BRIEF CHAPTER SUMMARY

Physical growth during the school years continues at the slow, regular pace of early childhood. Bones of the body lengthen and broaden, and primary teeth are replaced with permanent teeth. Although most children appear to be at their healthiest in middle childhood, a variety of health problems do occur, especially in children who live in poverty. Nearsightedness may develop, while ear infections become less common. Over the past several decades, a rise in overweight and obesity has occurred in many Western nations, putting many children at risk for lifelong health problems. Children experience a somewhat higher rate of illness during the first two years of elementary school than they will later, because of exposure to sick children and an immune system that is still developing. The frequency of injury fatalities increases from middle childhood into adolescence, especially for boys. Gains in flexibility, balance, agility, and force contribute to school-age childrens advances in gross-motor development. Steady gains in reaction time also occur. Fine-motor development improves over the school years, and sex differences in motor skills that appeared in the preschool years continue and, in some instances, become more pronounced in middle childhood. School-age boys genetic advantage in muscle mass is not sufficient to account for their gross-motor superiority; the social environment plays a larger role. Games with rules become common in the school years, as does rough-and-tumble play, which helps children, especially boys, establish a dominance hierarchy. High-quality physical education classes that focus on individual exercise rather than competitive sports help ensure that all children have access to the benefits of regular exercise and play. During Piagets concrete operational stage, childrens thought becomes far more logical, flexible, and organized than in early childhood. A limitation of concrete operational thought is that childrens mental operations work poorly with abstract ideas. Specific cultural and school practices affect childrens mastery of Piagetian tasks. Some neo-Piagetian theorists argue that the development of operational thinking can best be understood in terms of gains in information-processing speed rather than a sudden shift to a new stage. In contrast to Piagets focus on overall cognitive change, the information-processing perspective examines separate aspects of thinking. Brain development contributes to an increase in information-processing speed and capacity and gains in cognitive inhibition. In addition, attention becomes more selective, adaptable, and planful. As attention improves, so do memory strategies. School-age childrens theory of mind, or metacognition, expands, as does their understanding of sources of knowledge and of false belief. However, they are not yet good at cognitive self-regulation. Fundamental discoveries about the development of information processing have been applied to childrens learning of reading and mathematics. Around age 6, IQ becomes more stable than it was at earlier ages, and it correlates well with academic achievement. Intelligence tests provide an overall score (the IQ), which represents general intelligence, as well as an array of scores measuring specific mental abilities. Sternbergs triarchic theory of successful intelligence identifies three broad, interacting intelligences: analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence. Gardners theory of multiple intelligences identifies at least eight mental abilities, each with a distinct biological basis and course of development. SES accounts for some, but not all, of the blackwhite IQ difference, and many experts acknowledge that IQ scores can underestimate the intelligence of culturally different children. Vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics continue to develop in middle childhood, although less obviously than at earlier ages. In addition, school-age children develop language awareness. Many children throughout the world grow up bilingual; as with first-language development, a sensitive period for second-language development exists. Research shows that bilingualism has positive consequences for development, but the question of how to educate bilingual children continues to be hotly debated. Schools are vital forces in childrens cognitive development, with class size, educational philosophies, teacher student relationships, and the larger cultural context all playing a role. Teaching children with learning disabilities, as well as those with special gifts and talents, presents unique challenges. U.S. students fare poorly when their achievement is compared to that of children in other industrialized nations. Families, schools, and the larger society must work together to upgrade U.S. education.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

9.1 Describe major trends in body growth during middle childhood. (p. 290) 9.2 Identify common vision and hearing problems in middle childhood. (p. 291)

9.3

Describe the causes and consequences of serious nutritional problems in middle childhood, giving special attention to obesity. (pp. 291293)

