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Chapter 7Physical and Cognitive Development in Middle

Childhood

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Physical Development

Physical growth The only stage when

girls are taller than boys Nutrition can affect

growth

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Proper nutrition is linked to positive personality traits

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More nutritious diets = more energy & self confidence.

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Physical Activity > increased overall attention AND greater cog dev’t

Meanwhile, hours of physical activity have been decreasing and obesity rates have been rising.

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Safety in Cyberspace

• How do you monitor children’s internet access?

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Health, Illness, Disease, Accidents, and Injuries  

Disease, injury, death less prevalent than other periods in childhood and adolescenceMost common?

What else?

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Obesity in Children

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Balanced Diet?

Recent studies have found that children’s diets are almost opposite the diet recommended by the USDA.

How obsessed should we be?

Most common chronic disease in children?

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Children With Special Needs

13.2% of age 3-21 in U.S. receive special ed services;

61% LD or speech and lang1.3% movement

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Historical Educational Issues 1975 -- Public Law 94-142 (the Education for all

Handicapped Children Act): — all students with disabilities must be given a free, appropriate public education. Now: IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1990;

Revised again in 2004 — Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act

IEP Least restrictive environment (LRE)

• Inclusion

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Children with Special Needs–Auditory Impairment

Loss in infancy is more severe than after age 3. [Why?]

Abstract thinking may be affected.

Noise Induced Hearing Loss

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Children with Special Needs–Speech

50% of what most 2-year-olds say should be understood by an unfamiliar listener;

75% of what most 3-year-olds say; 100% of what most 4-year-olds say.

Stuttering NOT an emotional Dx Not related to low IQ Not caused by anxiety Often a family history

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Children with Special Needs–Learning Disabilities

What is it?

LD diagnosis Dyslexia

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Approaches to Teaching Reading

Whole-language approach parallels natural language learning

Phonics approach basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds

Children with Special Needs–LD and ADHD–

ADHD: A learning disability? ~5 to 12 percent of school-age children? Ritalin, Dexedrine (Adderall), Pemoline (Cylert)

ADHD and learning disabilities should be evaluated by a specialist

A real problem, but probably overdiagnosed in some classrooms/schools/neiborhoods

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Mental Retardation

Mental retardation is typically measured by IQ tests.

Four levels of retardation Mild Moderate Severe Profound

Distribution of IQ Scores

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Distribution of IQ Scores [and next]

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Intellectually Gifted

3 to 5 % of school-age children are Gifted and talented

Two options:• Acceleration• Enrichment

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Intellectual Development: Piaget

Concrete Operations.• active, appropriate use of logic.

Conservation problems easily solved—logic used over appearance.

Decentering Reversability Classification Mental seriation using logic

(transitivity)

–Decentering–

Piaget’s Matchstick Problem

Make 6 equilateral triangles out of six matchsticks.

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Vygotsky in the Classroom

Focus on [?]:

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Language Development During Middle Childhood

Metalinguistic Awareness

Over 10% of US student population are ELLs. Of that number, ~80% are Spanish speaking.

Being bilingual may have cognitive advantages:

greater cognitive flexibility greater metalinguistic awareness improvement on IQ tests is equivocal

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Multicultural Education

“In recent years a considerable amount of thought has gone into establishing multicultural education, a form of education in which the goal is to help minority students develop competence in the culture of the majority group while maintaining positive group identities that build on their original culture.”

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Intelligence

Alfred Binet1) Intelligence – that which his test

measured

2) IQ tests should be reasonable indicators of school success.

3) X = 100

?

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Alternative Conceptions of Intelligence

Fluid Intelligence Crystallized Intelligence

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Robert Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of Intelligence

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Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences (Frames of Mind)

Each are relatively independent