Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-1 Chapter 12: Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood 12.1 Cognitive Processes 12.2 The Nature of Intelligence 12.3 Individual Differences in Intellectual Skills 12.4 Academic Skills 12.5 Effective Schools MODULES

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-2 Module 12.1 Cognitive Processes LEARNING OBJECTIVES Describe the strengths and weaknesses of concrete operational thinking. Discuss how strategies and knowledge help children to remember more effectively as they grow older.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-3 Concrete Operational Thinking From 7 to 11 years of age. Thinking based on mental operations (logical, mathematical, spatial operations). Operations can be reversed. Limit: focus on the real, not the abstract.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-4 Memory Skills Memory strategies are gradually learned during childhood. Successful learning involves identifying goals and choosing strategies. Knowledge helps organize memory, but can distort recall. Scripts aid recall, but can distort memory. Use of Memory Strategies

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-5 Effects of Knowledge on Memory Network of Knowledge Source: Kail, 1990

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-6 Module12.2 The Nature of Intelligence LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand the psychometric view of the nature of intelligence. Describe how Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences differs from the psychometric approach. List the three components of Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-7 Psychometric Theories Use patterns of test performance as starting point. Test scores provide evidence for general intelligence (g) and specific intelligences. Hierarchical theories are a compromise between general and specific theories. Instead of using test scores, draws upon research in child development, brain- injured persons, and exceptional talent. Proposes 7 intelligences: linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily- kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal. Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Contextual subtheory-- intelligence involves skillful adaptation to a specific environment. Experiential subtheory-- on novel tasks, intelligence is shown by readily applying pertinent knowledge; on familiar tasks, by solving them automatically. Componential subtheory--any intelligent act consists of cognitive components. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory Theories of Intelligence

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-8 Module12.3 Individual Differences in Intellectual Skills LEARNING OBJECTIVES State why intelligence tests were initially developed and how well they work. Understand the roles of heredity and environment in influencing intelligence. Discuss how culture and social class influence intelligence test scores.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-9 Binet and the Development of Intelligence Testing Binet used mental age to distinguish “bright” from “dull” children. Led to the Stanford- Binet which gives a single IQ score; average = 100. Distribution of IQ Scores

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-10 Do Tests Work? Are they valid? Yes, as long as validity is defined as success in school. Validity can be increased with dynamic testing.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-11 Hereditary and Environmental Factors Effects of heredity are shown in family studies and effects of environment are shown in intervention studies (e.g., Carolina Abecedarian Project). Heredity also influences the patterns of intellectual development (twins, adoptees). Correlations of IQ for Family Members

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-12 Effects of Intervention on Test Scores

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-13 Impact of Ethnicity and Social Class Middle-class, white children tend to get higher scores. Culture-fair intelligence tests reduce the difference but don’t eliminate it. Racial Differences in IQ Scores

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-14 Culture-fair Test Item

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-15 Gender Differences in Intellectual Abilities and Achievement Verbal ability: girls excel at reading & writing, less likely to have language-related disability. Spatial ability: boys surpass girls. Math: girls often get better grades, but boys get higher scores on math achievement tests.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-16 Module12.4 Academic Skills LEARNING OBJECTIVES Name the components of skilled reading. Describe, how children’s writing improves with development. State when children understand and use quantitative skills.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-17 Reading, Writing and Math Skills READING Prereading skills: knowing letters and letter sounds. Sounding out and whole word recognition used in reading. Changes in working memory, knowledge, monitoring, and reading strategies improve comprehension. WRITING Older writers have more to tell. Older writers know how to organize their writing (knowledge telling vs knowledge transforming strategies). Older writers are better able to deal with the mechanical requirements of writing. Older writers are better able to revise. MATH Children use many different strategies to add and subtract. Compared to students in other countries, North American students rank lower. In other countries, children spend more time in school, have more homework, parents have higher standards & emphasize effort.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-18 Module 12.5 Effective Schools LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify the hallmarks of effective schools and effective teachers. Describe how computers are used in school and their effects on instruction.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-19 School and Teacher-Based Influences on Student Achievement Schools are successful when they emphasize academic excellence. Are safe and nurturing. Involve parents. Monitor progress of students, teachers, and programs. Students learn when teachers manage classrooms effectively. Are responsible for students’ learning. Emphasize mastery of topics. Teach actively and pay attention to pacing. Value tutoring and teach techniques for monitoring own learning.

Copyright © 2009 Pearson Education Canada12-20 Conclusions Concrete operational thinking is based on mental operations that yield consistent results and that can be reversed. As children develop, they begin to use different strategies to improve memory. Binet and Simon created the first intelligence test by using simple tasks to distinguish children who would do well in school from children who wouldn’t. A low score on an intelligence test means that a child, for a variety of reasons, might lack some of the skills needed to succeed in school. Reading skills improve with experience. North American schools could be improved by giving teachers better training and more time to prepare lessons, basing teaching on principles of learning, and setting higher standards. Students succeed when their school emphasizes excellence, is safe and nurturing, monitors progress, and involves parents. Computers are taking a pivotal role in education.