9.4 Identify factors that contribute to illness during the school years, and describe ways to reduce these health problems. (pp. 293294) 9.5 Describe changes in unintentional injuries in middle childhood. (p. 294) 9.6 Cite major changes in motor development and play during middle childhood, including sex differences and the importance of physical education. (pp. 294299) 9.7 Describe major characteristics of concrete operational thought. (pp. 299301) 9.8 Discuss follow-up research on concrete operational thought, noting the importance of culture and schooling. (pp. 301302) 9.9 Cite basic changes in information processing and describe the development of attention and memory in middle childhood. (pp. 303305) 9.10 Describe the school-age childs theory of mind, noting the importance of mental inferences and understanding of false belief and capacity to engage in self-regulation. (pp. 306307) 9.11 Discuss applications of information processing to academic learning, including current controversies in teaching reading and mathematics to elementary school children. (pp. 307309) 9.12 Describe major approaches to defining and measuring intelligence. (pp. 309310) 9.13 Summarize Sternbergs triarchic theory and Gardners theory of multiple intelligences, noting how these theories explain the limitations of current intelligence tests in assessing the diversity of human intelligence. (pp. 310312) 9.14 Describe evidence indicating that both heredity and environment contribute to intelligence. (pp. 312317) 9.15 Summarize findings on emotional intelligence, including implications for the classroom. (p. 313) 9.16 Describe changes in school-age childrens vocabulary, grammar, and pragmatics, and cite advantages of bilingualism. (pp. 316319) 9.17 Explain the impact of class size and educational philosophies on childrens motivation and academic achievement. (pp. 319321) 9.18 Discuss the role of teacher-student interaction and grouping practices in academic achievement. (pp. 321 322) 9.19 Explain the conditions that contribute to successful placement of children with mild mental retardation and learning disabilities in regular classrooms. (p. 322) 9.20 Describe the characteristics of gifted children, including creativity and talent, and current efforts to meet their educational needs. (pp. 323324) 9.21 Compare the academic achievement of North American children with children in other industrialized nations. (pp. 324325)

LECTURE OUTLINE
Physical Development I. BODY GROWTH (p. 290) A. In middle childhood, children add about 2 to 3 inches in height and 5 pounds in weight each year. B. Girls are slightly shorter and lighter than boys from ages 6 to 8, but by age 9, this trend reverses.

C. Girls have slightly more body fat, and boys more muscle. After age 8, girls begin accumulating fat at a faster rate. D. During middle childhood, the bones of the body lengthen and broaden, but ligaments are not yet firmly attached to bones, and children are unusually flexible. E. As their bodies become stronger, many children experience a greater desire for physical activity.

F.

Between the ages of 6 and 12, all 20 primary teeth are lost and replaced with permanent teeth, and the face gradually lengthens and widens.

II. COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS (pp. 291294) A. The cumulative effects of good nutrition and rapid development of the bodys immune system work together to protect school-age children against disease. B. Poverty continues to be a powerful predictor of ill health during the school years. http://www.npr.org/2011/01/06/132708047/practice-babies-an-outdated-practice-discovered?ps=rs C. Vision and Hearing (p. 291) 1. The most common vision problem in middle childhood is myopia, or nearsightedness; heredity and experience play a role in its development. 2. During middle childhood, the eustachian tube develops. a. As a result, ear infections become less frequent than in early childhood. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/13/132869336/antibiotics-defeat-ear-infections-in-little-kids-studies-find About 3 to 4 percent of school-age children, including up to 20 percent of low-SES children, develop permanent hearing loss as a result of repeated ear infections. D. Nutrition (p. 291) 1. School-age children need a well-balanced, plentiful diet to provide energy for successful learning in school and increased physical activity. http://www.oprah.com/food/School-Lunches-Around-the-World-Gallery-Steven-Stern 2. Even mild nutritional deficits can affect cognitive functioning. b.

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/22/139854339/what-works-to-close-the-education-gap Malnutrition that persists from infancy or early childhood into the school years usually leads to permanent physical and mental damage. E. Obesity (pp. 292293) 1. Today, 32 percent of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight, and 11 percent suffer from obesity, a greater-than-20-percent increase over healthy weight, based on body mass index (BMI). 2. A rise in overweight and obesity has occurred in many Western nations over the past several decades, and obesity rates are also increasing rapidly in developing countries. 3. Obese children are at risk for lifelong health problems, and more than 80 percent become overweight adults. 4. Causes of Obesity a. Overweight children tend to have overweight parents, and identical twins are more likely to share the disorder than are fraternal twins, but heredity accounts only for a tendency to gain weight. b. Low-SES youngsters in industrialized nations, especially ethnic minorities, are more likely to be obese because of lack of knowledge about healthy diet and family stress. c. Parents of obese children tend to overfeed, to be overly controlling about food, or to use unhealthy food as a reward. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/07/19/138513138/latest-figures-on-obesity-paint-an-uglier-picture d. Obese children are more responsive than their normal-weight peers to external stimuli associated with food, as opposed to internal hunger cues. e. Reduced sleep may promote weight gain. f. Overweight children are less physically active than their normal-weight peers. g. Heavy television viewing is related to overweight and obesity. Consequences of Obesity a. Obese youngsters are negatively viewed by both children and adults, and are socially isolated in 3.

