2 1. introduction 2. fact or fiction? 3. building on theory 4. language 5. teaching and learning 6....
TRANSCRIPT
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1. Introduction
2. Fact or Fiction?
3. Building on Theory
4. Language
5. Teaching and Learning
6. Closing Thoughts
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[Video: Middle Childhood – Cognitive Development Introduction]
Introduction
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Fact or Fiction? Fiction Fact
1. During middle childhood, cognitive processes become logical and abstract.
2. The basic cognitive processing capacity of school children does not differ greatly from that of preschoolers.
3. Many children between ages 7 and 11 excel at switching between formal and informal forms of language.
4. The best strategy for teaching a school-age child whose language is a nonstandard form is to conduct all instruction in Standard English.
Cognitive Development
Fritz is taller than Daphne. Daphne is taller than Nino. Who is taller: Fritz or Nino?
Nino Daphne Fritz
According to Piaget, how would a 4-year-old
answer?A 4-year-old cannot yet think with logic; the question would stump the
child.
According to Piaget, how would a 9-year-
old answer?A 9-year-old has reached concrete operational thought and will
probably answer correctly that Fritz is taller.
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Piaget and School Age Children
concrete operational thought: Piaget’s term for the ability to reason logically about direct experiences and perceptions.
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Piaget and School Age Children
[Video: A Journey Through Middle Childhood: Clip D]
Information Processing
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metacognition: “Thinking about thinking,” or 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.
What is metacognition and how do children use it to solve problems?For example, in an experiment, researchers (Klahr & Nigam, 2004) asked 112 third- and fourth-grade children to create experiments in which variables were controlled. They used the ramps you see here. Using these same ramps, how would you design a scientific experiment to determine the effect of distance or steepness?
In one study of more than 1,000 third and fifth graders in 10 U.S. cities, what three factors (related to intellectual activity) correlated with high-scoring students?
FACTOR FACTOR FACTORfamilies (parents who read to them
during toddlerhood)
preschool programs (with a variety of
learning activities)
first grade (with literacy emphasis
with individual evaluation)
guided participation: The process by which people learn from others who guide their experiences and explorations.
scaffolding: Temporary support that is tailored to a learner’s needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): In sociocultural theory, a metaphorical area, or “zone,” surrounding a learner that includes all the skills, knowledge, and concepts that the person is close (“proximal”) to acquiring but cannot yet master without help.
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Vygotsky and School-Age Children
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Vygotsky and School-Age Children
[Video: Interview with Robert Siegler]
Does this student mean what she says… and what she does?
Professor
Pragmatics
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pragmatics: The practical use of language that includes the ability to adjust language communication according to audience and context.
Hey, what’s
up?
Student
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Pragmatics
[Video: A Journey Through Middle Childhood: Clip B]
What are some second-language learning strategies?Second-Language Learning
immersion
A strategy in which instructionin all school subjects occurs inthe second (usually the majority) language that child is learning.
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bilingual schoolingA strategy in which school
subjects are taught in both the learner’s original language and the second (majority) language.
Learning asecond
language
ESL (English as a second language)
An approach to teaching English in which all children who do not speak English are placed together in an intensive course to learn basic English so that they can be educated in the same classroom as native English speakers.
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Phonics approach: Teaching reading by first teaching the sounds of each letter and of various letter combinations.
Whole-language approach: Teaching reading by encouraging early use of all language skills—talking and listening, reading and writing.
CurriculumIn the United States, what are the two basic approaches for learning reading and math?
Greater emphasis on basic math skills
Encourage a broader, conceptual understanding of the subjects in math
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Curriculum
[Video: Phonemic Awareness Task]
The Outcome
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP): An ongoing and nationally representative measure of U.S. children’s achievement in reading, mathematics, and other subjects over time;the NAEP is nicknamed the “Nation’s Report Card.”
Rating Fourth-Grader’s Reading Proficiency: The Gap Between NAEP and the States
What are the local standards U.S. states set for children’s reading proficiency?
0-2021-4041-6061+
Percetage-Point Difference in State vs. Federal Proficiency Ratings
15Source: EPE Research Center, in D.J. Hoff, 2007, p.23.
The Outcome
Trends in Math and ScienceStudy (TIMSS): An international assessment of the math and science skills of fourth- and eighth-graders.
What were internationalmath achievement outcomesfor fourth-graders in 2007?
16Source: TIMSS 2007 International Mathematics Report (Mullis et al., 2008).
TIMSS Ranking and Average Scores of Math Achievement for
Fourth-Graders, 2007Rank* Score
1. 667
2. 599
3. 576
4. 568
5. 549
6. 544
7. 541
8. 537
9. 535
10. 531
11. 530
12. 525
523
519
516
516
512
507
492
402
355
224
Country
Hong Kong
Singapore
China/Taipei
Japan
Kazakhstan
Russian Federation
England
Latvia
NetherlandsUnited States
Lithuania
Germany
Denmark
Canada/Quebec
Australia
Hungary
Canada/Ontario
Italy
New Zealand
Iran
Columbia
Yemen
Education Wars and Assumptions
The best approach is vouchers!I support parents’ right to choose the school for their child, with some or all of the cost of that’s child’s education borne by the local government. Vouchers will allow parents to choose either public or private schools.
The best approach is charter schools! I support public schools with their own setof standards that are funded and licensed by the state or local district in which they are located.
The best approach is not to drain public funds from public schools into vouchers and charter schools, but to better manage public education, by allowing the rewarding of good teachers and methods with merit pay and protection from firing rather than basing these on seniority!
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Education Wars and Assumptions
[Video: University of CaliforniaLinks Program: Clip B]
What are some gender differences
in school performance?
Culture, Gender and Education
In middle childhood, girls typically get higher grades than boys do. Then, at puberty, girls’ achievement dips.(Williams & Ceci, 2007)
Processing speeddevelops more slowlyin boys, a finding that implies the existence of differences in male and female brains.(Camarata & Woodcock, 2006)
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Closing Thoughts
How can we use what we know about cognitive
development to best plan education for kids in
middle childhood?