1. Human Growth and Development
Chapter Twelve
The School Years:
Cognitive Development
PowerPoints prepared by Cathie Robertson, Grossmont College
Revised by Jenni Fauchier, Metropolitan Community College

2. Building on Piaget and Vygotsky
Concrete Operational Thought
Piaget’s 3rd stage
children reason logically about the things and events that they perceive
Vygotsky did not believe the child was a socially isolated learner
instruction by others is crucial

3. Logical Principles
Classification
Identity
Reversibility
Reciprocity

4. Classifying Objects, Ideas, and People
Classification—process of organizing things into groups according to some shared property
Children have an understanding categories can be any of the following:
hierarchical
overlapping
separate
Children that can categorize can analyze problems, derive correct solutions, and ask follow-up questions

5. Identity, Reversibility, and Reciprocity
identity—the idea that certain characteristics of an object remain the same even if other characteristics change
reversibility—the idea that sometimes an object that has been changed can be returned to its original state by reversing the process by which it was changed
Reciprocity occurs when 2 things change in opposite ways in order to balance each other out; e.g., conservation experiment with liquid

6. Identity, Reversibility, and Reciprocity
all three concepts are relevant to mathematical processes
these concepts can be (but are not always) applied to everyday social encounters

7. Logic and Culture Piaget’s ideas still remain logical
research shows that sometimes older children may make mistakes when applying new logic
Vygotsky’s premise is that, added to Piaget’s ideas, the social cultural context of learning is important

8. Most research in U.S. and England
but in Brazil, research has shown that street children who do not attend school can still think in complex ways, and that a special relationship exists between thinking and experience

9. Moral Development Focus is on Kohlberg’s theory
built on Piaget’s theory and research, theory describes moral developmental stages

10. Kohlberg’s Stages
Kohlberg studied responses of subjects presented with ethical dilemmas to see
how a person reasons determine stage of moral development

11. Kohlberg’s Stages, cont.
Kohlberg found 3 levels of moral reasoning
I. Preconventional: Middle Childhood
these first 2 stages of moral thinking relate to preoperational thought, in being egocentric
emphasis on getting rewards and avoiding punishment

12. Kohlberg’s Stages, cont.
II. Conventional: End of Middle Childhood, Beginning of Adolescence
these 2 stages relate to concrete operational thought, in referencing observable practices in community
emphasis on social rules

13. Kohlberg’s Stages, cont.
III. Postconventional : Adolescence and Adulthood
these 2 stages similar to formal or postformal thought, which includes ideas and ideals
emphasis on moral principles

14. Kolhberg’s Critics
Kohlberg’s basic scheme has been replicated, but his ideas have been widely criticized
Three Major Criticisms
flawed research methods
hierarchy biased in favor of Western elite
moral development of women ignored

15. Kohlberg’s Critics, cont.
Criticism 1: Methodology: To avoid Kohlberg’s cumbersome methodology, James Rest devised Defining Issues Test (DTI)— a questionnaire that measures moral thinking by asking people to read various dilemmas and then rank 12 statements as possible resolutions for each statement
DIT confirms validity of Kohlberg’s three levels

16. Kohlberg’s Critics, cont.
Criticism 2: Cultural Differences
research suggests that in non-Western cultures, preeminent values are different from western ones, making it harder for non-Westerners to score at Kolberg’s preconventional level
research suggests that Kohlberg’s hierarchy may underestimate reasoning capacity of some school-age children in some cultures

17. Kohlberg’s Critics, cont.
Criticism 3: Gender Issues
Carol Gilligan (1982)
females develop more of a morality of care—a reluctance to judge right and wrong in absolute terms because they are socialized to be nurturant, compassionate, nonjudgmental
males develop more of a morality of justice—a tendency to emphasize justice over compassion, judging right and wrong in absolute terms

18. Information Processing
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories in relation to moral development
both recognize ages 7 to 11 are time for moral growth
children eager to develop moral values in stages (Kohlberg, inspired by Piaget)
or in response to cultural norms (Vygotsky and Gilligan)

19. Information Processing
Information Processing Theory
processes by which the mind
analyses
stores
retrieves
Mind is like a computer
capacity can be upgraded with development

20. Memory
Sensory memory aka sensory register—stores incoming stimulus for split second then sends it on
sensations become perceptions
Working (short-term) memory—where your current, conscious mental activity occurs
Long-term memory—stores information for minutes, hours, days, months, years

21. Speed of Processing
Older children are quicker thinkers than younger children
Thinking speed continues to increase throughout adolescence
Automatization helps free up thoughts for speed of processing

22. Knowledge Base
Knowledge base—broad body of knowledge in a particular subject area that makes it easier to master new learning in that area
Connections between bits of information improve as the knowledge base expands

23. Control Processes
Control processes—regulate the analysis and flow of information within the system
helped by maturation of prefrontal cortex

24. Selective Attention
Selective attention—ability to concentrate on relevant information and disregard distractions
Memory and thought depend on this ability
focusing on what needs to be remembered
Improved control
emotional regulation shows it

25. Metacognition “Thinking about one’s thoughts”
Older children approach cognitive tasks more strategically and analytically

26. The Pragmatics of Language
Pragmatics—using language fluently in many types of situations; from play through school years, distinguished by
logic
memory
ability to make connections between one bit of knowledge and another

27. Teaching and Learning
Worldwide, many ideological debates swirl around the content and practice of elementary education
A review of practices in 5 cultures found
discrepancy between “expressed claim and observed reality”

28. Which Curriculum?
Intended curriculum—content political and educational leaders decide to endorse
Implemented curriculum—what teachers and school administrators actually offer
Attained curriculum—what students actually learn

29. Which Curriculum, cont.
Hidden curriculum—unspoken and often unrecognized lessons children learn in school
organization and schedule arise from hidden curriculum
e.g., classroom size

30. The Reading Wars Phonics Whole language
“Reading Wars”—clashes over these two methods of teaching children to read

31. Phonics Versus Whole Language
Phonics approach—teaching reading by requiring children to learn the sounds of each letter before they begin to decipher simple words

32. Phonics Versus Whole Language, cont.
Whole-language approach—teaching reading by encouraging children to develop all their language skills— talking and listening, reading and writing—all with the goal of communication

33. The Socioeconomic Divide
Language development, reading attainment correlate with socioeconomic status
the lower the family income, the less developed a child’s vocabulary and grammar
Crucial factor seems to be actual exposure to language (children exposed to language at home will have larger vocabularies)
vocabulary size the best predictor of school achievement and overall intelligence

34. The Math Wars
Math and science are key areas in which children should be ready for the challenges of the future
gains in U.S. have faded
Traditionally taught through rote learning
children came to hate math taught this way

35. The Math Wars, cont.
New curriculum developed that teaches
concepts, problem solving, estimating, and probability
this approach may be working
proportion of 4th graders who were “proficient” doubled (26%)

36. Technology is another area of controversy
The Math Wars, cont.
Technology is another area of controversy
Specifically, computers
digital divide—gap between rich and poor in computer access
students in U. S. twice as likely to use computers in math and science than students in other nations but our math and science scores relatively low

37. Bilingual Education Learning a 2nd language
best time to be taught it is in middle childhood

38. Various Approaches
Total immersion—approach that teaches a second language in which instruction occurs entirely in that language and the learner’s language is not used at all

39. Attitudes and Achievement
Success or failure in 2nd language learning seems to lie in the attitude of
teachers
parents
the larger community
Additive bilingualism—both languages valued and used
Semilingual—neither language learned well