Cognitive and Language Development © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update C H A P T E R 2 Cognitive and Language Development

An Overview of Child Development © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update An Overview of Child Development Development: The pattern of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes that begins at conception and continues through the life span.

Developmental Processes © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Developmental Processes Biological processes and genetic inheritance Development of the brain Gains in height and weight Changes in motor skills Puberty’s hormonal changes Cognitive processes Changes in the child’s thinking Intelligence Language acquisition

Developmental Processes © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Developmental Processes Socioemotional processes Changes in the child’s relationships with other people Changes in personality

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Brain Growth Synaptic connections that are used strengthen and survive. The growth and pruning of connections between neurons in the visual, auditory, and prefrontal cortex is critical to the functioning of learning, memory, and reasoning.

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Neural Communication

The four lobes of the human cerebral cortex © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update The four lobes of the human cerebral cortex

in the right hemisphere. © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Brain Lateralization …the specialization of functions in one hemisphere of the brain or the other. Verbal Processing In most individuals, speech and grammar are localized in the left hemisphere. “Analytical side” Nonverbal Processing Spatial perception, visual recognition, & emotion are localized in the right hemisphere.

Piaget’s Theory A framework to organize and interpret information. © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Theory Schema Assimilation Accommodation Organization Equilibration A framework to organize and interpret information. The ability to incorporate new knowledge into existing knowledge. The ability to adjust schemas to the environment. Grouping isolated behaviors into a higher order. A shift, a resolution of conflict to reach a balance.

Basic Concepts in Piaget’s Theory © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Basic Concepts in Piaget’s Theory Children actively construct their own cognitive world through: Organization Adaptation Assimilation Accommodation

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Organization The mind’s grouping of isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order system. It occurs both within and across stages of development.

Examples of Organization © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Examples of Organization Two systems that humans use: Mathematical notation systems Language systems We organize ideas. For example, sorority and fraternity belong to the category social groups. Schemas for e-mail and web-browsing get organized into higher order systems (e.g. computer skills).

Two Processes in Adaptation © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Two Processes in Adaptation Assimilation Incorporation of new information into existing knowledge. Accommodation Adjustment to new information involves changing old schemas. When you came to college you had to accommodate your schemas for learning.

Piaget’s Four Stages Cognition unfolds in a sequence of four stages. © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Four Stages Cognition unfolds in a sequence of four stages. Each is age-related and distinctive. Each stage is discontinuous from and more advanced than the previous.

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Four Stages

Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage Coordination of sensory experiences with motor actions Object permanence involves the realization that objects continue to exist over time

Rules for Toddlers If I like it, it’s mine. © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Rules for Toddlers If I like it, it’s mine. If it’s in my hand, it’s mine. If I can take it from you, it’s mine. If I had it a little while ago, it’s mine. If it’s mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.

Pre-operational stage (2-7 years) © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Pre-operational stage (2-7 years) Two substages of the pre-operational period are: Symbolic function: 2-4 Years Intuitive thought: 4-7 Years

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Symbolic Function Substage © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Symbolic Function Substage Symbolic Thought: ability to represent mentally an object that is not present (drawing, pretend play, language). Limitations: Egocentrism: The inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s perspective. Animism: The belief that inanimate objects have “lifelike” qualities and are capable of action.

Can this boy report what the clown doll sees? © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Can this boy report what the clown doll sees?

The Three Mountain Tasks © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update The Three Mountain Tasks

Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Intuitive Thought Substage © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Intuitive Thought Substage Intuitive Thought rather than logical thinking (ask lots of questions). Centration: Focuses on one characteristic to the exclusion of others. Lack of Conservation ability —doesn’t understand that quantities remain the same, even when the matter has undergone a transformation. Lack of Classification: inability to classify objects according to only one characteristic

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update What is conservation? Conservation means understanding that a quantity is the same even when it undergoes qualitative changes. If you pour limeade from a beaker into a disk, the amount of liquid is the same. Does one look like it has more?

Conservation of Liquid © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Liquid

Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years) © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years) Logical reasoning replaces intuitive reasoning, but only in concrete situations. Conservation: The idea that some characteristics of an object stays the same even though the object might change in appearance. Classification: Coordinate several characteristics rather than focus on a single property of an object. Seriation: Order stimuli along some quantitative dimension. Transitivity: Combine relations to understand certain conclusions. “ If J is taller than M, and M is taller than S, who is taller – J or S?”

