Development

Question 1

basic outline of the early brain development

Answer 1

Brain Stem:
-connects brain to the spinal cord
-carries messages via the spinal cord
-automatic functions
-highly developed at birth
Cerebellum:
-matures late
-near top of spinal cord
-coordinates sensory info and motor activity as well as movement (balance)
Thalamus:
-deep inside the brain in each hemisphere
-information hub: receives and sends signals around the brain
Cortex:
-divided in 2 hemispheres
-outer covering of brain, very thin and folded
thinking and processing
-frontal, visual, auditory, motor areas in each hemisphere

Question 2

roles of nature and nurture

Answer 2

nature: inherited
nurture: environmental influences on development

Question 3

smoking during pregnancy

Answer 3

affects the size of the brain and body because nicotine slows down brain growth

Question 4

infection during pregnancy

Answer 4

in the womb, german measles can cause brain damage (more specifically hearing loss)

Question 5

voices during pregnancy

Answer 5

• babies learn to recognise mother’s voices

- brain is changing before you are born in response to external stimuli

Question 6

the interaction between nature and nurture

Answer 6

• both aspects at the same time

- brain forms due to nature (product of genes) but the environment has a major influence even in the womb

Question 7

outline Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (9t)

Answer 7

Theory:
-changes in thinking (cognition) over time (as we get older)
-children think differently from adults
Stages:-young children aren’t able to think logically about the world (brains aren’t mature enough)
-as the child gets older their brain develops and different kinds of thinking such as being able to think in abstract ways
Schemas:
-the world is represented in the mind where knowledge is stored
-as the child develops the construct more and more detailed and complex schemas
-number of schemas increase as we grow older through assimilation and accommodation
Assimilation:
when we understand a new experience and add that new information to a new schema
Accommodation:
receiving new information that changes our understanding so a new schema is formed

Question 8

what is a strength of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (9t)
*a lot of research

Answer 8

P- enormous amount of research (evidence) to test his ideas
E- many studies have been conducted to test Piaget’s theory
L- we can be more certain about what aspects of his theory need refining which has helped improve our understanding of how children’s thinking develops

Question 9

what is a weakness of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (9t)
*sample

Answer 9

P- his research involved middle class European children 
E- children were in European academic families who valued academic abilities, in other social classes/cultures a greater value may be placed on a more basic level of concrete operations (eg.making things rather than abstract ideas)
L- theory may not be universally applicable

Question 10

what is a strength of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development (9t)
*real world application

Answer 10

P- has real world application
E- the theory has helped change classroom teaching so it’s now more activity based
L- demonstrates it’s positive value (usefulness)

Question 11

conservation

Answer 11

although appearance changes, quantity stays the same

Question 12

Piaget and conservation

Answer 12

-Piaget showed that younger children can’t conserve quantities
-showed children 2 identical rows of 6 counters each, equally spaced; the children correctly reasoned that each row had the same number
-however when the counters in one of the rows were pushed together the young children struggled to converse and usually said there were less counters
—->this is challenged by the naughty teddy study
they wondered if Piaget’s results were due to the fact that the children saw the counters being changed and may have thought this meant that there was an actually deliberate change in the number of counters

Question 13

outline the naughty teddy study (9s)

McGarrigle and Donaldson

Answer 13

A: aimed to see whether the child’s reaction would be different if there was no deliberate change in the row of counters
M: -80 children aged 4/6 years old
-introduced to “naughty teddy” who could spoil their game
-shown 2 rows of equal counters
-teddy jumps out of box and pushes the counters in one row about, transforming display by making one row look smaller
-child was then asked if the rows were the same
R: -deliberate change: 41% gave the correct answer (same number in each row)
-accidental change: 68% gave the correct answer
-older children did better than younger children
C: -Piaget’s method doesn’t show what children can do (nursery kids conserved quantity)
-older children did better than younger ones which supports Piaget’s idea that the way children think changes as they grow older

