Middle Childhood

1. Middle Childhood

2. Physical Development • Less rapid than in earlier years, greater differences in height and weight • Changes in brain structure/functioning support cognitive advances: increase in white matter • Improved motor skills: physical play

3. Health, Fitness, & Safety • Healthy habits are influenced by those surrounding the child (adults, peers, etc) • Physical activity promotes health as well as problem solving and social skills. These activities have also been shown to promote healthy habits and enhance cooperation and fairness. • If a child receives criticism from coach/team, it may lower self-esteem. Physical activities have also been shown to cause stress, injury, reinforce prejudices, and take time/effort away from academic skills

4. Health, Fitness, & Safety • Tourette syndrome, allergies, and stuttering tend to worsen at this time • BMI, overweight when in the 85th or above percentile, obese when BMI is in 95th. Overweight children are more likely to have asthma, high blood pressure, etc, school acheivement and self-esteem decrease. • Genes and environment, remember our video  • Body image: descriptive and evaluative beliefs about one’s appearance, how one believes one looks • Causes of obesity: inherited tendency aggravated by too little exercise and too much or the wrong kinds of food, nature/nurture-children are more likely to be overweight if their parents/caregivers are…serious long term health impact (hypertension, heart disease etc)

5. Brain Development-- Information processing approach • Executive function- more able to control emotional outbursts (think Freud latency…ut-oh, though, adolescence is coming ) • Increases in brain interconnections allows children to master complex tasks and analyze the consequences of behavior • Reaction time and processing speed enhanced • Selective attention: ability to deliberately direct one’s attention my rest on executive function of inhibitory control • Automization (repetition of thoughts and actions become automatic) • Working memory • Metamemory: understanding the processes of memory • Mnemonics: strategies for remembering -external memory aids -rehearsal -organization -elaboration

6. Brain Development-- Information processing approach • Aptitude v. achievement tests • -measuring learning potential v measuring what has been learned • Flynn effect, the average IQ of nations has been shown to increase over time • There is debate about whether the rise in IQ scores also corresponds to a rise in intelligence, or a rise in skills related to taking IQ tests. Because children attend school longer now and have become much more familiar with the testing of school-related material, one might expect the greatest gains to occur on such school content-related tests as vocabulary arithmetic or general information. Just the opposite is the case: abilities such as these have experienced relatively small gains and even occasional decreases over the years. The greatest Flynn effects occur instead for tests that measure latent factor (nutrition, decrease in disease, more stimulating environments, increased schoolingg familiarity with test-taking)

7. Psychometric Approach: assessment of intelligence • WISC-IV • Otis-Lennon School ability test: group intelligence test • What makes IQ controversial? • What influences intelligence?

8. IQ continued • Low IQ & Mental Retardation • 2% of people have an IQ under 70 and this is generally considered as the benchmark for "mental retardation", a condition of limited mental ability in that it produces difficulty in adapting to the demands of life. • Severity of mental retardation can be broken into 4 levels: • 50-70 - Mild mental retardation (85%) • 35-50 - Moderate mental retardation (10%) • 20-35 - Severe mental retardation (4%) • IQ < 20 - Profound mental retardation (1%) • High IQ & Genius IQ • Genius IQ is generally considered to begin around 140 to 145, representing ~.25% of the population (1 in 400).  Here's a rough guide: • 115-124 - Above average (e.g., university students) • 125-134 - Gifted (e.g., post-graduate students)---usual cut-off is 130 • 135-144 - Highly gifted (e.g., intellectuals)---cut-off for mensa is 140 • 145-154 - Genius (e.g., professors) • 155-164 - Genius (e.g., Nobel Prize winners) • 165-179 - High genius • 180-200 - Highest genius---the Prometheus Society cut-off of 180 (1 in a million ppl!) • >200 - "Unmeasurable genius"

9. Are there various forms of intelligence? • Gardener’s multiple intelligences • Sternberg’s triarchic theory of intelligence: analytical (academic), creative, practical • Other directions for intelligence testing: K-ABC, dynamic tests (ZPD)

10. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences • Linguistic • Logical-Mathematical • Spatial • Musical • Interpersonal • Intrapersonal • Naturalist • Bodily-Kinesthetic • Existential • Others?

14. Children with Special Needs • Developmental psychopathology -abnormality is normal -disability changes over time, most disorders are comorbid -adulthood may be better or worse -diagnosis depends on social context COUGH EXPERIMENT Equinifinality- one manifestation may have many causes Multifinality- one cause may have many manifestations Bipolar Disorder- becoming more diagnosed in childhood, often comorbid with ADHD

15. Educating those with special needs Intellectual Impairment: significantly subnormal cognitive functioning (formally MR) Learning Disabilities: disorders that interfere with specific aspects of learning/school achievement. Marked delays in learning causes? Dyslexia: developmental disorder in which reading achievement is substantially lower than predicted by IQ or age. Early speech therapy helps ADHD: 10% children diagnosed with this. persistent inattention/distractability, impulsivity, low tolerance for frustration, and inappropriate overactivity Educating /Treatingchildren with disabilities