Hierarchical Classification © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Hierarchical Classification When shown a family tree of four generations, the concrete operational child can classify the members vertically, horizontally, and obliquely (up, down, and across).

Conservation of Length © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Length Is one of these lines longer or are they they same? What would the pre-operational child say?

Conservation of Length © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Length The preoperational child would say the one on the top is longer. Pre-operational children base their concepts on perception, not logic.

Conservation of Length © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Length Are all of these lines the same length? Is one longer? What would the pre-operational child say?

Conservation of Length © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Length Preoperational children are tricked by perception. The think the one “out front” is longer.

Conservation of Area Which side has more green? © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Area Which side has more green?

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Both have the same area of green. Preoperational children rely on perception and think the one on the right has more.

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Concrete operational children can conserve. They understand that the amount of area is the same in spite of qualitative change (i.e., rearranging).

Conservation of Number © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Number Do these two rows have the same number of balls? Do these two rows have the same number of balls? Which has more?

Conservation of Number © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Conservation of Number Pre-operational children think the row on the bottom has more. Later they develop one-to-one correspondence. They understand there is one for this one, one for that one, and one for that one, etc.

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Figure 7.4 Some common tests of the child’s ability to conserve. Figure 7.4

© 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Short Answer When a child can focus on both width and length of two triangles in order to compare their areas, Piaget would say that the child is capable of _________________.

Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage Abstract reasoning: think in abstract, idealistic, and logical ways Hypothetical-deductive reasoning: The ability to develop hypotheses about ways to solve problems and systematically reach a conclusion Adolescent egocentrism: Heightened self-consciousness and a sense of personal uniqueness

Features of Formal Operations © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Features of Formal Operations Adolescent egocentrism: Imaginary audience: desire to be on-stage, noticed, and visible Personal fable: sense of personal uniqueness and indestructibility “No one has ever felt like this before!” “I drive better when I’m drunk!”

Piaget’s Theory Teaching Strategies © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Theory Teaching Strategies Preoperational Thinkers Manipulate groups of objects Reduce egocentrism Draw conclusions and explain why Concrete Operations Encourage children to discover concepts and principles Assign operational tasks Propose problems and encourage hypothesis formation Suggest alternative approaches to problems Develop projects and investigations Formal Operations

Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice Jennifer, James, and several of their classmates are playing hide-and-go-seek during indoor recess one rainy day. Jennifer carefully conceals her entire body behind Mrs. Johnson’s long smock. In contrast, James hides only his upper body behind a jacket hanging on a hook. He giggles, sure that his classmates will never see him. A: Pre-operational. He is suffering from pre-operational egocentrism. He believes that if he cannot see his classmates, they cannot see him either. Q: Based on the information given above, at which of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is James most likely operating? Explain.

Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice Mr. Jackson has a sand table in his Kindergarten classroom. He provides his students with many containers of different sizes and shapes to play with in the sand. He watches as his students carefully pour sand from one container to another. One little girl, Michelle, seems amazed when she pours sand back and forth between two containers. The sand always fills up one container and only half-fills the other, yet the containers are the same height. A: Conservation. She is learning that height and width of the container both contribute to how full the container becomes with the same amount of sand. Q: Based on the information given above, what skill is Michelle most likely developing? Explain.

Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice Mr. Welby teaches high school English. He always asks his students to find the symbolism in the great works of literature he assigns. Some students do this with relative ease. For others it is a real struggle. Many are only able to parrot back what he has told them in class. A1: Formal operational. They can understand the symbolism in literature due to their ability to think abstractly. A2: Concrete operational. They are able to remember what Mr. Welby tells them, but cannot think abstractly enough to understand the symbolism. Q.1: At which of Piaget’s stages are those who understand the symbolism in literature likely operating? Q.2: At which of Piaget’s stages are those who cannot understand the symbolism in literature likely operating?

Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice Marsha refuses to go to school one morning because she is having a “bad hair day” and is certain that everyone will stare at her all day. Her mother assures her that she looks just fine. However, Marsha races back to the bathroom to attempt to fix her “awful hair”. A: Marsha is suffering from adolescent egocentrism. She is very self-conscious and believes that others will be just as interested in, and hence as critical of, her hair as she is. Q: What would Elkind say is happening here?

