CH 12 (Middle Childhood Cognitive Development)

concrete operational thought

operational

True or False. In concrete operational thought, children become more systematic, objective, scientific and educable. Egocentrism diminishes and logical thinking begins.

-the logical principle that things can be organized into groups (or categories/classes) according to some characteristic they have in common -Each class includes some elements and excludes others, each is part of a hierarchy -this occurs at about age 8

What is the following an example of? You can take the class of food and divide it into meat, grain, and fruit. You can divide meat into pork, beef, and poultry. You can divide pork into bacon, etc.

Adults realize that items at the bottom of the classification hierarchy belong to each higher level. (ex: bacon is always pork, meat, and a food). But younger children may know that bacon is pork, but they cannot perform the mental operation of moving up and down the hierarchy.

The following shows that these children don't understand what? A research shows 9 flowers-2 white roses and 7 yellow daisies to a group of children. Then he asks, ''Are there more daisies or flowers?''. Until about 7 yrs, most children say ''more daisies''. Younger children can't offer any justification for the answer, but some 6-7 yrs old say that ''there are more yellow ones than white ones'' or ''b/c daisies are daises, they aren't flowers''.

the ability to figure out the unspoken link between one fact and another -ability to grasp connections that are implied, not stated -this is another logical concept that is understood in concrete operational thought

If children can correctly answer the following question, then this means that they have grasped what? ''John is taller than Jim. Jim is taller than David? Who's taller: John or David?''

Preoperational children cannot do simple transient inference b/c they only know what they have been told directly, not implications. By contrast, school-age children can infer relationships.

Transient inference may be connected /w maturation of the hippocampus, which reaches a critical point at about age 7, making inferences and other kinds of mental logic possible. But neurological/comparative research find that transitive inference is both simpler and more complex than Piaget imagined, with some nonhuman animals succeeding at simpler versions of it.

the knowledge that things can be arranged in a logical sense -this is crucial for using the alphabet or for understanding number sequence

By age 5, most children can count up to 100, but they can't correctly estimate where any particular 2-digit number would be placed on a line that starts at 0 and ends at 100. Generally, this is possible by age 8. The ability to estimate where any particular 2-digit number would be placed on a number line is an example of an understanding of what?

The logical abilities of school-age children may allow them to understand arithmetic. They correlate with math skills in primary schools though many factors contribute to math achievement. Although logic connects to math concepts, researchers have found more continuity than discontinuity in # skills. Thus, Piaget was mistaken: There's no sudden shift between pre-operational and concrete operational logic. In fact some children learn logic via math, not vice versa. The ability to classifies appears long before middle childhood and transitive inference is not unique to humans

Piaget's experiments revealed something important: School-age children can use mental categories and subcategories more flexibly, inductively, and simultaneously than younger children can. They're more advanced thinkers, intellectually capable in ways that younger children are not.

Vygotsky stressed the social context of learning, including the specific lessons of schools and learning from peers/culture. Culture affects not only what children learn but also how they learn. He believed that culture (tools, customs, and mentors) teach. Research inspired by Vygotsky and the sociocultural perspective reveals that cultural differences can be powerful and that specific instruction and practical experience vary from one context to another. Therefore, each child learns different skills, guided by local culture.

True or False. Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky regarded instruction as crucial. He thought that peers are good mentors and teachers provide the bridge between developmental potential and needed skills/knowledge, via guided participation, scaffolding and the zone of proximal development. -ex: Achievement scores of 6-yr old 1st graders far exceed those of kindergartners of the same age who are only one month younger. Obviously, they had learned a great deal from their first grade teachers

True or False. Vygotsky believed education occurs everywhere, not only in school. Children mentor one another as they play together. They learn from TV, dinner with their families., ppl they see on the streets and every other daily experiences. This education accumulates from infancy on.

