Chapter 18

1. Chapter 18 Intellectual Development from 7 to 12

2. Chapter Objectives • Identify 4 signs of intellectual development in children ages 7 to 12 • Explain 4 thinking skills that build a foundation for mastering schoolwork • Describe 3 learning methods that are effective for children ages 7 to 12 • Identify characteristics of the middle school experience that make it well suited to preteen learning • Compare and contrast 3 types of standardized tests

3. Chapter 18.1 The Developing Brain from 7 to 12

4. Signs of Increased Intellectual Growth • Intellectual development improves steadily as children become capable of new ways of thinking • Emotional and intellectual needs of preteens differ from those of younger and older children • Educators created middle or junior high schools in an effort to address these special needs • 4 signs of intellectual development for this age occur in memory, awareness, idealism, and attention span

5. Memory • People use both short-term and long-term memory • Improvements in the way the brain functions allows older children and preteens to learn more and to use their knowledge more efficiently • EXAMPLE: We don’t count on our fingers. We are able to recall and apply basic mathematical functions

6. Awareness and Curiosity • More intense awareness of themselves and those around them • Better at understanding their abilities and those of others • 8 years or older, children can begin to see another persons point-of-view • More concern about what people think of them • We begin to think of ourselves in terms of qualities we have versus our appearance • Strive to achieve goals • At school: • Increasingly independent in their learning • Develop their own learning styles • Develop interest that can last a lifetime

7. Idealism and Abstract Thinking • Young children judge whether something is right or wrong by how much pleasure or pain it involves • Older children and teens adopt moral standards that authority figures will approve of • Preteens can recognize complex social problems such as prejudice and crime • Do not understand why the problem is difficult to solve • Cannot analyze their ideas to see if they are realistic • Parents can encourage preteens to be involved in the community through volunteer work

8. Attention Span • For reasons that are not yet understood, children around age 12 loose their longer attention spans • They learn less, because they cannot concentrate as long • Test scores and grades may drop at school

9. Theories About How Children Learn- Piaget’s Theory • Concrete Operations Stage: (7 to 11) • Thinking works effectively on concrete, or actual, objects and tasks • Generalize from their own experiences • Cannot understand abstract ideas • During this stage children develop several important thinking skills • Classifying objects • Placing objects in series • Extending relationships • Conservation • Placing Objects in a Series: • Arrange objects in ascending or descending order • Requires the ability to compare objects mentally and to make logical connections between what they know and what they are learning • Extending Relationships • Transitivity is the concept that a relative relationship between two objects can extend to a third object • EX: If 3 is greater than 2 and 2 is greater than 1, than 3 is greater than 1 • Conservation • An object has the same characteristics even if there is a change in the way it looks

10. Theories About How Children Learn- Piaget’s Theory • Formal Operations Stage: • Starts at about age 11 • Develop the ability to think abstractly and to see different sides of an issue • A preteen will use these abstract ways of thinking selectively at first • As they gain more experience they will begin to use abstract thinking more • Abstract Thinking: • Imagining hypothetical situations • Solving problems by anticipating and preparing for different situations • Debating issues • Using “if….then” formulas • Recognizing societal problems and understand the complex reasons for them

11. Theories About How Children Learn- Vygotsky’s Theory • Biological development and cultural experiences both influence the child’s ability to learn • Children learn best from one another • Children ages 7 to 11 are learning to evaluate themselves and others • Peer and small group activities are vital in the classroom • Social activities like clubs, sports teams, and other events are essential

12. Theories About How Children Learn- Montessori’s Theory • Montessori’s theory stresses the importance of self-directed learning • Teachers should: • Provide the needed tools • Intrude on learning as little as possible • In a Montessori classroom, 7 to 12 year olds, might offer a combination of language, history geography, the sciences, and the arts • Group lessons are kept at a minimum as teachers allow children to explore learning in their own way • Real-life experiences are stressed

13. Theories About How Children Learn: Gardner’s Theory • Believes learning is multifaceted or many-sided • Educators who have supported Gardner’s way of thinking see their students learning and thinking in different ways every day • The more students develop their own intelligences, the greater their skills and knowledge will become • What are some ways you could help students learn from each intelligence? • Verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist

14. Theories About How Children Learn- Sternberg’s Theory • Sternberg’s research suggests an answer to why some students who did well in school do not excel in the working world or vise versa • The theory proposes that people have varying degrees of analytical, creative, and practical intelligence • When parents or caregivers encourage all three kinds of intelligences, then all children can show their talents

