Quiz Ch.

12 Middle Childhood: Cognitive Development

1. Why did Piaget call cognition in middle childhood concrete operational thought?
Concrete operations are characterized by new concepts that enable children to use logic.
Operational comes from operating meaning to work; to produce. By calling this period
operational, Piaget emphasized productive thinking.

2. How do Vygotsky and Piaget differ in their explanation of cognitive advances in

middle childhood?
Piaget proposed that children progress through the stages of cognitive development through
maturation, discovery methods, and some social transmissions through assimilation and
accommodation (Woolfolk, A., 2004).

Vygotsky thought school can be crucial for cognitive growth. He thought that peers and
teachers provide the bridge between developmental potential and needed skills via guided
participation and scaffolding, in the zone of proximal development.

3. How does information-processing theory differ from traditional theories?

Information processing focuses on the specifics, not on theories but on details. It progresses
from models and hypotheses to a practical demonstration. This contradicts Piaget's theory of
stage-like advances. Information processing can seek specific units of information, analyze them,
and express their conclusions so that another person can understand. By tracing the paths and
links of each of these functions, scientists better understand the learning process.

4. How does a child’s age affect the understanding of metaphors and jokes?
children are able to understand metaphors, complex grammar rules are understood, use
Pragmatics.

Metaphor understanding is evidence of increased cognitive flexibility, linguistic ability and

social awareness which is possible with concrete operational thought

5. What factors in a child’s home and school affect language-learning ability?

In order to learn grammar and advanced vocabulary, a child has to be around people who use
it well. Children from low-SES families may not be exposed to a rich language or extensive
Vocabularies. Almost one out of four school-aged children speak a language other than
English at home.
The success of any method is affected by the literacy of the home environment, teachers and
national context.
6. What does the research find about children whose home language is not the school
Language?
Their language learning depends not only on the child but also on the literacy of their home
environment, the warmth, ability, and training of their teacher, and the national context.

7. How and Why does low SES affect language learning?

Not only do low-SES children usually have smaller vocabularies than those from higher-SES
families, but their grammar is also simpler

8. What are the strengths and liabilities of national and international test?
International assessments such as the TIMSS and PIRLS are useful as comparisons, partly
because few objective measures of learning are available.

9. How do charter schools, private schools, and home schools differ?

A charter school is different than a private school: Charter schools are public schools that are
independent of their local school districts. They are tuition-free and publicly funded yet
independently run. Private schools, on the other hand, are private organizations run by private
Individuals. Home schools require an adult at home, typically the mother in a two-parent
Family, who is willing to teach the children.

10. How is it decided what curriculum children should receive?

Curriculum consists of the plans for the learning experiences through which children acquire
knowledge, skills, abilities, and understanding.
In developing a curriculum, teachers should offer real-world, challenging experiences that
allow students to grow and align with their learning goals.