5.

F.

school. By middle childhood, obese children report more emotional, social, and school difficulties than normal-weight peers. 6. Treating Obesity a. The most effective interventions are family-based and focused on changing behaviors. b. Schools can help by serving healthier meals and providing for regular exercise. Illnesses (pp. 293294) 1. Children experience a somewhat higher rate of illness during the first two years of elementary school than later, because of exposure to sick children and an immune system that is still developing. 2. The most frequent cause of school absence and childhood hospitalization is asthma. a. The number of children with asthma has more than doubled over the past three decades. b. Boys, African-American children, and children who were born underweight, whose parents smoke, or who live in poverty are at greatest risk. 3. Good family functioning is strongly linked to the well-being of chronically ill children. b.

G. Unintentional Injuries (p. 294) 1. Injury fatalities increase from middle childhood into adolescence, with rates for boys higher than those for girls. 2. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of injury, followed by bicycle accidents. 3. Parents often overestimate their childs safety knowledge and must be educated about school-age childrens actual safety capacity. 4. Highly active, impulsive children, many of whom are boys, are especially susceptible to injury in middle childhood. III. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND PLAY (pp. 294299) A. Gross-Motor Development (p. 295) 1. During middle childhood, running, jumping, hopping, and ball skills improve. 2. Motor skill improvement reflects gains in flexibility, balance, agility, and force. 3. More efficient information processing contributes to school-age childrens capacity to react only to relevant information, and steady gains in reaction time also occur. B. Fine-Motor Development (p. 295) 1. Fine-motor development also improves steadily over the school years. 2. Gains are especially evident in writing and drawing. C. Sex Differences (pp. 295296) 1. Sex differences in motor skills that appeared during the preschool years extend into middle childhood and, in some instances, become more pronounced. 2. Girls have an edge in handwriting and drawing and in gross-motor capacities that depend on balance and agility, but boys outperform girls on all other gross-motor skills. 3. School-age boys genetic advantage in muscle mass is not great enough to account for their grossmotor superiority; the social environment plays a larger role. D. Games with Rules (pp. 296297) 1. Informally organized games with rules become common in middle childhood, when gains in perspective taking allow children to understand the roles of several players in a game. 2. Participation in organized games helps children form more mature concepts of fairness and justice. 3. Organized sports have expanded tremendously, but the amount of time that children devote to informal outdoor play has declined. 4. Critics argue that youth sports overemphasize competition and substitute adult control for childrens natural experimentation with rules and strategies. E. Shadows of Our Evolutionary Past (pp. 297298) 1. Among children in many cultures, a form of friendly play-fighting called rough-and-tumble play emerges in the preschool years and peaks in middle childhood. 2. Rough-and-tumble play, more common in boys, resembles the social behavior of many other young mammals and seems to originate in parents physical play with babies, especially with sons. 3. Rough-and-tumble play may have been important in our evolutionary past to help children form a dominance hierarchya stable ordering of group members that predicts who will win when conflict arises. 4. As children reach puberty, individual differences in strength become apparent and rough-and-tumble play declines. F. Physical Education (pp. 298299) 1. Although physical activity supports many aspects of childrens development, physical education is inadequate in U.S. schools; many elementary schools have cut back on recess, and physical inactivity among school-age children is pervasive. 2. Only 42 percent of boys and 11 percent of girls are active enough for good health. 3. Many experts believe that schools should not only offer more frequent physical education classes but should also deemphasize competitive sports and focus on informal games and individual exercise. Cognitive Development IV. PIAGETS THEORY: THE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE (pp. 299302) A. Concrete Operational Thought (pp. 299300)