15. Sternberg’s Theory Analytical Intelligence Creative Intelligence Schools that are too focused on improving student knowledge can hinder creativity Is required when children imagine, pretend, invent, and design May not follow directions well and score lower on tests Allow children plenty of free play time Encourage children to be creative • Abilities to recall, recognize, analyze, compare and contrast, evaluate, and explain problem-solving strategies • High analytical children are often considered to be smart because they are good at those types of activities and tests

16. Sternberg’s Theory Practical Intelligence • “Street Smarts” • Quickly assess a problem and the available resources • They can figure out the fastest and most practical way to solve a problem • Might not be top performers at school but they have the potential to become tomorrows leaders, businesspeople, and politicians • Encourage those to volunteer in the community, lead a group project, etc.

17. Chapter 18.2 Learning from 7 to 12

18. Learning Methods • A learning method is a way to learn • In order to meet different needs of children, teachers use a variety of learning methods • The 3 most common learning methods are • Direct • Peer • Independent

19. Direct Learning • Language-based, or direct learning, is a common learning method for older children • Children capable of direct learning can get facts and ideas from listening and reading • Must learn to take notes and read their textbooks on their own • Progress in mastering these skills are gradual • Can be measured through tests, quizzes, and essays

20. Peer Learning • Peer learning is a learning method in which students interact with one another • Work together in pairs, small groups, or as a class • One advantage to peer learning is that it provides an environment in which students may feel less awkward about asking questions or expressing confusion • Working on group projects helps students learn to work together cooperatively, to communicate, and to build time- and resource-management skills

21. Independent Learning • Independent learning allows students to work on their own • Lets them use information they gather in a variety of ways • Prepares them for long-term assignments common in high school, college, or the working world

22. Middle School- A Time of Transition • A 4th and 9th grader are not at all alike • A 4th grader works best in small classroom settings with one teacher who is almost like a parent • Leads them through most of their class work and gives them personal, individual care, and guidance • Know all their classmates and are familiar with their surroundings • High school students rotate from class to class all day, changing teachers and classmates • Learning environment is more impersonal and more independent work

23. Middle School- New Independence and Social Skills Summarize the paragraph into once sentence. Write below.

24. Middle School- Effective Middle Schools • Read the paragraph and summarize in one sentence. Write below.

25. The Importance of Parent Involvement • Meet the Staff • Talk to the teachers personally • Read messages sent by the school • Review the child’s homework • Help out with school activities • Join the parent’s group • Talk to the child

26. Intellectual Development Schools often rely on tests to evaluate how well students are developing intellectually and how much knowledge they are gaining. Schools periodically may give standardized tests, which is a test that lets educators see how students are performing compared to thousands of other students who have taken the same tests. What is your feeling or belief of standardized tests? Why?

27. Creating Standardized Tests • Teams of scientists and educators design standardized tests for schools • Instructions for giving and scoring tests too • Before they are used with the masses, they are tested on students and revised. • Validity • It measures what it is supposed to measure • Reliability • Tests must be consistent, given to the same age group, again and again with similar results • Practicality • Cannot be difficult to give, easy to score, affordable

28. Types of Standardized School Tests • There are 3 types given to 7 – 12 year olds to measure how well they can learn, how much they have already learned, and what they might have a special ability or interest in learning • These types include: • Learning Ability Test • Achievement Tests • Aptitude Interest Tests

29. Learning Ability Tests • Designed to help educators predict how well as student might do in a particular learning situation • All students take the same tests, tests are scored, then results compared • Go by several names • Intelligence tests, mental ability tests, scholastic aptitude tests (SAT), academic aptitude test • More tests require students to read and write

30. Achievement Tests • Used to help measure what students have actually learned about a particular topic or subject • SAT are the most common prevalent standardized tests in schools • Given once per school year • Helps lessen anxiety when taking the test for real • A certain score on these types of tests may be required for graduation

31. Aptitude and Interest Tests • Offer important measures of people’s talents and preferences • A student who scores high in mathematical aptitude might want to become an engineer or a scientist • Another tests is an interest test which take an interest inventory • Students select what they like best from different groups or ideas • Patterns in their answers are analyzed to see where their interests are strongest • May give a student an idea of what to go into professionally