Child development, curriculum, and assessment concepts tested on the Praxis Early Childhood Education exam. Front: the term or concept. Back: a plain-language definition.
40 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- Piaget's theory of cognitive development
- A theory describing how children's thinking evolves through four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational.
- Zone of Proximal Development
- The range between what a child can do independently and what they can do with adult guidance or help from a more skilled peer.
- Scaffolding
- A teaching strategy where an adult provides temporary support and gradually reduces it as the child becomes more capable.
- Attachment theory
- A concept explaining how the emotional bond between a child and caregiver influences social, emotional, and cognitive development.
- Gross motor skills
- Large muscle movements used for activities like running, jumping, climbing, and throwing.
- Fine motor skills
- Small, precise muscle movements used for activities like cutting, writing, buttoning, and picking up small objects.
- Self-regulation
- The ability to control emotions, manage behavior, and make choices that meet social expectations.
- Emergent literacy
- The gradual development of reading and writing skills that begins in infancy before formal instruction.
- Phonemic awareness
- The ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
- Developmentally appropriate practice
- Teaching methods and curriculum that match the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional abilities of children at specific age levels.
- Play-based learning
- An instructional approach where play activities are used as the primary means for children to learn academic and social skills.
- Cooperative play
- Social play where children work together toward a common goal, such as building a structure or playing a group game.
- Parallel play
- A type of play where children play side by side with similar materials but do not directly interact or share a common goal.
- Solitary play
- Play where a child engages in activities alone without interaction or involvement with other children.
- Dramatic play
- Pretend play where children act out scenarios, take on roles, and use props to create imaginary situations.