Implications of Piaget Theory on Teaching © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Implications of Piaget Theory on Teaching Developmentally Appropriate Education Importance of Process Active Learning Self-Initiated Learning Individual Learning Needs Deemphasize Attempts to Make Children Adult-like in Their Thinking

Limitations of Piaget Stage theory inconsistencies © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Limitations of Piaget Stage theory inconsistencies Underestimating children's abilities Cognitive development & information processing Overlooks influence of cultural and social groups

Criticisms and Revisions of Piaget’s Theory © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Criticisms and Revisions of Piaget’s Theory Tasks Can Be Taught Earlier Exceptions to Egocentricity Earlier Mastery of Object Permanence Development Depends on Task Development Influenced by Experience

Vygotsky’s Theory Cognitive skills © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Vygotsky’s Theory Cognitive skills Can be understood when they are developmentally analyzed Are mediated by words, language, and forms of discourse Have their origins embedded in a sociocultural backdrop

Vygotsky’s Theory Language and Thought © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Vygotsky’s Theory Language and Thought Develop independently of each other Are mediated by words, language, and forms of discourse Have their origins imbedded in a socio-cultural backdrop Scaffolding Teacher adjusts the level of support as performance rises Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory New Task = Mentor + Learner 2. Time Passes = Gradual Release 3. Learner Takes on the Responsibility for learning Scaffolding

Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development ZPD Tasks too difficult for child to master even with assistance Tasks child can master alone

Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive Development Key Ideas Historical and Cultural Contexts Sign Systems Cultural Tools

Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory Provide Cooperative Learning Activities Among Students with Different Ability Levels

Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky’s Theories © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky’s Theories Piagetian Ideas: Four discrete stages Cognitive development is limited by staes Young children are schematic Motivation to maintain cognitive equilibrium Development occurs when assimilation is not possible (adaptation) Vygotsky's ideas: Continuous development (no stages) Zone of proximal development Socially transmitted knowledge (cooperative learning and Scaffolding) Private speech helps internalize knowledge Both were constructivists Both believed that social forces set the limits of development

Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism Theory into Practice Peter is having difficulty with his math assignment. His teacher, Ms. Jacobs helps him work through the first problem step-by-step. Peter begins to understand the concepts and begins the other problems. Suzanne also struggles with the assignment. However, even when Ms. Jacobs works through the first problem with her, she still cannot grasp how to do the remaining problems. Meanwhile, Clarice has breezed through the assignment with no difficulty at all. A1: The assignment is within Peter’s ZPD. He can do it with Ms. Jacob’s assistance. A2: The assignment is beyond Suzanne’s ZPD. Even with assistance she cannot complete the assignment. Q.1: What would Vygotsky say about the assignment for Peter? Q.2: What would Vygotsky say about the assignment for Suzanne?

Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism Theory into Practice Peter is having difficulty with his math assignment. His teacher, Ms. Jacobs helps him work through the first problem step-by-step. Peter begins to understand the concepts and begins the other problems. Suzanne also struggles with the assignment. However, even when Ms. Jacobs works through the first problem with her, she still cannot grasp how to do the remaining problems. Meanwhile, Clarice has breezed through the assignment with no difficulty at all. A3: The assignment is below Clarice’s ZPD. She can easily complete the assignment with no assistance because she has already mastered the concepts. Q4: Vygotsky’s term for this assistance is scaffolding. Q.3: What would Vygotsky say about the assignment for Clarice? Q.4: What would Vygotsky call the assistance Ms. Jacobs gives Peter and Suzanne? Explain.

Reflection & Observation © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Reflection & Observation Reflection: Identify an experience in which a more competent person helped you learn something you were unable to do alone. How did this person scaffold your learning? Classroom Observation Video: “Scaffolding” Please note: Some of these videos are very large; large videos may take a minute or two to download. You will need QuickTime player to view the videos. Observation: Identify ways the preschool teacher in the video clip scaffolds students’ matching and recognition of numerals.

Cognitive and Language Development © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Cognitive and Language Development Language Development What Is Language? How Language Develops Biological and Environmental Influences

Language is … Phonology Language sounds © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Language is … …a form of communication, spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols. Phonology Language sounds Morphemes Strings of sounds that make up words Syntax Rules for combining words into phrases/sentences Semantics Word meanings/usage Pragmatics Word use in conversation

Biological and Environmental Influences on Language Development © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Biological and Environmental Influences on Language Development Children are neither exclusively biological linguists nor social architects of language. Interactionists emphasize the contribution of both.

Supporting Vocabulary Development Through Technology © 2006 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Santrock, Educational Psychology, Second Edition, Classroom Update Supporting Vocabulary Development Through Technology Computers Relate the new to the known Promote active, in-depth processing Encourage reading Audio Books Educational Television