Development Flashcards
what is nature
when characteristics and behaviour are inherited from parents
what is nurture
when characteristics and behaviour are influenced by the environment
what is an interactionist approach
both together
is nature and nurture seen as an interactionist approach
yes
what is a schema
a piece of knowledge on a particular subject
what are autonomic functions
they just happen
eg. breathing and blinking
what is assimilation
new information is taken on board and added to a pre existing schema
what is accommodation
taking on board new information and understanding it, may involve creating a new schema or altering existing ones
what is an extraneous variable
factors that can effect results in a study
what happens in the cortex
all thinking and processing goes on in (cognition)
what is the cortex
a thin, outer layer of the brain, it is divided into 2 hemispheres - lots of it because it is very folded
what is the cortex also known as
cerebral cortex
what is the cortex split into?
what are they called?
- lobes
- frontal lobe
- temporal lobe
- parietal lobe
- occipital lobe
when does the cortex start to function
in the womb- the developing baby starts to learn but at birth the cortex is fairly basic and develops throughout our lives
how thick is the cortex
3mm
what happens in the thalamus
it receives messages from the senses and turns them into behaviour motor responses- coordinates motor signals and all sensory information passes through
what is the thalamus also known as
the sensory processing station
where is the thalamus found
a deep chamber in the centre of the brain
what does the thalamus look like
the size and shape of a walnut
how many thalamus’ are there
2- one on the left, one on the right(hemispheres)
what does the cerebellum do
- coordinates movement and balance- receives info from brain and fine tunes it into motor activity
-coordinates sensory information (SENSORIMOTOR), language and emotion
what happens if a person suffers damage to the cerebellum
have difficulty with muscular coordination
what is the cerebellum also known as
little brain
which part of the brain is last to reach maturity
cerebellum
where is the cerebellum located
back of the brain, top of spinal chord
where is the brain stem located
connects spinal chord to the brain
what does the brain stem do
controls basic AUTONOMIC functions
what does the brain stem carry to the brain
motor and sensory nerves to the brain from the rest of the body via the spinal chord
what part of the brain is the most highly developed at birth
brain stem
what happens at six week of pregnancy
the baby’s heart beats regularly and blood pumps through main vessels
how are neurons connected
in a wat that allows them to communicate and process information
what does the axon carry
can carry an electrical signal to other areas of the brain, muscles etc.
when does the brain development start in pregnancy
3rd week
what do the multiplying cells form
a structure called the neural plate which folds over onto itself to form a neural tube
during the 3rd/4th week the neural tube begins to divide into what?
- spinal chord
- midbrain
- hindbrain
- forebrain
when does the cortex form
6th/ 7th week
when does the thalamus form
6th/7th week
what allows the foetus to move around
when neurons and synapses begin to develop in the spinal chord
what are synapses
small gap at the end of a neuron that allows a signal to pass from the neuron to the next
when does the cerebellum form
15th week in the hind brain
when is the brain fully formed in pregnancy
6th month
how big is the brain at birth
25% the size of an adult brain
what are the four stages in paiget’s theory of development in order
- sensorimotor
- pre operational
- concrete operational
- formal operational
what is the age of the sensorimotor stage
0-2 years
what is the age of the pre operational stage
2-7 years
what is the age of the concrete operational stage
7-11 years
what is the age of the formal operational stage
11 plus
what is the main feature of the sensorimotor stage
they develop object permanence
how do children learn about the world
through their senses
what does the sensorimotor stage focus on
basic physical coordination
what is object permanence
knowing an object still exists when they are out of sight
what did Piaget do to investigate object permanence
he gave a child a toy to play with. then when the child was watching he took the toy and hid it under a blanket
he watched to see whether they would look for the toy
what did piaget find when he investigated object permanence?
found children under 8 months did not search but 8 months and above did
- therefore had developed object permanence
what happens in the pre operational stage (2)?
