Chapter 7 Flashcards
Dominant Cerebral Hemisphere
Handedness reflects the greater capacity of one side of the brain to carry out skilled motor action
Cerebellum
At the rear and base of the brain, a structure that aids in balance and control of body movement.
Reticular Formation
A structure in the brain stem that maintains alertness and consciousness.
Amygdala
Plays a central role in processing of novelty and emotional information.
Hippocampus
Located in the inner-brain, adjacent to the amygdala. Plays a vital role in memory and in images of space that help us find our way.
Corpus Callosum
A large bundle of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres
Pituitary Gland
Located at the base of the brain, which plays a crucial role by releasing two hormones that induce growth.
Growth Hormone (GH)
Necessary for development of almost all body tissues
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone (TSH)
A second pituitary hormone that prompts the thyroid glad in the neck to release thyroxine which is necessary for brain development and for GH to have its full impact of body size
Preoperational Stage
Spans years 2-7, the most obvious change is an extraordinary increase in representational, or symbolic, activity
Sociodramtatic Play
The make-believe with others that is under way by the end of the second year and increases rapidly in complexity during early childhood.
Dual Representation
Viewing a symbolic object as both an object in it’s own right and a symbol
Egocentrism
Failure to distinguish others’ symbolic viewpoints from one’s own
Conservation
Refers to the idea that certain physical characteristics of objects remain the same, even when their outward appearance changes.
Centration
The focus on one aspect of a situation, neglecting other important features
Irreversibility
An inability to mentally go through a series of steps in a problem and then reverse direction, returning to the starting point.
Hierarchical Classification
The organization of objects into classes and subclasses on the basis of similarities and differences.
Piaget’s Educational Principals
- ) Discovery Learning
- ) Sensitivity to Children’s Readiness to Learn
- ) Acceptance of Individual Differences
Discovery Learning
In a Piagetian classroom, children are encouraged to discover for themselves through spontaneous interaction with the environment.
Sensitivity to Children’s Readiness to Learn
In a Piagetian classroom, teachers introduce activities that build on children’s current thinking, challenging their incorrect ways of viewing the world.
Acceptance of Individual Differences
Piaget’s theory assumes that all children go through the same sequence of development, but at different rates.
Private Speech
Children’s self-directed speech. Used to be called egocentric speech.
Scaffolding
Adjusting the support offered during a teaching session to fit the child’s current level of performance
Guided Participation
A broader concept than scaffolding. It refers to shared endeavors between more expert and less expert participants, without specifying the precise features of communication.
Flexible Sifting
Children’s ability to flexibly shift their focus at attention.
Memory Strategies
Deliberate mental activities that improve our chances of remembering
Episodic Memory
Deliberate mental activities that improve our chances of remembering
Semantic Memory
Information removed from the context in which it was first learned that has become part of your general knowledge base.
Scripts
General descriptions of what occurs and when it occurs in a particular situation.
Metacognition
“Thinking about thought”
Emergent Literacy
Children’s active efforts to construct literacy knowledge through informal experiences.
Phenological Awareness
The ability to reflect on and manipulate the sound structure of spoken language.
Ordinality
Order relationships between quantities
Cardinality
The principal that the last number is a counting sequence indicates the quantity of items in a set.
Child-Centered Programs
Teachers provide activities from which children select, and much learning takes place through play
Academic Programs
Teachers structure children’s learning, teaching letters, numbers, colors, shapes, and other academic skills through formal lessons, often using repetition and drill
Project Head Start
Extensive Federal Program. Began in 1965. A typical Head Start center provides children with a year or two of preschool, along with nutritional and health services. Parent involvement is central
Fast-Mapping
Connecting new words with their underlying concepts after only a brief encounter
Overregularization
When preschoolers acquire these markers, they sometimes overextend the rules to words that are exceptions (an error)
Pragmatics
Children must learn to engage in effective and appropriate communication. practical, social side of language
Recasts
Restructuring inaccurate speech into correct form
Expansions
Elaborating on children’s speech, increasing it’s complexity