Piagets concrete operational stage spans the years from 7 to 11; during this period, thought is more logical, flexible, and organized than it was earlier. 2. Conservation a. The ability to pass conservation tasks provides clear evidence of operationsmental actions that obey logical rules. b. Children at this stage are capable of decentrationthe ability to focus on several aspects of a problem at once and relate them to one another. c. They also demonstrate reversibilitythe ability to go through a series of steps in a problem and then mentally reverse them, returning to the starting point. 3. Classification: Between ages 7 and 10, children pass Piagets class inclusion problem, indicating greater awareness of classification hierarchies. 4. Seriation a. Concrete operational children are capable of seriationthe ability to order items along a quantitative dimension, such as length or weight. b. They can also seriate mentally, an ability called transitive inference. 5. Spatial Reasoning a. School-age childrens understanding of space is more accurate than that of preschoolers. b. This is evident from childrens cognitive mapstheir mental representations of familiar largescale spaces, such as their neighborhood. (1) Drawing a map of a large-scale space requires considerable perspective-taking skill because the entire space cannot be seen at once. (2) Around ages 8 to 10, childrens maps become better organized, showing landmarks along an organized route of travel. c. By the end of middle childhood, children form an overall view of a large-scale space. d. In non-Western societies, where people rarely use maps for way-finding and children walk more often, childrens maps differ from those of their Western agemates. B. Limitations of Concrete Operational Thought (pp. 300301) 1. Children at the concrete operational stage think in an organized, logical fashion only when dealing with concrete information that they can perceive directly. 2. Their mental operations work poorly when applied to abstract ideas. 3. School-age children master Piagets concrete operational tasks step by step; they work out the logic of each problem separately instead of coming up with general logical principles that they can apply globally. C. Follow-Up Research on Concrete Operational Thought (pp. 301302) 1. Recent evidence indicates that specific cultural and educational practices have much to do with childrens mastery of Piagetian tasks. 2. Information-processing research helps explain the gradual mastery of logical concepts in middle childhood. 3. The Impact of Culture and Schooling a. In tribal and village societies, where children rarely attend school, even the most basic conservation tasks are often delayed until age 11 or later. b. This suggests that for children to master conservation and other Piagetian concepts, they must take part in everyday activities that promote this way of thinking. c. Specifically, the experience of going to school seems to promote mastery of Piagetian tasks. d. Some researchers believe that the forms of logic required by Piagetian tasks do not emerge spontaneously but are heavily influenced by training, context, and cultural conditions. 4. An Information-Processing View of Concrete Operational Thought a. Some neo-Piagetian theorists argue that the development of operational thinking can best be understood in terms of gains in information-processing speed rather than a sudden shift to a new stage. b. With practice, cognitive schemes demand less attention and become more automatic, freeing up space in working memory so children can focus on combining old schemes and generating new ones. c. Once the schemes of a Piagetian stage are sufficiently automatic, enough working memory is 1.

available to integrate them into an improved representation, and children acquire central conceptual structuresbroadly applicable principles that result in increasingly complex, systematic reasoning. D. Evaluation of the Concrete Operational Stage (p. 302) 1. Disagreement continues over whether childrens cognitive development occurs as continuous improvement in logical skills or as discontinuous restructuring of childrens thinking, as Piagets stage idea assumes.

2. 3.

During the school years, childrens thinking undergoes a qualitative change, toward a comprehensive grasp of the principles of logical thought. Some blend of Piagetian and information-processing ideas holds the greatest promise for understanding cognitive development in middle childhood.

V. INFORMATION PROCESSING (pp. 303309) A. The information-processing perspective focuses on separate aspects of thinking rather than overall cognitive change. B. Researchers believe that brain development contributes to basic changes in information processing that facilitate diverse aspects of thinking. 1. Information-processing speed and capacity increase. 2. Inhibitionthe ability to control internal and external distracting stimuliimproves. C. Attention (pp. 303, 304305) 1. In middle childhood, attention becomes more selective, adaptable, and planful. a. Between ages 6 and 10, children become better at deliberately attending to just those aspects of a situation that are relevant to their goals. b. Older children can flexibly adapt their attention to task requirements. c. Planning improves greatly in middle childhood. 2. Some children have great difficulty paying attention. Learning and behavior problems sometimes can be attributed to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). D. Memory Strategies (pp. 303304) 1. Memory strategies are the deliberate mental activities we use to store and retain information. a. Rehearsal involves repeating information to oneself. b. Gains in organization (grouping together related items) and elaboration (creating a relation between two or more items that are not members of the same category) permit older children to combine items into meaningful chunks, retain more information, and further expand working memory. E. The Knowledge Base and Memory Performance (pp. 304305) 1. During middle childhood, childrens long-term knowledge base grows larger and is organized into increasingly elaborate, hierarchically structured networks. 2. Knowing more about a topic makes new information more meaningful and familiar so it is easier to store and retrieve. 3. Academically unsuccessful children fail to make use of previously stored information to clarify new material. 4. By the end of the school years, extensive knowledge and use of memory strategies support one another. F. Culture, Schooling, and Memory Strategies (p. 305) 1. Memory strategies are usually used to remember information for its own sake. 2. People in non-Western cultures who lack formal schooling do not use or benefit from instruction in memory strategies. Development of such strategies depends in part on task demands and cultural circumstances and is not just a product of a more competent information-processing system. G. The School-Age Childs Theory of Mind (pp. 306307) 1. Childrens theory of mind, or metacognitiona set of ideas about mental activitiesbecomes more elaborate and refined during middle childhood. 2. Unlike preschoolers, who view the mind as a passive container, older children regard it as an active, constructive agent that selects and transforms information. They have a much better understanding of cognitive processes. 3. School-age children realize that people can extend their knowledge not only directly but also by making mental inferencesan understanding that enables knowledge of false belief to expand, bringing a greater understanding of others perspectives. 4. Experiences that foster awareness of mental activities, such as teachers asking children to pay attention, also contribute to childrens more reflective, process-oriented view of the mind. H. Cognitive Self-Regulation (p. 307) 1. School-age children are not yet good at cognitive self-regulation, the process of continuously

2. 3.

monitoring progress toward a goal, checking outcomes, and redirecting unsuccessful efforts. Because monitoring learning outcomes is cognitively demanding, it develops gradually; by adolescence, self-regulation is a strong predictor of academic success. Parents and teachers can foster self-regulation; explaining the effectiveness of strategies is particularly helpful.

4.

I.

Children who acquire effective self-regulatory skills develop a sense of academic self-efficacy confidence in their own abilities. 5. Negative messages from parents and teachers can undermine childrens academic self-esteem and selfregulatory skills. Applications of Information Processing to Academic Learning (pp. 307308) 1. Researchers hope to identify the cognitive ingredients of skilled performance, to design effective teaching methods. 2. Reading a. Reading taxes all aspects of our information-processing systems, making use of many skills at once. b. Performing all these skills efficiently releases working memory for higher-level activities involved in comprehending the texts meaning. c. Until recently, researchers were involved in an intense debate over the best way to teach beginning reading. (1) Proponents of a whole-language approach, which parallels childrens natural language learning, believed in exposing children to text in its complete form so that they could appreciate the communicative function of written language. (2) Others favored a phonics approach, in which children were first coached on phonicsthe basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds. d. Many studies show that children learn best with a mixture of both approaches. 3. Mathematics a. Over the early elementary school years, children acquire basic math facts through frequent practice, reasoning about number concepts, and teaching that conveys effective strategies. b. A blend of two approachespractice of computational skills and acquiring number sense, or understandingis most beneficial in teaching basic math. c. In Asian countries, students receive a variety of supports for acquiring mathematical knowledge and often excel at math computation and reasoning.