- toddler is mobile but still lack reasoning ability
- focus on one element of a problem and ignore others
what is the main feature of the pre operational stage
children are egocentric
what is egocentrism
not being able to see things from another persons point of view
do children lose or gain object permanence
gain it
do children lose or gain egocentrism
lose it
piaget suggests from 7 onwards they lose it
what did piaget do to investigate egocentrism
the three mountain task-
- he showed a model of three mountains and placed a doll somewhere beside the model . the child was shown pictures from each side view and had to choose the view the doll could see
what did piaget find when he investigated egocentrism
children under 7 chose their own view however older then 7 they were able to choose the right photo
what did piaget conclude from his study on egocentrism
egocentrism decreases with age and children are no longer egocentric after 7
what did piaget believe about the concrete operational
by the time they were 7, they developed the ability to conserve
what happens in the concrete operational stage (2)
- children have much better reasoning ability
- they no longer show centration
what was the main ability in the concrete operatonal stage
children developed conservation
what is conservation
the quantity remains the same even when the appearance changes
do children lose or gain conservation
gain it
how did piaget investigate conservation
he showed children 2 identical rows of counters, then asked the child if there were the same amount of counters in each row.
- when the child agreed, he spread one row out to make it look BIGGER whilst the child watched
he then asked the SAME question
what did piaget find when he investigated conservation
children under 7 said no, children over 7 said yes
what is the main feature in the formal operational
children can solve problems in a systematic way( they can focus on one form of the problem and not be distracted by its content)
what did piaget believe once they can reason formally
they can become capable of scientific reasoning
how did piaget investigate formal reasoning? name?
children were given different lengths of string and weights that could attach to the string
what were the results of piagets pendulum problem
children under the age of 11 would change both at the same time but over 11, they would do it systematically (one at a time)
what was the aim of piagets study for formal reasoning?
investigate what factor affected how fast it swung- by varying the string and weights
what is a weakness of the pendulum problem
too simplistic for such a large age group (11-18)
what are the strengths of piagets theory(3)
- his work inspired others to study cognitive development further, led to educational changes improving standards
- supporting evidence- gains qualitive data for his studies, which was full of valid and realistic evidence
- the evidence supports the view children go through stages
what are the weaknesses of piagets theory
- underestimates what young children are capable of, contrasting evidence of Hughes and mcgarrigle
- used small samples that were unrepresentative of most children, reliability is lower
- piaget assumed childrens thinking changes rapidly in each stage, when it takes place more slowly- overestimated ability of 11 years olds
what is self efficacy
the belief in your own ability to suceed
what happens if you are praised for something
it makes you feel good and encourages you to repeat the behaviour- increases self esteem
when should you praise someone
when it is honest and deserved
what happens to a student who receives person praise
believe their success and failure are beyond their control
what happens to a student who receives process praise
believe their success and failure is due to effort
what can raise and lower your self efficacy
repeated success and failure
what should teachers do to raise self efficacy
should give students experience of success on appropriate level tasks
what did Hattie and Marzano find about self efficacy
it has a substantial impact on grades and achievements
how can you raise self efficacy
through praise
what are the 2 types of motivation
intrinsic
extrinsic
what is intrinsic motivation
to do something for your own reward
what is extrinsic motivation
to do something to gain reward or avoid punishment
what happens with high self efficacy
high self efficacy leads to greater task persistence and more resilience if you fail because you believe you can do so
what are the strengths of praise and self efficacy
- support from research shows reduced self efficacy leads to poor performance ( being asked their race before a test lowered it as African- American generally believed they are not smart
- understand how to best reward performance, research shows students improve their performance is criticised for not trying harder rather than praised
what are the weaknesses of praise and self efficacy
- some evidence suggests praise may not increase motivation(lepper found when children are offered a reward for a task, the child was less interested in doing the same task if there was no reward
- extrinsic reward destroys intrinsic motivation
what does Dweck believe
she believes success is due to mindset (nurture)
what are the 2 type of mindsets Dweck believes in
- fixed mindset
- growth mindset
what is a fixed mindset
believing your abilities are fixed and unchangeable
what is a growth mindset
believing practice and effort can improve abilities
what does Dweck believe if you have a fixed mindset
you will give up quickly
what does Dweck believe if you have a growth mindset
you will keep trying, increasing the chance of success
what is a continuum
people are a mixture of different mindsets- in some situations, people will be willing to put in a lot of effort whereas other the same person may give up quickly
how does a fixed mindset deal with failure
failure is a sign they are not as talented as they thought, they stop trying
how does a growth mindset deal with failure
failure they often regard as a great opportunity to learn
what are the strengths of Piaget’s theory (2) (schemas, assimilation etc.)
