
What most research suggests is that the years from infancy to the age of 5 are
the most crucial. If any segment of physical or emotional neglect occurs, it
can affect the child for the rest of his/her life.
Example: children who have "glue ear" (blocked ears) from infancy to age 3 have
delayed language, concentration and comprehension problems. They also may have
difficulty fitting in socially, as they haven't learned the social cues
(reading body language, etc.) that are usually developed in the first 3 years.
The reason given (among others) is that in those crucial years, the children
are learning to listen to the world. If they can't hear it, obviously, then
they can't learn to listen.
Just a few thoughts on the subject. But Piaget is the closest thing to what
you're looking for, I think. And don't listen to Herman - who will come in here
and harp on his one-note of "...age-grouping" and "schools deliberately try to
keep children back..." etc. He's neither a psychologist nor a teacher of young
children.
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