VI. INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN MENTAL DEVELOPMENT (pp. 309316, 317) A. Around age 6, IQ becomes more stable than it was earlier and correlates moderately well with academic achievement; as a result, it is often used in making educational decisions. B. Defining and Measuring Intelligence (pp. 309310) 1. Virtually all intelligence tests provide an overall score (the IQ), which represents general intelligence, along with an array of separate scores measuring specific mental abilities. 2. Intelligence is a collection of many mental capacities, not all of which are included on currently available tests. 3. Test designers use a statistical technique called factor analysis to identify the various abilities that intelligence tests measure. 4. Group-administered tests permit large numbers of pupils to be tested at once and are useful for instructional planning; teachers need little training to administer them. 5. Individually administered tests, which are used for more extensive evaluation of children, require considerable training to give well; examples include the Stanford-Binet and the Wechsler tests. 6. The Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition, is for individuals from age 2 to adulthood. a. It assesses general intelligence and five intellectual factors: knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial processing, working memory, and basic information processing. b. Although some of the factors emphasize culturally based factual information, others require little specific information and are assumed to be less culturally biased. 7. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV) is the fourth edition of a test for 6- through 16-year-olds that measures general intelligence and four broad factors: verbal reasoning, perceptual (visual-spatial) reasoning, working memory, and processing speed. a. Designers of the WISC-IV consider it the most culture-fair intelligence test available because only one factor (verbal reasoning) emphasizes culturally dependent knowledge. b. The WISC was the first test to be standardized on children representing the total U.S. population, including ethnic minorities.

C. Recent Efforts to Define Intelligence (pp. 310312) 1. Some researchers are combining the mental testing approach to defining intelligence with the information-processing approach. 2. These investigators conduct componential analyses of childrens mental test scores to look for relationships between components of information processing, such as basic work-memory capacity, and childrens scores. 3. A disadvantage of the componential approach is that it regards intelligence as entirely due to causes within the child, disregarding cultural and situational factors that are known to affect childrens thinking. 4. Sternbergs Triarchic Theory of Successful Intelligence a. Sternbergs triarchic theory of successful intelligence expands the componential approach into a comprehensive theory that regards intelligence as a product of both inner and outer forces. b. Sternbergs theory identifies three broad, interacting intelligences: (1) Analytical intelligence refers to the information-processing components of all intelligent acts, such as applying strategies. (2) Creative intelligence is the capacity to generate useful solutions to new problems. (3) Practical intelligence is goal-oriented activity aimed at adapting to, shaping, or selecting environments. c. In Sternbergs theory, intelligent behavior involves balancing these three intelligences to achieve success. 5. Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligences a. Gardners theory of multiple intelligences identifies at least eight independent intelligences on the basis of distinct sets of processing operations that permit individuals to engage in a wide range of culturally valued activities. b. Gardner believes that each intelligence has a unique biological basis, but emphasizes that a lengthy process of education is required to transform any raw potential. c. Neurological evidence for the independence of Gardners abilities is weak. d. However, Gardners theory highlights abilities not measured by intelligence tests (such as interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences). 6. Another type of intelligence is referred to as emotional intelligence, a set of emotional abilities that enable individuals to process and adapt to emotional information. D. Explaining Individual and Group Differences in IQ (pp. 312315, 316317) 1. Group differences in IQ are large enough and their consequences serious enough that they cannot be ignored. a. American black children score, on average, 1213 IQ points below white children, although this difference has been shrinking. b. The IQ gap between middle-SES and low-SES childrenabout 9 pointsaccounts for some, but not all, of the ethnic differences. c. The IQ naturenurture controversy escalated in the 1970s after the publication of a book maintaining that heredity is largely responsible for variations in intelligence. 2. Nature versus Nurture a. Through kinship studies, which compare family members, especially twins, researchers estimate that about half the differences in IQ among children can be traced to their genetic makeup. b. However, because heritabilities risk overestimating genetic influences and underestimating environmental influences, disagreement continues over how large the role of heredity is. c. Research on black children adopted into high-SES white families during the first year of life indicates that poverty severely depresses the intelligence of large numbers of ethnic minority children. 3. Cultural Influences a. Experts disagree over whether intelligence tests are biased. b. Communication Styles (1) Ethnic minority subcultures often foster unique language skills that do not fit the expectations of most classrooms and testing situations. (2) As a result, children may learn to communicate emotional and social concerns more than facts

c. d.

and may be confused by the objective questions found on tests. Test Content: Exposure to the factual knowledge and ways of thinking valued in classrooms has a sizable impact on childrens intelligence test performance. Stereotypes (1) Stereotype threatthe fear of being judged on the basis of a negative stereotypecan trigger anxiety that interferes with performance. (2) Over middle childhood, childrenespecially those from stigmatized groupsbecome increasingly conscious of ethnic stereotypes.

