Development Flashcards
Stages of brain development
pregnancy
- 1-4 weeks
- 5-8 weeks
- 9-12 weeks
- 13-20 weeks
- 21-28 weeks
- 29-40 weeks
Brain development - weeks 1-4 of pregnancy
- neural plate forms
- begins to fold onto itself forming neural tube
Brain development - weeks 5-8 of pregnancy
Neural tube divides into spinal cord, forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain
Brain development - weeks 9-12 of pregnancy
Brainstem develops, controlling reflexes like sucking/swallowing
Brain development - weeks 13-20 of pregnancy
- brain cells multiply quickly
- cortex starts forming
Brain development - weeks 21-28 of pregnancy
Gains sensory awareness, responds to sound and touch
Brain development - weeks 29-40 of pregnancy
- brain gets ready for birth
- connections + memory abilities improve
When is the fully formed but not at full size
6 months
What size is brain at birth compared to adult’s
25%
Brain stem
Controls autonomic functions
Autonomic functions
- done automatically, without thinking about
- e.g- breathing
Thalamus
- sensory processing station
- receives sensory information, translates them to behavioural and motor responses
Cerebellum
- coordinates movement and balance
Cortex
- surface layer of brain
- where brain processing takes place
4 lobes
- frontal
- parietal
- occipital
- temporal
Frontal lobe
Controls thought, planning, memory, problem solving
Parietal lobe
Processes sensory information from the body
Occipital lobe
Processes visual information
Temporal lobe
Understanding and producing spoken language
Nature
- traits, characteristics and behaviours inherited genetically
- present at birth
Nature Research
- research on twins
- genetically similar people share similar cognitive characteristics like IQ
- supports idea genes influence brain development
Nurture
Traits, characteristics, behaviours resulting from environmental influences
Nurture Research
- research shows how mother’s actions during pregnancy affect brain development
- mothers smoking when pregnant risk babies having smaller brains - nicotine slows brain growth
- shows environmental influences affect brain development
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development PARTS
- stages
- schemas
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development STAGES
- sensorimotor
- pre-operational
- concrete operational
- formal operational
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development SENSORIMOTOR
- 0-2
- object permanence - understanding objects exist when out of sight
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development PRE-OPERATIONAL
- 2-7
- egocentrism - unable to de-center and think/see from other perspectives
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development CONCRETE OPERATIONAL
- 7-11
- conservation - understanding amount of something stays the same when appearance changes
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development FORMAL OPERATIONAL
- 11+
- abstract and logical thinking
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development SCHEMAS
- packets of knowledge that help us identify and understand things in the world
- accommodation - creating new schema when learning new info (e.g- learning what a cat is)
- assimilation - adapting existing schema by adding new info (e.g- learning cats can be ginger)
Piaget’s cognitive development theory STRENGTH
- application to education system
- Piaget helped develop Plowden report (1960s), helped schools, e.g- using role-play with pre-operational children
- good ecological application
Piaget’s cognitive development theory WEAKNESSES
- contradicting research
- Hugh’s policeman doll study (1975) showed 90% of children could de-centre when task relevant to them, Piaget said this wasn’t till 7
- challenges theory
+ - sampling bias of children theory was based on
- small group of middle class Swiss children from academic families
- results may be culturally biased, theory may not be able to be applied universally
Piaget application to learning - sensorimotor stage
Lots of toys to play with and explore
Piaget application to learning - pre-operational stage
Role-play and dressing up
Piaget application to learning - concrete operational stage
Counters to use when doing maths
Piaget application to learning - formal operational stage
Discussions and scientific experiments
Requirements for learning
- readiness
- learning by discovery
- teacher’s role
- individual learning
Readiness
Child needs to be at right age and ready for activity
Learning by discovery
Children need to discover things for themselves
Teacher’s role
- provide environment for discovery
- provide challenge
Individual learning
Some children learn faster than others, teachers must plan for individual students
McGarrigle and Donaldson Naughty Teddy study DATE
1974
McGarrigle and Donaldson Naughty Teddy study AIM
See if children react differently to conservation task is they see change was accidental
McGarrigle and Donaldson Naughty Teddy study METHOD
- lab experiment
- 80 Ps - age 3.5-5 from small area of Edinburgh (all primary children from 1 school)
- similar to Piaget’s counter experiment, naughty messed counters up not adult, showed it was accidental
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study RESULTS
68% could conserve when naughty teddy messed up counters
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study CONCLUSION
children younger than 7 can conserve, younger than Piaget suggested
- supported Piaget’s idea that children go through stages of development
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study STRENGTH
- challenges Piaget’s theory
- important for research to be challenged
- helped scientific process
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study WEAKNESSES
- unrepresentative sample
- children came from one small area of Edinburgh, all primary children from 1 school, cultural differences may affect child development
- findings are culturally biased
+ - flawed method
- children may have been distracted by naughty teddy, not noticed counter change