Like Piaget, Vyotsky felt that educators should consider childrens' thought processes not just outcomes. He recognized that younger children are confused by some concepts that older children understand. Children are curious, creative learners. For that reason, Vygotsky believed that an educational system based on rote memorization rendered the child helpless in an attempt to apply any of this acquired knowledge.

True or False. Vygotsky's emphasis on the sociocultural context contrasts with Piaget's maturational, self-discovery approach.. Piaget described universal change, Vygotsky noted cultural impact

A child who is surrounded by adults reading for pleasure by full bookcases, by daily newspaper and by street signs will read better than a child who has had little exposure to print, event if both are in the same classroom. Of course, classroom experiences matter as well, with some teachers showering children with words, spoken/written, and encouraging writing/talking from every student, whereas other teachers stress safety/silence

One example of knowledge acquired from the social context: Child vendors in Brazil are deprived of formal education so they know little or nothing about history or literature. However, they are skilled at pricing their wares and making change. Some cannot read, but they use color and pictures to identify how many reals each bill is worth. They may re calibrate selling prices daily response to inflation, whose sale costs and customer demand. They understand the give/take of social interaction and learn math from: the social context, daily experience, and other sellers, esp older children.

One example of knowledge acquired from the social context: Children in Varansani have an extraordinary sense of spatial orientation--such as knowing whether they're facing north or south, even when inside a room with no windows. This skill was learned during childhood, as adults and peers in that culture refer to the compass orientation to name the location of objects and so on. This transfer of knowledge from one context to another isn't automatic. The blindfolded children retained their excellent sense of direction but a child from Varsani might become disoriented in the tangle of mega city streets--still knowing where north is, but not knowing how to get downtown.

Culture affects the methods of learning, not just the content. When a bro or sis is learning how to make a toy, so you focus your attention on that or do you look elsewhere? Apparently it depends partly on what your mother has taught you, not directly but in the way she expects you to learn. For instance, children from families where indigenous Indian learning was the norm: children from that culture are expected to learn by watching others and to help each other if need be. Other children from more acculturated US norms were accustomed to direct instruction not observational learning. They expect to work on their own, not collaborative with the peers. In this study, each child was shown how to make a toy while his/her siblings sat nearby. First that younger sibling waited while the older sibling made a toy & then older sibling waited while the younger made the toy. Unexpectedly, a week later, each child was individually given the materials to make the toy his/her sibling had made but wasn't told how to do so unless the child needed help. They found that children from indigenous backgrounds were more attentive in the first session and needed less help a week later.

Much research shows that children's understanding of arithmetic depends on context (culture). If they learn math in school, they are proficient at school math. If they learn math out of school, they are adept at problems encountered in similar situations.

____is an approach that examines each step of the thinking process (cognition), from input to output, using computer as a model. This approach is useful for understanding memory, perception, and expression. It highlights the many components of thinking that advance during middle childhood. Like computers, ppl sense and perceive large amounts of info. They then seek specific units of info, analyze and express their conclusions so another person can understand.

(Note: memory begins with info that reaches the brain from sense organs) =the first component of information processing system in which incoming stimulus is stored for a split second after they are received to allow it to be processed. -AKA sensory register -sensations are retained for a moment and then some become perceptions.

True or False. Sounds are retained slightly longer than sights. The first step of sensory awareness is already quite good in early childhood, improves slightly until about age 10 and remains adequate until late adulthood.

Once sensations become perceptions, the brain selects those perceptions that are meaningful and transfers them to _____for further analysis

Various methods of input, storage, and retrieval effect the increasing cognitive ability of the schoolchild.

Each of the 3 major steps in memory process: ____,____, and _____, are affected by maturation and experience

the component of the information processing system in which current conscious mental activity occur -this was formerly called short term memory -improves steadily and significantly every year from about age 4-15 as the brain matures and experiences accumulate.

Processing, not mere exposure, is essential to getting info into working memory, which is why working memory improves markedly during middle childhood.

Though sensory and long term memory don't change much during the middle years, the speed and efficiency of working memory improves dramatically, making school-age children better thinkers as well as more strategic learners as they mature

Improvements in working memory during the school years includes advances in 2 crucial areas _____ and ______.

