Module 4.2 for blackboard.ppt

Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood Module 4.2 Concrete Operational Stage Piaget?s stage of cognitive development from 7-12 Active use of logic to solve problems Can now do conservation tasks Decentering: consider multiple aspects of situations Concrete Operational Stage Reversibility: understanding that transformations to a stimulus can be reversed Understand the relationship between distance and speed Remember that these skills do not all fully develop right at 7, slowly become better over the age range from 7 to 12 Children cannot yet understand abstract or hypothetical questions, still only relate to physical reality Information Processing Can process more information in more complex ways Memory Short-term (working) memory improves Begin using strategies for remembering Metamemory: grasp of the processes that underlie memory Better at cognitive inhibition Vocabulary and understanding of grammar increase Most sounds can be well produced although j, v, th not until later middle childhood Still have difficulty understanding meaning by intonation Better development of pragmatics Language Development Language Development Metalinquistic Awareness: ability to comprehend when information is not clear As language skills increase, use of self-talk helps regulate behavior better Language - Bilingualism 1 in 5 people in the US speak more than one language If English is not proficient children must learn the lessons taught in school and also the language its taught in to progress People who are bilingual show greater cognitive flexibility Schooling Elementary school education is a right and legal requirement in the US but 160 million children in other countries do not receive it In many other countries men have more access to education than women Schooling ? Reading Skills Involves basic skills like letter identification up to higher skills like connecting words to meaning 5 Broad Stages of Reading Skills Stage 0: up to 1st grade learning letter identification, a few basic words, and own name Stage 1: 1st and 2nd grades, focuses on phonological skills Stage 2: 2nd and 3rd grades, fluency Stage 3: 4th ? 8th grades, read to learn, have basic comprehension Stage 4: development of good comprehension skills Schooling ? Reading Approaches Whole Language Approach Sees reading as a natural process you acquire like you do oral language Reading is learned through reading sentences, books, poems, etc. Children use context to guess words they don?t know Learn through trial and error Phonics Approach(coding-based) Emphasize components of reading like letter sounds and how they combine to make words Teach components of reading from basic sounds, to letter combination sounds, to words, to sentences Schooling ? Reading Skills 5 Necessary Components to Teaching Reading Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension Schooling ? Learning Disability 1 in 10 children Interference in a students ability to listen, speak, read, write, reason, or do math Traditionally determined by differences between a child?s intelligence and their achievement More recently determined by how a student progresses from instruction Schooling - Multiculturalism Assimilation model Integrate all individual cultures into a unique American culture Pluralistic Society model Accept that the US is diverse and preserve cultural differences Assimilation model can decrease self-esteem, reduces learning about own and other cultures in school Pluralistic society model leads to better understanding of the world and sensitivity to values of others Schooling - Multiculturalism Many schools now support bicultural identity development Children maintain own culture but also integrate into the dominant culture Bicultural approaches are favored by most experts but not all of the general public Intelligence The capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenge. Different approaches exist for understanding and measuring intelligence Intelligence The first reliable IQ test was developed by Binet to discriminate ?bright? from ?dull? students in French schools Was not based on a theory of intelligence just used trial and error to see what types of questions could differentiate these two types of students Developed to predict school success Presented results as mental age Intelligence Quotient Accounts for mental and chronological age to get a score that can be compared across people Intelligence Popular modern IQ tests Standford-Binet Intelligence Scales Wechsler Intelligence Scale Kaufman Assessment Battery IQ tests predict school performance, but not income and life success Most intelligence tests view IQ as one dimensional with different components Intelligence ? Other approaches Some suggest 2 main types of intelligence Fluid: information processing skills, reasoning, memory Crystalized: cumulative knowledge and skills people learn Gardner?s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Suggests people have 8 separate intelligences that work together Sternberg?s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence How we process information is the best representation of our intelligence Intelligence ? Racial Differences The Bell Curve Book that suggests lower scores on IQ tests for African Americans is due to hereditarily lower IQ?s (1994) which then lead to greater likelihood for poverty Many argued against and stated that environmental factors cause the IQ differences (i.e. some groups are more likely to live in lower SES areas with poorer schools) Intellectual Disability and Giftedness Prior to 1975 children determined to have low IQ?s were immediately placed in special classrooms for children with any kind of impairment Public Law 94-142 The Education for all Handicapped Children Act Said that children with special needs should be educated in the least restrictive environment Intellectual Disability and Giftedness Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability/Cognitive Impairment Significant limitations in cognitive functioning and adaptive behavior 1-3% of school age kids Mild retardation: 55-70, can often hold jobs and function independently in later life Moderate retardation: 40-55, usually need special classrooms to make academic progress, can learn skills to hold basic jobs, often need some supervision to live safely Severe retardation (25-30) and profound retardation (below 25) often severely limited functioning, often little speech and motor control, sometimes can learn basic self-care skills, need high supervision throughout life Intellectual Disability and Giftedness Giftedness Children who evidence high performance in areas such as intellectual, creative, artistic, leadership, or specific academic skills Sometimes have social and emotional difficulties but more often report higher life satisfaction, better psychological adjustment, make more money, make more contributions to their field Intellectual Disability and Giftedness Giftedness ? 2 approaches to teaching gifted students Acceleration: move ahead in lessons and grades at their own pace Enrichment: stay with same age peers but engage in special programs that allow more depth of study instead of faster pace