Development Flashcards
At 3 weeks
The brain begins to develop. multiplying cells form a structure called the neural plate. This folds over onto itself to form a tube structure called the neural tube
During the 4th week
The neural tube divides into the: Spinal cord Forebrain Midbrain Hindbrain
During the 6th week
The forebrain divides into two areas:
The cortex
The thalamus
Neurons and synapses begin to develop in the spinal cord which allows the fetus to move around
By the 15th week
The cerebellum has formed from the hindbrain
By 6 months
The brain is fully formed but not full sized yet
During the last 3 months
Folds begin to form the cortex
At birth the brain is
25% its adults size
Brain stem
The brain stem connects the spinal cord to the brain. It controls basic autonomic functions such as breathing, heart rate, blood pressure & sleeping.
Thalamus
The centre of the brain. its the sensory processing station. It receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate behavioral responses. All sensory information passes through the thalamus on its way to the cortex.
Cerebellum
Located at the back of the brain behind the brain stem. It controls movement & balance and receives information from the cortex and other areas to fine tune motor activity like walking.
Cortex
The outer layer of the brain. It is responsible for higher cognitive processes and is divided into four lobes.
Frontal lobe
Responsible for cognitive processes such as thinking, planning and problem solving
Parietal lobe
Processes information related to touch on the skin (hot/cold/pain)
Temporal lobe
Involved in processing auditory information
Occipital lobe
Involved in processing visual information
MZ
Identical twins
DZ
Non identical twins
Nature
The idea that we inherit our characteristics and behaviors through genes
Nurture
The idea that wereceive our behavior and characteristics from the environment
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
He believed that schemes were the key to how children developed as they grew up. He believed that there are four stages to a child’s intellectual development. He said children pass through these stages in the same order and at the same age.
Schemas
Blocks of knowledge that develop in response to our experience of the world. He believed that babies has simple schemas for sucking and grasping and as the baby grows, more complex ones develop
Assimilation
Occurs when new information is added to an existing schema e.g babies will use the sucking schema with fingers and other objects they put in their mouth
Accommodation
The schema has to be modified to adapt to a new solution, hence a new schema is formed (e.g the grasping schema has to be changed to deal with objects of different shapes)
Sensorimotor stage
0-2
Children develop object permanence which is knowing that objects still exist even when they are out of sight
How was sensorimotor stage investigated
Piaget gave the child a toy and then covered the toy with a blanket. Children under 8 months did not search for the toy but children 8+ did search
Pre-operational stage
2-7
Egocentric which means not being able to see things from other peoples point of view
How was pre-operational investigated
The three mountain experiment. He placed a doll somewhere beside the model and then shows children photos of each side of the model. The children has to pick the photo showing the view the doll could see. Children under 7 chose the photo that matched their own view
Concrete stage
7-11
Conserve which is knowing that the amount of something stays the same even if its appearance changes
How was concrete stage investigated
Piaget showed children two identical rows of counters then asked them if there was the same amount. He then spread the counters of one row out and asked the children again. Children under 7 said there were more counters in the spread out row
Formal operation stage
11+
Systematic problem solving
How was formal-operational investigated
Children were given different lengths of string and weights that could be attached. The children had to find out what factors affected how fast the pendulum could swing. Children after the age of 11 would try and solve the problem systematically.
Evaluation of piaget
:( Other psychologists have shown that the ages of piagets stages are wrong
————
:( The way he collected data. He used his own children and small samples that are unrepresentative of most children. Questions were not standardized
———-
:) Major impact on education where his ideas are still used today. his methods were new and fun and are simple to replicate
The roles of piagets theory in education
Children need to be able to explore and discover situations for themselves. Children should be taught in a self-centered way. Teaching materials for science and maths should include actual objects for children to explore.
Fixed mindset
Students believe their intelligence is unchanging. It is genetic and there is nothing you can do to change it.
Growth mindset
Students believe their intelligence comes from hard work and that it can be increased over time by putting in effort to their learning
Problem solving
Fixed mindset: Give up very quickly
Growth mindset: Keep trying
Person praise
The student is praised for their intelligence
Process praise
The student is praised for their effort and the processes they use in completing the task
Self efficacy
The belief in your own ability to succeed in a task. Students with strong self efficacy put in effort to achieve goals. Students with low self efficacy believe they will not be successful so they are unlikely to try
Visual learners
Seeing things
Auditory learners
Hearing things
Kinesthetic learners
Doing things
Willingham’s learning theory
He disagrees that students learn best depending on their preferred learning style. He says there is no experimental evidence to support their existence.
Willingham believes that students should be taught using
The best method for the content being taught (in biology, all students need to see diagrams & in french lessons all students need to hear how words are pronounced)