As the brain matures, school children use memory strategies that are not accessible to younger children. These strategies don't appear suddenly. Gradual improvements occur from toddlerhood through adolescence, with school age children finally knowing how to increase their working memory.

Finally, information from working memory may be transferred to ____, to store it for hours, minutes, days months or years

=the component of the information processing system in which virtually limitless amounts of info can be stored indefinitely, retrieving parts when needed -capacity is very large by the end of middle childhood -organizes ideas and reactions

True or false. The more people know, the more they learn. True or false. For everyone, retrieval is easier for some memories than for others and long term memory is imperfect: we all forget and distort memories

Crucial to long term memory are: ___&____

a body of knowledge in a particular area that makes it easier to master new info in that area

the mechanisms that pull memory, processing speed, and the knowledge base together are _____.

What are the 3 factors that facilitate an increase in the knowledge base:

mechanisms (including selective attention, metacognition, emotion regulation) that combines memory, processing speed and knowledge to regulate the analysis and flow of info within the information processing system -require the brain to organize, prioritize, and direct mental operations and so for this reason they're also called executive processes

thinking about thinking -the ultimate control process b/c it allows a person to evaluate a cognitive task in order to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor and adjust one's performance on that task

Children become better at controlling and directing their thinking as the prefrontal cortex matures. As control processes and metacognition advance, children are able to direct their mind toward whatever they want to learn. For example, ppl concentrate on only the relevant parts of a task, using their knowledge base to connect new info or apply memory strategies. Or a 4th grade child can listen to the teacher talk about the Nile river, ignoring classmates who are chewing gum or passing notes. Both metacognition and control processes with age and experiences

the practical use of language that includes the ability to adjust language communication according to audience and content -children excel at this during middle childhood

What is the following an example of? When children talk informally with friends but formally with teachers

As children master pragmatics they become more adept. Mastery of pragmatics allow children to change styles of speech or code depending on their audience. Each code includes many aspects of language --tone, pronunciation, gestures, sentence length, idiom, vocab and grammar. Many can converse with friends using informal speech and master a more formal code to use in school. Sometimes the switch is between formal code (used in academic context) and informal code (used with friends); sometimes it's between standard speech and dialect or vernacular (used on the streets).Many children also use code in text messaging, with numbers, abbreviations and emoticons. -Code changes are also obvious when children speak one language at home and another at school

Children continue to learn language rapidly during the school years. They become more flexible, logical and knowledgeable, figuring out the meanings of new words and grasping metaphors, jokes and compound words

by age 6, children know the name of thousands of objects and they use many parts of speech--adj, adv, noun, verb. They soon become more flexible/logical. They can understand prefixes, suffixes, compound words, phrases and figure of speech.

Language learning advances in many practical ways, included expanded vocab as words are logically linked together and as an understanding of metaphors being

In middle childhood, metaphors, jokes and puns are finally comprehended. 6-11 yr olds enjoy puns, unexpected answers to normal questions and metaphors b/c their new cognitive flexibility and social awareness make them funny.

A lack of metaphorical understanding, even in a child has a large vocab, signifies cognitive problems.Many adults don't realize how difficult it is for young children or adults who are learning a new language to grasp figure of speech. Part of the problem is that metaphors are context-specific. For instance, basic phrases having to do with baseball that US children learn, include ''on the ball'', ''to play ball'' and ''to throw a curve'', but children from other culture's don't learn these phrases. So if a teacher wants class to pay attention and says ''keep your eyes on the ball'', some immigrant children might be lost.

Children in the US whose proficiency in English is low-usually below a cut off score on an oral or written test. -this term replaces ESL (english as a 2nd language) b/c many children who primarily speak a non-English language at home are also capable in English; they are not ELLs

Most of the language gap between one child and anotheris the result of the social context, specifically 2 factors:

Children of low SES are usually lower in linguistic skills, primarily b/c they hear less language and b/c adult expectations for their learning are low. This is no inevitable for low SES families however.

