1. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 1 C H A P T E R 2 Cognitive and Language Development © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

2. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 2 Learning Goals 1. Define development and explain the main processes, periods, and issues in development, as well as links between development and education. 2. Discuss the development of the brain and compare the cognitive developmental theories of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. 3. Identify the key features of language, biological, and environmental influences on language, and the typical growth of the child’s language. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

3. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 3 Connecting with Teachers Donene Polson’s classroom reflects Vygotsky’s emphasis on …  the importance of collaboration among a community of learners Students, teachers, and parents work as a community to help students learn  Many students tell Polson that experiences in her classroom contributed to their development and learning © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

4. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 4 Cognitive and Language Development An Overview of Child Development Processes and Periods Development and Education Developmental Issues Exploring What Development Is © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

5. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 5 An Overview of Child Development Development: The pattern of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes that begins at conception and continues through the life span. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

6. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 6 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 © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

7. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 7 Socioemotional processes Changes in the child’s relationships with other people Changes in emotions Changes in personality Developmental Processes © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

8. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 8 Biological, Cognitive, and Socioemotional Processes Processes are intertwined—Child’s smile response to parent’s touch depends on ….  Biological processes (physical nature of touch and response)  Cognitive processes (ability to understand intention)  Socioemotional processes (smile reflects positive feeling; connects us with others) © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

9. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 9 Two Emerging Fields Explore Connection Across Processes Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience  Explores links between development, cognitive processes, and the brain Developmental Social Neuroscience  Examines connections between socioemotional processes, development, and the brain © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

10. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 10 Periods of Development Infancy—birth to 18–24 months  Activities include: language development, symbolic thought, sensorimotor coordination, and social learning  Time of extreme dependence on adults Early Childhood—end of infancy to 5 years (preschool years)  Children become more self-sufficient, develop school readiness skills, and spend time with peers  Early childhood ends at 1st grade © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

11. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 11 Periods of Development Middle and Late Childhood—6 to 11 years (elementary school years)  Children master fundamental skills (reading, writing, and mathematics)  Self-control increases; children interact with wider social world Adolescence—begins age 10 to 12; ends age 18 to 21  Rapid physical changes (height, weight, sexual functions), desire for independence and identity, and development of abstract reasoning skills © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

12. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 12 Developmental Issues Nature-Nurture Issue Continuity-Discontinuity Issue Early-Later Experience Issue © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

13. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 13 Development and Education Developmentally appropriate teaching practices  Teaching at a level that is not too difficult and stressful, nor too easy and boring Splintered development  Student development may be uneven across domains (student strong in math, poor in writing) © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

14. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 14 Cognitive and Language Development Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory The Brain Vygotsky’s Theory © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

15. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 15 Synaptic Density in the Human Brain © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

16. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 16 Myelination Myelination increases the speed at which information travels through the nervous system. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

17. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 17 Brain Development in Middle and Late Childhood  Total brain volume stabilize  Brain pathways and circuitry in prefrontal cortex continue to increase  Advances in prefrontal cortex linked to child’s improved attention, reasoning, and cognitive control © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

18. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 18 Brain Development in Adolescence  Adolescents have fewer, more selective, more effective connections between neurons (“pruning”)  Activities adolescents choose to engage in or not engage in influence neural connections (which will be strengthened; which will disappear) © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

19. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 19 Brain Lateralization …the specialization of functions in each hemisphere of the brain. Verbal Processing In most individuals, speech and grammar are localized in the left hemisphere. Nonverbal Processing Spatial perception, visual recognition, and emotion are localized in the right hemisphere. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

20. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 20 Brain and Children’s Education Role of early and later experiences Dramatic changes in synaptic connections Prefrontal cortex development into adolescence Cognitive control challenges in adolescence Brain functioning along specific pathways and integrated © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

21. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 21 Piaget’s Cognitive Processes Schemas Assimilation Accommodation Organization Equilibration Actions or mental representations that organize knowledge Incorporating new information into existing schemas Adjusting existing schemas to fit new information and experiences Grouping isolated behaviors and thoughts into a higher-order system A shift, a resolution of conflict to reach a balance © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

22. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 22 Cognition unfolds in a sequence of four stages.  Each stage is age- related and distinctive.  Each stage is discontinuous from and more advanced than the previous. Piaget’s Four Stages © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

23. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 23 Piaget’s Four Stages © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

24. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 24 Coordination of sensory experiences with motor actions. Object permanence involves the realization that objects continue to exist over time. Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

25. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 25 Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Symbolic Function Substage Symbolic Thought: Ability to represent mentally an object that is not present. 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. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

26. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 26 The Three Mountain Tasks © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

27. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 27 Piaget’s Preoperational Stage Intuitive Thought Substage Intuitive Thought rather than logical thinking Centration: Focuses on one characteristic to the exclusion of others. Lack of Conservation: idea that some characteristics of an object stay the same even when the object might change in appearance. Classification: Ability to classify objects according to only one characteristic at a time. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

28. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 28 Conservation of Liquid © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

29. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 29 Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage Conservation The idea that some characteristics of an object stay 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 A>B, and B>C, then A>C. Logical reasoning replaces intuitive reasoning, but only in concrete situations. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

30. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 30 Hierarchical Classification When shown a family tree of four generations, the concrete operational child can classify the members vertically, horizontally, and obliquely. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

31. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 31 Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage Abstract reasoning: Think in abstract, idealistic, and logical ways. Hypothetical-deductive reasoning: 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. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

32. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 32 Piaget’s Theory Teaching Strategies Preoperational Thinkers Concrete Operations Formal Operations  Manipulate groups of objects  Reduce egocentrism  Draw conclusions and explain why  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 © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

33. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 33 Best Practices and Strategies: Working with Formal Operational Thinkers 1. Realize many adolescents are not fully operational thinkers 2. Propose a problem; invite students to form hypotheses about possible solutions 3. Present a problem; suggest several ways it might be approached 4. Develop projects for students to carry out 5. Encourage students to create hierarchical outlines for paper organization © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

34. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 34 Enter the Debate Should teachers allow preschool, kindergarten, and 1st-grade students to play for the bulk of their day? YESNO © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

35. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 35 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. Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice Q: Based on the information given above, at which of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is James most likely operating? Explain. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

36. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 36 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. Q: Based on the information given above, what skill is Michelle most likely developing? Explain. Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

37. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 37 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. 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 © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

38. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 38 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.” Q: What would Elkind say is happening here? Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

39. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 39 Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory Estimates of children’s competence: Some cognitive abilities emerge earlier, others later Stages: Thought to be unitary structures  Some concrete operational concepts do not appear at same time Training children to reason at a higher level: P iaget argued training is ineffective unless child is at maturational transition point Culture and education: Stronger influence on child’s development than Piaget thought © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

40. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 40 Classroom Connections: Crack the Case— The Case of the Book Report 1. Drawing on Piaget’s theory, explain why Cindy understood the book. 2. Based on Piaget’s theory, explain why Lucy did not understand the book. 3. What could Mr. Johnson do to help Lucy understand? © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

41. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 41 4. How could Mr. Johnson have presented this assignment differently so that Lucy did not need to rush through a book? 5. At which of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is Cindy operating? 6. At which of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is Lucy operating? Classroom Connections: Crack the Case — The Case of the Book Report © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

42. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 42 Zone of Proximal Development: Range of tasks too difficult for child to master alone. Can be learned with guidance and assistance. Scaffolding: Teacher adjusts the level of support as performance rises. Language and Thought: Develop independently of each other, then merge. Have external or social origins Self-talk Vygotsky’s Theory © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

43. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 43 Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) ZPD Tasks too difficult for child to master even with assistance Tasks child can master alone © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

44. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 44 Comparison: Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s Theories Piaget & Vygotsky’s theories  Both are constructivist  Vygotsky’s social constructivist approach emphasizes social context of learning and construction of knowledge through social interaction  Piaget focuses on individual; Vygotsky focuses on collaboration, social interaction, and sociocultural activity © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

45. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 45 Criticism of Vygotsky’s Theory Vygotsky…  not specific enough about age-related changes  did not adequately describe how changes in socioemotional capabilities contribute to cognitive development  overemphasized role of language in thinking  emphasis on collaboration and guidance may produce pitfalls © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

46. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 46 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. Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism Theory into Practice Q.1: What would Vygotsky say about the assignment for Peter? Q.2: What would Vygotsky say about the assignment for Suzanne? © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

47. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 47 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. 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. Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism Theory into Practice © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

48. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 48 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? © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

49. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 49 Cognitive and Language Development Language Development How Language Develops What Is Language? Biological and Environmental © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

50. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 50 Language Phonology Sound system of a language Morphology Units of meaning involved in word formation Syntax Rules for combining words into phrases/sentences Semantics Meaning of words and sentences Pragmatics Appropriate use of language in different contexts …is a form of communication, spoken, written, or signed, that is based on a system of symbols. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

51. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 51 Children are neither exclusively biological linguists nor social architects of language. Biological and Environmental Influences Interactionists emphasize the contribution of both. © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

52. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 52 How Language Develops Infancy Babbling—occurs in the middle of the 1st year Infants utter first words at 10–13 months One  two words  Infants begin at 18–24 months © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

53. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 53 How Language Develops Early Childhood Phonology Sensitive to sounds, rhymes Morphology Overgeneralize rules Syntax Complex rules for ordering words Semantics 6-year-old: 8,000- to 14,000-word vocabulary Pragmatics Talk in different ways to different people © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

54. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 54 How Language Develops Middle & Late Childhood Phonology Alphabetic principle: letter-sound correspondence Morphology Appropriate application of rules Syntax Complex grammar; metalinguistic awareness Semantics 12-year-old: 50,000-word vocabulary Pragmatics Culturally appropriate language use © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

55. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 55 How Language Develops Adolescence Increased sophistication in use of words Greater understanding of metaphors, satire, and complex literary works Better writers Dialect includes jargon and slang © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

56. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 56 Supporting Vocabulary Development Through Technology Computers  Relate the new to the known  Promote active, in-depth processing  Encourage reading Audio Books Educational Television © 2011 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.