The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence
by Kathleen Stassen Berger
Seventh Edition
Chapter 12
The School Years:
Cognitive Development
Slides prepared by Kate Byerwalter, Ph.D.,
Grand Rapids Community College
A Prime Time for Learning

Children in the
school years are
inquisitive and
eager to learn
new skills.
PHOTODISC
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Piaget’s Third Stage

Concrete operational thought is the
ability to reason logically about direct
experiences and perceptions.

Children in this stage become more
systematic, objective, and scientific
thinkers–but only about tangible, visible
things.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Logical Principles

Classification: organization into groups
according to common property
 Example:
Show 5 collies and 2 poodles. Ask,
“Are there more collies or dogs?”
 Kids
in middle childhood know that collies are
a subcategory of “dogs.”
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Essence and Change

Identity: certain characteristics of an
object remain the same even if other
characteristics change

Examples: frozen water is still water; a
butterfly was once a caterpillar; liquid in
smaller glass is the same liquid
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Essence and Change (cont.)

Reversibility: reversing the process by
which something was changed brings the
original conditions

Example: if 5 + 9 = 14, then
14 – 9 must equal 5! Also, imagine
pouring H2O back in conservation task.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Essence and Change (cont.)

Reciprocity is the principle that things
may change in opposite ways, and thus
balance each other out.

Example: A child states that the
decreased height in the shorter is
balanced out by its increased width.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Practical Applications

The logical principles of concrete
operational thought make learning easier
and more fun.

Example: Children enjoy classifying cities,
states, nations, etc., or knowing that a
tadpole turns into a frog (identity).
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Logic and Culture

Lev Vygotsky believed that culture
shapes cognition more than Piaget
believed.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Logic and Culture: An Example

Brazilian street
children calculate
complex
computations not
learned in school
(see text p. 361)
VICTOR RUIZ CABLLERO / AP/ WIDE WORLD PHOTOS
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Moral Development

Develops along with cognitive advances

Is shaped by culture and social
influences

Middle childhood is a key time for
learning moral lessons
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral
Development

Kohlberg presented moral dilemmas
and scored responses as:
 Preconventional:
rewards and
punishment
 Conventional:
emphasis on social rules
 Postconventional:
moral principles
“beyond” societal standards
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Evaluating Kohlberg’s Theory

Moral reasoning does seem to advance
with advances in cognitive development.

Most children are preconventional before
age 8, and conventional by age 9 years.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Criticisms of Kohlberg

He may have underestimated the potential
of school-age children.

His research was done on Western males.

It may be better to address practical
issues such as feeding the poor (vs.
hypothetical dilemmas).
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Morality and Gender

Carol Gilligan believed that females are
more likely to develop a morality of care,
in which nurturance and compassion are
more important than a morality of justice,
which emphasizes absolute judgments of
right and wrong.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Was Gilligan right?

Research has found NO clear gender
distinction regarding morality of care or
justice (boys
and girls are
equally likely
to use each).
APICHART WEERAWONG / AP PHOTO
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Information Processing

Analyzes how the
mind analyzes,
stores, and
retrieves
information.

Cognition
becomes more
efficient in middle
childhood.
RUBBERBALL PRODUCTIONS
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
The Three “Parts” of Memory

Sensory register: registers incoming
stimuli for a split second

Working memory (short term): where
current, conscious mental activity occurs

Long-term memory = stores information
for minutes, hours, days, months, years
 Unlimited
capacity (!)
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Speed of Processing

Speed of processing increases during
middle childhood.

This allows a child to process more
thoughts quickly, retain more thoughts in
memory, and simultaneously process two
different thoughts.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Automatization

Certain skills become automatic during
middle childhood (e.g., reading, writing).

This increases intellectual capacity and
speed of processing.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Make it Real: Learning a Subject

Do you find it easier to learn new material
in your major field of interest than in a
brand new subject?

Why do think that is?
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Knowledge Base

Knowledge base: a body of knowledge in
an area that makes it easier to master new
learning

Interest, motivation, and practice
determine the size of the knowledge base.
 Example:
child chess experts, Pokémon
experts
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Knowledge of Pokémon and Wildlife
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Control Processes

Control processes regulate the analysis
of information within the information
processing system, and increase during
middle childhood.

