Invitation to the Life Span by Kathleen Stassen Berger Chapter 7- Middle Childhood Body and Mind

A Healthy Time Middle Childhood Time of relative health, steady, but less rapid growth than in early childhood Weight problems Many 7- to 11-year-olds eat too much, exercise too little, and become overweight or obese as a result. Body mass index (BMI)- The ratio of weight to height Overweight- In a child, having a BMI above the 85th percentile. (Adults: BMI of 25 to 29) Obesity- In a child, having a BMI above the 95th percentile. (Adults: BMI of 30 or more)

A Healthy Time Physical Activity Better overall health Less obesity Appreciation of cooperation and fair play Improved problem-solving and social skills Physical activity also may increase injuries and stress, reinforce prejudices, and increase stress by changing hormone levels.

Theories About Cognition Piaget: Children age 7-11 Piaget’s emphasis is on the child’s discovery Concrete operational thought: when they are able to apply logic in situations that deal with visible, tangible things Classification- The logical principle that things can be organized into groups (or categories or classes) according to some characteristic they have in common.

Theories About Cognition Vygotsky and School Age Children Vygotsky regarded instruction as essential Zone of proximal development: Child still needs guidance through almost-understood ideas and abilities Children are "apprentices in learning" as they play with each other, watch television, eat dinner with their families, and engage in other daily interactions. Language is integral as a mediator, a vehicle for understanding and learning.

Theories About Cognition Information-processing theory: theory that compares human thinking processes, of encoding, storing and retrieval of information Sensory memory: Information preserved in original sensory form for a brief time (about a fraction of a second) Working memory or Short Term Memory: Limited duration- holds unrehearsed information 10-30 seconds and limited capacity 7 +/- 2 items Long-term memory: limitless amounts of information can be stored indefinitely

Theories About Cognition Attention Selective attention: The ability to concentrate on some stimuli while ignoring others. Automatization: A process in which repetition of a sequence of thoughts and actions makes the sequence routine, so that it no longer requires conscious thought. Reaction time: The time it takes to respond to a stimulus, either physically (with a reflexive movement such as an eye blink) or cognitively (with a thought).

Theories About Cognition Metacognition: "Thinking about thinking“ Ability to evaluate a cognitive task Then determine how best to accomplish, monitor and adjust performance on that task Metamemory: The ability to understand how memory works in order to use it well. Metamemory is an essential element of metacognition.

Learning in School Learning Language: A good time to learn a second language is in middle childhood. English-language learner (ELL): A child who is learning English as a second language. Bilingual education: teachers teach children in both their native language and English English as a Second Language: must master the basics of English before joining regular classes Immersion: taught exclusively in the language not spoken at home

Learning in School The Reading Wars The Math Wars Phonics approach: first teaching the sounds of each letter and of various letter combinations Whole-language approach: encouraging early use of all language skills-talking and listening, reading and writing. The Math Wars Historically, math was taught by memorization (facts, tables and workbooks) Inspired especially by Piaget and Vygotsky, many educators made math instruction more of a discovery (active and engaging)

Measuring the Mind Achievement test: are designed to measure what has been learned Aptitude test: are designed to measure learning potential IQ test: test designed to measure intellectual aptitude, or ability to learn in school. Most common aptitude test Originally defined as mental age divided by chronological age, times 100--hence the term intelligence quotient, or IQ

Measuring the Mind Measuring Aptitude Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC): An IQ test designed for school-age children to assess many areas (vocabulary, general knowledge, memory, and spatial comprehension) Flynn effect - The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act: Law enacted in 2001 to increase accountability by requiring states to qualify for federal educational funding by administering standardized tests to measure school achievement National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): An ongoing and nationally representative measure of U.S. children’s achievement in various subjects; nicknamed "the nation’s report card.“

Measuring the Mind Mental retardation: Literally, slow, or late, thinking Score below 70 on an IQ test Behind their peers in the ability to meet the basic requirements of daily life Children with special needs: Children who, because of a physical or mental disability, require extra help in order to learn. Learning disability: marked delay in a particular area of learning, not caused by an apparent physical or mental disability Dyslexia: Unusual difficulty with reading; thought to be the result of some neurological underdevelopment.

Measuring the Mind

Measuring the Mind Developmental Psychopathology: Abnormality is normal. Disability changes year by year Adulthood may be better or worse than childhood. Diagnosis depends on the social context. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR): recognizes that each child’s cultural frame of reference needs to be understood before any disorder can be diagnosed.

Measuring the Mind Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): great difficulty concentrating or staying still for more than a few moments. (inattentive, impulsive, and overactive) Comorbidity: presence of two or more unrelated disease conditions at the same time in the same person. Autistic spectrum disorder: Any of several disorders characterized by impaired communication, inadequate social skills, and unusual patterns of play. Autism: developmental disorder marked by an inability to relate to other people normally, extreme self-absorption, and an inability to acquire normal speech. Asperger syndrome (also called “high-functioning” Autism): person has impaired social interaction, extreme attention to details, but high levels of intelligence in some areas.