There's a strong correlation between academic achievement and SES. Language is a major reason. Not only do children from low SES families usually have smaller vocabularies, but their grammar is simpler and their sentences are shorter. They fall behind their peers in talking/reading and then in other subjects and their brains signal linguistic weakness

Factors that appear to be causal of low achievement during primary school to be a major cause not merely a correlate): limited exposure to words, parents'/teachers' expectations

(Importance of exposure to words) While parents who attended college, many less educated parents don't provide varied/extensive language to their infants/young children. Daily book reading occurs less often for children of mothers with less than a high school education that in the children of mothers with at least a BA.. Book reading isn't the only way to increase language exposure in children. Some families never read books to their children but may engage them in conversations about the interesting sights around them. But in US it often indicates how much verbal input a child is given. Another way to increase language exposure is to sing to a child, not only simple songs, but dozens of songs. Ideally, parents read and sing to a child everyday as week as provide extensive vocab about various activities.

For academic achievement in middle childhood, both past exposure to language and adult expectations are influential.

Low expectations lead to a low achievement in school. Expectations are related to another factor: Whether or not a child is taught advanced words and concepts, especially the vocab words that are the foundation for later learning. Income gap and consequent variation in school resources and student achievement is much greater in some nations than in others. School systems expect too little of children from some communities, so they emphasize discipline, not academic challenge. Lower expectation, lower reading scores

Nations/experts agree that education is critical during middle childhood b/c that's when the human body and brain are ready. Almost all of the world's children now attend primary school or school of some sort. Schools differ in what/how they teach, especially in regard to religion, languages and the arts.

Everywhere in the world, children are taught to read, write, and do arithmetic. There are some age-based goals: B/c of brain maturation and the necessity of learning in sequence, no nation teaches 6 yrs old to multiply 3 digit numbers or read paragraphs fluently aloud, but every nation expects a 10-yr old to do so. Although literacy/numeracy are valued everywhere, many specifics of curriculum vary by nation, community and school subject. For instance PE is mandated in some schools and absent in others. Geography, music and art are essential in some places not in others.

the unofficial, unstated, or implicit rules and priorities that influences the academic curriculum and every other aspect of learning in school -aspects of this vary greatly from nation to nation -refers to the implicit values/assumptions evident in course selection, schedules, tracking, teacher characteristics, discipline, teaching methods, sports competition, student govt, and extracurricular activities.

What is the following of an example of? If teachers different from their students in gender, ethnicity or economic background, the hidden message may be that education is irrelevant for these children's daily life. If some students are gifted in classes, the message is that they're more capable of learning and that less is expected of the other children.

The question of when, how, to whom and whether schools should provide 2nd language instruction are answered in different ways from nation-nation.. Some nations teach 2 or more languages throughout elementary school, while others punish children who utter any word in any language except the majority one.

a strategy in which instructions in all school subjects occur in the second (usually majority) language that a child is learning -this is the traditional approach in the US for children who don't already speak English

a strategy in which school subjects are taught in both the learner's original language and the second (majority language)

There are different teaching approaches to teaching a 2nd language: immersion, bilingual schooling, or children are taught in their first language until the 2nd language can be taught as a ''foreign tongue''

an international assessment of the math and science skills of 4th and 8th graders. Although this is very useful, different countries' scores are not always comparable b/c sample selection, test administration, and content validity are hard to keep uniform

a planned 5-yr cycle of international trend studies in the reading ability of 4th graders

International assessments of educational achievement are useful as comparisons, partly b/c few objective measures of learning are available.

True or False. On both the TIMSS and PIRLS, children in East Asia excel and children in the US are middling. In addition to marked national, ethnic and economic differences, gender differences in achievement scores are reported. The PIRLS find that girls are ahead of boys in verbal skills in every nation. Traditionally, boys are ahead of girls in math/science.

