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Chapter 10:

  Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle and Late Childhood  

Physical Changes and Health

•         During middle and late childhood:

–        Growth averages 2-3 inches per year

–        Weight gain averages 5-7 lbs each year

–        “Baby fat” decreases

–        Muscle mass and strength gradually increase

–        Less noticeable is ossification of bones

–        Fine motor skills improve

–        Myelination of CNS increases

•         Boys have a greater number of muscle cells and are stronger than girls 

•         Most noticeable physical changes are in head and waist circumference, and leg length in
relation to body 

•         By age 10-12, manipulative writing skills show (like adults) and ability to master complex skills

•         Girls usually outperform boys in fine motor skills 

•         Today, too much time is spent watching TV, on computers, and playing video games 

•         Children need more exercise 

•         More children become involved in sports every year; communities and schools are offering more sports

•         Sports participation is positive and negative with concerns about pressure to win and exploitation

•         Middle and late childhood

–        Is usually a time of excellent health

–        Motor vehicle accidents are most common cause of severe injury

–        Cancer is 2nd leading cause of death

–        Most common child cancer is leukemia 

•         Obesity:

–        Prevalent in children, mostly ages 6 to 11

–        6-year-old has 25% risk of being obese adult

–        12-year-old has 75% risk of being obese adult

–        Linked to lack of exercise

–        A risk factor for other medical and psychological problems

•         Context in which child eats can influence eating habits and weight

•         Low self-esteem, depression, and teasing by peers are common

Children with Disabilities 

•         About 5 million (10%) U.S. children have a disability and receive special education or related services

–        More than 50% of these have learning disabilities

•         Learning disability has 3 criteria:

–        Exclusionary criteria

–        IQ–achievement discrepancy

–        Specificity of learning problem 

•         Learning disabilities

–        Boys are identified three times more frequently
than girls

–        Most common form involves reading

•         ADHD

–        Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

–        Occurs 4-9 times more often in boys

–        Signs may appear in preschool years

–        Usually identified in elementary years

–        About 85% to 90% of children with ADHD take medications such as Ritalin

•         1970s: Laws passed requiring all public schools to serve disabled children

•         1975 Public Law 94-142, was renamed Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990

 Law requires disability students receive

–        IEP: Individualized education plans

–        LRE: Least restrictive environment setting

–        Inclusion in full-time, regular classroom

Cognitive Changes

•         Piaget: preschool child is preoperational, thought is still flawed and not well organized

•         Piaget provided a sound conceptual framework  for viewing learning and education emphasizing:

–        Take a constructivist approach

–        Facilitate rather than direct learning

–        Consider child’s knowledge, level of thinking

–        Promote child’s intellectual health

–        Make classrooms exploration/discovery settings 

Classification: An Important Ability in Concrete Operational Thought 

•         Neo-Piagetians suggest more emphasis on how children process information

•         During middle and late childhood

–        Information processing changes include memory, metacognition, and critical and creative thinking

–        Short-term memory increases quickly before age 7

–        Long-term memory increases; expertise depends on learning activities and strategies used  

•         Two important strategies: creating mental images and elaborating on information 

•         Critical thinking: thinking reflectively and  productively, and evaluating evidence 

•         Creative thinking: ability to think in novel and unusual ways, devise unique solutions  

•         Convergent thinking

•         Divergent thinking 

•         Strategies for fostering creativity:

–        Brainstorming

–        Provide environments that stimulate creativity

–        Don’t overcontrol

–        Encourage internal motivation

–        Foster flexible and playful thinking

–        Introduce children to creative people

•         Metacognition:  knowing about knowing and learning 

•         Intelligence: problem-solving skills, ability to learn

•         Intelligence tests:

–        Binet Tests (early 1900s): IQ is MA divided by CA and multiplied by 100

–        Stanford-Binet Test, revised Binet Tests, led to creation of bell curve

–        Wechsler Scales: verbal & nonverbal

•         WPPSI-R: ages 4 to 6.5 years

•         WISC-III: ages 6 to 16 years

•         WAIS-III: adults 

•         Thurstone: 7 types of primary abilities exist:

–        verbal comprehension, word fluency, spatial visualization,  number ability, associative
memory, reasoning, and perceptual speed 

•         Gardner: 8 types of intelligence

–        verbal, mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist 

•         There is great debate over what qualifies as a type of intelligence and how to assess it

•         Controversies and issues in intelligence:

–        Heredity and genetics versus environment

–        Flynn effect

–        Bell curve: U.S. is developing large underclass of intellectually deprived

–        Racial and cultural bias

–        Use and misuse of IQ tests

–        Classifying types of mental retardation

–        Classification as being gifted 

Language Development 

•         Language during middle and late childhood:

–        Changes occur in how words are selected

–        Increased logical reasoning/analytical skills

–        Increased ability to understand and use complex grammar

–        How to respond to fact that words are understood before child learns to read them?

•         Whole-language approach

•         Basic-skills-and-phonics approach

•         Guided oral reading also recommended 

•         Bilingualism:

–        Learning a 2nd language is easiest for children

–        Ability to speak 2 languages has positive effect on child’s cognitive development and performance on tests in

•         Control of attention (focus)

•         Concept formation

•         Analytic reasoning

•         Cognitive flexibility

•         Cognitive complexity