Development Flashcards
Brain stem features
Highly developed at brith
Autonomic functions are performed eg breathing
Connects the brain to the spinal chord
Cerebellum features
Matures later
Near top of spinal chord
Co ordinates the sensory and motor information
Thalamus
Deep inside the brain - one in each hemisphere
Acts as an information hub
Cortex’s features
Very thing and folded
Spread over both hemispheres
Frontal cortex - visual and auditory
Motor functions processed in motor areas in each hemisphere
Smoking during pregnancy results in
Smaller brains
Infection during pregnancy such as rubella
Can result in baby’s hearing loss
Baby’s can’t recognise a mother’s voice a few days after birth. True or false?
True - some even respond to (by sucking on device) stories read to them whilst they were in the womb
The brain forms due to …..but …..has a major influence over it
Nature
Nurture
Piaget theory is that
Cognition changes over time
Piagets stages overall not detail
Different kinds of logical thinking occurr at each stage
Piagets schema description
Mental structures that become more complex
Assimilation
Adding new information to an existing schema
Accommodation
Recieving new information That forms a new schema with more understanding
A strength of piagets theory is that many studies were conducted by him and others
Supports and some refine the theory which gives a more acccurate theory
One strength of piagets theory is that it has been applied to the real world
Primary school classrooms in the UK have been changed and designed along with the lessons to promote more active participation and learning to engage the children based on piagets ideas of discovery learning
One weakness of piagets theory is that the sample may not be applicable
He only used middle class Swiss children therefore they have a certain background and culture that may favour different activities so may not be generalised across all cultures and classes
The study based on piagets idea of conservation was called and conducted by who
Naughty teddy study by McGarrigle and Donaldson
McGarrigle and Donaldson naughty teddy study aim
Whether deliberate change in a row of counters would help younger children’s ability to conserve
McGarrigle and Donaldson naughty teddy study method
Children aged 4-6 were shown two rows of red and white counters. They were then taken out of the room and told that a naughty teddy had messed it up and the chick would say whether the amount of counters were the same or not
McGarrigle and Donaldson naughty teddy study results
Deliberate change = 41% conserved
Accidental change = 68% conserved
Older children did better
McGarrigle and Donaldson naughty teddy study conclusion
Piagets method underestimated children because they were confused by the adults moving the counters so though it must be a trick question. Shows that there are still age related chnages
One weakness of McGarrigle and Donaldson naughty teddy study is that the sample
Was from one primary school so can’t be generalise across
One weakness is that Moore’s study shows that the children didn’t notice
The children’s better performance in the accidental condition may be due to them being distracted by the teddy. Moore’s results show that even if a counter was taken away a they still said it was the same. May not be valid results of McGarrigle
One strength of McGarrigle and Donaldson naughty teddy study is that it challenges piagets theory
It refines piagets theory which is good for symbology
Egocentrism definition and conducted supporting study by and called
When you see the world form one point of view
Hugh called policeman doll study
Hugh’s policeman doll study aim was
To investigate egocentrism in young children in a way that makes more sense than Piagets
Hugh’s policeman doll study method
30 3-5 year olds from Edinburgh had to place a doll in a section of intersection walls where the police doll wouldn’t see it. They were given practice before the study
Hugh’s policeman doll study results
90% hid the doll correctly
3 year olds did less well
Hugh’s policeman doll study conclusion
4 year old are not egocentric contrary to piaget because he underestimated their abilities but he was right about thinking it will change with age
One strength of Hugh’s policeman doll study was that it was easier for children to understand
So it was more valid and they were given practice so results were reliable
One weakness of Hugh’s policeman doll study is that unconscious investigator cues
May have influences the children so it lacks validity
One strength of Hugh’s policeman doll study is that it challenges Piaget
This means the results are not skewed in Hughs so refines the theory
Sensorimotor stage description
0-2 years
Learn to co ordinate sensory and motor information
Object Permanence is where they think the object disappears if it’s not in their direct line of sight
Pre-operational stage description
2-7 years
Can’t always think logically
Egocentric
Lack of conservational abilities
Concrete- Operational Stage description
7-11 years
,At 7 most are able to conserve and are less egocentric
Formal - Operationla Stage
Above 11 yrs
Can draw conclusions about abstract and complex theories such as algebra
One strength of Piagets cognitive stages is that the basic idea is correct
- thinking changes with age so is a valid theory
One weakness worth Piagets theory about stages is that he sometimes overestimated children’s abilities
A study shows that most above 11 yrs can not deal with Wilson’s card sorting abstract game.