4.

Reducing Cultural Bias in Testing a. Many experts acknowledge that IQ scores can underestimate the intelligence of culturally different children, and there is a special concern about incorrectly labeling minority children as slow learners. b. In an innovative testing approach called dynamic assessment, which is consistent with Vygotskys zone of proximal development, the adult introduces purposeful teaching into the testing situation to see what the child can attain with social support. c. Childrens receptivity to teaching and capacity to transfer what they have learned to novel problems contribute substantially to gains in test performance. d. North American education is putting greater emphasis on traditional test scores, with the advent of a high-stakes testing movement that requires satisfactory test performance for progress through school. e. This emphasis on standardized testing has narrowed the focus of instruction and may widen SES and ethnic differences in educational attainment. f. Testing remains important to aid educational decisions, but intelligence tests need to be interpreted with sensitivity to cultural influences on performance.

VII. LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT (pp. 316319) A. School-age children develop language awareness, which is promoted by reading instruction. B. Vocabulary (pp. 316317) 1. In the elementary school years, children learn about 20 new words a day, and vocabulary increases fourfold. 2. Children continue to benefit from conversation with more expert speakers, and reading contributes enormously to vocabulary growth. 3. School-age children think about and use words more precisely than preschoolers. 4. As school-age children learn to grasp the double meanings of some words, they develop an understanding of metaphors and of riddles and puns. C. Grammar (p. 317) 1. Mastery of complex grammatical constructions improves in middle childhood. 2. Appreciation of subtle grammatical distinctions is supported by an improved ability to analyze and reflect on language. D. Pragmatics (pp. 317318) 1. Improvements in pragmatics, the communicative side of language, occur as childrens conversational strategies become more refined. 2. Childrens narratives increase in organization, detail, and expressiveness, gradually lengthening into a classic form in which events build to a high point and then resolve. 3. The form of childrens narratives varies widely across cultures. 4. Practice in relating personal storiesfor example, in families who regularly eat meals together promotes gains in language and literacy development. E. Learning Two Languages at a Time (pp. 318319) 1. Many children are bilingual, learning two or more languages in childhood. 2. An estimated 15 percent of American children (6 million) speak a language other than English at home. 3. Bilingual Development a. Children can become bilingual by acquiring two languages at the same time in early childhood or learning a second language after mastering the first. b. Children who learn both languages in infancy and early childhood attain early language milestones according to a typical timetable. c. When school-age children acquire a second language after they already speak a first, they generally take five to seven years to attain speaking and writing skills on a par with those of native-speaking agemates. d. To achieve full proficiency in a second language, mastery must begin sometime in childhood. e. Children who are fluent in two languages do better than others on tests of selective attention, analytical reasoning, and concept formation.

4.

Bilingual Education a. The advantages of bilingualism provide strong justification for bilingual education programs in schools. In Canada, about 7 percent of elementary school students participate in language immersion programs and become proficient in both French and English.

b.

c. d.

In the United States, disagreement exists over how best to educate ethnic minority children with limited English proficiency. (1) Some believe that time spent communicating in the childs native tongue detracts from English language achievement. (2) Others are committed to developing minority childrens native language while fostering mastery of English, and note that this approach prevents inadequate proficiency in both languageswhich is believed to lead to high rates of school failure and dropout among lowSES Hispanic youngsters. Currently, U.S. public opinion and educational practice favor English-only instruction. However, when both languages are integrated into the curriculum, minority children are more involved in learning and acquire the second language more easily.

