Development

Question 1

What is the brain stem?

Answer 1

Highly developed at birth.
Connects brain to the spinal cord. Carries motor and sensory nerves to the brain from the body.
Controls autonomic functions, e.g. heartbeat, breathing, etc.

Question 2

What is the cerebellum?

Answer 2

Matures late in development.
Located near the top of the spinal cord.
Main role is the coordination of movement and sensory information (sensorimotor).

Question 3

What is the thalamus?

Answer 3

Located deep inside the brain in each hemisphere.
Acts as a hub of information receiving signals from other areas of the brain and sending these signals on.

Question 4

What is the context/cerebral cortex?

Answer 4

Cortex is thin and covers the brain. It is highly folded.
Divided in two hemispheres and several regions: frontal cortex (thinking), visual and auditory cortex (sight and hearing), motor cortex (movement).
At birth the cortex is basic and develops through life.

Question 5

What are the roles of nature and nature?

Answer 5

Nature is the influence of things you have inherited.
Nurture is the influence of your environment on your development.

Question 6

How does smoking affect pregnancy?

Answer 6

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy can have smaller babies with smaller brains as nicotine slows brain growth.

Question 7

How does infection affect pregnancy?

Answer 7

Mothers who get German measles during pregnancy can have babies with brain damage, such as hearing loss.

Question 8

How do voices affect pregnancy?

Answer 8

Babies learn to recognise their mother’s voice and even respond to book passages that had been read to them in the womb (DeCasper and Spence).

Question 9

What is the interaction between nature and nurture?

Answer 9

Your brain is formed due to nature but even in the womb your environment influences the development of the brain.
It is nature and nurture rather than just one or the other.

Question 10

What is piaget’s cognitive development theory?

Answer 10

Cognitive refers to mental processes, particularly thinking.
Cognitive development is about the change in the way we think across time.
Piaget believed that children think differently from adults.

Question 11

What are schema’s?

Answer 11

As children develop they create mental representations of the world which are stored in the form of schemas.
A schema is a mental structure containing knowledge.
They become more numerous and more complex through assimilation and accommodation.

Question 12

What is assimilation?

Answer 12

Assimilation occurs when we understand a new experience through adding new information to an existing schema.
A car schema is changed when a two-seated sports car is seen for the first time.

Question 13

What is accommodation?

Answer 13

Accommodation occurs when we acquire new information that changes our understanding so we need to form new schema(s).
When a child sees a tractor they change their car schema or form a new tractor schema.

Question 14

What are the evaluation point’s of Piaget’s theory?

Answer 14

A strength of Piaget’s theory is that it has led many studies to be carried out.
These have helped test the claims of his theory.
This is an important part of any theory – if we can’t test it we don’t know if it is right or wrong.

A strength of Piaget’s theory is that it has helped change classroom teaching for the better.
It has led to teachers carrying out more activity-based learning.
This has helped children learn in a more effective way.

A weakness of Piaget’s theory is that research was carried out on middle-class Swiss children.
These children were from families where academic studies were more important than making things.
Therefore his theory may not be universal.

Question 15

What is conservation?

Answer 15

The ability to realise that quantity remains the same even when the appearance changes.
Piaget showed that younger children can’t conserve with number or volume. This was challenged by McGarrigle and Donaldson’s ‘naughty teddy study’.

Question 16

What was the aim of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study?

Answer 16

McGarrigle and Donaldson wanted to see if younger children could conserve if there wasn’t a deliberate change in a row of counters.

Question 17

What was the aim of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study?

Answer 17

4–6-year-olds were shown a naughty teddy and two rows of four counters.
Teddy jumped out of his box and messed up one of the rows (making it look smaller).
Each child was asked before and after the teddy jumped out ‘Is there more here or more here or are they both the same number?’

Question 18

What were the results of McGarrigle Donaldson’s naughty teddy study?

Answer 18

41% of the children knew the rows had the same number if the counters were changed intentionally (i.e. they could conserve).
68% could conserve if the change was accidental.
Older children gave more correct answers than younger children.

Question 19

What was the conclusion of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study?

Answer 19

This shows that Piaget’s method of testing conservation doesn’t show what children can do.
Children aged 4–6 could conserve number when the change was accidental. Piaget believed they could not do this until 7 years.
It does support Piaget’s idea of age-related changes but not the age that conservation develops.

Question 20

What are the evaluation of McGarrigle and Donaldson’s naughty teddy study?

Answer 20

One weakness is that the primary age children all came from one school.
The primary children might have done better than the nursery children due to differences in educational background.
Therefore, differences between the two groups of children might be due to other factors.

A weakness is that children may not have noticed the change in the accidental condition.
Moore and Frye showed that, if the teddy did actually take a counter away, they still said the rows were the same.
This means it wasn’t that the children weren’t conserving, they were just distracted.

