CHAPTER 9:
Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood
Child and Adolescent Development
Edition 2
Anita Woolfolk and Nancy Perry
© (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
9-1
Chapter Outline
• Continuing Language Development
• Piaget and Vygotsky
• Information Processing and Memory: Developing Cognitive
Processes
• Intelligence and Intelligence Testing
• The Child in School
• Children in a Digital World
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-2 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Continuing Language Development
• Mastery of language basics by age 5-6
• More complicated language forms are undeveloped
– Passive voice – requires understanding of reversible
thinking
– Past and future – child understands recent past and
concrete aspects of future
– Hypothetical futures – beyond child’s comprehension
• Rapid development when child starts to school
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-3 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Semantics, Vocabulary, Syntax, and Grammar
• How does vocabulary grow?
– Decode new words using context clues, word knowledge
– Advance from concrete/personal to abstract applications
of meaning
– Learn from direct vocabulary lessons at school
– Learn new words by reading
• Limitations for lower SES children
– Hear fewer words, understand fewer in reading
– May have access to fewer reading materials
– Need additional direct vocabulary instruction
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-4 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Organizing Words
• Methods of organization include:
– Sequences (one, two, three)
– Hierarchies (big, bigger, biggest)
• Strategies for organizing words include:
– Chunking: category for food, subdivided by types of food
– Associations/connections: based on word meanings
• Syntagmatic-paradigmatic shift:
– Change from organizing by what comes next
(“baby” associated with “cries”)
– Change to organizing by meaning (more abstract
process)
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-5 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Fun with Words
• Play with sounds of words by age 5-6
– Icky, sticky, yicky okra
• Understanding and making jokes with words by age 6-7
– Using word meanings: puns, double meanings
• Understanding figurative language – similes, metaphors
– “I could eat a horse.”
– Understanding precedes using idioms
– Especially challenging for second language learners
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-6 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Pragmatics and Metalinguistic Development
• Pragmatics: appropriate use of language to communicate
• Conversations – taking turns, listening, arguing
– Perspective taking increases
– Use of conjunctives (age 6), disjunctives (age 12)
– Able to talk slang with peers, more formally with adults
• Narratives: decontextualized
– Characters, settings, plots told with organization
– Represent cultural norms; differ by culture
• Metalinguistic awareness – increased understanding of how
language works (rules, grammar)
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-7 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Difference and Diversity in Language
Development
• Dialects – regional variations of language
– Distinct grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation
– Differences are not errors
• Example: double negatives may be allowed
• Suggestions for adults working with children
– Avoid stereotypes associated with dialects
– Repeat instructions in different words
– Focus on understanding child, accepting his language
• Child learns code-switching: moving between speech forms
• Genderlects: speech differences based on gender
– Girls – affiliative speech; boys – their rights, justice
– Cultural differences apply
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-8 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Bilingualism in the Middle Years
• Over 5 million ELLs (English language learners) in US
• 2nd language proficiency has 2 aspects
– Oral language development takes 3-5 years
– Academic language takes 5-7 years
• Older children advance through language development
stages faster than young children
– Younger children have greater ability to speak near-
native pronunciations in second language
• <20% retain their heritage language
• Signed languages: many parallels to stages of spoken
language development
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-9 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Piaget and Vygotsky
• Piaget’s concrete operational stage
– Recognition of logical stability of physical world
• Conservation: quantities (number, weight, volume, area)
remain the same when appearances change
– Identity: material keeps its identity (remains the same) if
nothing is added or subtracted from it
– Compensation: change in one direction can be
compensated for by change in another direction
– Reversibility: mentally reverse an operation
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-10 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Piaget: Concrete Operations
• Classification – ability to groups objects on basis of a single
characteristic
– Recognition that one class fits into another
• Example: a Texan can also be a US citizen
– Ability to classify and reclassify – items fit more than one
classification (relates to reversibility)
• Seriation – arranging by size, large to small and vice versa
– Principle of transitivity understood around age 7
• Example: If A<B, and B<C, then A<C
• Limitations in concrete operational stage
– Thinking tied to experiences and physical reality
– Not ready for hypothetical problems
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-11 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Limitations of Piaget’s Theories
• Underestimates children’s abilities
– Children can think abstractly in areas of extensive
knowledge
• Overlooks cultural context
– Cultures emphasize different skills, offer different