Question 14

what is a weakness of the naughty teddy study (9s)

*sample

Answer 14

P- primary children all came from one school
E- primary kids may have done better than the nursery kids due to their educational backgrounds, may have coped better due to their better developed language/better educated families
L- challenges validity of conclusions as other factors can explain the difference

Question 15

what is a weakness of the naughty teddy study (9s)

*distracted

Answer 15

P- the children’s better performance in the accidental condition may be because they didn’t notice any change had taken place
E- the children may have been distracted by the teddy and didn’t realise anything had changed so they kept their original answer (that both rows were the same)
L- just means that the children weren’t looking, not conserving

Question 16

what is a strength of the naughty teddy study (9s)

*challenges Piaget

Answer 16

P- challenges some of Piaget’s assumptions
E- shows that Piaget confused young children with his style of questioning, children are actually more able
L- helps to refine his theory

Question 17

egocentrism

Answer 17

to see the world only from one’s point of view

Question 18

Piaget and egocentrism

Answer 18

Three mountains task
-a child is shown a model of 3 mountains with a doll place opposite
-the child is asked to choose what the doll would “see” from a range of pictures
-the children describe what they see and not what the doll would see
-only children over 7 could consistently choose the correct picture
—->challenged by the Policeman Doll Study
he suggested that the children may have less difficulty if the task made more social sense

Question 19

outline Hughe’s policeman study (9s)

Answer 19

A: aimed to create a task that would be more understandable than Piaget’s
M: -30 kids 3 1/2 to 5 year olds
- children were asked to hide a boy doll from two policeman dolls on a model with different sections
-practice was given beforehand
R: -90% could hide the boy doll away from 2 policemen
-with a more complex task (more sections) the 3 year olds had more trouble (60% correct) whereas the 4 year olds had 90% success
C: -children aged 4 are mostly not egocentric
-Piaget underestimated younger children’s abilities
-correct that thinking changes with age

Question 20

what is a strength of Hughe’s policeman study (9s)

*made more sense

Answer 20

P- task made more sense to the children than Piaget’s version
E- policeman task was more realistic and a similar to something they’d experience in everyday life, the children also had practice so they fully understood task
L-more realistic test of abilities/the children’s capabilities

Question 21

what is a weakness of Hughe’s policeman study (9s)

*unintentional cues

Answer 21

P- researcher may have unintentionally hinted about the correct answer
E- researcher may have unconsciously given cues (gazing in a certain direction) and influenced the child’s behaviour
L- results may lack validity

Question 22

what is a strength of Hughe’s policeman study (9s)

*challenges Piaget

Answer 22

P- challenges some of Piaget’s assumptions
E- study shows that Piaget’s task confused the children making them appear like less able thinkers
L- helps to refine his theory

Question 23

stages of cognitive development

Answer 23

Sensorimotor Stage (0-2):
-learn to coordinate sensory and motor info
-object permanence
Pre-operational Stage (2-7):
-lacks reasoning ability
-can’t think in a consistently logical way
-lack of conservation
-egocentric
Concrete Operational Stage (7-11):
-most can conserve
-less egocentric
-better reasoning abilities
-struggle to reason about abstract ideas and imagine things they can’t see
-logical thinking applied to physical objects
-class inclusion
Formal Operational Stage (11+):
-capable of formal reasoning
-children can draw conclusions about abstract concepts and form arguments

Question 24

what is a weakness of the stages of cognitive development

*underestimated

Answer 24

P- underestimated what young children are capable of
E- younger children performed better than Piaget predicted, they were just unable to cope with unusual tasks which confused them
L- some aspects of children’s thinking develops earlier than Piaget proposed

Question 25

what is a weakness of the stages of cognitive development

*overestimated

Answer 25

P- overestimated what children are capable of
E-suggested that children 11+ are capable of abstract reasoning but most can’t cope with Watson’s card sorting task in abstract form
L- optimistic about what children can do, but some never even reach this stage

