AEPA Early Childhood Subject
Knowledge Exam questions
and answers
Jean Piaget - answer One of the Constructivists
who created the stages of cognitive development:
1. sensorimotor
2. preoperational
3. concrete operational
4. formal operational
Assimilation and Accommodation are the two basic
processes that work in tandem to achieve cognitive
growth.
Assimilation - answer refers to taking in new
information or experiences into old existing
cognitive structures, experiences or schema
(Piaget)
Accommodation - answer refers to how children
can or will change an existing understanding to
adopt new knowledge and revise, extend, or
expand their conceptions (Piaget)
,Sensorimotor Stage - answer Birth - 2 years.
During this stage, infants and toddlers acquire
knowledge through sensory experiences and
manipulating objects. Ex. making mobile swing by
swatting at it. (Piaget)
Example of Sensorimotor Stage - answer Setting
up the classroom to help development in this stage
would include areas that are padded and safe for
the child to explore as they learn to move, crawl,
sit up on their own, pull up on objects, move along
objects, and eventually walk. Mirrors for them to
see themselves and others, toys with buttons that
lead to music or other actions, fabric and board
books, and many other toys and objects they can
hold in their hands and manipulate. (Piaget)
Preoperational Stage - answer 2 - 7 years. At this
stage, kids learn through pretend play but still
struggle with logic and taking the point of view of
other people. Ex. sees a tall glass as having more
water than a shorter, wider glass even when shown
the water amount is the same. (Piaget)
Example of Preoperational Stage - answer In the
classroom one might include a dramatic play area
that allows them to pretend they are different
people or characters. A writing center would also
be important, as they explore their creativity and
,learn to write and draw. A library of different types
of books on a multitude of subjects would be
important as they learn to identify letters,
numbers, words and start to read. Numbers and
their representations on the wall, flashcards, and
math manipulatives to help further their math
skills. (Piaget)
Concrete Operational Stage - answer 7-12 years.
Understanding of concrete relationships (math and
quantity); development of conservation (knowing
changes in shape are not changes in volume). Ex.
understands that the same amount of water can
has the same volume in a tall vs. short, wide glass.
(Piaget)
Example of Concrete Operational Stage - answer
The classroom would be less busy and cluttered. It
would have an organized feel with schedules and
groupings for centers written in defined spaces.
There would be a library area with a wide variety
of books from picture reference books to chapter
books. There would be math manipulatives and
flash cards and for writing, there would be creative
starters throughout the room. (Piaget)
Formal Operations Stage - answer >12 years;
abstract reasoning; can solve problems in real and
, imagined situations. Ex. Can identify why a
computer freezes up. (Piaget)
Example of Formal Operations Stage - answer The
classroom is more minimally decorated at this
stage. There would be a library area, but it would
be less of a "sit and read area" and more of a
"select a book and move on" space. There would be
some reference items on the walls, but
manipulatives and flashcards are no a thing of the
past. (Piaget)
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) -
answer an approach to teaching grounded in the
research on how young children develop and learn
and in what is known about effective early
education.
Friedrich Froebel - answer The Father of
Kindergarten. Some of his original ideas we still
have in our kindergarten classrooms are blocks,
art, counting with manipulatives, practicing with
scissors, and using shapes to form pictures
Maria Montessori - answer The belief that the
school should be child-focused, developmentally
appropriate for the age group, and that the
children learn best through self-choice and
experiential learning
Knowledge Exam questions
and answers
Jean Piaget - answer One of the Constructivists
who created the stages of cognitive development:
1. sensorimotor
2. preoperational
3. concrete operational
4. formal operational
Assimilation and Accommodation are the two basic
processes that work in tandem to achieve cognitive
growth.
Assimilation - answer refers to taking in new
information or experiences into old existing
cognitive structures, experiences or schema
(Piaget)
Accommodation - answer refers to how children
can or will change an existing understanding to
adopt new knowledge and revise, extend, or
expand their conceptions (Piaget)
,Sensorimotor Stage - answer Birth - 2 years.
During this stage, infants and toddlers acquire
knowledge through sensory experiences and
manipulating objects. Ex. making mobile swing by
swatting at it. (Piaget)
Example of Sensorimotor Stage - answer Setting
up the classroom to help development in this stage
would include areas that are padded and safe for
the child to explore as they learn to move, crawl,
sit up on their own, pull up on objects, move along
objects, and eventually walk. Mirrors for them to
see themselves and others, toys with buttons that
lead to music or other actions, fabric and board
books, and many other toys and objects they can
hold in their hands and manipulate. (Piaget)
Preoperational Stage - answer 2 - 7 years. At this
stage, kids learn through pretend play but still
struggle with logic and taking the point of view of
other people. Ex. sees a tall glass as having more
water than a shorter, wider glass even when shown
the water amount is the same. (Piaget)
Example of Preoperational Stage - answer In the
classroom one might include a dramatic play area
that allows them to pretend they are different
people or characters. A writing center would also
be important, as they explore their creativity and
,learn to write and draw. A library of different types
of books on a multitude of subjects would be
important as they learn to identify letters,
numbers, words and start to read. Numbers and
their representations on the wall, flashcards, and
math manipulatives to help further their math
skills. (Piaget)
Concrete Operational Stage - answer 7-12 years.
Understanding of concrete relationships (math and
quantity); development of conservation (knowing
changes in shape are not changes in volume). Ex.
understands that the same amount of water can
has the same volume in a tall vs. short, wide glass.
(Piaget)
Example of Concrete Operational Stage - answer
The classroom would be less busy and cluttered. It
would have an organized feel with schedules and
groupings for centers written in defined spaces.
There would be a library area with a wide variety
of books from picture reference books to chapter
books. There would be math manipulatives and
flash cards and for writing, there would be creative
starters throughout the room. (Piaget)
Formal Operations Stage - answer >12 years;
abstract reasoning; can solve problems in real and
, imagined situations. Ex. Can identify why a
computer freezes up. (Piaget)
Example of Formal Operations Stage - answer The
classroom is more minimally decorated at this
stage. There would be a library area, but it would
be less of a "sit and read area" and more of a
"select a book and move on" space. There would be
some reference items on the walls, but
manipulatives and flashcards are no a thing of the
past. (Piaget)
Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) -
answer an approach to teaching grounded in the
research on how young children develop and learn
and in what is known about effective early
education.
Friedrich Froebel - answer The Father of
Kindergarten. Some of his original ideas we still
have in our kindergarten classrooms are blocks,
art, counting with manipulatives, practicing with
scissors, and using shapes to form pictures
Maria Montessori - answer The belief that the
school should be child-focused, developmentally
appropriate for the age group, and that the
children learn best through self-choice and
experiential learning
