developmemt Flashcards
(31 cards)
what is the brain stem
highly developed at birth. connects the brain to the spinal cord. carries motor and sensory nerves to the brain from the body. controls autonomic functions : heartbeat, breathing etc.
what is the cerebellum
one of the last parts of the brain to develop. located near the top of the spinal cord. main role is the coordination of movement and sensory information.
what is the thalamus
located deep inside the brain in each hemisphere. acts as a hub of information, receiving signals from other areas of the brain and sending these signals on.
what is the cortex/ cerebral cortex
cortex is thin, highly folded and covers the brain. divided into two hemispheres and several regions: frontal cortex (thinking) visual and auditory cortex (sight and hearing) , motor cortex (movement). the cortex functions in the womb (sensory and motor functions) at birth the cortex is basic and develops throughout your life
what is nature
the influence of things you have inherited
what is nurture
the influence of your environment on your development.
describe piagets theory of cognitive development
stages: piaget believed that childrens brains are not mature enough to think in a logical way at the beginning. their brains develop in stages and at each stage different kinds of thinking occur.
schema: as children develop they create mental representations of the world which are stored in the form of schemas. a schema is a mental structure containing knowledge. they become more complex through assimilation and accomodation.
assimilation: occurs when we understand a new experience through adding information to an existing schema.
accomodation: occurs when we aquire new information that changes our understanding so we need to form a new schema.
evaluate piagets theory of cognitive development
a strength of piagets theory is that it has led to many studies being carried out. these have helped test the claims of his theory. this is an important part of any theory- if we cannot test it we do not know if it is right or wrong.
another strength of piagets theory is that it has helped change classroom teaching for the better. it has led to teachers doing more activity based learning. this has helped children learn in a more effective way.
a weakness of piagets theory is that much of the research was carried out on middle class swiss children. these children were from families where academic studies were very important. therefore his theory may not be representative of the wider world.
what is conservation
the ability to realise that quantity remains the same even when the appearance changes.
describe the study of conservation
aim: mcgargile and mcdonaldson wanted to see if younger children could conserve if there wasnt a deliberate change in a row of counters
method: 4-6 year olds were shown a naughty teddy and rows of counters. teddy messed up one of the rows. each child was asked before and after the teddy appeared ‘which row has more counters or are they both the same?’
results: 41 percent of the children conserved if the change was intentional. 68 percent of the children conserved if the change was accidental. older children gave more correct answers than younger children.
conclusion: this shows that piagets method of testing conservation does not actually show what children are capable of. children aged 4-6 conserved if the change was accidental, performing better than piaget predicted. this supports piagets idea of age related changes, but not the age that conservation develops
evaluate the study of conservation
a weakness is that the sample only came from one city in the UK and a narrow age range. their performance on piagets tasks may not reflect how all children would respond in these situations.
another weakness is that children mat not have noticed the change in the accidental condition. if the teddy actually took a counter away, children still said the rows were the same. this means rhat ir wasnt the that the children were not conserving, it was they were distracted.
a strength of the study is that it challenged piagets view. mcgarrigle and mcdonaldsons study implies that piagets original study confused young children. therefore the study helped refine this type of child development research.
what is egocentrism
to see the world from only ones own point of view
evaluate the study of egocentrism
one strength of the study is that the task made more sense to the children. hiding from a polcieman is easier to think anout than selecting a view from a mointain top. ttherefore i is a more realistic test of childrens abilities
one weakness is rhat the researchers expectations may have influenced the childrens behaviour. they may have unconsciously given the children cues how to behave in the task. this causes the study to lack validity.
another strength of the study is that it challenges poagets view. the results imply that piagets original study confused toung children because the task didnt make sense to them. therefore this study helped refine chuld developmentresearch.
describe the study of egocentrism
aim: hughes aimed to crate a test of egocentrism which was more understandable to children under the age of 7
method: children aged 3.5 to 5 were shown a model with two intersecting walls. the child was asked to hide one boy doll from one policeman doll to ensure they understood the task. the childs egocentrism was then tested by asking the child to hide the doll from two policemen dolls.
results: 90 percent of children aged 3-5 could hide the boy doll from the two policemen. when a complex model was used with five or six walls. 60 percent of 3 year olds and 90 percent of 4 year olds hid the boy doll correctly.
conclusion: this shows that children aged 4 yeaes are mostly not egocentric. piaget underestimated younger chuldrens abilities because his theree mounatins task did not make sense to children
what are the four stages of cognitive development
sensorimotor stage: 0-2 years. focus of development is relating what is seen/ heard (sensory) with movement (motor). object permanence: children over 8 months still believe that an object that is not visible still exists
pre-operational stage: 2-7 years. by 2 years a toddler can walk but language is not fully developed. children under age 7 cant think with consistent logic so are egocentric and lack conservation.
concrete operational: 7-11 years. at 7 years, most children can conserve and show less egocentrism. logical thinking is the key characteristic but can only be applied to physical items not objects or situations that cant be seen
formal operational: 11+ years. children can come to conclusions about problems presented in an abstract form. they can focus on the form of an argument and not be distracted by its content
evaluate piagets theory of cognitive development
one weakness with piagets theory is that he underestimated childrens abilities. other research has found that younger children can show conservation and a reduction in egocentrism. this suggests that certain types of thinking develop earlier than he proposed.
another weakness is that piaget also overestimated what children could do. he argued that 11 year old children should be capable of abstract reasoning when other research has found this is not true. this shows not all childrens thinking is as advanced as he proposed.
one strength of piagets theory is that it does show that childrens thinking changes with age. although research shows that changes in thinking occur earlier, the fact remains that they still occur. therefore the basic principle of the theory is valid
describe the application of piagets theory in education
readiness: piaget suggested that age related changes mean you cant teach a child something before they are biologically ready. activities should be appropriate levels for age
discovery: children must discover concepts for themselves. teachers must plan lessons that challenge schemas so assimilation and accommodation occur, and thinking will develop.
individual learning: children go through the same developmental stages in the same order but at different rates, so classroom activities should be for individuals and groups of children rather than the whole class.
application to stages:
sensorimotor stage: rich stimulating environment, sensory experiments to learn motor coordination.
pre operational stage: games that involve role play to reduce egocentricity, discover learning rather than written work
concrete operational stage: should be given concrete materials to manipulate. cooking is good as it involves a logical sequence of instructions
formal operational stage: scientific experiments to develop logical thinking and group discussions
evaluate the role of piagets theory in education
a strength of the theory is that it has had a positive impact on education in the uk. it lead to schools taking a more child centred activity based approach. this has helped students learn more effectively.
a weakness of piagets theory is that it suggests that practice should not improve performance. infact, childrens thinking can develop at an earlier age than expected if they are given enough practice on a rask. this suggests that children do not have to be ‘ready’
another weakness is that discovery learning may not always be the best. bennett showed that formal teaching methods work best for maths reading and english. this suggests that some parts of the curriculum are best delivered through direct instruction.
what is dwecks mindset theory of learning
dwecks theory: the difference between people who are successful and not successful are their mindset.
fixed mindset: people with a fixed mindset believe that their abilities are fixed in their genes. they think that putting in extra effort wont help if someone is failing because they think success is talent based. they are focused on performance goals and feel good when performing well.
growth mindset: people with a growth mindset think you can always improve yourself with effort. they enjoy a challenge and do not focus on success. they focus on learning goals and feel good when working hard.
dealing with failure: fixed mindset - faliure is due to lack of talent so no point trying harder. growth mindset- failiure is an opportunity to learn more and put in more effort.
a continuum: people are not simply one or the other but a mixture, on a continuum from fixed to growth orientated. where you are on the continuum depends on situation
evaluate dwecks theory
one strength is evidence that a growth mindset leads to better grades. dweck found that seventh graders taught a growth mindset had better grades and motivation than a group who were just taught about memory. this suggests that the approach can improve performance.
another strength is real world application. mindset is used to improve performance in schools, businesses, sports and relationships. teaching people to see faliure as a lack of effort rather than lack of talent motivates future effort.
a weakness is just any sort of praise may be bad. praising effort still leads to people to do things for approval rather than for themselves. growth mindset can therefore discourage the type of independent behaviour it is trying to promote.
what is praise
praise is a reward and makes someone feel good, so they repeat behaviours. praise must fit performance and not be used for everything
what is self efficacy
a persons belief in their own capabilities - related to the expectations they have about future performance.
how does self efficacy affect motivation
if it is high you will put in greater effort, persist longer ,have greater task performance and more resilience than if you think you cant do it
evaluate the roles of praise and self efficacy
one weakness: can have opposite effect, children less interested if they were previously rewarded, demotivating
one strength: value of understanding rewards. dweck found that students that were criticsed for their effort performed better on a test than those who had been praised. this shows the type of praise is important .