16. Educating those with special needs Autism spectrum disorders: deficient social skills, impaired communication, and unusual play Signs as early as infancy- feeding issues, no social smile Increase in incidence….or increase in diagnosis? Asperger’s---more common in males Children with Asperger's syndrome typically function better than do those with autism. In addition, children with Asperger's syndrome generally have normal intelligence and near-normal language development, aracterized by social isolation and eccentric behavior in childhood. There are impairments in two-sided social interaction and non-verbal communication. Though grammatical, their speech may sound peculiar due to abnormalities of inflection and a repetitive pattern. Clumsiness may be prominent both in their articulation and gross motor behavior. They usually have a circumscribed area of interest which usually leaves no room for more age appropriate, common interests. Rett’s- primarily females disorder of the grey matter of the brain. Clinical features include small hands and feet and a deceleration of the rate of head growth. Repetitive stereotyped hand movements, also noted.People with Rett syndrome tend to have to GI disorders and 80% have seizures. Typically have no verbal skills, and about 50% of individuals affected are not ambulatory. Males usually die by 2, females may live to 40. Males with Retts are almost always XXY (Kleinfelter) Mutation of gene on X – not inherited but a spordtic mutation

17. Influences on Achievement • Self-efficacy beliefs: those who believe in their abilities to succeed are more likely to succeed • Gender • Class size • Educational innovations • Computer/internet use

18. Influences on Achievement • IEP- individualized education plan the IEP is only for children who require special education services. The individualized program must meet each child’s unique needs. It must provide educational benefit. • 504 the 504 plan offers all children with disabilities equal access to an education.  In some cases this may include special education services, but for a child in a wheelchair it may mean a ramp or elevator to access the classroom. 

19. Least Restrictive Environment • About 35 years ago, US law mandated that children with special needs must learn in the LRE, which meant mainstreaming them in a regular classroom. Resource rooms developed, individual attention, may undermine friendships and some aspects of learning for some. Inclusion developed, LD receive targeted help within regular classroom. • Response to intervention- all children in early grades that have below average achievement are given some special intervention (ideally  )

20. Building on Theory—Cognitive Development Piaget and School-Age Children • Concrete operational thought-the ability to reason logically about direct experiences and perceptions. • Classification- things can be organized into groups (or categories or classes) according to some characteristic they share. • Transitive inference- the ability to figure out (infer) the unspoken link (transfer) between one fact and another. (Dogs bark, Kiki barks…therefore Kiki is a dog)

21. Building on Theory • Seriation -The idea that things can be arranged in a series. • crucial for understanding the number sequence. • The research does not confirm a sudden shift between preoperational and concrete operational thought. • School-age children can use mental categories and subcategories more flexibly, inductively, and simultaneously than younger children.

22. Building on Theory Vygotsky and School-Age Children • Vygotsky regarded instruction as essential. • Children are "apprentices in learning" as they play with each other, watch television, eat dinner with their families, and engage in other daily interactions. • Language is integral as a mediator, a vehicle for understanding and learning.

23. Information Processing Information Processing --A family of theoretical perspectives that address how human beings acquire, interpret, and remember information • Like computers people take in information and then: −seek specific units of information −analyze the information −express their conclusions • The brain’s gradual growth confirms the information-processing perspective. • Learning requires memory

24. A Model of the Human Information Processing System

25. Memory • Sensory memory-Incoming stimulus information is stored for a split second to allow it to be processed. (Also called the sensory register.) • Working memory-Current, conscious mental activity occurs. (Also called short-term memory.) • Long-term memory-Virtually limitless amounts of information can be stored indefinitely.

26. Sensation & Perception • Sensation • detecting stimuli in the environment • Perception • interpreting those stimuli

27. Attention, Working Memory & the Central Executive • Attention • Working memory • enables people to think actively about & process small amount of information • Central executive • oversees flow of information throughout system

28. Long-Term Memory (LTM) • Knowledge base • content (where are cookies) • procedures (how to ride bike) • both universal and culturally specific • Unlimited capacity • Memories last longer if used frequently • Working memory improves steadily and significantly every year from age 4 to 15 years. • The capacity of long-term memory is virtually limitless by the end of middle childhood. • Memory storage (how much information is deposited in the brain) expands over childhood, but more important is retrieval (how readily stored material can be brought into working memory).

29. Long-Term Memory (LTM) • Developmental change • begins before birth • sounds, tastes • becomes more conscious by preschool • infantile amnesia • amount of stored knowledge increases dramatically • knowledge becomes more integrated • schemas and scripts Children’s growing knowledge base facilitates learning

30. Thinking and Reasoning • Developmental change • increased use of symbols • sensorimotor v symbolic thought (Piaget) • increased logical thinking • some present in infancy (cause-effect) • inferences by preschool • influenced by personal biases even in adolescence • gestures before verbal representations • a way for children to experiment with cognitive ideas • may foreshadow emergence of more sophisticated skill

31. Development of Metacognition & Cognitive Strategies • Metacognition • knowledge about own cognitive processes • intentional use of cognitive processes to improve learning and memory • Cognitive strategy • mental process used to acquire or manipulate information • example: learning strategy

