Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle and Late Childhood Chapter 10 Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle and Late Childhood

Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Body Growth and Proportion Proportional changes are among the most pronounced. Head and waist circumference and leg length decrease in relation to body height. Muscle mass and tone improve. Strength doubles. Weight gain averages 5-7 pounds a year. Increased weight is primarily due to increases in the size of the skeletal and muscular systems, and the size of some organs. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Motor Development Motor development becomes much smoother and more coordinated. Skipping rope, swimming, bike riding, skating, and climbing are mastered. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Motor Development Increased myelination of the CNS is reflected in the improvement of fine motor skills. Hands are used more adroitly as tools—hammering, pasting, tying shoes, and fastening clothes. By 10-12 years children begin to show manipulative skills similar to the abilities of adults. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Exercise and Sports A 1997 poll indicated that only 22% of children in grades 4-12 were physically active for 30 minutes every day of the week. Only 34% attended daily P.E. classes and 23% had no P.E. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Participation in Sports Participation in sports can have both positive and negative consequences for children. It’s an opportunity for exercise, healthy competition, building self-esteem, peer relations and friendships. It can produce pressure to achieve to win, physical injuries, distractions from school, unrealistic expectations. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Health, Illness, and Disease Accidents and Injuries Obesity Cancer Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Accidents and Injuries The most common cause of severe injury and death is motor vehicle accidents, either as a pedestrian or a passenger. The use of seat-belts is important in reducing the severity of such accidents. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Accidents and Injuries Other serious injuries involve skateboards, roller skates, and other sports equipment. Appropriate safety helmets, protective eye and mouth shields, and protective padding are recommended. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Obesity Just over 20% of children are overweight, and 10% are obese. Girls are more likely than boys to be obese. Obesity is less common in African American than White children during childhood, but this reverses during adolescence. Obesity at age 6 results in approximately a 25% chance for adult obesity. Obesity at age 12 results in approximately a 75% chance for adult obesity. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Consequences of Obesity in Children Obesity is a risk factor for many medical and psychological problems Pulmonary problems, such as sleep apnea Hip problems Tendency toward high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels Low self-esteem and depression Exclusion from peer groups Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Treatment of Obesity Exercise is believed to be an extremely important component of a successful weight-loss program for overweight children. Many experts on childhood obesity recommend a treatment that involves a combination of diet, exercise, and behavior modification. Behavior modification programs typically teach children to monitor their own behavior, keeping a food diary while attempting to lose weight. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Cancer Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children 5-14 years of age. Currently 1 in every 330 children in the U.S. develops cancer before the age of 19. The incidence of cancer in children is increasing. Child cancers are mainly those of the white blood cells, brain, bone, lymph system, muscles, kidneys, and nervous system. All are characterized by an uncontrolled proliferation of abnormal cells. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Children with Disabilities Who Are Children with Disabilities? Learning Disabilities Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Educational Issues Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Who Are Children with Disabilities? Approximately 10% of all children in the U.S. receive special education or related services. Within this group, little more than half have a learning disability. Of children with disabilities: 21% have speech or language impairments. 12% have mental retardation. 9% have serious emotional disturbance. Three times as many boys as girls are classified as having a learning disability. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Learning Disabilities Children with a learning disability: are of normal intelligence or above. have difficulties in at least one academic area and usually several. have a difficulty that is not attributable to any other diagnosed problem or disorder. The most common problem that characterizes children with a learning disability involves reading—severe impairment termed dyslexia. They often have difficulties in handwriting, spelling, or composition. Successful intervention programs exist. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ADHD is a disability in which children consistently show one or more of the following characteristics over a period of time: inattention hyperactivity impulsivity The disorder occurs as much as 4-9 times as much in boys as in girls. Students with ADHD have a failure rate in school that is 2-3 times that of other students. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Causes of ADHD Definitive causes of ADHD have not been found. Possible low levels of certain neurotransmitters have been proposed. Pre- and postnatal abnormalities may be a cause. Environmental toxins such as lead could contribute to ADHD. Heredity is considered a contributor, as 30-50% of children with the disorder have a sibling or parent who has it. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Treatment of ADHD Many experts recommend a combination of academic, behavioral, and medical interventions to help ADHD students better learn and adapt. The intervention requires cooperation and effort on the part of the parents, school personnel, and health-care professionals. Ritalin is a controversial stimulant given to control behavior. In many children, Ritalin actually slows down the nervous system and behavior. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Educational Issues Public Law 94-142 is the Education for All Handicapped Children Act requiring that all students with disabilities be given a free, appropriate public education and be provided the funding to help implement this education. Enacted in 1975, renamed in 1983 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA spells out broad mandates for services to all children with disabilities, including evaluation and eligibility determination, appropriate education, and the individualized education plan (IEP) and the least restrictive environment (LRE). Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 The IEP IDEA requires that students with disabilities have an individualized education plan (IEP), a written statement that spells out a program specifically tailored for the student with a disability. In general, the IEP should be: related to the child’s learning capacity. specially constructed to meet the child’s individual needs and not merely a copy of what is offered to other children. designed to provide educational benefits. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 The LRE Under the IDEA, a child with a disability must be educated in the least restrictive environment, a setting as similar as possible to the one in which children who do not have a disability are educated. Inclusion - educating children with a disability in the regular classroom. Mainstreaming - educating children with a disability partially in a special education classroom and partially in a regular classroom. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Piaget’s Theory The Theory Piaget and Education Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 The Theory Piaget believed that around the age of 7, children enter the concrete operational stage. Concrete operational thinking involves: mental operations replacing physical actions reversible mental actions coordinating several characteristics of objects classifying and interrelating things seriation transitivity Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Piaget and Education Take a constructivist approach. Facilitate rather than direct learning. Consider the child’s knowledge and level of thinking. Use ongoing assessment. Promote the student’s intellectual health. Turn the classroom into a setting of exploration and discovery. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Evaluating Piaget’s Theory Contributions Criticisms Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Contributions of Piaget Piaget’s major contributions to understanding children’s cognitive development include: assimilation accommodation object permanence egocentrism conservation His observation yielded important things to look for in cognitive development, such as shifts in thinking and the significance of experience. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Criticisms of Piaget Estimates of children’s competence Stages The training of children to reason at higher levels Culture and education Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Information Processing Memory Critical Thinking Metacognition Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Memory Though short-term memory shows no considerable increase after age 7, long-term memory increases with age during middle and late childhood. Long-term memory depends on the learning activities individuals engage in when learning and remembering information. Control processes (strategies) are cognitive processes that do not occur automatically but require work and effort to improve memory. Attitude, motivation, health, and knowledge also influence children’s memory. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Critical Thinking Critical thinking involves grasping the deeper meaning of ideas, keeping an open mind about different approaches and perspectives, and deciding for oneself what to believe or do. Deep understanding occurs when children are stimulated to rethink their prior ideas. Some experts believe that schools spend too much time on getting students to give a single correct answer in an imitative way, rather than encouraging them to expand their thinking and become deeply engaged in meaningful thinking. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Metacognition Metacognition is cognition about cognition or knowing about knowing. Metamemory is knowledge about memory, and includes general knowledge about memory and knowledge about one’s own memory. As they move through elementary school, children give more realistic evaluations of their memory skills. Some experts believe the key to education is helping students learn a rich repertoire of strategies that result in solutions of problems. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Intelligence and Creativity What Is Intelligence? IQ The Binet Tests The Wechsler Scales Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind Evaluating the Multiple Intelligence Approaches Controversies and Issues in Intelligence The Extremes of Intelligence Creativity Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 What Is Intelligence? Intelligence is verbal ability, problem-solving skills, and the ability to adapt to and learn from life’s everyday experiences. Intelligence cannot be directly measured. For the most part, intelligence tests have been relied on to provide an estimate of a student’s intelligence. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 IQ William Stern created the concept of intelligence quotient (IQ). IQ is a person’s mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100. IQ = MA/CA x 100. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 The Binet Tests Alfred Binet developed the concept of mental age: an individual’s level of mental development relative to others. Binet’s original 1905 scale has been revised as the Stanford-Binet tests and is administered to individuals aged 2 years through adulthood. It requires both verbal and nonverbal responses. It assesses four content areas: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, abstract/visual reasoning, short-term memory. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 The Wechsler Scales David Wechsler developed tests to assess students’ intelligence: The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised (WPPSI-R) for ages 4-6½ The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) for ages 6-16. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). The Wechsler scales provide an overall IQ and yield verbal and performance IQs. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Robert J. Sternberg developed the triarchic theory of intelligence, which states that intelligence comes in three forms: Analytical - involves the ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and contrast. Creative - consists of the ability to create, design, invent, originate, and imagine. Practical - focuses on the ability to use, apply, implement, and put into practice. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Gardner’s Eight Frames of Mind Verbal skills Mathematical skills Spatial skills Bodily-kinesthetic skills Musical skills Interpersonal skills Intrapersonal skills Naturalist skills Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Evaluating the Multiple Intelligence Approaches These approaches have stimulated teachers to think more broadly about what makes up children’s competencies. They have motivated educators to develop programs that instruct students in multiple domains. They have contributed to the interest in assessing intelligence and learning in innovative ways. Critics say that there has yet to be a research base established to support the theories of multiple intelligences. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Controversies and Issues in Intelligence Ethnicity and Culture The Use and Misuse of Intelligence Tests Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Ethnicity and Culture In the U.S., African American and Latino children score below White children on standardized intelligence tests. The consensus is that these differences are based on environmental differences. Many early tests of intelligence were culturally biased, favoring urban children over rural children, children from middle SES families over children from low-income families, and White children over minority children. Culture-fair tests are tests of intelligence that attempt to be free of cultural bias. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

The Use and Misuse of Intelligence Tests Psychological tests are tools whose effectiveness depends on the knowledge, skill, and integrity of the user. They can be used for positive purposes, or they can be badly abused. Some cautions about IQ: Scores can lead to stereotypes and expectations. A high IQ is not the ultimate human value. A single, overall IQ score is limiting. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

The Extremes of Intelligence Mental Retardation Giftedness Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Mental Retardation Mental retardation is a condition of limited mental ability in which an individual has a low IQ, usually below 70 on a traditional intelligence test, and has difficulty adapting to everyday life. Mental retardation can have an organic cause, or it can be social and cultural in origin. About 89% of mentally retarded people are mildly retarded (IQs of 55-70). About 6% are moderately retarded (IQs of 40-54). About 3.5% are severely retarded (IQs of 25-39). Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Giftedness People who are gifted have above-average intelligence (an IQ of 120 or higher) and/or superior talent for something. Characteristics of gifted children are: Precocity Marching to their own drummer A passion to master Recent studies support the conclusion that gifted people tend to be more mature, have fewer emotional problems, and grow up in a positive family climate. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Creativity Creativity is the ability to think about something in novel and unusual ways and to come up with unique solutions to problems. Convergent thinking produces one correct answer and is characteristic of the kind of thinking required on conventional intelligence tests. Divergent thinking produces many different answers to the same questions and is more characteristic of creativity. Most creative children are quite intelligent, the reverse is not necessarily true. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Strategies for Developing Creativity Brainstorming Provide environments that stimulate creativity Don’t overcontrol Encourage internal motivation Foster flexible and playful thinking Introduce children to creative people Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Language Development Vocabulary and Grammar Reading Bilingualism Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Vocabulary and Grammar During middle and late childhood, a change occurs in the way children think about words. They become less tied to the actions and perceptual dimensions associated with words and more analytical in their approach to words. Children make similar advances in grammar. The elementary school child’s improvement in logical reasoning and analytical skills helps in the understanding of the use of comparatives and subjectives. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Reading Education and language experts continue to debate how children should be taught to read. The whole-language approach stresses that reading instruction should parallel children’s natural language learning, and that reading materials should be whole and meaningful. The basic-skills-and-phonetics approach emphasizes that reading instruction should teach phonetics and its basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds, and early reading instruction should involve simplified materials. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Black Hawk College Chapter 10 Bilingualism As many as 10 million children in the U.S. come from homes in which English is not the primary language. Bilingual education aims to teach academic subjects to immigrant children in their native languages, while slowly and simultaneously adding English instruction. This has been the preferred strategy of schools for the past two decades. Black Hawk College Chapter 10

Findings on Bilingual Education Researchers have found that bilingualism does not interfere with performance in either language. Children who are fluent in two languages perform better on tests of attentional control, concept formation, analytical reasoning, cognitive flexibility, and cognitive complexity. Bilingual children are also more conscious of spoken and written language structure, and are better at noticing errors of grammar and meaning. Bilingual children in a number of countries have been found to perform better on intelligence tests. Black Hawk College Chapter 10