Examples: selective attention, retrieval
strategies, metacognition
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Improvements in Control
Processes

Selective attention: the ability to screen
out irrelevant distractions and concentrate
on a task

Metacognition: the ability to evaluate a
task and determine how to accomplish it
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Language: New Vocabulary

School-age kids learn up to 20 new words
a day.

They understand metaphors and various
uses of words.
egg, “walking on eggshells,” “last
one is a rotten egg,” egg salad, etc.
 Examples:
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Two “Codes” of Language

Formal Code: used in school and other
“formal” situations
 Extensive
 Complex
 Lengthy
vocabulary
syntax
sentences
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Two “Codes” of Language (cont.)

Informal code: language used with friends
 Fewer
words, simpler syntax
 Gestures
and intonation
convey meaning
 Vital
for social acceptance
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Code Switching: A Life Saver

Kids in middle childhood learn that certain
words and phrases are okay with friends
(informal code), but NOT with teachers,
pastors, or other adults.

Failure to learn this could result in
punishment for calling the teacher “dude”!
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Socioeconomics and Language

Lower-income children tend to have
smaller vocabularies, simpler grammar,
and more difficulty in reading.

Two key explanations for this:
 Exposure
to language
 Parental expectations towards education
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
A Hopeful Study

A study of low-income children
demonstrated that exposure to language
was a key predictor of language
development.

Real world application: TALK with kids!
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Tones and Tricks

By 10 years of age, children learn to
understand the nuances of language
(tone, sarcasm, puns).

Example: 10 year olds recognized that
saying “I lost my stickers” in a happy voice
is strange.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Make it Real: Education

If you could design the ideal educational
environment, what would it look like? Be
specific. Think about class size,
curriculum, sports, scheduling, etc.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Teaching and Learning

The curriculum for school-age children
varies. Some possibilities include: reading,
writing, math, arts, physical education, oral
expression, religion.

Funding for education also varies greatly.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
The Hidden Curriculum

The hidden curriculum is the unofficial,
unstated rules that influence learning.

Examples: discipline strategies, teacher
salaries, class size, testing, schedules,
emphasis on sports, segregation by
ethnicity, physical condition of the school
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
International Tests

International comparisons of
achievement have found that the United
States is not among the top scoring
developed nations.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Education in Japan

Harold Stevenson (U of M) documented
key aspects that help Japanese students:
 Strong
parental involvement
 Teachers paid well, given time to prepare
 Longer school days
 Effort is highly valued
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Education in Japan

Unfortunately, the strong emphasis on
education has caused a phobia of school
for too many Japanese children.

The government is now working towards a
more “relaxed education.”
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Make it Real: The No Child
Left Behind Act

This Act requires yearly testing and a
certain level of achievement in order for
schools to receive federal funding.

Were you affected by this Act? Do you
think it is a good idea? Why or why not?
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
The No Child Left Behind Act

The Act is controversial. Some questions
include:
 What
about the arts and physical education?
 Does
it punish schools that need funding the
most?
 Should
 What
graduation (or not) depend on a test?
about special needs students?
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
The Reading Wars

Phonics approach: teaching reading by
first teaching the sounds of each letter

Whole-language: teaching reading by
early use of all language skills–talking,
listening, reading, and writing

BOTH approaches are valuable
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Quiz: Which
approach is
this?
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
The Math Wars

Math is an often feared subject, but one of
utmost importance.

New curriculum discourages rote
learning, emphasizing problem solving,
and understanding of concepts.

The focus is on the thought process, not
just the final answer.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Class Size

Research on the relationship between
class size and academic achievement has
yielded mixed results.

Confounding factors include the types of
students in the study, the qualifications of
teachers, and suitable classrooms.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Bilingual Education

About 4 million
U.S. children are
English-language
learners (ELL).
JOHN O’BRIAN / CANADA IN STOCK, INC.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Bilingual Education (cont.)

Middle childhood is an ideal time to teach
a second language.

However, there is considerable debate
about when and how to teach a second
language.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Types of
nd
2
Language Programs

Total immersion: all instruction in second
language

Reverse immersion: instruction of basic
subjects in first language, then second
language is taught

Bilingual education: instruction in both
languages
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Types of 2nd Language Programs (cont.)

Heritage language classes: after school
classes to connect with native culture

English as a second language (ESL):
exclusive English for a few months, in
preparation for “regular” classes
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12
Which type is best?

Research in Canada found the total
immersion approach to be very successful.

However, there is no one right answer.
The goal is to help immigrant children
preserve their culture, while learning the
new language.
Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 12