A strength of this study is that it challenges Piaget’s theory.
McGarrigle and Donaldson’s study implies that Piaget’s original work confused young children.
Therefore this study helped refine this type of child development research

Question 21

What was Piaget’s study of egocentrism?

Answer 21

Egocentrism means to see the world only from one’s own point of view.
Piaget tested children with his three mountains task and concluded that they are egocentric until about 7 years of age.

Question 22

What was the aim Hughes policeman doll study?

Answer 22

Hughes aimed to create a test of egocentrism that would be more understandable to children younger than 7 years.

Question 23

What is the method of Hughes policeman doll study?

Answer 23

Children aged 3½ to 5 years old were shown a model with two intersecting walls.
The child was asked to hide one boy doll from one policeman doll to ensure they understood the task.
The child’s egocentrism was then tested by asking the child to hide the boy doll from two policemen.

Question 24

What were the results of Hughes policeman doll study?

Answer 24

90% of the children could hide the boy doll from two policemen.
When a complex model was used with five or six walls, 60% of 3-year-olds and 90% of 4-year-olds hid the boy doll correctly.

Question 25

What was the conclusion of Hughes policeman doll study?

Answer 25

The study shows that children aged 4 years are mostly not egocentric.
Piaget underestimated younger children’s abilities because his three mountains task didn’t make sense to the children.
Piaget was right that a child’s thinking changes with age.

Question 26

What are the stages of cognitive development?

Answer 26

We go through four stages of cognitive development.
Each one occurs at a different age.
As the brain matures you can think in a different way and this happens in the same order in all children all over the world.

Question 27

What is the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 27

0–2 years approximately.
Focus of development is on relating what is seen/heard (sensory) with movement (motor).
Object permanence: children under 8 months do not understand that although an object is not visible it still exists.

Question 28

What is the pre-operational stage?

Answer 28

2–7 years approximately.
By 2 years, a toddler can walk but language is not fully developed.
Children under 7 years can’t think in a consistently logical way so are egocentric and lack conservation.

Question 29

What is the concrete operational stage?

Answer 29

7–11 years approximately.
At 7 years, most children can conserve and show less egocentrism.
Logical thinking is the key characteristic, but can only be applied to physical objects not objects or situations that cannot be seen.

Question 30

What is the formal operational stage?

Answer 30

11+ years.
Children can come to conclusions about problems presented in an abstract form.
They can focus on the form of an argument and not be distracted by its content.

Question 31

What are the evaluation points of Piagets stages of cognitive development?

Answer 31

A weakness with Piaget’s theory is that he underestimated children’s abilities.
Other research has found that younger children can show conservation and a reduction in egocentrism.
This suggests that certain types of thinking develop earlier than he proposed.

A weakness is that Piaget overestimated what children could do.
He argued that 11-year-old children should be capable of abstract reasoning when other research (e.g. Wason’s card task) has found this is not true.
This shows that not all children’s thinking is advanced as he suggested.

A strength of his theory is that it does show that children’s thinking changes with age.
Although research has suggested that changes in thinking occur earlier, the fact remains that they still occur.
This shows that the basic principle of the theory is valid.

Question 32

What is readiness?

Answer 32

Age-related changes mean you cannot teach a child something before they are biologically ‘ready’.
Activities should be at the appropriate level for a child’s age.

Question 33

What is learning by discovery?

Answer 33

Children must discover concepts for themselves rather than rote-learn.

Question 34

What is the teachers role in development?

Answer 34

Teachers plan lessons that challenge schemas so assimilation and accommodation occurs and thinking will develop.

Question 35

What is individual learning?

Answer 35

Children go through the same developmental stages in the same order but at different rates, so classroom activities should be for individuals and groups of children rather than for the whole class.

Question 36

What are the applications to the sensorimotor stage?

Answer 36

Sensorimotor stage – Rich stimulating environment, sensory experiments to learn motor coordination.

Question 37

What are the applications of the pre-operational stage?

Answer 37

Pre-operational stage – Games that involve role play to reduce egocentricity. Discovery learning rather than written work.

Question 38

What are the applications to the concrete operational stage?

Answer 38

Pre-operational stage – Games that involve role play to reduce egocentricity. Discovery learning rather than written work.

Question 39

What are the applications to the formal operational stage?

Answer 39

Formal operational stage – Scientific experiments to develop logical thinking. Group discussions.

Question 40

What are the evaluation points to application of Piaget’s theory in education?

Answer 40

A strength is that Piaget’s theory has had a positive impact on education in the UK.
It led to schools taking on a more child-centred, activity-based approach.
This has helped students learn more effectively.

A weakness of Piaget’s theory is that it suggests that practice should not improve performance.
In fact their thinking can develop at an earlier age than expected if they are given enough practice on a task (Bryant and Trabasso).
This suggests that children don’t have to be ‘ready’.

A weakness is that discovery learning may not always be best.
Bennett showed that formal teaching methods work best for maths, reading and English.
Suggests that some parts of education are best delivered through direct instruction.

Question 41

What is Dweck’s theory?

Answer 41

The difference between people who are successful and not successful is their mindset.

Question 42

What is a fixed mindset?

Answer 42

Abilities are fixed in the genes.
Effort won’t help if you are failing because success is talent-based.
Focused on performance and feel good when performing well.

Question 43

What is a growth mindset?

Answer 43

You can always improve yourself with effort.
Enjoy a challenge rather than focus on success.
Focus on learning goals and feel good when working hard.

Question 44

How does each mindset deal with failure?

Answer 44

You can always improve yourself with effort.
Enjoy a challenge rather than focus on success.
Focus on learning goals and feel good when working hard.

Question 45

What are most peoples mindset?

Answer 45

People are not simply one or the other but a mixture, on a continuum stretching from fixed- to growth-oriented.
Where you are on the continuum depends on the situation.

Question 46

What are the evaluation points of Dweck’s mindset theory?

Answer 46

One strength is evidence that a growth mindset leads to better grades.
Dweck found that seventh graders taught a growth mindset had better grades and motivation than a group who were just taught about memory.
This suggests that this approach can improve performance.

A weakness is that any sort of praise may be bad.
The idea of praising people’s effort still leads to them doing things for approval from others rather than doing it for themselves.
Growth mindset can therefore discourage the type of independent behaviour it is trying to promote.

A strength is good real-world application.
Mindset has been used to improve performance in areas such as schools, businesses, sport and relationships.
Teaching people to see failure as a lack of effort rather than lack of talent motivates future effort.

Question 47

What is the positive effect of praise?

Answer 47

Praise is a reward and makes someone feel good so they repeat behaviours. Praise must fit performance and not be used for everything.

Question 48

Why should you praise effort rather than performance?

Answer 48

Praising effort is motivating – it gives a sense of control as people can always put in more effort. Praising others for their performance is demotivating especially when you can’t compete.

Question 49

What is self-efficacy?

Answer 49

This is understanding your own abilities which is related to expectations you have about future performance. Experiencing success is important and opportunities should be provided by parents and teachers.

Question 50

What is the effect of self-efficacy on motivation?

Answer 50

Self-efficacy affects motivation because if it is high you will put in greater effort, persist longer, have greater task performance and more resilience than if you think you can’t do it.

Question 51

What are the evaluation points on praise?

Answer 51

One weakness with using praise to encourage learning is that it can have the opposite effect.
Research by Lepper found that children were less interested in doing a task if they had previously been rewarded for it.
This suggests that praise can be demotivating.

One weakness with using praise to encourage learning is that it can have the opposite effect.
Research by Lepper found that children were less interested in doing a task if they had previously been rewarded for it.
This suggests that praise can be demotivating.

A strength is the value of understanding rewards.
Dweck found that students who were criticised for their effort performed better on a test than those who had been previously praised.
This shows that the kind of praise that is given is important.

Question 52

What is a learning style?

Answer 52

People differ in how they learn.
Matching teaching to a student’s learning style should improve learning.

Question 53

What is a verbaliser?

Answer 53

Prefers to process information verbally, by hearing it or reading it.
They remember best by repeating sounds, talking or writing in words.

Question 54

What is a visualiser?

Answer 54

Prefers to process information visually, by seeing it – especially the spatial relationships.
They remember best using diagrams, mind maps, graphs and charts.
They find it more difficult to process written information.

Question 55

What is a kinaesthetic learner?

Answer 55

A ‘hands-on’ learner, preferring active exploration, making things and experimenting.
They prefer physical activities rather than watching others or reading.

Question 56

What are the evaluation points for learning styles?

Answer 56

A strength of learning styles is that they have encouraged teachers to focus on other teaching methods rather than just traditional verbal ones.
This has led to teachers adopting a more varied approach.
This has benefited their students’ learning.

A weakness is that there is little evidence to suggest that learning styles work.
Pashler et al. reviewed many good quality research studies and found no support.
This challenges the claim that learning styles improve performance.

A weakness is that there are too many learning styles.
Coffield et al. identified 71 different types.
This is a problem as it will make it difficult for people to work out their preferred learning style.

Question 57

What is Willingham’s learning theory?

Answer 57

Willingham criticises the theory of learning styles because of a lack of scientific evidence.
Scientific research results from cognitive psychology and neuroscience can be used to improve learning.

Question 58

What are the evaluation points of Willingham’s learning theory?

Answer 58

A strength is that the theory is based on scientific evidence.
The studies on which it was based were well-designed, objective investigations.
This gives the claims of his theory greater validity.

A strength of the theory is that it has real-world applicability.
Willingham has selected research that has clear relevance to education and has a better foundation than learning styles.
His approach offers an explanation of what you learn (rather than how you learn).

An issue with Willingham’s research is that dyslexia cannot just be diagnosed by observing people’s brain waves.
There would be a number of other causes that would need to be investigated.
This makes it unlikely that brain waves would be used for diagnosis in this way.