Question 26

what is a strength of the stages of cognitive development

*basic idea

Answer 26

P- his basic idea is correct
E- all studies found that that younger children didn’t cope as well as older children
L- supports Piaget’s overall view that thinking changes with age, valid

Question 27

applying Piaget’s theory to education

Answer 27

Readiness:
-can only teach something to a child if they’re biologically “ready”
-activities must be at appropriate level for the child to fully understand/be competent
-if the child isn’t mature enough they’ll only acquire the skills superficially
Learning by Discovery and the Teacher’s Role:
-children must play an active role in their education (not rote learn)
-the child’s thinking will develop better in a stimulating learning environment
Individual Learning:
-children go through all the same stages in the same order but at different rates
Application to Stages:
-sensorimotor: stimulating sensory environment
-pre operational: discovery learning rather that written work
-concrete operational: physical materials to manipulate
-formal operational: scientific experiments to develop logical thinking

Question 28

what is a strength of applying Piaget’s theory to education

*influential

Answer 28

P- it was very influential (enormous effect on UK primary education)
E- positive impact on education as more child centered activities were put in place (as opposed to the very teacher centered learning back then)
L- demonstrated the value of Piaget’s theory for education

Question 29

what is a weakness of applying Piaget’s theory to education

*practice

Answer 29

P- suggests that practice shouldn’t improve performance if a child isn’t ready but not all research supports this
E- thinking can develop at an earlier age if given enough practice (not just when ready)
L- challenges notion that education should be centered around Piaget’s stages

Question 30

what is a weakness of applying Piaget’s theory to education

*traditional methods

Answer 30

P- discovery learning may not always be the best approach
E- Bernett found that children taught using the more formal methods did better in some subjects (like maths and English) than children taught using a more child centered active approach
L- direct instruction is a better teaching method in some subjects

Question 31

outline Dweck’s mindset theory (9t)

Answer 31

mindset: set of assumptions we have–> affects success
Fixed Mindset:
-abilities/talent is fixed in their genes
-aren’t doing well , give up
-no amount of effort will change the situation
-focused on performance goals (doing well=feel good)
Growth Mindset:
-can improve with effort
-enjoy challenges
-focused on learning goals (working hard=feel good)
Dealing with failure:
-fixed: failure indicates lack of talent=give up
-growth: opportunity to learn more and put in more effort
Continuum:
-people are a mixture (not just one or the other)
-depends on the situation

Question 32

what is a strength of Dweck’s mindset theory (9t)

*research evidence

Answer 32

P- research evidence shows that a growth mindset leads to better grades
E- Dweck found that children taught a growth mindset had better grades and motivation
L- shows that a growth mindset can be taught and can improve performance

Question 33

what is a weakness of Dweck’s mindset theory (9t)

*involves praise

Answer 33

P- any sort of praise may be damaging
E- praising effort can still lead to doing things for approval from others rather than self satisfaction which can discourage independent behaviour
L- praise of effort may not be the best way to motivate learners

Question 34

what is a strength of Dweck’s mindset theory (9t)

*real world application

Answer 34

P- has real world application
E- in business, sport and relationships ect. seeing failure as a lack of effort rather than talent motivates future effort
L- shows the positive value

Question 35

the role of self-praise and self-efficacy

Answer 35

Positive Effect of Praise:
-reward
-makes someone feel good so behaviour is repeated and motivation is increased
-praise must be honest and sincere for efficacy
Praise Effort rather than Performance:
-praising effort enables control as you can always increase your effort and get motivated from others getting their effort praised
-praising performance is demotivating as if you see someone get praised for doing a task better than you in can be upsetting
Self-Efficacy:
-understanding of your own abilities
-past experience leads you to have expectations about future performance (repeated failure=lowers self efficacy and vice versa)
-can also come from what others say
The Effect of Self-Efficacy on Motivation:
-influences what you choose to fo
-high sense of self-efficacy=willing to make greater effort and persist longer, resilience and greater task performance

