Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 World of Children 1 st ed Chapter 11 Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Cognitive Development: Piaget Concrete Operational Thought (7-11) 1.decentered thought: consider multiple aspects of a problem at one time 2.dynamic transformations: answer lies in the process 3.reversibility: things can be changed back to their original form ex: conservation task

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Concrete Operational Thought (7-11) Children think about the world using  Factual rules of logic  not intuitive thought or personal experience

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Cognitive abilities Children show their logical abilities by solving problems such as… 1. Class inclusion: objects can be classified in different ways and at different levels

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 example Ex: Are there more dolls or toys? Ex: She’s not a doctor she’s my mommy

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Cognitive abilities cont… 2. Seriation: arrange a set of items according to size, weight, or length

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Cognitive abilities cont… 3. Transitive inference: process of mentally drawing inferences by comparing relations among items. Ex: John is taller than Mary, and Mary is taller than Bobby. Who is taller John or Bobby?

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Cognitive abilities cont…  Children can use logical thought processes but must have actual materials, contexts and situations to fully understand.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Memory  Storing information and remembering it later is crucial to cognitive development  No matter on your capacity to process new info or attention span HOW DO CHILDREN PROCESS INFORMATION AND REMEMBER IT????

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon Models of Memory 1. Stores model: information enters the system through the sensory store, moves to short-term store, and then to long-term store. An executive processor controls the stores and the passage of information

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 STORES MEMORY MODEL EXECUTIVE PROCESSOR SENSORY STORE SHORT-TERM STORE 5-9 CHUNKS OF INFO LONG-TERM STORE

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Memory 2. Network model: information is held in concept nodes which are connected by links. Information is activated by external or internal source.  Seeing an object or thinking about the object.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007  Interconnected network of associated information  Heavy links = greater degree of association  Higher level of activation = info. Is easier to remember Ivet has higher level of activation than names of previous students

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 NETWORK MEMORY MODEL

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 with in Network Model  Working Memory (WM): information that is currently active in the system and available for use.  Like short term store basic components visible by 6 years effective use present in school years limited capacity decays over time or may be permanently lost Keep info by rehearsing or relate it to other info The better a child’s short term/working memory works the higher that child will score on cognitive ablilities.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 with in Network Model  Long-term Memory: non- activated information permanent unlimited capacity similar to long-term store

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 with long term memory Problems with… 1. encoding: forming mental representation of info. 2. storage: putting info away 3. accessing: finding right information when needed 4. retrieval: activating it to become apart of working memory or STS

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 example Walking down the street and see someone you know but can’t remember their name.  Encoding: never mentally represented her name. encoding incorrectly “Helen” really “Ellen”  Storage : never stored it  access: encoded it correctly but can’t access it at the moment. “I know her”  Retrieval: tip of the tongue but can’ t remember

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 with in Network Model Older children:  have more information  organized better  information is more interconnected  more connections between stored concepts

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Examples of long-term memory pg

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 with in long-term memory & research  semantic memory : knowledge of words and concepts - lost of research in this area  episodic memory : memory of events in day to day life - earliest memories of a child  scripts : mental representations of the way things occur in specific settings - 1 year olds show evidence of scripts - older children need fewer encounters w/an event to form a script - older children’s scripts become more detailed

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Example of script Going to McDonald’s Going to school Scripts help children predict what will happen next & help them remember events that take place b/c they are organizing their knowledge

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Characteristics of Memory  reconstructive memory : parts of events and knowledge are stored; during recall. We retrieve stored pieces and fill in the rest  autobiographical memory : memories of highly personal significant events, often very vivid and detailed including emotions, sights, sounds

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Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Information Processing Knowledge base : the amount of information you have about a specific topic the more you know, the more you can remember more likely to notice details and relationships better able to group, store and access that information

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Information Processing Strategies : conscious, intentional and controllable plans people use to improve performance rehearsal- repeating information organization-using relationships among items elaboration- create visual or verbal associations

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How to put a puzzle together? Knowledge base & strategy Group A Bobby 4 years old Group B Robby 8 years old

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Language Development Growth in  Semantic knowledge – meaning of words  Phonemic knowledge – meaning of sounds of speech (bat, bit)  Grammar & Syntax – combining words into sentences  Pragmatics – using language to effectively interact w/others.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Language Development  2 year old 200 words  6 year old 10,000 words  10 year old 40,000 words

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Language Development Metalinguistic awareness – explicit knowledge about language and personal use of it.

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007  Experience w/using language + increase in cognitive abilities  Single word has many meanings  Self monitor & self correct receptive and expressive language  Social rules of discourse helps children have more effective & appropriate conversations

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Development of Math Skills  newborns can see differences in numbers of objects (less than 1 week old) * * *** subitizing : ability to perceive how many objects there are in a small set without actually counting

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Development of Math Skills  preschoolers learn counting words, and connect the words to the number of objects  counting by rote: by memory  counting by one to one correspondence: a # corresponds w/the object

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Development of Math Skills Counting strategies : approaches to solving math problems that involve counting quantities strategies become more efficient over time

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Counting strategies

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Counting strategies  strategy choice model : children solve math problems by choosing the fastest strategy that they can do accurately will use back up strategy if first choice doesn’t work consistently use a variety of strategies

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Counting strategies  Discouraging children from using back up strategies (counting on fingers) may actually delay their memorizing basic math facts WHY????

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Counting strategies Multiple strategies:  increase the likely hood that the child can have the answer quickly  helps child succeed in solving problems  helps build strong connections between problems and their correct answers

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Math Word Problems Why so hard for children???

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 too many words too many math operations too many math terms boring context/doesn’t relate to what child likes

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Solution  problem need to be in familiar context  let children learn from “bugs” systematic errors instead of memorizing

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Development of Reading Skills

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Development of Reading Skills Factors that predict success in early reading  familiarity with the alphabet  phonemic awareness the understanding that words are made up of smaller units of sound (phonemes) st-op f-ly fl-ea children must then connect the speech sounds with the printed letters

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Development of Reading Skills 1. Alphabet awareness 2. Phonemic awareness 3. Automatizing –recognizing words in a speedy manner as you read  Playing w/ letters and letter sounds is helpful

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 How can we help children strengthen their pre-reading skills? Point out printed words Read to children over and over Educational programs Practice sound of language through rhyme books

Copyright © Allyn & Bacon 2007 Development of Writing Skills  inventive spelling “tu” for “two” “sumtyms” for “sometimes” Ok in some school Focus on meaning & message instead of mechanics Research states that inventive spelling doesn’t interfere with ability to spell correctly  Mechanics (elementary school) spelling, punctuation, capitalization Knowledge telling- adding ideas to an essay as they come along egocentric perspective  planning and revising (elementary school) evaluating, rewriting