- should have been measuring attention, low validity
Hugh’s policeman doll study DATE
1975
Hugh’s policeman doll study AIM
- test egocentricity in younger children
- see if they could de-center younger than Piaget suggested
Hugh’s policeman doll study METHOD
- lab experiment
- 30 children ages 3.5-5
- children shown 2 intersecting walls and asked to hide boy doll from 2 policeman dolls
- based on hide and seek to be more familiar to children
Hugh’s policeman doll study RESULTS
90% could de-center and complete task
Hugh’s policeman doll study CONCLUSION
Children could de-center earlier than Piaget suggested
Hugh’s policeman doll study STRENGTHS
- lab experiment
- environment and EVs controlled, standardised procedures - Ps given set instructions
- high internal validity
+ - task made more sense to children
- based task on something children had experience in - hide and seek, more relevant than Piaget’s 3 mountain task
- better ecological application than Piaget’s research, results more likely to be true
Hugh’s policeman doll study WEAKNESS
- only 30 children from small area of Edinburgh
- results may only apply to area from where sample was drawn, may be cultural differences in pre-school education compared to other areas
- results could be culturally biased
Dweck’s theory of mindset DATE
2007
Dweck’s theory of mindset PARTS
- purpose
- fixed mindset
- growth mindset
- continuum
Dweck’s theory of mindset PURPOSE
Explain why some students are more likely to achieve success in learning than others
Dweck’s theory of mindset FIXED
- intelligence is unchanging and derived from genetics
- avoids challenge
- gives up quickly when faced with challenges
- expects reward without effort
- ignores feedback
- threatened by success of others
Dweck’s theory of mindset GROWTH
- intelligence derives from hard work
- intelligence increased by putting more effort into learning
- embraces challenges
- when faced with challenges - keep trying, more likely to succeed
- learns from feedback
- inspired by success of others
Dweck’s theory of mindset CONTINUUM
- mindset is a continuum
- can be changed with training
Dweck’s theory of mindset STRENGTHS
- supporting research evidence
- Dweck’s own experiment - 12-13 year old Ps, half given growth mindset training, half given general memory training, mindset trainers had improved grades/motivation, shows growth mindset can improve performance, further support from Gunderson (2013)
- increased validity
+ - real world application to different fields
- many schools use mindset training, Michael Jordan credits success to positive mindset
- more ecologically useful
Dweck’s theory of mindset WEAKNESS
- growth mindset relies on praise
- research has shown that motivation of praise is not sustainable over time
- it is better to be motivated intrinsically
Praise
An expression of approval of someone else and/or what they have done
Types of praise
- person praise
- process praise
Person praise
Being praised for intelligence
Process praise
Being praised on effort
Result of praise
Increases self esteem which increases motivation
Self efficacy
The belief in your own ability to succeed in something
Factors affecting self efficacy
Past experiences of success/failure can increase/decrease self efficacy
Result of self efficacy
Higher self efficacy results in higher motivation
Types of motivation
- intrinsic
- extrinsic
Intrinsic motivation
- being motivated to do something because of personal satisfaction and achievement
- e.g- being motivated to perform well in exam to be proud of yourself
Extrinsic motivation
- being driven to do something based on external rewarding
- e.g - being motivated to do well on exam to be given money by parents
Learning styles
Different ways in which a person can process/take in information
Types of learning style
- visual
- auditory
- kinaesthetic
- visualisers
- verbalisers
Visual learners
Learn best through seeing or reading, remembering things by how they look
Auditory learners
Learn best by listening, to remember something, they remember what they’ve heard
Kinaesthetic learners
Learn best by doing things, more likely to remember something if physical activity is involved
Visualisers
- process information visually
- prefer to learn from pictures/ diagrams
- think using pictures
Verbalisers
- process information verbally
- prefer to learn through linguistic skills like speech/writing
- think using words
Willingham’s theory of learning DATE
2007
Willingham’s theory of learning PARTS
- learning styles
- praise
- retrieval
- self-regulation
- neuroscience
Willingham’s theory of learning LEARNING STYLES
- they don’t exist as there is no scientific evidence for them
- learning styles don’t affect ability
- should learn in best style for the content
Willingham’s theory of learning PRAISE
- should praise effort not ability
- praise should be unexpected
- should motivate
Willingham’s theory of learning RETRIEVAL
Helps information be remembered long term
Willingham’s theory of learning - SELF-REGULATION
- controlling cognitive processes leads to better performance later
- e.g- children who performed successfully on marshmallow test more likely to perform better in school exams
Willingham’s theory of learning - neuroscience
- important in understanding individual learning
- e.g- dyslexic brains found to be structured differently, could help identify these students and support them learning effectively
Willingham’s theory of learning STRENGTHS
- based on scientific research
- used brain scans to look at structural differences of dyslexic brains
- can trust assertions as based on cognitive neuroscientist’s research
+ - application to education
- many UK schools use retrieval practice to help students retain new knowledge to help pass exams
- useful ecological value
Willingham’s theory of learning WEAKNESS
- theory is reductionist
- learning disorders rarely product of brain structure alone, often caused by upbringing/environmental factors
- theory may not be applicable to help learners with specific needs like dyslexia