Another weakness of Piagets theory about cognitive stages is that he sometimes underestimated children’s abilities
Some types of thinking develop earlier than whatPiaget proposed
Readiness description
Piagets idea that you can only teach a child something when the child is biologically at the correct stage
Discovery Learning description
Piagets idea that that children must play an active role so that they assimilate and engage with the information taught and that their schemas should be slightly challenged but not so much that they become frustrated
At Pre operational stage
Individual Learning description
Everyone’s biological clock works at a different speed so everyone is different.
One strength of Piagets ideas about education are that they were very influential and had a positive impact on the UK
Schools changed classrooms and lessons to have a more active role that engages and challenges students based on discovery learning
One weakness about piagets ideas of education is that a study conducted by Bryant suggests that practice cou,d be more influential than readiness
Practice can overcome the effects of the biological clock and complete the stages earlier
Another weakness of piagets ideas about education is that a traditional method is often required
And may be more beneficial in subjects such as Maths
Basic description of Dwerks theory
The set of assumptions we have or our mindset affects our performance
Success is due to effort not performance
Enjoyment of challenge
Praise effort
Above is growth mindset
Fixed mindset is all talent no hard work, no pointing in trying if you fail
One strength of Dwecks theory is that research evidence shows that growth mindsets leads to better grades
48 low achieving students. Half attended a session on how brain is a muscle that can be excessive others attended memory lesson. The first group did better.
One weakness is that any sort of praise may be damaging
In both mindsets if the learner is dependent on praise they are working to earn someone else’s approval rather than for their own satisfaction. Means not even praise of effort is the best
One strength is that decks theory has real life impact
Offices, schools etc
Dwecks self efficacy
Your idea of how competent you are
Related to your expectations from past experiences
People who have a higher self efficacy for learning do better than those who have doubts about their own capabilities
One weakness of Dwecks self efficacy theory is that Leppers research contradicts it
Pepper found that long term motivation isn’t increased with praise or rewards because children become less interested in doing the task when there isn’t a reward
Hence extrinsic rewards destroy intrinsic motivation
One strength of Dwecks theory is that studies show reduced self efficacy lead to poor performance. This is called the stereotype threat
Steele found that if African American students were asked to indicate their race before taking an IQ test they did worse. The explanation is that because they were reminded of their race it lowered their self efficacy because it is a stereotype that they are not academically inclined.
A strength of Dwecks theory is that we now know how to best reward performance.
One group of students were consistently told the reason for poor grades was laziness and the second group was told they were doing well. At the end of the month the second group gave up on challenging tasks more easily.
This shows feedback is important.
What is a learning style
Different types and descriptions
People differ in how they learn - match teaching to a students preferred learning mode and they are supposed to do better. Three sensory modes are
Verbalisers -prefers to deal with words, auditory processing, repetition and prefer text to diagrams.
Visualisers - prefer diagrams to text,find it easy to understand graphs,
Kinaesthetic - touch, direct experience through active exploration of the environment
One strength of learning styles is that traditional methods of teaching may have only focused on verbal methods.
A general consensus that a mixed approached is the best. This created variety and experimentation which is beneficial to the community.
One weakness of learning styles is that there isn’t methodologically sounding evidence that supports it.
Most reports on learning styles had no evidence. The ones that had evidence didn’t show any connection. In fact some showed that if a students preferred learning style was used the student became lazy and did worse.
Another weakness of learning styles is that there are too many modes apart from the three sensory.
Not practical to put into practices as a learning mode is likely specific to a persons mood and the subject they are learning.
Not a useful concept.
Willing hams learning theory
Praise should be given after a task is completed and a person shouldnt work for praise cos that ruins intrinsic motivation
People shoud practice retrieval rather than cued recall
Self control affects grades (children and marshmallows)
Specific brain waves are associated with dyslexia . If we catch the brain wave we can help the child earlier
One strength of willingnams theory is that all the evidence is drawn from scientific research
The validity of conclusions is intact because no extraneous variable affecting the results they were based upon.
Another strength of willinghams theory is tosh it specifically focuses on application to learn8gn
His criticism of the learning style approach is that there isn’t anything to prove it helps. Hence he is working toward an effective method to help students today .
One weakness of willinghams theory is that the diagnosis based on brain waves is unlikely
Highly unlikely that brain disorders can be pinpointed to just one specific source through brain waves. Hence a diagnosis of dyslexia based on brain waves is misleading.
