Children's Questions (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development) - Softcover

Chouinard, Michelle M.

 
9781405176330: Children's Questions (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 1405176334 ISBN 13: 9781405176330
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, 2007

Synopsis

This Monograph examines the role that children's questions play in their cognitive development. When children encounter a problem with their current knowledge state (a gap in their knowledge, some ambiguity they don't know how to resolve, some inconsistency they've detected), asking a question allows them to get targeted information exactly when they need it. This information is available to them when they are particularly receptive to it, and since it comes as a result of their own disequilibrium, it may have depth of processing benefits. In that questions allow children to get information they need to move their knowledge structures closer to adult-like states, the ability to ask questions to gather needed information constitutes an efficient mechanism for cognitive development. The studies presented here indicate that children ask information-seeking questions that are related in topic and structure to their cognitive development (usually). Parents give answers to these questions, but when they don't, the children persist in asking for the information, which suggests that the goal of this behavior is to recruit needed information. The content of these questions shifts within exchanges and over the course of development in ways that reflect concept building. Finally, children generate questions efficiently in order to gather needed information, and then are able to use this information productively; they tap into their existing conceptual knowledge in order to do this. Thus, the ability to ask questions is a powerful tool that allows children to gather information they need in order to learn about the world and solve problems in it.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Michelle M. Chouinard (Ph.D., 2005, Stanford University) is an Assistant
Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Merced, where she is
a Founding Faculty member. Her research investigates the role that conversation
plays in cognitive development, with an emphasis on children’s
questions, language acquisition, and biological knowledge.

From the Back Cover

This Monograph examines the role that children's questions play in their cognitive development. When children encounter a problem with their current knowledge state (a gap in their knowledge, some ambiguity they don't know how to resolve, some inconsistency they've detected), asking a question allows them to get targeted information exactly when they need it. This information is available to them when they are particularly receptive to it, and since it comes as a result of their own disequilibrium, it may have depth of processing benefits. In that questions allow children to get information they need to move their knowledge structures closer to adult-like states, the ability to ask questions to gather needed information constitutes an efficient mechanism for cognitive development. The studies presented here indicate that children ask information-seeking questions that are related in topic and structure to their cognitive development (usually). Parents give answers to these questions, but when they don't, the children persist in asking for the information, which suggests that the goal of this behavior is to recruit needed information. The content of these questions shifts within exchanges and over the course of development in ways that reflect concept building. Finally, children generate questions efficiently in order to gather needed information, and then are able to use this information productively; they tap into their existing conceptual knowledge in order to do this. Thus, the ability to ask questions is a powerful tool that allows children to gather information they need in order to learn about the world and solve problems in it.

From the Inside Flap

This Monograph examines the role that children's questions play in their cognitive development. When children encounter a problem with their current knowledge state (a gap in their knowledge, some ambiguity they don't know how to resolve, some inconsistency they've detected), asking a question allows them to get targeted information exactly when they need it. This information is available to them when they are particularly receptive to it, and since it comes as a result of their own disequilibrium, it may have depth of processing benefits. In that questions allow children to get information they need to move their knowledge structures closer to adult-like states, the ability to ask questions to gather needed information constitutes an efficient mechanism for cognitive development. The studies presented here indicate that children ask information-seeking questions that are related in topic and structure to their cognitive development (usually). Parents give answers to these questions, but when they don't, the children persist in asking for the information, which suggests that the goal of this behavior is to recruit needed information. The content of these questions shifts within exchanges and over the course of development in ways that reflect concept building. Finally, children generate questions efficiently in order to gather needed information, and then are able to use this information productively; they tap into their existing conceptual knowledge in order to do this. Thus, the ability to ask questions is a powerful tool that allows children to gather information they need in order to learn about the world and solve problems in it.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Publication date
2007
Language
English
ISBN 10 
1405176334
ISBN 13 
9781405176330
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
132