NAEYC Publishes Book on Promoting
Cognitive Development in Young Children

Collection of readings highlights importance of helping children
develop thinking skills needed for the 21st century

WASHINGTON—The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is pleased to announce the publication of Growing Minds: Building Strong Cognitive Foundations in Early Childhood, a new collection of readings that outlines important dimensions of children’s cognitive development and describes approaches for promoting it.

Edited by Carol Copple, this practical book includes over a dozen readings by well-known early childhood experts and thought leaders, including Martha B. Bronson, Elena Bodrova, Deborah J. Leong, Marilou Hyson, and Ann S. Epstein. Individual chapters cover children’s cognitive development at different ages and offer classroom strategies for fostering children’s cognitive growth.

“In the past two decades of education reform there has been a strong focus on math and literacy, but little attention has been given to cognition,” said Carol Copple, editor of Growing Minds. “As critical as improving learning in these domains is, we won’t see much progress or produce the thinkers needed in the 21st century if we forget cognitive development. It is the indispensable foundation for all thinking and learning.”

Growing Minds is the latest book by Copple, who has over 40 years of experience in the early childhood education field and is the author of numerous books on topics including language development, reading and writing, and teaching young children in a diverse society. She also edited the best-selling NAEYC book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8.

The book, which is is designed for teachers, teacher educators, and students, includes a variety of examples that describe how teachers can promote children’s symbolic thought, executive function, self-regulation, and higher-order thinking. In addition, it highlights the importance of relationships and social-emotional development to cognition from infancy through the primary years.

“This is a much-needed practitioner’s primer highlighting the importance of child development as a foundation for professional practice. Everyone interested in increasing children’s ability to take initiative in their learning as well as engage in questioning, probing, and problem-solving can benefit by building strong cognitive foundations in early childhood,” said Ed Greene, Senior Advisor at the Piramide Approach to Early Learning at Cito USA.

Growing Minds: Building Strong Cognitive Foundations in Early Childhood ($25.00; 160 pages; ISBN 978-1-928896-79-1) is available for sale from NAEYC’s Online Store. Review copies are available upon request.