Hands On, Minds On

A growing body of research indicates that three foundational cognitive skills—executive function, motor skills, and spatial skills—form the basis for children to make a strong academic, behavioral, and social transition to formal school. Given inequitable early learning environments or “opportunity gaps” in the United States, these skills are also a source of substantial achievement and behavioral gaps.

Hands On, Minds On describes the importance of children’s foundational cognitive skills for academic achievement in literacy and mathematics, as well as their connections with other areas of school readiness, including physical health, social and emotional development, and approaches to learning. The author emphasizes how social relationships and interactions, both in and outside the classroom, encourage or constrain young children’s development in these skills. The book concludes with a summary of the growing evidence in favor of guided object play, which teachers can introduce to children to exercise and strengthen foundational cognitive skills.

Book Features:

• Applies prominent theories from cognitive psychology to explain how children learn in the early childhood classroom.
• Includes text comprehension review questions, short exercises, and realistic examples of preschool classroom scenarios.
• Examines different types of play and their association with learning gains, especially for children of lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Proposes shifts in early childhood practice toward guided object play to give all students an opportunity for early success in school.

Claire E. Cameron is associate professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction at the University at Buffalo. She directs the Early Childhood and Childhood programs for teachers seeking certification to teach in New York State, and for researchers seeking a doctorate with a preschool or elementary focus. She is an expert in the development and assessment of foundational cognitive skills in early childhood and author of the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders (HTKS) behavioral assessment and the Motor Skills Rating Scale (MSRS) teacher-report questionnaire. Cameron earned her PhD in 2007 from the University of Michigan’s Combined Program in Education and Psychology in Ann Arbor. She was an Institute for Education Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow from 2007 to 2009 at the University of Virginia’s Center for Advanced Study of Teaching & Learning (CASTL), where she stayed on as research scientist until moving to Buffalo in 2015. She is a passionate proponent of translating research for public audiences and serves on the advisory board for the University of Connecticut’s PK–3 Leadership Program. Learn more about Cameron’s work at claireelizabethcameron.com.

"...by presenting the most up-to-date research, well-designed vignettes, and exercises throughout Hands On, Minds On, Cameron provides an excellent starting point for teachers and teacher educators who are eager to learn more about supporting EF development in children through hands-on activities."

— Teachers College Record

“As an educator who very much appreciates the contributions of brain research to the conversation about what should happen for young children in school settings, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read this book. Teachers, both novice and veteran, are eager to learn how to apply brain research to their practice, and Dr. Cameron has offered some very real knowledge and support to this effort.”
—From the foreword by Sharon Ritchie, senior scientist, FPG Child Development Institute

"Researchers from Froebel to Montessori to Piaget have emphasized the connection between mind and movement, yet hard evidence explicating this connection has been lacking. Research has accelerated in the last decade, and Hands On, Minds On deftly summarizes and integrates these exciting advances. This is a must-read for educators and policymakers."
—Daniel T. Willingham, professor of psychology, University of Virginia

"Hands On, Minds On offers educators and parents an entry point into what developmental research is telling us about early childhood and how best to support our youngest learners. The book draws attention to spatial skills, executive function, and fine motor skills, thus going beyond the usual focus on words and numbers."
—Nora S. Newcombe, Temple University

Tentative Table of Contents

Foreword by Sharon Ritchie

Preface

PART I: THINKING ABOUT SCHOOL READINESS

Chapter 1. Foundational Cognitive Skills and School Readiness
   Three Views on School Readiness
   Three Foundational Cognitive Skills and School Readiness
   Summary

Chapter 2. The Importance of Context in Explaining Young Children's Behavior
   How Poverty and Stress in the Environment Affect Children's Development
   Bias in Teacher-Children Relationships
   Learning to See How Classroom Contexts Affect Young Children
   Are There Unspoken Expectations in Your Classroom? 
   Summary 

PART II: UNDERSTANDING FOUNDATIONAL COGNITIVE SKILLS

Chapter 3. How Executive Function Helps Children Learn
   Three Components of Executive Function
   Temperament, Effortful Control, and Executive Attention
   The Same or Different? Executive Function and Self-Regulation
   Assessing Executive Function in Early Childhood
   Review of Research to Improve Executive Function 
   Summary

Chapter 4. Motor Skills in Early Childhood
   Definition of Motor Skills
   Gross Motor Skills
   Fine Motor Skills
   Development of Motor Skills in Infancy and Childhood
   Common Assessments of Motor Skills
   Review of Research to Improve Motor Skills
   Summary

Chapter 5. Spatial Skills: Important But Off the Radar
   Spatial Skills: Thinking About Objects
   Cognitive Processes Involved in Spatial Skills
   Development of Spatial Skills in Infancy and Childhood
   Assessing Spatial Skills in Early Childhood
   Review of Research to Improve Spatial Skills
   Summary

PART III: LINKING THE LEARNING DOMAINS AND THE FOUNDATIONAL COGNITIVE SKILLS

Chapter 6. How Physical Development, Social-Emotional Development, and Approaches to Learning Connect with Foundational Cognitive Skills
   How Fitness and Nutrition Matter for EF
   Social-Emotional Development: The Role of Motor Skills in Children’s Self-Confidence
   Approaches to Learning: Connections to EF and Spatial Skills
   Summary: What About Alicia?

Chapter 7. Literacy and the Theory of Automaticity
   How Executive Function Supports Literacy Acquisition
   Motor and Spatial Skills Used in Literacy 
   How the Theory of Automaticity Connects Foundational Cognitive Skills with Reading and Writing
   Summary

Chapter 8. Mathematics Skills Develop Together with Foundational Cognitive Skills
   Executive Function and Mathematics
   Motor Coordination and Mathematics
   Spatial Skills and Different Mathematics Skills
   Interventions that Showcase the Connection Between Spatial and Mathematics Skills
   Aligning Activities with Learning Goals
   Summary

PART IV: GETTING THE MOST OUT OF PLAY

Chapter 9. Taking a Closer Look at Play 
   Understanding Play Results from a Study in 701 Preschool Classrooms
   Finding a Middle Ground in Guided Object Play
   Minds in Motion: A Guided Object Play Curriculum That Improves Low-Income Children's EF and Spatial Skills
   Summary

Chapter 10. Using Guided Object Play to Explicitly Teach the Foundational Cognitive Skills 
   Guided Object Play Can Address Learning Opportunity Gaps
   Teachers Enact the Curriculum Through Their Interactions with Children
   Making Time for Guided Object Play
   Successful Curricula Explicitly Teach Foundational Cognitive Skills Through Guided Object Play
   Summary and Overall Conclusion

References

Index