- Piaget’s theory has led to an enormous amount of research to test ideas
- Piaget’s ideas about how children learn has influenced classroom teaching(real world application)
what is a weakness of Piaget’s theory (schema assimilation etc.)
- used a small sample- involved middle class European children only used children from Switzerland, academic families
what does Dweck believe about the link between praise and mindset
the type of praise a student receives affects their mindset
what are the 2 types of praise
person praise
process praise
what is person praise
praising persons abilities
what is process praise
praising the effort
what are the strengths of Dweck’s Mindset theory
- research evidence that a growth mindset leads to better grades(48 7th graders- growth group had better motivation and grades)
- can be applied to many different settings such as school, sports and business( usefulness)
how do we evaluate a study
GRAVES
what does graves stand for
G- generaliability
R- reliability
A- application to real life
V- validity
E- ethics
S- supporting theory
how do we evaluate a theory
SCOUT
what does SCOUT stand for
S-supporting evidence
C- contrasting theory
O- opposing theory
U- usefulness
T- testibility
what are the weaknesses of Dweck’s mindset theory
- any sort of praise can be damaging, evidence that even praising effort learners work hard for praise(opposing theory)
- accused of being over simplistic, success is about working harder and failure is due to wrong attitude (usefulness)
- difficult to measure what mindset people have
what is a mindset
a set of beliefs someone has that guides how they respond and interpret a situation
what is an extraneous variable
factors that could affect results
what was the aim of the naughty teddy study
- to see whether the children reactions would be different if there was no deliberate change (suggesting they could conserve earlier then suggested)
they wondered if the deliberate change meant children thought there actually was a change in numbers
what were the results of the naughty teddy study
- 41% gave the correct answer if display was changed deliberately
- 62% gave the correct answer if change was accidental
- both figures were higher for primary children then nursery
- only 16% were able to give the correct answer in Piaget’s number study
what was the sample for the naughty teddy study
80 children all from Edinburgh
- 40 children were at nursery(mean age 4 yrs 10 months)
- 40 children were at primary (mean age 5yrs and 10 months)
what was the method for the naughty teddy study
- the children were introduced to a naughty teddy(puppet) who was liable to escape and mess up the game
- they were then shown 2 rows- one with 4 red counters, one with 4 white
3.the teddy jumped out the box and pushed the counters in one row to look SMALLER
4.before and after each child was asked the SAME question pointing to each row “is there more here or here or are they both the same number”
was the naughty teddy study a lab study
what does that mean?
yes
so there was some control of possible extraneous variables
in the naughty teddy study, were all the procedures standardised
yes
what is the conclusion of the naughty teddy study
- the study shows the traditional method of testing conservation underestimates what children could do and that they could conserve at an earlier age
- in the study many of the nursery children did conserve quantity, Piaget said they couldn’t at that age
- there was still an age difference, the primary children did better overall then the nursery- does not support Piaget’s idea that children’s thinking changes as they get older
what was the naughty teddy study investigating
conservation
how does Piaget’s theory apply in education- child centred learning
- all children go through the same development but at different rates
- so the teacher should arrange activities for individuals and groups
how does Piaget’s theory apply in education- readiness
- in his view, you cannot teach a child to perform certain activities before they are “biologically” ready( each stage appears through ageing)
- the child should only learn when they are at the right stage of development
- activities should be at appropriate level for child
how does Piaget’s theory apply in education- learning by discovery and teachers role
- he also believed for understanding to develop a child must learn concepts themselves, it is important that children play an active role in their education
- the teachers role is to create an environment which will stimulate children to ask questions
- the activities should challenge a learner so thinking will develop
what are the 4 ways Piaget’s theory applies to education
- learning by discovery
- teachers role
- readiness
- child centred learning
what does Piaget say you should teach in the sensorimotor stage
provide a rich and stimulating environment, sensory experiment and learn motor coordination
e.g toys that squeak
what does Piaget say you should teach in the pre operational stage
games that involve role play and dressing up may reduce egocentricity , hands on activities
e.g plasticine
what does Piaget say you should teach in the concrete operational stage
given concrete material to manipulate,
e.g abacus
cooking is good as it involves practical work and instructions
what does Piaget say you should teach in the formal operational stage
