Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood

Piaget’s Theory: The Concrete Operational Stage Conservation Decentration Reversibility Classification Seriation Transitive inference Spatial reasoning Directions Maps © Rmarmion | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Piagetian Class Inclusion Problem Figure 9.3 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Piaget’s Theory: Limitations of Concrete Operational Thought Mental operations work best with objects that are concrete. Problems with abstract ideas Continuum of acquisition Master concrete operational tasks gradually Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Follow-Up Research on Concrete Operations Culture and schooling affect performance on tasks. Neo-Piagetians suggest information- processing helps. Automatic cognitive schemes free up working memory. Central conceptual structures help children think more effectively in a range of situations. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Information-Processing Perspective Between ages 6 and 12, increase in information-processing speed and capacity Gains in inhibition Both may be related to brain development. © Editors Inc. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Attention in Middle Childhood Attention becomes more: Selective Adaptable Planful © Murali Nath | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Development of Attentional Strategies Production deficiency Control deficiency Utilization deficiency Effective strategy use © Elena Elisseeva | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Children With ADHD Symptoms Cannot stay task focused for more than a few minutes Often ignore social rules and lash out when frustrated Origins Highly heritable, but also associated with environmental factors Correlated with a stressful home life Treatment Stimulant medication reduces symptoms in 70% of children; however, these drugs have risks. Medication combined with interventions that model and reinforce appropriate behavior work best. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Development of Memory Strategies Rehearsal – Organization – Knowledge base helps organization Elaboration – Meaningful chunks of information Schooling promotes using these memory strategies. But those in non-Western cultures may not benefit from instruction in memory strategies. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Theory of Mind in Middle Childhood View mind as active, constructive Understand more about sources of knowledge Mental inferences False beliefs Consider interactions of variables Schooling promotes developing theory of mind. © Jack Hollingsworth | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Promoting Cognitive Self-Regulation Point out special demands of tasks. Encourage use of strategies. Emphasize value of self- correction. Self-regulatory skills help develop a sense of academic self-efficacy. © Luba V Nel | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Information-Processing and Academic Learning Reading Whole-language approach Phonological awareness A combination of the two approaches, along with excellent teaching practices, shows the best results in literacy progress for 1st graders. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. © Editors Inc.

Defining and Measuring Intelligence IQ becomes more stable around age 6 and can predict school performance. educational attainment. IQ tests provide a general score that represents general intelligence and reasoning ability. But not all types of intelligence are measured on current tests. Test designers use factor analysis. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. IQ Tests Group Tests Allow testing of large groups Require little training to administer Useful for instructional planning Identify students who need further evaluation Individually Administered Tests Examiners need training and experience. Provide insights about accuracy of score Identify highly intelligent and children with learning problems Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Test Items Like Those Commonly Used on Children’s Intelligence Tests Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Figure 12.3

Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Types of Tests Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition Age 2 to adulthood Assesses general knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, working memory, and basic information processing Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV Ages 6 to 16 Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Revised (for younger children) Measures verbal reasoning, perceptual (or visual-spatial) reasoning, working memory, and processing speed Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Recent Efforts to Define Intelligence Processing speed is moderately correlated with IQ scores. Inhibition, selective attention, and sustained attention are other predictors of IQ. © Stuart Monk | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Successful Intelligence Figure 12.4 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logico-mathematical Musical Spatial Bodily-kinesthetic Naturalist Interpersonal Intrapersonal © Irina Igumnova | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Emotional Intelligence Ability to process and adapt to emotional information Modestly associated with IQ Positively associated with self-esteem, empathy, prosocial behavior, and life satisfaction © Elena Elisseeva | Dreamstime.com Lessons that teach emotional understanding are becoming more common in the classroom. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Explaining Differences in IQ Genetics Accounts for about half of differences Environment SES Culture Communication styles Cultural bias in test content Secular trend toward generational rise Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Stereotype Threat on Performance Figure 12.5 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Dynamic Assessment and Test Scores Figure 12.6 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Educational Philosophies Class Size Traditional v. constructivist classrooms New philosophical directions Social-constructivist Reciprocal teaching Communities of learners Teacher–student interaction Self-fulfilling prophesies Grouping practices Homogenous Multigrade classrooms Cooperative learning © Orangeline | Dreamstime.com Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Average Mathematics Scores by 15-Year-Olds Figure 12.9 Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved.