The preschool period has been identified as a critical period for the emergence of metacognitive skills. Vygotskian theory suggests that the use of planning, monitoring, and evaluation strategies which characterizes the independent performance of gifted school-age children may be most evident during the preschool period in social leaming contexts in which metacognitive functions are largely controlled by adults. The results of an observational study of collaboration styles of mothers and gifted preschoolers during problem solving are discussed in relation to Vygotskian concepts of the zone of proximal development, internalization, and the role of instruction in development.
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