scientific activities will help develop an understanding of logic, discussion in groups enable people to think about things
what are the strengths of Piaget’s theory being applied in education (1)
- it has had an enormous effect on education in uk as a report in 1967 said a need for major change in education drawing on Piaget’s ideas
what are the weaknesses of Piaget’s theory being applied in education (3)
- Piaget’s ideas of children needing to be ready has been criticised, opposing evidence found children could do tasks if given practice, suggesting readiness doesn’t matter
- Piaget’s idea of discovery learning may not work for all subjects like math and English, some may be better done formally
- is culturally biased, learning directed by an individual is an individualistic approach, not favoured by some cultures who are collectivists
what is an example of assimilation
as you see more dogs, your schema on dogs will get bigger
what did piaget believe was key to cognitive development
schemas
what is equilibrium
the balance between accommodation and assimilation which allows children to learn new info
what are the strengths of learning styles (1)
- traditional teaching may have focused on verbal methods alone so provides alternatives to use, draw attention to the different ways people learn
what are the weaknesses of learning styles (2)
- no sound evidence that supports the idea they improve performance , not based on experimental evidence
- too many different learning styles means impossible to put into practice- too complicated to see which is best(not a useful concept)
what are the three learning styles
- visual
- auditory
- kinaesthetic
what is a visual learner
learn best by reading or seeing pictures
what is an auditory learner
learn best by listening, they remember what they have heard
what is a kinaesthetic learner
learn best by doing something, remember best with physical activity
what is a verbaliser
they process information in terms of words. they prefer to learn from written info and like to write it down
prefer textbooks to diagrams
give an example of how a verbaliser might learn best
writing key things down etc
what is a visualiser
they process info in terms of pictures and diagrams, visually. they find it easier to understand graphs and charts
often use memory of watching someone do an experiment
give an examples of how a visualiser might learn best
drawing a diagram etc
what does Willingham suggest about learning styles
learning styles do not exist in the way described
why did Willingham not believe in learning styles
thought there was no scientific evidence to support learning styles aiding learning
what does evidence suggests about teaching students in their preferred leaning style
it has no effect on performance
however, what does Willingham agree with about learning styles
agrees students have better visual or auditory memory
what do teachers want their students to remember
remember meaning and not what it look/sounds like
what does Willingham believe
- what can it be called
students should be taught using the best method for the content being taught
- content modality not learner modality
what is it more important than how students learn things
students ability to store info in terms of meaning is more important then how they learn it
what does Willingham say about praise
- focuses that praise should be unexpected
- important to praise effort not ability
what did leppe find about praise
found when children have been offered a reward for doing something, later they were not interested in doing the same task for no reward
what does Willingham say about memory and forgetting
- emphasises that practice and effort enable us to master knowledge and skills
- practicing over and over allow us to do it automatically
- practice and repetition of learning is very important
what happens if you already know something(Willingham’s theory)
it leaves you more processing power to solve a problem
what is very important according to Willingham about learning
practice and repetition of learning
what does Willingham say you should do instead of memorising
“stop memorising info and retrieve it from memory instead”
Willingham’s theory about self regulation
- what is it
- the ability to control your behaviour, cognitive process, emotion and attention
what does Willingham talk about in his theory (5)
- learning styles don’t exist
- praise
- memory and forgetting
- self regulation
- neuro science
what happens to children who show delay gratification
children who show a high ability of delay gratification later perform better on tests
what is self regulation also known as
delay gratification
how was self regulation tested
- the marshmallow test
what did the marshmallow test for self regulation do
- the researcher offered a child a marshmallow
- they then said to the child ‘you can have 2 if you hold on until I come back in 15 minutes’
- the researcher left the room and then returned
what did the marshmallow test for self regulation find
67% had given in and eaten it after 15 minutes
what did Willingham say about neuro science
- some learning disorders such as dyslexia have a poor function in specific areas of the brain
what did willingham and lloyd find about dyslexia
- they found that if a specific area of the brain could be associated with dyslexia , it means children could receive help much earlier and be beneficial to their progress
