The Primary Review
Research Survey 2/1a: Children's Cognitive Development and Learning
<(Usha Goswami and Peter Bryant)

The Primary Review is an independent enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England, supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and based at the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge. As part of the Review, interim reports are being published. Research Survey 2/1a highlighted the importance of language and communication. Below are extracts from the briefing of the report which particularly relate to speaking and listening skills.

"Young children's learning

Children possess and demonstrate all the main types of learning (statistical learning, learning by imitation, learning by analogy and causal learning) even as babies. This includes learning the relationships between the sounds that underpin language acquisition, or the visual features that specify natural categories or concepts such as bird, tree, car.

Learning in young children is socially mediated. Families, carers, peers and teachers are all important. Even basic perceptual learning mechanisms require social interaction to be effective. This limits the applicability of educational approaches such as e-learning in the early years."

(p.1)

"Children's knowledge, reasoning and cognitive development

Language is crucial for development but there is huge individual variation in language skills from an early age. Typically young children learn new words at an exponential rate, acquiring 10+ words daily. The median vocabulary is 55 words at 16 months, 225 words at 23 months and over 6000 words by age six, but the developmental range stretches from a vocabulary of 0 words to over 500 words at age two. Children who enter school with impoverished language skills require immediate support."

(p.2)

"Children's learning in school

Pretend play and the imagination are important for cognitive development in the early years of education, helping children to reflect upon and regulate their own cognitive behaviour, and to reflect upon and gain a deeper understanding of the mind. Pretending is more effective when carried out with other children and when scaffolded by adults.

The ways in which teachers talk to children can influence learning, memory, understanding and the motivation to learn. Learning and memory benefit when the teacher adopts an elaborative conversational style, amplifying and evaluating what the child says. This elaboration helps children to make sense of temporal and causal aspects of their experiences.

Symbol systems like the alphabet and the number system require direct teaching, but for both reading and number certain cognitive prerequisites facilitate learning.

The cognitive prerequisites for reading and number depend on language development, perceptual development and spatial development, and can be enhanced by direct teaching (for example, using linguistic rhyme and rhythm games)."

(p.2)

(2/1a briefing)

The full briefing and report are available on The Primary Review website www.primaryreview.org.uk/Publications/Interimreports.html