______& _______attempt to raise the standard of education, with mixed success

Classroom performance also shows gender differences in almost every nation. Girls have higher grades overall, including math/science. Then at puberty, girls' grades dip, esp in science

a hypothesis that males/females are similar on most test measures with trivial exceptions -this hypothesis was came up with b/c recent TIMSS finds that gender differences in math have narrowed or disappeared

US law enacted in 2001 that was intended to increase accountability in education by requiring states to qualify for federal educational funding by administering standardized tests to measure school achievement. -a federal law promoting high national standards for public schools -one part of this law has requirement for frequent testing to measure whether standards are being met. Low-scoring schools lose funds and may close. -Unfortunately, this means that children of middling achievement are pushed to make sure they meet the benchmark, but children far above it are ignored b/c they'll do well enough w/o help. Children far below may be ignored as well b/c they will ever attain the benchmark. -most parents agree with this law's goals, but not the strategies -this esp troubles those who value the arts, social studies or PE b/c those subjects are often squeezed out when reading and math achievement is the priority.

an ongoing and nationally representative measure of US children's achievement in reading, math and other subjects overtime; nicknamed ''The nation's report card'' -allows most schools to progress (and thus gets federal fund) -some ppl think this is better than state tests b/c fewer children are labeled proficient on the NAEP -Each state sets its own level of proficiency, which helps states in which children score low on the ____, to obtain more federal money for education

-developed /w the sponsorship of governors of 50 states -developed b/c of disagreements about state tests and standards -an effort to raise national standards and improve accountability -used nationwide -the standards, higher than most state standards, are quite explicitly, with half a dozen or more specific expectations for achievement in each subject for each grade. Teachers are encourage to make sure all the children in each grade achieve the skills and knowledge listed for that grade

teaching reading by first teaching the sounds of each letters and of the various letter combination -proponents of this believe that decoding letters/sounds is essential to reading and that without it, children will flounder, become frustrated and fail. This is particularly likely if families haven't prepared their children for reading.

teaching reading by encouraging early use of all language skills--talking, listening, reading and writing -these proponents are proud to be ''child-centered''. They counter that drilling children with phonics destroy motivation, reduces comprehension, and leads to the 4th grade slump, when a 10-yr old no longer wants to learn.. -these proponents offer children a choice of books and topics, encourage children to read their own stories to each other, and guide learners within their ZPD

What are the 2 different approaches in the reading wars?

Describe the divide in the math wars

a public school (free to students) /w its own set of standards that is funded and licensed by the state or local district in which it is located -exempt from some regulations, esp those stipulated in contracts negotiated by unions and they have some control over admission. For this reason, they often are more racially segregated and have fewer kids with special needs -teachers are typically younger and work longer hours and school size is smaller than typical public school classrooms -children/teacher leave these kinds of schools more often than they leave zoned public schools

Disagreements about education are frequent. Some parents choose charter schools, other prefer private schools and still others opt for homeschooling

a school funded by tuition charges, endowment, and often religious or non-profit sponsors

education in which children are taught at home, usually by their parents. -authorities set standards for what a child must learn but allow families to decide curriculum, schedule, and discipline -the problem with this approach is not academic but social, since children miss out on the social interactions of the classrooms. To compensate, many parents plan social activities with other families that follow the same schooling approach as they do.

public subsidy for tuition payment at a non-public school -they vary a great deal from place to place, not only in amount and availability but in restrictions as to who gets them and what school accepts them -they are controversial b/c it decreases public school funding/enrollment and some families choose church-sponsored schools, which may violate separation of church and state. -proponents say vouchers increase competition and may improve all schools, public/private

Small classes and nightly homework can be more attractive to parents than beneficial to children. Nations who children score high on international tests sometimes have large student/teacher ratios and sometimes small, and 4th graders with no HW sometimes have higher achievement score than those with HW. This suggests that class size/HW aren't the crucial variables in how much a child learns; rather, other interpretations are possible.