summary of willingham theory- complete the sentences-
1. praise should – ———. if performance depends on it, ———-
2. an important part of how memory can help us learn is ——-
3. ——- refers to your ability to ———– eg. —–
4. —- is an example of how ——– has helped us to understand learner difficulties
- praise should be unexpected. is performance depends on it, this destroys natural motivation to work hard
- knowledge about cues and retrieval
- self control refers to your ability to regulate your behaviour e.g marshmallow test
- dyslexia is an example of how neuroscience has helped
what are the strengths of willinghams learning theory (3)
- all of his recommendations are based on scientific research- credible due to being scientific
- his recommendation can be used to improve teaching and learning by encouraging praise on effort so provides a more accurate way to learn through effort which he supported by his criticism of other learning styles- they don’t result in better school performance
- supporting evidence for the theory comes from lots of studies eg. marshmallow test, show not everyone’s preferred learning style made results better
what are the weaknessess of willinghams learning theory (3)
- he did not consider the importance of individual differences for learning- he GENRELISES his ideas to all learning without considering some individuals differences in learners which may not conform to what he expects
- many studies in the theory have been experiments so have artificial settings so may not represent real life, data on effort not ability may lack VALIDITY
- studying the mindset of a child may result in the child becoming the focus if there is a problem with their progress rather than the quality of the teaching, this can affect the USEFULNESS of the theory
what does willingham say in his criticism of learning styles (3)
- he agrees learners are different , but suggests teachers might take this into account just because they are happier using their learning style
- there is no credible evidence to support that for example visual learners do better if given material in a visual style
- the difference is between how and what you learn
what did willingham conclude in his theory
the ‘learning styles’ is not a theory of instruction because it is not about what you learn
is the experience in the wound nature or nurture?
nurture
give examples of nature
genes, brain structure
give examples of nurture
friendships, socialisation
what happens to pregnant others who smoke
give birth to smaller babies, nicotine slows down brain growth
is a pregnant mother smoking nurture or nature
nurture
why should pregnant mothers avoid anyone with rubella
it can influence brain damage and cause hearing loss
if a pregnant mother has rubella is that nature or nurture
nurture
what happens when a baby is born
they recognise their mothers voice immediatly
if babied recognise their mothers voice immediately, what does this suggest
brain is changing before we are born, external stimuli
what do scientists use to investigate the interactionist approach between nature and nurture
twins
what did the policeman doll study
egocentrism
who carried out the policeman doll study
hughes
what was the aim of the policeman doll study
- to see if children could cope better with egocentrism tasks at an earlier age then piaget suggested
what did hughes suggest about the study
- younger children might have less difficulty if the task made more sense to them
what were the results of the policeman doll study
- 90% children were able to position the boy doll where 2 policeman dolls could not see him
what was the conclusion of the policeman doll study
- Piaget underestimated children’s abilities
- if the task is designed which is related to everyday experiences, the children can see from others perspectives
- piaget was right that childrens thinking changes with age
what was the sample of the policeman doll study
30 children from 3.5 to 5 years old
all from Edinburgh
was the police man doll a lab study
- what does that mean?
yes
- there was some control of extraneous variables
was the procedures of the policeman doll study standardised
yes
what was the method of the police man doll study
- the child was shown a model with two intersecting walls. the policeman doll was placed on one side of the child
- they then put a boy doll in each section and asked if the policeman could see the boy doll (he couldn’t in sections a and c)
- the policeman was then moved to X and aksed the child to hide the boy doll so the policeman could not see it. if the child made mistakes, task was repeated
- they then placed 2 policeman dolls and asked the child again to hide the boy doll
what are the strengths of the policeman doll study(3)
- high in RELIABILITY because it uses a standardised procedure, same equipment and doll used
- supports Piaget’s theory of egocentrism but..
- the task made better sense to the children because they could encounter it in everyday life and Hughes made sure they knew what to do
what are the weaknesses of the policeman doll study (3)
- low in GENRELISABILITY , only 30 pp all from Edinburgh
- low in VALIDITY, the task is abnormal for children, ecological environment so ppts may not be acting as usual
- researcher may have unconsciously hinted about the correct answer- results may lack VALIDITIY
