JBTE Early Childhood Education flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Object permanence

The understanding that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight; it develops during Piaget's sensorimotor stage, typically between about 8 and 12 months of age.

Zone of proximal development

Vygotsky's term for the range of tasks a child cannot yet do alone but can accomplish with guidance from a more capable adult or peer; instruction is most effective within this range.

Autonomy versus shame and doubt

Erikson's second psychosocial stage, roughly ages 1 to 3, when children assert independence through choices and self-care; overcontrol or harsh criticism can produce shame and doubt.

Ecological systems theory

Bronfenbrenner's framework describing nested contexts that shape development: microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and chronosystem, with the child at the center.

Goodness of fit

Thomas and Chess's concept that healthy development depends on how well a child's temperament matches the demands, expectations, and supports of the caregiving environment.

Parten's play stages

A developmental sequence from unoccupied and onlooker behavior through solitary and parallel play to associative and cooperative play, in which children share goals and roles.

Developmentally appropriate practice

NAEYC's approach that bases decisions on child development and learning, each child's individual strengths and needs, and the child's social and cultural context.

Emergent curriculum

A planning approach that begins with children's interests and teacher observation, then develops experiences through an ongoing cycle of documenting, reflecting, planning, and revisiting.

Project approach

A three-phase in-depth investigation of a topic: beginning with prior knowledge and questions, developing through research and representation, and concluding with sharing and reflection.

Scaffolding

Temporary, graduated support-such as modeling, hints, or breaking a task into steps-that enables a child to succeed at a task just beyond independent ability, then is gradually withdrawn.

Dialogic reading PEER

A shared-reading sequence: Prompt the child, Evaluate the response, Expand by adding language, and Repeat the prompt to encourage more talk.

Phonological awareness continuum

The progression from larger to smaller sound units: word awareness, syllable awareness, rhyme, alliteration, onset-rime, and phoneme awareness, including blending and segmenting.

Receptive and expressive language

Receptive language is understanding spoken language, such as following directions; expressive language is producing words and sentences. Receptive typically develops before expressive.

Concepts of print

Knowledge about how print works: directionality, front and back of a book, words versus pictures, spacing, punctuation, and that print carries meaning.

BICS and CALP

Cummins's distinction between basic interpersonal communicative skills, which are context-rich and develop in about two years, and cognitive academic language proficiency, which takes longer.

Cardinality principle

The counting principle that the final number word in a count tells how many objects are in the set; it is distinct from merely reciting number words.

Subitizing

The rapid, accurate recognition of small quantities without counting; perceptual subitizing handles about one to three objects, while conceptual subitizing groups larger sets.

Stable order principle

The counting principle that number words must be said in a consistent, repeatable order, even if the child's early sequence omits or skips numbers.

Part-part-whole reasoning

Understanding that a number can be decomposed into two or more parts and recombined; it underpins addition, subtraction, and number bonds to ten.

Safe sleep ABC

Infants sleep alone, on their back, in a crib with a firm, flat mattress and no soft bedding, bumpers, or toys, reducing sudden infant death syndrome risk.

CACFP meal pattern

Child and Adult Care Food Program requirements specifying servings from fruits, vegetables, grains, meat or meat alternate, and milk, with amounts varying by age.

Child care exclusion criteria

Conditions that require a child to stay home, such as fever with behavior change, vomiting, diarrhea, contagious illness, or rash with fever; exact rules follow licensing.

Choking hazard foods

Foods risky for children under four, including whole grapes, nuts, popcorn, hot dogs, hard candy, and raw carrot chunks; cylindrical foods are cut lengthwise.

Medication administration rights

The right child, medication, dose, route, and time; written parental consent and the original labeled container are required before staff administer any medication.

Epstein's six involvement types

Parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision-making, and collaborating with the community; each describes a different way families and programs connect.

Funds of knowledge

The skills, strategies, and cultural knowledge households use in daily life; teachers draw on these resources to make curriculum relevant and build relationships with families.

IFSP and IEP

An IFSP serves children under three and includes family outcomes; an IEP serves children three and older and focuses on educational goals and services.

Cultural humility

A lifelong stance of self-reflection, openness to difference, and attention to power imbalances; it contrasts with treating cultural competence as a fixed body of knowledge.

Running record

A sequential, narrative observation that records what a child does and says over a set period, preserving context and order for later interpretation.

Time sampling

An observation method that records whether a behavior occurs during specified intervals, useful for frequency or duration patterns but weak on context.

Formative assessment

Ongoing assessment used during learning to adjust teaching and provide feedback; it contrasts with summative assessment, which evaluates learning at the end.

Mandated reporting

The legal duty of educators to report reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect to the designated agency promptly, without investigating or confronting the family.