Chapter 12

 

I. Remembering, Knowing and Processing

    1. Information Processing
    1. Information processing theory: A theory of learning that focuses on the steps of thinking–such as sorting, categorizing, storing, and retrieving–that are similar to the functions of a computer.
    2. Sensory register–A memory system that functions for only a fraction of a second, retaining a fleeting impression of a stimulus on a particular sense organ. Meaningful information is transferred to working memory for further analysis.

a. Working memory: the part of memory that handles current, conscious mental activity.
    1. Long-term memory: the part of memory that stores information for days months or years.

3. Control Processes: The part of the information-processing system that regulates the analysis and flow of information, including memory and retrieval strategies, selective attention, and rules or strategies for problem solving.
    1. Memory
    1. Children show a dramatic improvement in memory between the ages of 7 and 11. They are better able to remember essential facts with almost no forgetting. Selective attention and metacognition are factors behind the improvement.
    1. Selective attention: the ability to screen out distractions and concentrate on relevant information.
    2. Metacognition: the ability to evaluate a cognitive task to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor one’s performance.
  1. Stages of thinking
    1. Concrete Operational Thought: children can reason logically about the things and events they perceive.
    1. 5-to-7 shift: a notable reorganization of the thinking process that occurs between the ages of 5 and 7, enabling the school-age child to reason and respond at a much more advanced level than the younger child.
    1. Logical Principles
    1. Identity: the logical principle that certain characteristics of an object remain the same when other characteristics are changed.
    2. Reversibility: the logical principle that something has been changed can be returned to its original state by reversing the process of change.
    1. Stages of Moral Development:
    1. preconventional moral reasoning: Kohlberg’s term for the first level of moral thinking, in which the individual reasons in terms of his or her own welfare.
    2. Conventinoal moral reasoning: Kohlberg’s term for the second level of moral thinking, in which the individual considers social standards and laws to the the primary arbiters of moral values.
    3. Postconventional moral reasoning: Kohlberg’s term for the third and hihgest level (stages 5 and 6) of moral thinking, in which the individual follows moral principles that may supercede the standards of society or the wishes of the individual.
  1. Learning and Schooling

1.Some sort of schooling is available during middle childing hood in every nation. But there is a great deal of variety in each country.

    1. Strict lecture method: students are forbidden to talk, whisper, or even move during class.
    2. Open education: students are encouraged to interact and make use of all classroom resources–with the teacher serving more as an adviser, guide and friend.
    3. In most developing countries, boys and wealthier children are more likely to receive formal education.

2.Communication skills:

    1. Code-switching: a pragmatic communication skill that involves a person’s switching from one form of language, such as dialect or slag, to another. For example, chilren in middle-childhood censor profanity when they talk to adults, use picturesque slang and drama on the playgound, and even switch back and forth from one language to another. All these are changes in code.
    2. Formal code: a form of speech used by children in school and in other formal siguations.

      3. Ex. Extensive vocabulary, complex syntax, and lengthy sentences.

    3. Informal code: a form of speech characterized by limited use of vocabulary and syntax; meaning is communicated by

Ex. gestures, intonation and shared understanding.

Second languages: Most of the world’s children are educated in a language other than their mother tongue. Even for those whose home language is also their school language, a second language is useful, even required. Learning another language enhances children’s overall linguistic and cognitive development, especially if it occurs before puberty.
    1. strategies: total immersion: An approach to learning a second language in which the learner. Is placed in an environment where only the second language is spoken.
    2. English as a second language: An approach to teaching English in which English is the only language of instruction for students who speak many other native language.
    3. Bilingual education: an approach to teaching a second language that also advances knowledge in the frist language. Instruction occurs, side by side, in two languages.
    4. Bilingual education: an approach to teaching a second language that adds preservation of nonnative cultural symbols and strategies (such as in the way teaching occurs) to a bilingual program.

· The crucial difference between success and failure in second-language leearning seems to rest with the attitudes of the paretns, teachers and the larger community , how indicate to the child wheter mastering a new language is really valued.

 

Four findings of developmental research:
    1. Children learn a first and second spoken language best early in life, ideally under age 5, otherwise under age 11.
    2. Peers are the best teachers, with the encouragement and guidance of adults who understand the school-age child’s eagerness to learn new structures, strategies, and vocabulary.
    3. Each combination of child, family, and culture is unique, and goals and attitudes vary tremendously. No single language-teaching approach is best for everyone, everywhere, but attitudeses are an important gateway–or barrier–for langauge learning.
    4. Immigrant children are great learners–if given the opportunity.