Question 36

what is a weakness of the role of self-praise and self-efficacy
*opposite effect

Answer 36

P- praise may reduce rather than increase motivation
E- praise makes you feel good but doesn’t increase motivation in the long term, research showed that when children were offered a reward for doing something the students who didn’t receive a reward were less interested in doing the same task
L- suggests that external rewards destroy internal motivation

Question 37

what is a strength of the role of self-praise and self-efficacy
*support

Answer 37

P- support from research that shows that reduced self efficacy leads to poor performance
E- African American students did worse on an IQ test if thy were reminded of their race due to the stereotype that African Americans don’t do well on IQ tests (lowered their self efficacy)
L- strengthens validity

Question 38

what is a strength of the role of self-praise and self-efficacy
*practical application

Answer 38

P- has practical application (how to best reward performance)
E- students criticised for their effort increased their effort and performed better on a test than those previously praised as they ended up giving up when they didn’t do well
L- shows that the kind of feedback received is important

Question 39

what is a learning style

Answer 39

• people differ in how they learn

- matching teaching to learning style will improve learning

Question 40

verbaliser

Answer 40

• focus on words
• gather and process info by hearing and reading
• remember info by repeating it and focusing on sounds
• solve problems by talking about it/writing it down

Question 41

visualisers

Answer 41

• pictures
• visual processing
• spatial relationships (diagrams and mindmaps)

Question 42

kinaesthetic learners

Answer 42

• hands on
• learning by active exploration
• prefer carrying out physical activities

Question 43

what is a strength of learning styles

*change from traditional methods

Answer 43

P- change from traditional methods (that only use verbal)
E- teachers have adopted a varied approach by using a mix of learning styles
L- benefits student’s learning

Question 44

what is a weakness of learning styles

*no supporting evidence

Answer 44

P- no supporting evidence
E- no good quality studies which challenges claim that learning styles improve performance
L- seriously undermines the value of measuring learning styles and applying the idea to improve performance

Question 45

what is a weakness of learning styles

*too many

Answer 45

P- too many different styles (makes it impossible to put into practice)
E- Coffield identified 71 different types so it’s difficult to work out preferred type
L- suggests that learning styles aren’t a useful concept (unworkable)

Question 46

outline Willingham’s learning theory (9t)

Answer 46

Theory:
-critical of learning styles theory as it had no evidence
-cognitive psychology and neuroscience can be used to improve learning
Praise:
-important to praise process (effort) rather than ability
-should be unexpected
-praise before a task led to less motivation in the future
-if performance depends on praise it destroys your natural sense of motivation
Memory and Forgetting:
-key reason for forgetting in not having the right cues
-rather than trying to memorise, practising retrieval of the information is more effective
Self-Regulation:
-self control is being able to control your behaviour, emotions, attention ect
-research has shown that young children who showed a high ability to delay gratification (marshmallow) performed higher on tests of school progress
Neuroscience:
-learning disorder like dyslexia have been associated with poor function in specific areas of the brain (brain waves in dyslexics are different)
-could benefit progress by receiving help earlier

Question 47

what is a strength of Willingham’s learning theory (9t)

*evidence

Answer 47

P- all evidence based
E- based on scientific basis
L- great validity

Question 48

what is a strength of Willingham’s learning theory (9t)

*real world application

Answer 48

P- focuses on applications to learning
E- positive impact on education as he gives an alternate approach to learning styles
L- research has real world value

Question 49

what is a weakness of Willingham’s learning theory (9t)

*misleading

Answer 49

P- diagnosis on the basis of brain difference may not be possible
E- dyslexia can’t be diagnosed by brain waves as learning disorders are likely to have a number of causes
L- diagnosis of a condition such as dyslexia based of brain differences is unlikely and may be misleading