Ch.

6
Cognitive & Physical Development in Middle Childhood

Concrete Operational Period (7-11 yrs)

Acquire ability to perform mental

operations

actions that can be performed on

and now

objects or ideas that have a consistent result

Thinking is bound to the concrete, here Cannot deal effectively with abstract or
hypothetical

Formal Operational Period (11 yrs & up)

Children can reason abstractly Adolescents may use deductive reasoning Formal operations children understand
that a hypothetical situation may not correspond to a real-world problem

Information-Processing Strategies for Learning and Remembering

Working memory Most human thinking takes place only a small number of thoughts stored
for a short time

Info may be transferred to long-term

memory

permanent and unlimited in capacity

Memory Strategies

7- to 8-year-olds use rehearsal repeatedly name the thing to be

remembered

Mature strategies = organization and

elaboration

Memory Strategies

Organization Info to be remembered is grouped

together

i.e. battles are remembered in

chronological order

Elaboration Info is embellished to make it more

memorable

Rehearsal- re- hear- ing

Gifted & Creative Children

IQ score of 130 or higher was considered gifted Definitions of Giftedness
Include talents in art, music, writing, and dance

Prerequisites for talent

A love of the subject Receiving inspiring instruction from an early age Parents who support and nurture a childs talent

Creativity vs Intelligence
Creativity often linked to divergent thinking
thinking in novel or unusual directions

Intelligence often associated with convergent thinking

a specific conclusion is drawn from information given

Children with Mental Retardation

Mental retardation
substantially below-average intelligence and adaptive behavior IQ below 70 on standardized tests

Organic mental retardation

25% of mental retardation results from some biological or physical problem

Familial mental retardation

the lower end of the normal range of intelligence

Types of Mental Retardation

4 levels of retardation
1. Profound 2. Severe 10% 3. Moderate 4. Mild or educably mentally retarded 90%

More extreme forms (severe & profound) are usually organic

Children with Learning Disabilities

Must have:
Difficulty in one or more academic subject Normal intelligence disability not caused by some other condition (e.g., poor instruction, sensory deficits)

Roughly 5% of school-aged children Most common = Reading disability

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Characteristics include overactivity, inattention, and impulsivity 3-5% of school-age children are diagnosed with ADHD
Boys outnumber girls by 3:1

No evidence ADHD caused by food allergies, sugar, or poor home life Strong hereditary and biological components

Reading
Components of reading include:
Word recognition
the process of identifying a unique pattern of letters i.e. cat run hit

Comprehension
the process of extracting meaning from a sequence of words i.e. You can hit the ball with the bat.

Reading
Foundations of reading skill:
Knowledge of letter names
Reading with adult, playing with magnetic letters, or trying to print simple words

Phonological awareness
knowing sounds by letter combinations fun, pin, bun, gun which word does not rhyme Reading to children

Reading
Recognizing words
Reading requires the child to recognize the word or be able to sound out the word Children also use context to recognize words

Reading
Factors contributing to improved comprehension:
More skilled at recognizing words = working memory increases General knowledge increases

Writing
Writing ability increases as:
gain greater knowledge about topics Children develop knowledge-telling strategies
Writing down info on the topic as retrieved from memory i.e. day at school

Writing
Knowledge-transforming strategies
Deciding what info to include and how best to organize it

Gain a better command of spelling, punctuation, and handwriting Learn better use of proofreading and revising their work

Writing
My Momy and Dady are goeing to Texas. I am not goeing to crie. I am goeing to stay wis my aunt. We are goeing to hav so much fun. I am goeing to get my new DS gam. The End

Math Skills
By 6 years of age
children solve simple addition by counting, usually on their fingers

By 1st grade
children add and subtract by counting mentally

By age 8 or 9
children know addition tables and can add single digits by memory

Effective Schools, Effective Teachers

Characteristics of successful schools:
Staff and students understand excellence is the primary goal of the school The school is safe and nurturing Parents are involved Progress of students, teachers, and programs is monitored

Teacher Based Influences

Teacher effectiveness associated with personality features (i.e. caring and warmness) Higher achievement is associated with:
Good classroom management Taking responsibility for students learning Emphasizing mastery of topics

Growth
Boys and girls about the same size from 7-11 yrs Girls more likely to enter puberty toward end of the elementary school years At ages 11-12, the average girl is about inch taller than the average boy

Gender differences in Motor Skills

Girls Fine motor skills better i.e. handwriting Flexibility & balance better Boys Do better on strength tasks Spend more time on sports & fitnessrelated activities

Participating in Sports
Sports teach skills such as working as a part of a group Use new cognitive skills for playing strategies Adults sometimes overemphasize competition instead of skill development