experiences for children at various ages
• Overlooks influence of the task itself
– Chinese educators emphasize math/science; younger
Chinese children deal with abstract relationships
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-12 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Vygotsky: Contexts for Learning and
Development
• Importance of child’s zone of proximal development (ZPD)
– Interactions scaffold learning through prompts
• Assisted learning – guided learning; relies on scaffolding
– Strategies include modeling processes, providing
organizers, reviewing prior knowledge
– Adult gradually withdraws assistance as child progresses
• Instructional conversations – dialogue promotes learning
– Engaging, substantive, responsive to students’ ideas
– Challenging but non-threatening atmosphere
• Tools of the culture – funds of knowledge
– Using understandings/skills developed over generations
– Helps children learn
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-13 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Information Processing and Memory:
Developing Cognitive Processes
Components of information processing system:
• Attention
• Memory
• Processing speed
• Control processes
• Strategies
Changes in middle childhood result in:
• Better problem solving
• Vast additions to knowledge base
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-14 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Information Processing: Attention in Middle
Childhood
• Able to distinguish relevant and irrelevant information
• Use better strategies to plan and focus attention
• Identification of attention disorders – often about age 8
– ADHD: attention disorders, impulsive-hyperactivity
– About 3-7% of elementary school population
– 3 or 4 times more boys than girls
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-15 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Information Processing: Memory Systems
• Working memory: combines new and existing information
• Long-term memory: storage of well-learned knowledge
• Two memory systems:
– Explicit – intentional searches for specific information
• Semantic – meaning and knowledge
• Episodic – specific events
– Implicit – awareness; used effortlessly
• Fully developed earlier than explicit memory system
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-16 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Working Memory
• Requires attention to information
• Forms mental representations, makes connections
• Components:
– Phonological loop for verbal/sound information
– Visual sketchpad for visual/spatial information
– Episodic buffer for integrating information to form
mental representations
– Central executive “worker” oversees processing
• Improves steadily during elementary and secondary school
– Faster processing, greater storage capacity, efficient use
of memory strategies
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-17 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Learning Disabilities and Working Memory
• Working memory associated with:
– Learning disabilities in math problem solving
– Reading disabilities for native speakers and second
language learners
• Specific problems include difficulties with:
– Using the phonological loop (holding words and sounds)
– Figuring out math story problems
– Retrieving needed information from long-term memory
– Visual-spatial information (number line, mental
representations of comparisons)
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-18 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Memory Strategies
By age 9-10, spontaneously use strategies
Mnemonic strategies for improving memory –
• Connect new information with established
words/images
– Example: acronyms (HOMES for names of Great Lakes –
Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)
– Chain mnemonics, such as jingles (i before e except
after c)
– Keyword method: recode, relate, retrieve
• Used in vocabulary learning in a second language
• Production deficiency – common in middle childhood
• Cultural differences in children’s success with memory
strategies (practiced extensively in German culture)
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-19 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Memory for Actual Events
• Socially constructed narratives
– Memory of events strengthened through story telling
– Examples of Vygotsky’s social constructivism
• Memory of events at this age can be accurate
– Better at recalling source of a memory
– Eye-witness testimony should be given without bias of
suggestive questions
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-20 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Metacognition
Metacognition: one’s knowledge/beliefs about own cognitive
processes
• Example: explaining your problem solving thinking process
• Memory strategies are metacognitive skills
• Kinds of metacognition
– Declarative: explicit, conscious, factual knowledge;
knowing WHAT to do
– Procedural: knowing HOW; often implicit/unconscious
– Conditional (self-regulatory): knowing WHEN, WHY to
apply cognitive strategies
• Deficits with metacognition – common in children with
learning disabilities
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-21 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Developing Metacognition
Metacognitive processes in middle childhood:
• Metaattention, age 6-7: focus attention selectively
• Metamemory, age 9-10: summarize; sense of own
performance ability on tasks
• Metastrategies, age 9-10: rehearsal; organizing strategies
• Metacomprehension, begins around 8-9: recognizing the
level of their own understanding of what they read
Differences in metacognition – not based on intelligence
Metacognitive strategies can be taught/learned
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-22 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Metacognition and Theory of Mind
• Disagreement among psychologists:
– Is metacognition a subset of theory of mind?
