Cognitive Mechanisms Associated with Children’s Selective Teaching

Whereas a large body of research has focused on the development of children as learners, relatively little research has focused on the development of children as teachers. Moreover, even less research has focused on the potential cognitive mechanisms associated with high-quality teaching. Here, we review evidence that children’s selective teaching is associated with at least three cognitive skills: the ability to represent mental states, the ability to infer mental states in real-time (i.e., what a pupil knows based on his or her behavior), as well as executive function skills. We note potential cultural differences in children’s teaching and highlight the need for future research.