32. Learning Strategies • Rehearsal • repeating over and over; repetition • Organization • identifying relations among pieces of information • categorization • Elaboration • using prior knowledge to embellish new information Appear as early as 18 months but not consistently used through grade school

33. Metacognitive Awareness • Metacognition-"Thinking about thinking"; the ability to evaluate a cognitive task in order to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor and adjust one’s performance on that task. • Knowledge base- a body of knowledge in a certain area that makes it easier to master new information in that area • Reflecting on the nature of the thinking process • elementary-school children • better able to reflect on their own thought processes • increasingly aware of nature of their thinking and learning • knowledge about and use of effective strategies

34. Memory

35. Language • By age 6, children know most of the basic vocabulary and grammar of their first language, and many speak a second or even a third language. • Some school-age children learn as many as 20 new words a day and apply grammar rules they did not use before.

36. Assessment 1. ________ consists of knowledge about own cognitive processes as well as intentional use of cognitive processes to improve learning and memory. a) working memory b) rehearsal c) metacognitiond) elaboration 2.The _____ oversees flow of information throughout memory system. a) metacognitionb) central executive c) hippocampus d) working memory 3. _____ involves detecting stimuli in the environment, whereas _______, involves interpreting those stimuli.

37. Adjusting Vocabulary to the Context • Pragmatics-the practical use of language that includes the ability to adjust language communication according to audience and context. • This advances quite a bit in middle childhood. • Shy children who are good at pragmatics cope better with social pressures of school than those who are not as adept.

38. Adjusting Vocabulary to the Context • Code-switching: The school-age child can switch from one manner of speaking, or language code, to another. • Each code differs in tone, pronunciation, gesture, sentence length, idiom, grammar, and vocabulary. • Sometimes people switch from the formal code (used in academic contexts) to the informal code (used with friends). • Many children use a third code in text messaging, with numbers (411), abbreviations (LOL), and emoticons (@).

39. In the United States • U.S. children tend not to do well on international tests • No Child Left Behind Act (2001): a U.S. law intended to increase accountability in education by having states qualify for federal money based on standardized tests

40. Reading Wars, Math Wars, and Cognitive Theory • Historically, math was taught by rote; children memorized number facts, such as multiplication tables, and filled page after page of workbooks. • In reaction to this approach, many educators, inspired by Piaget and Vygotsky, sought to make math instruction more active and engaging- less a matter of memorization than of discovery. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuEOOCTmR-k

41. Erikson’s Insights Industry versus inferiority • The fourth of Erikson’s eight psychosocial crises • Children attempt to master many skills, developing a sense of themselves as either industrious or inferior, competent or incompetent. Major Question: "How can I be good?” Basic Virtue: Competence Important Event(s): School

42. Freud on Latency Latency • Emotional drives are quiet and unconscious sexual conflicts are submerged. • Sexual energy is channeled into social concerns.

43. Self-Concept Social comparison • Comparing one’s attributes to those of other people • Helps children value themselves and abandon the imaginary, rosy self-evaluation of preschoolers. • Self-criticism and self-consciousness rise from ages 6 to 11 • Materialism increases

44. Complications of Unrealistic Self-Esteem • Effortful control: the ability to regulate one’s emotions and actions through effort. • reduced with unrealistically high self-esteem • After-school activities can help provide a foundation for friendship and realistic self-esteem

45. Resilience and Stress Resilience: The capacity to adapt well despite significant adversity and to overcome serious stress. • Resilience is dynamic - aperson may be resilient at some periods but not at others. • Resilience is a positive adaptation to stress - if rejection by a parent leads a child to establish a closer relationship with another adult, that child is resilient. • Adversity must be significant - Resilient children overcome conditions that overwhelm many of their peers.

46. Assessment This 2001 U.S. law intended to increase accountability in education by having states qualify for federal money based on standardized tests, has, in actuality, functioned to cut much of the funding to under-served, under-resourced schools. a. Least Restrictive Environment b. No Child Left Behind c. Education Reform Act d. Education Recall Act During Erikson’s fourth stage of psychosocial development, children attempt to master many skills, developing a sense of themselves as either ____________ or inferior, competent or incompetent. • autonomous • trustworthy • industrious • conscious According to Freud, during middle childhood, children experience a relative state of calm in which the impulses and drives are submerged and channeled into social concerns. • Oral b. Anal c. Latency d. Phallic

47. Families and Children Shared and Nonshared Environments • Genes affect half or more of the variance for almost every trait • Environment: • Influence of shared environment (e.g., children raised by the same parents in the same home) shrinks with age • Effect of nonshared environment (e.g., friends or schools) increases

48. Families and Children Children raised in the same households by the same parents do not necessarily share the same home environment. Changes in the family affect every family member differently (e.g. depending on age and/or gender). Most parents respond to each of their children differently.

49. Family Function and Family Structure Family structure: The legal and genetic relationships among relatives living in the same home; includes nuclear family, extended family, stepfamily, and so on.

50. Family Function and Family Structure Family function: The way a family works to meet the needs of its members. Children need families to: • provide basic material necessities • encourage learning • help them develop self-respect • nurture friendships • foster harmony and stability