1. Infants, Children, and Adolescents
Chapter 12
Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood
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2. Piaget’s Theory: The Concrete Operational Stage
Conservation
Decentration
Reversibility
Classification
Seriation
Transitive inference
Spatial reasoning
Directions
Maps
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Maps Drawn by Older School-Age Children from India and the United States
Figure 12.1
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4. Piaget’s Theory: Limitations of Concrete Operational Thought
Mental operations work best with objects that are concrete.
Problems with abstract ideas
Continuum of acquisition
Master concrete operational tasks gradually
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5. Follow-Up Research on Concrete Operations
Culture and schooling affect performance on tasks.
Neo-Piagetians suggest information- processing helps.
Automatic cognitive schemes free up working memory.
Central conceptual structures help children think more effectively in a range of situations.
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6. Information-Processing Perspective
Between ages 6 and 12, increase in information-processing speed and capacity
Gains in inhibition
Both may be related to brain development.
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7. Attention in Middle Childhood
Attention becomes more:
Selective
Adaptable
Planful
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8. Development of Attentional Strategies
Production deficiency
Control deficiency
Utilization deficiency
Effective strategy use
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Children With ADHD
Symptoms
Cannot stay task focused for more than a few minutes
Often ignore social rules and lash out when frustrated
Origins
Highly heritable, but also associated with environmental factors
Correlated with a stressful home life
Treatment
Stimulant medication reduces symptoms in 70% of children; however, these drugs have risks.
Medication combined with interventions that model and reinforce appropriate behavior work best.
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10. Development of Memory Strategies
Rehearsal – early grade school
Organization – soon after rehearsal
Knowledge base helps organization
Elaboration – end of middle childhood
Meaningful chunks of information
Schooling promotes using these memory strategies.
But those in non-Western cultures may not benefit from instruction in memory strategies.
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11. Theory of Mind in Middle Childhood
View mind as active, constructive
Understand more about sources of knowledge
Mental inferences
False beliefs
Consider interactions of
variables
Schooling promotes developing
theory of mind.
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12. Testing Second-Order False Beliefs
Figure 12.2
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13. Promoting Cognitive Self-Regulation
Point out special demands of tasks.
Encourage use of strategies.
Emphasize value of self- correction.
Self-regulatory skills help develop a sense of academic self-efficacy.
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14. Information-Processing and Academic Learning
Reading
Whole-language approach
Phonological awareness
A combination of the two approaches, along with excellent teaching practices, shows the best results in literacy progress for 1st graders.
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15. Sequence of Reading Development
Table 12.1
Source: Chall, 1983.
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16. Information Processing and Academic Learning
Math
Elementary education builds upon children’s informal knowledge of numbers and computations.
Practice, experimentation with computation
Some processes become automatic, leading to more complex usage.
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17. Defining and Measuring Intelligence
IQ becomes more stable around age 6 and can predict
school performance.
educational attainment.
IQ tests provide a general score that represents general intelligence and reasoning ability.
But not all types of intelligence are measured on current tests.
Test designers use factor analysis.
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IQ Tests
Group Tests
Allow testing of large groups
Require little training to administer
Useful for instructional planning
Identify students who need further evaluation
Individually Administered Tests
Examiners need
training and experience.
Provide insights about accuracy of score
Identify highly intelligent
and children with
learning problems
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19. Test Items Like Those Commonly Used on Children’s Intelligence Tests
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Figure 12.3

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Types of Tests
Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition
Age 2 to adulthood
Assesses general knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, working memory, and basic information processing
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV
Ages 6 to 16
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence–Revised (for younger children)
Measures verbal reasoning, perceptual (or visual-spatial) reasoning, working memory, and processing speed
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21. Recent Efforts to Define Intelligence
Processing speed is moderately correlated with IQ scores.
Inhibition, selective attention, and sustained attention are other predictors of IQ.
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22. Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Successful Intelligence
Figure 12.4
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23. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Linguistic
Logico-mathematical
Musical
Spatial
Bodily-kinesthetic
Naturalist
Interpersonal
Intrapersonal
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24. Emotional Intelligence
Ability to process and adapt to emotional information
Modestly associated with IQ
Positively associated with self-esteem, empathy, prosocial behavior, and life satisfaction
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Lessons that teach emotional understanding are becoming more common in the classroom.
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25. Explaining Differences in IQ
Genetics
Accounts for about half of differences
Environment
SES
Culture
Communication styles
Cultural bias in test content
Secular trend toward generational rise
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26. Effects of Stereotype Threat on Performance
Figure 12.5
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27. Dynamic Assessment and Test Scores
Figure 12.6
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28. Language Development in Middle Childhood
Metalinguistic awareness increases in middle childhood.
Vocabulary
Increases fourfold during school years
20 new words a day
Grammar
Passive voice
Infinitive phrases
Pragmatics
Communicating clearly
Narratives
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29. Learning Two Languages
Bilingual Development
Learn both languages at the same time
Learn first language, then second
Code-switching
Sensitive period: childhood
Bilingual Education
Language immersion
Bilingual education
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30. Academic Achievement and Class Size
Children in smaller classes, especially minority children, score higher than those in larger classes.
Teachers have more time for individual attention.
Children show better concentration, higher-quality class participation, and more favorable attitudes toward school.
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31. Educational Philosophies
Traditional v. constructivist classrooms
New philosophical directions
Social-constructivist
Reciprocal teaching
Communities of learners
Teacher–student interaction
Self-fulfilling prophesies
Grouping practices
Homogenous
Multigrade classrooms
Cooperative learning
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Magnet Schools
Magnet schools: regular curriculum plus specific areas of interest, such as performing arts
Connecticut study suggests higher achievement in reading, math
Racial divide in American schools is deepening.
Inner-city schools tend to be disadvantaged in funding and educational opportunities.
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33. Computers and Academic Learning
Computers and Internet access are in virtually all U.S. schools.
Educational software provides basic skills practice and new knowledge.
Nongame use is associated with academic progress, programming skills, homework.
Digital divide:
Low-SES groups less likely to have computers/Internet.
Boys tend to spend more time than girls on computer.
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Children’s Drawings of the Internet, Reflecting Increased Understanding with Age
Figure 12.7
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35. Children with Learning Difficulties
Difficulties include:
Mild mental retardation
Learning disabilities—5 to 10% of children
Law requires “least restrictive placement”
Mainstreaming
Full inclusion
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36. Gifted and Talented Children
Exceptional intellectual strength
Usually measured by high IQ
Talented
Outstanding performance in a specific field
Measured by divergent thinking and creativity
Figure 12.8
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37. How Well-Educated Are U.S. Children?
Factors inside/outside of schools affect educational quality:
Societal values
School resources
Quality of teaching
Parental support
U.S. students perform at or below international average.
Instruction can be less challenging, more fact-focused, and lower in critical thinking.
U.S. is also less equitable in reaching all groups.
American families, schools, and society must work together to upgrade education.
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38. Average Mathematics Scores by 15-Year-Olds
Figure 12.9
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