AN INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATING CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF/HARD OF HEARING Chapter 3 Cognitive Development Uma G. Soman t is well established Cognition that childhood Ihearing loss limits children’s The study of cognition ability to hear the is the study of how language in their human beings receive, auditory environment process, integrate, and has a negative and respond to impact on language information. Attention, acquisition. Without memory, executive timely and appropriate function, convergent intervention, children thinking, and divergent who are deaf or hard Photo courtesy of NCHAM thinking are some of of hearing (D/HH) the cognitive processes might have limited language proficiency that also that have been studied in children with and without impacts their ability to learn in school and engage disabilities. These cognitive processes are important in successful social interactions. Often, the focus of for learning in and out of the classroom. In fact, the intervention is ensuring adequate access to the speech common core standards were designed to help students spectrum and promoting language development with develop “critical-thinking, problem-solving, and the belief that once children have age-appropriate analytical skills” necessary for higher education and language skills, performance in all other domains will employment (http://www.corestandards.org/). So in be age appropriate. However, research conducted in addition to teaching infants, toddlers, and children to the last two decades indicates that children who are listen and speak, teachers of the deaf are also responsible D/HH who experience early auditory deprivation for teaching them to observe, describe, compare, and have delayed language development continue classify, sequence, analyze, evaluate, interpret, predict, to demonstrate delays and difficulties in certain summarize, hypothesize, imagine, and create. areas of cognition. This chapter will provide an overview of the difficulties that have been observed Cognitive development has been studied in the context in cognitive development, factors that contribute to of several theories of cognitive development. Piaget’s these difficulties, and how teachers of the deaf might development stage theory posited that a combination of address these challenges in their classrooms. maturation and nonlinguistic experiences during early eBook Chapter 3 • Cognitive Development • 3-1 AN INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATING CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF/HARD OF HEARING childhood shape an individual’s cognitive development. the ability to receive and manipulate or “act on” the He proposed that children are organizing the world information that is provided. It has been observed around them through mental operations that become that certain executive function and memory skills are more complex and adult-like by adolescence. Children “domain general” (i.e., apply to skills not just from the progress from the sensorimotor stage of physical cognition domain but also from the motor domain and exploration to the preoperational stage of creating language domain, such as sequencing words, symbols, mental representations and engaging in role playing to and actions; Pisoni, Conway, Kronenberger, Henning, the concrete and formal operational stages involving & Anaya, 2010). Additionally, certain cognitive skills information organization, perspective taking, and are also considered to be “language mediated” (i.e., reasoning. individuals use language to implement the cognitive skills). One common example is a preschooler’s self-talk Vygotsky proposed that children develop their thinking during problem solving. skills through social interactions with a tutor or guide who can model behaviors or In addition to core cognitive constructs strategies of organizing knowledge of executive function and memory, and information. He also proposed As readers of convergent and divergent thinking that children learn best when they this chapter are critical for thinking and learning are taught within their “zone of successfully. Convergent thinking is the proximal development” with a focus explore theories exercise of processing multiple pieces on emerging skills rather than skills of cognitive of information to arrive at a single that are too advanced. His theory piece of information (i.e., answering the also emphasized language as a tool of development, question, “How are the sun, an orange, sharing and organizing knowledge and they should and a ball alike?” with the response, thoughts. A deeper understanding of “They are round”). Divergent thinking each of these theories and how they examine how is the exercise of processing one prompt influence cognitive development in congenital or piece of information to arrive children is important but beyond the at multiple exemplars or responses scope of this chapter. As readers of this hearing loss (i.e., answering the question, “Name chapter explore theories of cognitive might impact three things that are yellow,” with the development, they should examine how response, “Sunflower, egg yolk, banana”). congenital hearing loss might impact cognitive cognitive development. For example, development. Another aspect of cognition that is how might hearing loss impact the relevant for teachers is social cognition sensorimotor stage of development, or (i.e., applying cognitive skills to how might hearing loss impact the use of language as a understand and participate in social situations). Theory tool for thinking? These reflections will be helpful when of mind (i.e., an understanding of other’s emotions, determining how you could teach a particular topic, beliefs, and perspective) is an important aspect of social behavior, or skill to your students. cognition (de Villiers & de Villiers, 2012; Garfield, Peterson, & Perry, 2001). In this chapter, we will examine a few cognitive processes that have a significant impact on cognitive Cognitive psychologists have proposed theories to and language development of children who are deaf or understand and explain cognitive development. Two hard of hearing. Executive function is a broad construct that are often implemented in educational settings are that is important for conscious control of thought Piaget’s development stage theory and Vygotsky’s theory and action (Zelazo & Müller, 2010) and is reflected of cognitive development. in an individual’s ability to attend to tasks, inhibit responses, create and follow rules, and solve problems. Cognitive Development It is also associated with proficiency in reading, math (Blair & Razza, 2007), and social skills (Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006). The construct of working memory— In the first few years of life, typically developing often included as a part of executive function—is children progress from basic cognitive skills, such eBook Chapter 3 • Cognitive Development • 3-2 PREPARING TO TEACH • COMMITTING TO LEARN: AN INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATING CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF/HARD OF HEARING as understanding cause and effect (e.g., the baby In the context of children who are D/HH, several factors discovers that the toy lights up when Daddy pushes might influence development of cognitive skills: the button and reaches to push the button herself) and object permanence (e.g., the baby starts to learn Child Factors that his favorite toy is still there even if he doesn’t see it), to more complex skills, such as classification Characteristics related to the child’s hearing (e.g., separating indoor toys and outdoor toys), simple loss, presence of other disabilities, overall problem solving (e.g., fixing a ripped book with tape), development, and intervention. and recalling sequences (e.g., remembering a set of instructions for an art project; see developmental Caregiver Factors milestones checklists available from CDC https:// www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/). These Characteristics of parental engagement as well as skills develop naturally when children engage in age- quality and quantity of input provided by parents, appropriate play activities. Often very little direct caregivers, and interventionists. instruction in these skills is required for typically- developing children. Environmental Factors It is important to note that cognitive skills are Includes situations, stresses, and supports present developing in the context of other skills and abilities. in the child’s environment. For example, a baby reaching out to push the button on a light-up toy is a combination of skills in the cognition domain (understanding cause and effect) and motor Research on the precise impact of these factors domain (reaching and pointing). If motor development individually and in combination is ongoing. However, is delayed or if severe visual impairment does not allow examining the contribution of each of these factors the baby to see the toy lighting up, development of to overall development—and cognitive development the cognitive skill of understanding cause and effect in particular—is important for teachers of the deaf in this context might be limited or delayed. Similarly, working with young children. following instructions for an art activity might be limited by difficulties in the language domain that affect Hearing loss limits a child’s access to her auditory understanding of vocabulary and concepts necessary to environment, which negatively impacts the process complete the activity. of language acquisition. The extent to which hearing loss affects development might be dependent on how Additionally, the experiences of the child and the quickly and how well the hearing loss is managed.