Two-year-old Jack is attempting to ride a small car down a slotted ramp. To begin his ride, he has to “park” the car at the top of the ramp where a well holds the back wheels secure. Jack knows how to ride the car down the ramp and how to push it back to the top, but today a large green object in the well obstructs the seating of the wheels. Notice that Jackreceives sympathy from a friend who falls to the ground on purpose when Jack’s frustration causes him to accidentally trip. Jack clearly demonstrates how persistent children can be when engaged in solving a problem with a little help from their friends. Observe that once Jack identifies the obstacle, he generalizes what he has learned by scanning the ramp for additional obstacles.

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