VIII. LEARNING IN SCHOOL (pp. 319325) A. Class Size (p. 319): Small class size is beneficial because teachers spend less time disciplining and more time giving individual attention; also, children in smaller groups show better concentration and higherquality class participation. B. Educational Philosophies (pp. 319321) 1. Traditional versus Constructivist Classrooms a. In a traditional classroom, the teacher is the sole authority for knowledge, rules, and decision making. Students are relatively passive and are evaluated in relation to a uniform set of standards. b. A constructivist classroom encourages students to construct their own knowledge. (1) Many are grounded in Piagets theory of children as active agents in their own development. (2) Constructivist classrooms provide richly equipped learning centers and allow small groups and individuals to engage in problem solving. (3) Students are evaluated in terms of their progress in relation to their own prior development. c. In the United States, the pendulum has swung back and forth between these two views. (1) Although older elementary school children in traditional classrooms score slightly higher in achievement tests, constructivist classrooms are associated with many benefits, such as gains in critical thinking and social and moral maturity. (2) In preschool and kindergarten, teacher-directed instruction undermines academic motivation and achievement, especially in low-SES children. 2. New Philosophical Directions a. New approaches to education, grounded in Vygotskys sociocultural theory, capitalize on the rich social context of the classroom to spur learning, creating a social-constructivist classroom in which children participate in a wide range of challenging activities with teachers and peers. b. Important themes in social-constructivist classrooms include the following: (1) Teachers and children are partners in learning. (2) Children experience many types of symbolic communication in meaningful activities. (3) Teaching is adapted to each childs zone of proximal development. c. According to Vygotsky, more expert peers can spur childrens learning. Evidence confirms that this approach is effective in the context of cooperative learning, in which small groups of classmates work toward common goals. C. TeacherStudent Interaction (p. 321) 1. In classrooms where teachers are caring, helpful, and stimulating, children make gains in motivation, achievement, and positive peer relations. 2. Well-behaved, high-achieving students typically get more encouragement and praise, whereas unruly students have more conflicts with teachers and are criticized more. a. These attitudes can lead to an educational self-fulfilling prophecy, in which children start to live up to their teachers positive or negative views of them. b. Inaccurate views held by teachers affect low achievers more than high achievers. D. Grouping Practices (p. 322) 1. In many schools, pupils are assigned to homogeneous groups or classes in which children of similar ability levels are taught together, a practice that can be a potent source of self-fulfilling prophecies. 2. When schools increase classroom heterogeneity by creating multigrade classrooms, academic

achievement, self-esteem, and attitudes toward school are usually more favorable than in single-grade classrooms.

E. Teaching Children with Special Needs (pp. 322324) 1. Children with Learning Difficulties a. U.S. legislation mandates that schools place children who require special supports for learning into the least restrictive environments that meet their educational needs. b. In inclusive classrooms, students with learning difficulties are placed in regular classrooms for all or part of the school day. c. Some students in inclusive classrooms have mild mental retardation, but the largest number have learning disabilitiesgreat difficulty with one or more aspects of learning, usually reading. d. Some included students benefit academically, but many do not, depending on the severity of the disability and the support services available. e. Special needs students often do best when they receive instruction in a resource room for part of the day and in the regular classroom for the remainder. f. Special steps must be taken to promote peer relations in inclusive classrooms. 2. Gifted Children a. Gifted children display exceptional intellectual strengths, including creativity and talent as well as high IQ. b. Creativity and Talent (1) Creativity is the ability to produce work that is original yet appropriate. (2) Tests of creativity tap divergent thinking, the generation of unusual possibilities when faced with a task or problem, which contrasts with convergent thinking, which involves arriving at a single correct answer and is emphasized on intelligence tests. (3) Tests of divergent thinking are poor predictors of creative accomplishment in everyday life. (4) Definitions of giftedness include talentoutstanding performance in a specific field. (5) Parents of talented children emphasize curiosity, provide a stimulating home life, are devoted to developing their childs abilities, and provide models of hard work. (6) Although many talented youths become experts in their fields, few become highly creative, which requires different skills. c. Educating the Gifted (1) The extent to which programs for the gifted foster creativity and talent depends on opportunities to acquire relevant skills. (2) Although evidence is still needed on how effectively these programs nurture childrens talents, they have been successful in highlighting the strengths of some students who had previously been overlooked, especially talented low-SES, ethnic minority children. F. How Well-Educated Are North American Children? (pp. 324325) 1. U.S. students fare poorly when their achievement is compared to that of children in other industrialized nations. a. Compared with students in the top-achieving nations, many more U.S. students report studying by memorizing rather than by relating information to previously acquired knowledge. b. Achievement also varies much more among U.S. schools, reflecting a less equitable quality of education. 2. Families, schools, and the larger society must work together to upgrade U.S. education.