Development Flashcards
Brain stem use
autonomic functions
Brain stem connection
connects brain to spinal cord
Brain stem growth
Highly developed at birth
Cerebellum growth
matures late
Cerebellum location
near the top of the spinal cord
Cerebellum use
co-ordinates sensory and motor
Thalamus location
Deep inside the brain in each hemisphere
Thalamus use
Information hub, receives and then sends signals around the brain.
Cortex location
the outer cover of the brain, very thin and folded
Cortex uses
thinking and processing, frontal, visual, auditory, motor areas in each hemisphere.
Roles of nature and nurture
nature is inherited and nurture is environmental influences on development.
Smoking affect when pregnant
Smoking while pregnant can lead to smaller brains.
Infection affect when pregnant example
In the womb, German measles can lead to hearing loss.
Interaction between nature and nurture
the brain forms due to nature but the environment has a major influence even in the womb.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
changes in thinking (cognition) over time. Children think differently from adults.
4 stages of cognitive development
Sensorimotor stage, Preoperational stage, concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage
Sensorimotor stage age
0-2 years
Preoperational stage age
2-7 years
Concrete operational stage
7-11 years
Formal operational stage age
11 and up
Schemas definition
mental structures containing knowledge. Schemas become more complex through assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation definition
Adding new information to an existing schema.
Accommodation definition
receiving new information that changes our understanding and so a new schema is formed.
Research evidence Piaget’s theory
Many studies have been conducted to test Piaget’s theory, which has helped us improve our understanding of how children’s thinking develops.
Piaget’s theory real-world application results
the theory has helped change classroom teaching so it is now more activity-based.
Conservation definition
knowing that a quantity doesn’t change even if its appearance changes.
Piaget conservation theory
Younger children can’t conserve quantities.
Who did the naughty teddy study?
McGarrigle and Donaldson
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study aim
to see if a deliberate change in the row of counter would help younger children conserve.
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study method
Children aged 4-6 years.
Two rows of counters, teddy messed up one of them. Child was asked if the rows where the same.
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study results
Deliberate change = 41% conserved
Accidental change = 68% conserved
Older children did better than younger children.
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study conclusion
Piaget’s method doesn’t show what children can do. This study does show that there are aged-related differences.
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study weaknesses
Sample was only from one primary school, so comparisons between groups may not be valid.
Change of the counters may not have been noticed due to the distraction of the teddy bear.
what did the Naughty Teddy bear study show about Piaget’s theory and method?
the study shows that Piaget confused young children with his style of questioning. This helps refine his theory.
Egocentrism definition
Seeing the world from only one’s own point of view.
What study did Piaget use to test egocentrism?
The three mountains task.
Who did the Policeman doll study?
Hughes
Hughes study aims
to create a test that would make more sense than Piaget’s (three mountains task)
Hughes study method
3 and a half to 5 years olds asked to hide a boy doll from two policemen. They were given practice first with one doll.
Hughes study results
90% could hide the boy doll from the policemen. 3 year olds did less well with a more complex task.
Hughes study conclusions
children aged 4 years were mostly not egocentric. Piaget underestimated abilities but was right that thinking changes with age.
Hughes study strength
more realistic - the task made better sense to children and they were given practice so they understood, so a more realistic test of their abilities.
Hughes study weakness
Effects of expectations - unconscious cue from the researcher may have influenced the child’s behaviour, so the results lack validity.
What is learned and developed in the sensorimotor stage?
learn to co-ordinate sensory and motor information. Object permanence develops.
What are the characteristics of the preoperational stage?
Can’t think in a consistently logical way, egocentric and lack of conservation.
What are the characteristics of the concrete operational stage?
At 7 more children can conserve and show less egocentrism. Logical thinking applied to physical objects only.
What are the characteristics of the formal operational stage?
Children can draw conclusion about abstract concepts and form arguments.
readiness definition
can only teach something when child is biologically ‘ready’.
Teachers role in cognitive development
Teachers should be challenging schemas.
Learning by discovery meaning
children must play active role, not rote-learn.
Application in education - individual learning
children go through the same stages in the same order but at different rates.
Education application - Sensorimotor stage
stimulating sensory environment.
Education application - preoperational stage
discovery learning rather than written work.
Education application - concrete operational stage
Physical materials to manipulate.
Education application - formal operational stage
Scientific experiments to develop logical thinking.
Possible to improve with practice, stages, explain.
thinking can develop at an earlier age if given enough practice, not just when ready.
Traditional method may be good.
Direct instruction is a better teaching method in some subjects.
Dweck’s mindset theory
the set of assumptions we have (mindset) affects success.
Success is due to effort and not talent.
Fixed mindset
Effort won’t help because talent is fixed in the genes. Focused on performance.
Growth mindset
Can improve with effort, enjoys challenge. Focused on learning goals.
Dealing with failure: fixed mindset
Failure indicates lack of talent, so give up.
Dealing with failure: growth mindset.
opportunity to learn more and put in more effort.
A continuum
Not simply a fixed mindset nor growth. Depends on the situation.
Research support: Growth mindset
Dweck found that students taught a growth mindset had better grades and motivation.
Both mindsets involve praise
Praising effort still leads to doing things for approval so can discourage independent behaviour.
Positive effect of praise
It’s a reward. It makes someone feel good so the behaviour is repeated.
Praising effort rather than performance
Praising effort enables control. Praising performance is demotivating.
Self-efficacy definition
Understanding your own abilities. Self-efficacy increases or decreases future success.
Effect of self-efficacy on motivation
greater effort, persists longer, greater task performance and more resilience if high self-efficacy
Praise destroys internal motivation
Praise can have opposite effect. Less interested if previously rewarded (Lepper).
low self-efficacy lowers performance
research into the stereotype effect shows performance on an IQ test may be lowered if reminded of a relevant stereotype (Steele and Aronson).
Learning styles definition
People differ in how they learn. Matching teaching to learning style should improve learning.
Types of learning styles
Verbaliser, visualiser, and kinaesthetic learners
Verbaliser definition
focus on words. Processing by hearing or reading information and talking about it.
Visualiser definition
Processing information by seeing spatial relationships using diagrams, mind maps, graphs etc.
Kinaesthetic learner definition
learning by active exploration, making things, physical activities etc.
Willingham’s learning theory
educational ideas should be evidence based.
Cognitive psychology and neuroscience can be used to improve learning.
when to praise
Praising effort should be unexpected. Praise before a task led to less motivation in the future (Lepper).
Memory and forgetting
Forgetting occurs due to lack of cues (Tulving and Psotka).
Practise retrieving from memory (Roediger and Karpicke).
Self-regulation
Self-control (‘delay gratification’, marshmallow test) linked to high academic performance. (Shoda et al).
Neuroscience
Brain waves in dyslexics are different. This could benefit progress by receiving help earlier (Willingham and Lloyd).