– Is theory of mind a subset of metacognition?
• Research on metacognition: focuses on children’s mental
processes involved in school tasks
• Research on theory of mind: focuses on infants’ and young
children’s beginning knowledge
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-23 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Conceptual Development and Domains of
Knowledge
• What we know is the foundation for all future learning
• Knowledge scaffolds remembering
• Mathematics – sense of numbers by school age
– Biologically primary mathematical abilities – simple
counting, addition, subtraction
– Biologically secondary abilities – other mathematical
concepts acquired in school
• Conceptual knowledge such as base-10, fractions
• Arithmetic operations – add, subtract, multiply, divide
• Problem solving
• Numbers knowledge acquired through multiple pathways
(linguistic, spatial, quantitative)
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-24 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Theory of Mind and Conceptions of
Intelligence
• The mind – an active constructor of knowledge
• Children develop implicit theories of intelligence – beliefs
about their abilities
• Age 11-12: beliefs about ability influence motivation
• Entity view – intelligence is unchangeable
– Results in lack of motivation (work doesn’t matter)
– Often held by children with learning disabilities
• Incremental view – skills can be improved (get smarter)
– Belief tied to increased motivation and learning
• Interventions can help students develop incremental view
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-25 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Intelligence: Overview of Structure
• Fluid cognition – important element in intelligence
– Involves processing in working memory to meet goals
• Theories about intelligence:
– General intelligence (g) – mental energy used to perform
any mental test
– Fluid intelligence – process (ability to learn); increases
until adolescence, declines gradually with age
– Crystalized – content (what is learned); develops by
applying fluid intelligence to solve problems
• Hierarchical Model (CHC): g, secondary abilities, level/speed
capabilities
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-26 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner: theory of multiple intelligences; structured
as eight separate mental abilities
• Logical-mathematical – chain reasoning/logic; scientist,
mathematician
• Linguistic – skill with aspects of language; poet, journalist
• Musical – musical expressiveness; composer, pianist
• Spatial – accurate visual-spatial perceptions; sculptor
• Bodily-kinesthetic – control one’s body movements; dancer
• Interpersonal – responsive to other people; therapist
• Intrapersonal – detailed accurate self-knowledge
• Naturalist – understand natural world; botanist, farmer
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-27 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Gardner’s Theory: Criticisms and Response
Criticisms:
• Several of the eight intelligences are talents
• Verbal and spatial abilities are elements of intelligence
• Correlations among intelligences – not separate abilities
Gardner’s Identification of Misconceptions:
• Intelligences are not learning styles; not a sensory system
• Gardner’s theory does not deny that g exists
Value for Teachers:
• Differentiate instruction; recognize diversity among children
• Use diverse representations of skills, concepts in teaching
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-28 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Intelligence as Information Processing
• Cognitive processes: how we gather/use information
• Triarchic theory of successful intelligence (Sternberg)
– Analytical intelligence: processing abstract problems
– Creative intelligence: solving new problems (insight),
making these new solutions routine (automaticity)
– Practical intelligence: adapting to everyday life
• Sternberg’s theory recently added wisdom
– WICS (wisdom, intelligence, creativity synthesized)
• Mutualism model: cognitive processes work together to
their mutual benefit
– During development, uncorrelated processes become
correlated
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-29 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
How Is Intelligence Measured?
