Development Through the Lifespan Chapter 9 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; Any rental, lease, or lending of the program.

Body Growth in Middle Childhood Slow, regular pattern Girls shorter and lighter until about age 9 Lower portion of body growing fastest Bones lengthen Muscles very flexible All permanent teeth arrive

Common Health Problems in Middle Childhood Vision - Myopia Hearing - Otitis media (middle ear infection) Malnutrition Obesity Illnesses Injuries

Health Risks for Obese Children More likely to be overweight adults Lifelong Health risks High blood pressure, cholesterol Respiratory problems Diabetes Liver, gall bladder disease Sleep, digestive disorders Cancer Early death

Causes of Obesity in Middle Childhood Overweight parents Low SES Parents’ feeding practices Bad eating habits Low physical activity Television Cultural food environment

TV Viewing and Body Fat Gains Please insert Figure 9.2 - Relationship of television viewing to gains in body fat from ages 4 to 11.

Psychological and Social Consequences of Obesity Feeling unattractive Stereotyping Teasing, social isolation Depression, emotional problems School problems Problem behaviors Reduced life chances

Illness in Middle Childhood High rates first two years of school Chronic conditions Asthma Severe chronic illnesses

Asthma Bronchial tubes very sensitive to stimuli Increasingly common Cold, infection, pollution, stress Wheezing, coughing, breathing problems Increasingly common Heredity, environment increase risk

Fatal Injuries in Middle Childhood and Adolescence Please insert Figure 9.3 - Rate of injury mortality in North America from middle childhood to adolescence.

Motor Development in Early Childhood Gross Motor Skills Improvements Flexibility Balance Agility Force Fine Motor Skills Gains Writing Drawing

Sex Differences in Motor Development Girls better at fine motor skills Boys better at gross motor skills, sports Social environment Parental expectations Self-perceptions Coaching, media messages

Physical Play Development in Middle Childhood Games with rules Sports Invented games Rough-and-tumble play Video games Adult-organized sports Physical education

Piaget’s Theory: Achievements of the Concrete Operational Stage Conservation Decentration, Reversibility Classification Seriation Transitive inference Spatial Reasoning Directions Maps

Piagetian Class Inclusion Problem

Development of Mapping Skills Preschool, early school age Landmarks Ages 8 - 10 Landmarks along organized route of travel End of middle childhood Overall view of large-scale space

Limitations of Concrete Operational Thought Operations work best with concrete information Problems with abstract ideas Continuum of acquisition Master concrete operational tasks gradually, step by step

Follow-up Research on Concrete Operational Thought Culture and schooling affect performance on tasks Going to school gives experience on Piagetian tasks Relevant non-school experiences of some cultures can help too

Information-Processing View of Concrete Operational Thought Neo-Piagetians: Gains in information processing speed, rather than shift to a new stage Automatic schemas free working memory Central conceptual structures

Key Information Processing Improvements Increase in information-processing speed and capacity Gains in inhibition Both may be related to brain development

Attention in Middle Childhood Attention becomes more: Selective Adaptable Planful

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Inattention Impulsivity Excessive motor activity Results in Social problems Academic problems

Development of Memory Strategies Rehearsal (early grade school) Repeating information to oneself Organization (early grade school) Grouping related items together Elaboration (end of middle childhood) Creating a relationship between pieces of information not in same category

Culture, Schooling and Memory Strategies Memory strategies useful for remembering isolated bits of information Western schooling gives little practice in using everyday cues: Spatial location Arrangements of objects

Second-Order False-Belief Task Figure 9.6 - A second-order false-belief task

Promoting Cognitive Self-Regulation Point out important features of tasks Stress importance of planful learning Suggest effective learning strategies Provide for evaluation of effectiveness Emphasize monitoring of progress

Information Processing and Academic Learning Reading Phonological awareness, info-processing speed, practice contribute to reading skills Mix whole-language & phonics Mathematics Learn facts & skills through practice, reasoning, strategies Blend drill and “number sense” approaches

Intelligence Tests Group Tests Individual Tests Allow testing of large groups Require little training to administer Useful for instructional planning Identify students who need individual testing Individual Tests Examiners need training & experience Provide insights about accuracy of score Identify highly intelligent children and children with learning problems

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Successful Intelligence Please insert Figure 9.8 - Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logico-mathematical Musical Spatial Bodily-kinesthetic Naturalist Interpersonal Intrapersonal

Social and Emotional Intelligence Perceiving Understanding Regulating Emotions

Genetics and IQ May account for about half of differences Disagreement about interaction with environment Adoption studies show influence of both Ethnic differences may be more cultural than genetic

Cultural Bias in Testing Two views: Tests not biased; represent success in the common culture Cultural factors can hurt test performance Communication styles Test content Stereotypes

Communication Styles Higher SES, whites Lower SES, minorities Knowledge-training questions Hierarchical task style Lower SES, minorities Real questions No right answer Develop complex verbal skills Collaborative task style

Effects of Stereotype Threat on Performance

Reducing Cultural Bias in Testing Combine tests with assessment of adaptive behavior Dynamic Assessment Reduce high-stakes testing

Language Development in Middle Childhood Vocabulary Increases fourfold during school years 20 new words a day Grammar Mastery of complex constructions Advanced understanding of infinitive phrases Pragmatics Adjust to people and situations Phrase requests to get what they want

Learning Two Languages Bilingual Development Learn both languages at the same time OR learn first language, then second Sensitive period - childhood Bilingual Education Language immersion English-only programs Risk of semilingualism

Characteristics of High-Quality Elementary Education Class size Physical setting Curriculum Daily activities Teacher-student interactions Evaluation of progress Relationships with families

Academic Achievement and Class Size

Educational Philosophies Traditional v. Constructivist New Philosophical Directions Social-constructivist Teachers and children as partners Many types of symbolic communication Meaningful activities Zone of proximal development Reciprocal teaching

Teacher-Student Interaction Good teachers: caring, helpful, stimulating Too many use repetitive drill Better achievement in stimulating classrooms Individual differences Well-behaved, high achievers get more attention More impact of attention on low SES Self-fulfilling prophecy

Grouping Practices in Elementary Schools Homogeneous ability groups Multigrade classrooms Cooperative learning

Children with Learning Difficulties Difficulties include: Mild mental retardation Learning disabilities 5–10% of children Law requires “least restrictive” environment Mainstreaming Full inclusion

Creativity The ability to produce original, appropriate work Figure 9.10 - Responses of an 8-year-old who scored high on a figural measure of divergent thinking.

Convergent and Divergent Thinking Single correct answer Emphasized on intelligence tests Divergent Generating multiple, unusual possibilities

Educating Gifted and Talented Children Gifted - high IQ Talented - outstanding in a specific field Several education methods: Enrichment in regular classroom Pull out for special instruction Move to higher grade Multiple intelligences models

Academic Achievement Around the World Please insert Figure 9.11 0 average mathematics scores of 15-year-olds by country

Asian Schools versus North American Schools Asian schools show more: Cultural valuing of academic achievement Emphasis on effort High-quality education for all Time devoted to instruction