• Alfred Binet: developed tests to measure children’s learning
ability
– Goal: protect children’s rights
– Tests determined child’s mental age
– Concept of intelligence quotient (IQ) was added to tests
• Deviation IQ – comparison score based on average scores
• Stanford-Binet test – gives a general factor and assesses
five cognitive factors
• Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children IV (WISC-IV) – gives
a total score and assesses four areas of ability
– Administered individually
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-30 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Measuring Intelligence
• Kauffman Assessment Battery for Children II (KABC-II) –
administered individually
– Tests visual processing, short-term memory, fluid
reasoning, long-term storage/retrieval, crystalized ability
– Controlled for differences in race, ethnicity, gender
• Group vs. individual IQ tests: Groups tests less accurate
• Meaning of IQ score: average score is set to equal IQ of
100; 50% of those tested are at/above and 50% below
– Measure of analytic IQ, not practical/creative IQ
– Broader, more integrated IQ scores – better predictors
• Cautions: beware of biases; recognize improvability of
cognitive skills
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-31 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Influences on Intelligence
• Heredity AND environment – impossible to separate
• Families and neighborhoods – Neglect, abuse, poor
nutrition, exposure to toxins have negative effect
• Schools and interventions – staying in school elevates IQ;
people with high IQ tend to stay in school
– Unsure which factor influences the other more
• Cultural differences based on cultural emphases/values
• Flynn Effect – increase of 18 points in average score on
standardized IQ tests each generation
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-32 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Extreme Differences in Measured IQ
• Children with intellectual disabilities – 1% of population
– IQ score below 70; adaptive behavior problems
– In school – need more practice to learn basic skills
• Gifted and talented – IQ over 130; 2% of children
– Underserved in public schools; may have learning
disabilities
– Advanced for their age, high in creativity and motivation
– Teaching these students
• Challenge with abstract thinking, creativity,
independence
• Flexible programs; summer institutes; research
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-33 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Child in School
• Comparisons of achievement around the world
– TIMSS (Trends in International Math/Science Study)
– US 4th graders rank 11th; 8th graders rank 9th
– Asian countries ranked highest
– Prompted US federally mandated accountability
• NCLB (No Child Left Behind): to promote progress
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-34 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Influences on School Achievement
• Individual IQ, competencies/skills, and resilience
• Parents’ support, encouraging autonomy, helping child
• Poverty’s negative effects (1 in 12 children in US in extreme
poverty)
– Few resources; high stressors in life
– Begin school 6 months behind wealthier students; 3
years behind by grade 6
• Teachers and classroom climate
– Affective: teacher emotional support; positive climate
– Cognitive: concept development; quality of feedback
– Behavioral: routines, behavior management,
productivity
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-35 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Children with Learning Challenges
• Hyperactivity and attention disorders (ADHD)
– Have difficulty focusing, controlling own behavior
– Many do better when on medication (controversial)
• Learning disabilities – generally performing below
expectations considering child’s other abilities
– Range of characteristics including difficulties in one or
more academic areas, social difficulties, problems with
organization and/or attention
– Most common – reading difficulties; next – math
– Often experience learned helplessness
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-36 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy
• Conception of teaching excellence (based on studies of
success with students of color, of poverty)
• Three propositions identified by Gloria Ladson-Billings:
– Students must experience academic success.
– Students must develop/maintain their cultural
competence.
– Students must develop a critical consciousness to
challenge the status quo.
• Culturally relevant assessments: dual language
assessments, modified language assessment to measure
skill levels for ESL (English as a second language) students
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-37 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Children in a Digital World
• Digital divide – split in access to technology
– Less access for children from poor and minority homes
– Home Internet access
• Strong predictor of math/science achievement
• Associated with higher achievement in reading
• Learning and computers – more effective in advancing basic
processes that lead to learning
– Examples: word decoding, phonological awareness
– Games improve achievement and motivation if they
include knowledge base, problem solving, final product
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-38 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Children’s Understanding of Computers and
the Internet
• Understanding of technical and social complexity of Internet
increases with age
• Social understanding lags behind technical knowledge
– Need lessons to grasp dangers of Internet predators
• Media literacy – ability to access, analyze, evaluate,
communicate media messages
– Project Look Sharp – integrate media literacy and critical
thinking about media in class lessons
– Include discussion about source credibility, currency,
audience, completeness of message
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-39 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Woolfolk & Perry, Child and Adolescent Development, 2nd Ed.
9-40 © (2015, 2012) by Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved
