ch 9

causes of autism spectrum disorders

current consensus is a brain dysfunction characterized by abnormalities in brain structure & neurotransmitters - genetic factors also likely to play role in development

bilingual education

current controversy related to bilingualism involves millions of US children who come from homes which English isn't primary language & must learn English at school

naturalist

the ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural and human-made systems - occupations: farmers, botanists, ecologists, landscapers

creative thinking

the ability to think in novel and unusual ways and to come up with unique solutions to problems - intelligence & creativity are not the same thing

verbal

the ability to think in words and use language to express meaning -occupations: authors, journalists, speakers

spatial

the ability to think three-dimensionally - occupations: architects, artists, sailors

intrapersonal

the ability to understand oneself - occupations: theologians, psychologists

subtractive bilingualism

the acquisition of a second language that replaces the native language - can have negative effects on children, who often become ashamed of their home language

stereotype threat

the anxiety that one's behavior might confirm a negative stereotype about one's group - this is one potential ethnic influence on intelligence test performance

possible causes of learning disabilities

- researchers used brain imaging techniques to explore which region of brain might be involved in learning disabilities - learning disabilities involve difficulty integrating info from multiple brain regions/subtle impairments in brain structures & functions

WEchsler scales

- A set of widely used, individually administered intelligence tests that yield verbal, performance, and overall IQ scores. - WPPSI-IV tests children from 2.5-7.25 yrs

abilities of children in concrete operational stage

- ability to classify/divide things into different sets/subsets & to consider their interrelationships

children's ability to learn 2nd language

- bilingual children have success in other areas - bilingual children perform better than single lang counterparts on tests of control of attention, concept formation, analytical reasoning, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, cognitive complexity, and cognitive monitoring

second language learning

- recent research shows that sensitive periods likely vary across different language systems; for late language learners, like adolescents & adults new vocab is easier to learn than new sounds/grammar - adults tend to learn 2nd language faster but final level of attainment isn't as high as children's

ways to avoid pitfalls about child's intelligence

-avoid stereotyping & expectations: IQ test can lead to stereotypes & expectations of students - know that IQ isn't sole indicator of competence: high IQ isn't ultimate human value - use caution in interpreting an overall IQ score: wiser to think of intelligence as consisting of number of domains

Jacqueline & Martin Brooks

-few schools really teach students to think critically & develop deep understanding of concepts Schools spend too much time getting students to give a single correct answer in an imitative way, rather than encouraging them to think critically.

Causes of children being overweight

-heredity and environmental contexts - overweight parents tend to have overweight children - parents & children often have similar body types, height, body fat composition, and metabolism

ways to encourage kids to exercise

-offer more physical activity programs at school faculties - improve physical fitness activities in schools - have children plan community & school activities that interest them - encourage families to focus more on physical activity, and encourage parents to exercise more

cardiovascular disease in children

-uncommon among children - environmental experiences & behavior in childhood sow seeds for cardiovascular disease in adulthood - elementary kids possess one or more risks for cardiovascular disease like hypertension & obesity

ELLs have been taught in 2 main ways

1) instruction in English only 2) dual language: approach that combines instruction in home language & English - some experts have concluded quality of instruction is more important in determining outcome than language it's delivered in

3 types of learning disabilities

1. Dyslexia 2. Dysgraphia 3. Dyscalculia - approx. 80% children w/ learning disability have reading problem

effective strategies to help improve children's memory skills

1: advise children to elaborate on what is to be remembered 2:encourage children to engage in mental imagery -mental imagery works better for older children than younger children 3: motivate children to remember material by understanding it rather than by memorizing it 4: repeat w/ variation on instructional info & link early and often 5: embed memory relevant language when instructing children

cancer in children

2nd leading cause of death in US children 5-14 years of age - childhood cancers mainly attack white blood cells, brain, bone, lymph system, muscles, kidneys, and nervous system - because of advancements in cancer treatment children w/ cancer survive longer than in past

ADHD

A disability in which children consistently show one or more of the following characteristics: (1) inattention, (2) hyperactivity, and (3) impulsivity. - children can be diagnosed w/ ADHD w/ predominantly one of the 3 characteristics

dysgraphia

A learning disability that involves difficulty in handwriting. - may write slowly, writing may be virtually illegible, and may make numerous spelling errors due to inability to match sounds & letters

autistic disorder

A severe developmental autism spectrum disorder that has its onset in the first three years of life and includes deficiencies in social relationships; abnormalities in communication; and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior.

brainstorming

A technique in which individuals are encouraged to come up with creative ideas in a group, play off each other's ideas, and say almost anything that comes to mind.

Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

A written statement that spells out a program specifically tailored to a child with a disability.

working memory

Alan Baddeley defines it as mental workbench where individuals manipulate & assemble info when they make decisions, solve problems, and comprehend written & spoken language - described as being more active & powerful in modifying info than short term memory - involves bringing info to mind & mentally working with/updating it

dyscalculia

Also known as developmental arithmetic disorder; a learning disability that involves difficulty in math computation.

neo-piagetians

Argue that Piaget got some things right but that his theory needs considerable revision - more emphasis to how children use attention, memory, and strategies to process info - believe more accurate portrayal of children's thinking requires attention to children's strategies, speed at which they process info, the task involved, and division of problem solving matter

mindfulness

Being alert, mentally present, and cognitively flexible while going through life's everyday activities and tasks, important aspect of thinking critically - children & adults who maintain active awareness of circumstances in life & are motivated to find best solutions to tasks - mindful people create new ideas, open to new info, explore multiple strategies & perspectives

Alfred Binet

Created first intelligence test for French Ministry of Education in 1904 to reduce crowding by placing students who didn't benefit from regular classrooms in special schools

Charles Brainerd and Valerie Reyna

Developed a "fuzzy trace theory," which says that memory is best understood by considering two types of representations—verbatim memory trace and gist.

body growth & change

Growth averages 2-3 inches per year Weight gain averages 5-7 pounds a year Muscle mass and strength increase as "baby fat" decreases - average girl 4 ft 10 in, average boy 4 ft 9 in - weight increase is due mainly to increases in size of skeletal & muscular systems as well as size of some body organs

gifted

Having above-average intelligence (an IQ of 130 or higher) and/or superior talent for something.

contemplative science

a cross-disciplinary term that involves the study of how various types of mental and physical training might enhance children's development

triarchic theory of intelligence

Robert Sternberg's theory that describes intelligence as having analytic, creative and practical dimensions

fuzzy trace theory

States that memory is best understood by considering two types of memory representations: (1) verbatim memory trace, and (2) gist.

culture-reduced tests

Sternberg concludes there are no culture-fair tests, only _______

interpersonal

The ability to understand and interact effectively with others - occupations: successful teachers, mental health professionals

michael pressley

The key to education is helping students learn a rich repertoire of strategies that result in solutions to problems.

ADHD

US department of education includes both students w/ learning disability & students w/ ____ in category of learning disability

verbal subscales

Wechsler subscale similarities: where child must think logically & abstractly to answer number of questions comprehension: subscale designed to measure individual's judgement & common sense

nonverbal subscale

Wechsler subscale where block design: child must assemble set of multicolored blocks to match designs that the examiner shows

cultural-familial intellectual disability

When there is no evidence of organic brain damage - have IQs between 55-70

education & culture

___ & ____ exert stronger influences on children's development than Piaget reasooned

bilingual children do have

____ smaller vocab in each language than monolingual children - most children who learn 2 languages aren't exposed to same quantity & quality of each language

culture

______ influences children's autobiographical memories - American children, especially girls, produce longer, more detailed autobiographical narratives than kids from China & Korea

working memory develops

_______ slowly -even by 8 yrs children can only hold in memory half the items that adults can remember

bilingualism is linked to

________ positive outcomes for children's language & cognitive development - teaching infants 2 languages simultaneously has numerous benefits & few drawbacks - bilingual children are better at theory of mind tasks; more conscious of structure of spoken language

US is far behind

_____________ behind counterparts in many developed countries in learning a second language - US is only tech advanced western nation that doesn't have foreign lang requirement at high school level

parents; schools

______________ and ____________ play important roles in determining children's exercise levels - parents who exercise regularly provide positive models of exercise for children

dyslexia

a category reserved for individuals who have a severe impairment in their ability to read and spell

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an 1) intelligence score of 70 or below 2) has difficulty adapting to demands of everyday life 3) first exhbits these characteristics by 18

intelligence quotient (IQ)

a person's mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100(IQ=MA/CA*100) - if MA is same as CA then person's IQ is 100 -MA is above CA IQ is more than 100 - MA is below CA, IQ is less than 100

asperger syndrome

a relatively mild autism spectrum disorder in which the child has relatively good verbal language skills, milder nonverbal language problems, and a restricted range of interests and relationships - often engage in obsessive, repetitive routines & preoccupations w/ particular subject

long term memory

a relatively permanent and unlimited type of memory, increases w/ age during middle & late childhood - improvements in memory reflect child's increased knowledge & increased use of strategies

Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)

a setting that is as similar as possible to the one in which children who do not have a disability are educated

analytical intelligence

ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and contrast

bodily-kinesthetic

ability to manipulate objects and be physically adept - occupations: surgeons, craftspeople, dancers, atheltes

seriation

ability to order stimuli along a quantitative dimension(such as length) - this is another ability that children in concrete operational stage are capable of

intelligence

ability to solve problems & adapt to and learn from experiences - interest has often focused on individual differences & assessment

Kauffman & colleagueas

acknowledge that children w/ disabilities do need the services of specially trained professional & do sometimes need altered curricula/adaptations to make learning possible - however believe we sell students w/ disabilities short when we pretend they aren't different & that they aren't expected to put in extra effort to learn some things

mental age (MA)

an individual's level of mental development relative to that of others -developed by Binet

delayed/decreased myelination

another study found delayed development of brain's frontal lobes in children w/ ADHD likely due to ________ - another study revealed peak thickness of cerebral cortex occurred 3 yrs later in kids w/ ADHD; delay was more prominant in prefrontal regions of brain that are important in attention & planning

proportional changes

are most pronounced physical changes in middle & late childhood -head circumference & waist circumference decrease in relation to body height -less noticeable physical change is that bones continue to ossify during middle & late childhood but yield pressure & pull more than mature bones

individual differences

are the stable, consistent ways in which people differ from each other

hyperactive children

show high levels of physical activity, seeming to be constantly in motion

referral bias

boys are more likely to be referred by teachers for treatment because of troublesome behavior - 3x as many boys as girls are classified as having learning disability; among explanations for gender difference are greater biological vulnerability among boys

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

called pervasive developmental disorders, ranges from severe disorder labeled autistic disorder to milder called Asperger syndome - characterized by problems in social interaction, problems in verbal & nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors -estimated to be present in 1 in 150 children - distinctions between autism & aspergers is made in terms of severity based on amount of support needed due to challanges

during middle & late childhood

changes occur in way children's mental vocab is organized - ex: when asked to respond to dog the child might say "barks" - evidence that children have begun to categorize vocab by parts of speech

thickness of cerebral cortex

changes occure in thickness of cortical thickness in middle & late childhood - cortical thickening across 2 yr period observed temporal & frontal lobe areas that function language, which may reflect improvements in language abilities such as reading

working memory

children need effective working memory to mentally work w/masses of info

flexibility

children need to be flexible in thinking to consider different strategies & perspectives

self-control/inhibition

children need to develop self-control that will allow them to concentrate and persist on learning tasks, to inhibit their tendencies to repeat incorrect responses, and to resist the impulse to do something that they later would regret

14,000; 40,000

children's vocab increases from average of ____ words at 6 to average of ____ words by 11 - process of categorizing becomes easier as children increase vocab

intervention programs

combination of diet, exercise, and behavior modification is often recommended to help children lose weight - programs that emphasize parents to engage in healthy lifestyle, feed children healthy food & exercise more; can produce weight reduction in overweight children

Badura

concept of self efficacy, belief that one can master situation & produce positive outcomes

strategies

consist of deliberate mental activities to improve the processing of information

creative intelligence

consists of the ability to create, design, invent, originate, and imagine

verbatim memory trace

consists of the precise details of the information

Ellen Winner

described 3 criteria that characterize gifted children 1: perocity; learning their domain is more effortless than for ordinary children 2: marching to their own drummer; need minimal help, or scaffolding, from adults to learn 3: a passion to master; driven to understand domain they have high ability

organic intellectual disability

describes a genetic disorder or a lower level of intellectual functioning caused by brain damage ex: down sndome

inclusion

describes education a child w/ special educational needs full-time in regular classroom

the brain

development of techniques like MRI led to increased research on changes in brain during middle & late childhood & links between brain changes & cognitive development - total brain volume stabilizes by end of late childhood -brain pathways & circuitry involving prefrontal cortex, continue to increase during middle & late childhood - advances in prefrontal cortex are linked to children's improved attention, reasoning

children w/ learning disability

difficulty in learning that involves understanding/using spoken or written language, difficulty can appear in listening, thinking, reading, writing, and spelling - may involve difficulty in doing mathematics

Flynn effect

discovered by James Flynn -the worldwide increase in intelligence test scores that has occurred over a short time frame

motor development

during middle & late childhood, children's motor skills become much smoother & coordinated than in early childhood - gross motor skills involving large muscle activity, boys usually outperform girls

phonics approach

emphasizes that reading instruction should teach basic rules for translating written symbols into sounds - early phonics instruction should involve simplified material; only after they have learned correspondence rules that relate spoken phenomes to alphabet should they be given complex material like books & poems

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

estimates ADHD has continued to increase in 4-17 yr old children from 8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007 - 13.2% of US boys & 5.6% US girls have been diagnosed w/ ADHD - reason for ADHD increase might be that professionsal overdiagnose ADHD 20% of the time(boys were 2x likely to be diagnosed)

Lewis Terman

found when he conducted extensive study of 1500 children whose IQs average 150 -study showed gifted children were socially well adjusted, and many went on to become successful doctors, lawyers, professors, and scientists - if they did have problems they had more internalized problems, like anxiety & depression, externalized problems like acting out & high levels of aggression

impulsive children

have difficulty curbing their reactions; don't do a good job of thinking before they act

inattentive children

have difficulty focusing on any one thing and may get bored with a task after only a few minutes

Consequences of being overweight

high percent of overweight children is cause for great concern because overweight risks for many medical & psychological problems - diabetes, hypertension, & elevated blood cholesterol levels are common in overweight children - linked to low self esteem

Adele Diamond & Kathleen Lee

highlighted following dimensions of executive function for 4-11 yr olds' cognitive development & school success

environmental influences on intelligence

how much parents communicated w/ children in first 3 years of lives correlated w/ children's Stanford Binet IQ at age 3; the more parents communicated w/ children, the higer the children's IQs were - environmental influences on intelligence also involve schooling

elaboration

important strategy that involves engaging extensive processing of info - when individuals engage in elaboration their memory benefits - forming personal associations w/ info makes it more meaningful & helps child remember it

environmental factors that influence children being overweight

includes greater availability of food, energy saving devices, declining physical activity, parents' eating habits and monitoring children's eating habits, context of which child eats, and heavy screen time -recent study found children were less likely to be overweight when they attended schools that had strong policy emphasis on healthy food

improvement of fine motor skills

increased myelination of central nervous system is reflected in __________ during middle & late childhood - girls usually outperform boys in use of fine motor skills

overweight children

increasingly prevalent health problem in children - defined by BMI, children at/above 97th percentile are in obese category, at/above 95th percentile in overweight category

conservation tasks

indicate whether children are capable of concrete operations

accidents and injuries

injuries are the leading cause of death during middle and late childhood, and the most common cause of severe injury and death in this period is motor vehicle accidents, either as a pedestrian or as a passenger - safety advocates recommend seat belts restraints & child booster seats to reduce severity of motor vehicle injuries

1905 scale

intelligence test develop by Binet -consisted of 30 questions on topics ranging from ability to touch one's ear to ability to draw designs from memory & define abstract concepts

autobiographical memory

involves memory of significant events and experiences in one's life - children go through middle & late childhood, and through adolescence, autobiographical narratives broaden & become more elaborated

practical intelligence

involves the ability to use, apply, implement, and put ideas into practice

critical thinking

involves thinking reflectively and productively, evaluating evidence

exercise

is being investigated as possible treatment for children w/ ADHD reasons why it might reduce symptoms are: 1: better allocation of attention resources 2: positive influence on prefrontal cortex functioning 3: exercise induced dopamine release

metalinguistic awareness

knowledge about language, such as knowing what a preposition is or being able to discuss the sounds of a language - allows kids to think about language & understand and define words - improves during elementary school yrs

role of knowledge in memory

knowledge influences what people notice & how they organize, represent, and interpret info - these aspects affect their ability to remember, reason, and solve problems - ex: when individuals have expertise on particular subject, their memory also tends to be good regarding material related to that subject

screen time

linked to low activity, obesity, and worse sleep patterns in children

working memory is linked to

linked to many aspects of children's development - children w/ better working memory are more advanced in language comprehension, math skills, problem solving, and reasoning than counterparts w/ less effective working memory

intellectual disability

most distinctive feature of _________ is inadequate intellectual functioning - before formal tests were identified by lack of age appropriate skills in learning & caring for themselves

genetics & environment

most researchers agree that ____ & ____ interact to influence intelligence

standford binet tests

now called Stanford Binet 5 revised to analyze individuals response in 5 content areas: fluid reasoning, knowledge, quantitative reasoning, visual-spatial reasoning, and working memory

Nathan Brody

observes that people who excel at one type of intellectual task are likely to excel in others - Thus individuals who do well at memorizing lists of digits are also likely to be good at solving verbal problems & spatial layout problems

shift is characterized by synaptic pruning

on shift in activation that occurs as children develop is from diffuse, larger areas to more focal, smaller areas - _____________, process where areas of brain that aren't used lose synaptic connections

encourage internal motivation

parents & teachers should avoid excessive use of prizes, which can stifle creativity by undermining intrinsic pleasure students derive from creative activities

Jean Piaget

preschool child's thought is preoperational; can form stable concepts, and have begun to reason but thinking is flawed by egocentrism & magical belief systems - however, he might have underestimated cognitive skills of preschool children, some researchers argue that under right conditions children display abilities of characteristics of Piaget's next stage, called concrete operational thought

fluent

processing words & passages becomes more automatic - beginning/poor readers processing capacity is consumed by demands of word recognition, so less capacity is devoted to comprehension of groups of words/phrases

Mark Johnson & colleagues

proposed that prefrontal cortex likely orchestrates functions of many other brains regions during development -prefrontal cortex may provide advantage to neural networks & connections that include prefrontal cortex; prefrontal cortex coordinates best neural connections for solving problem at hand

WISC-V

provides overall IQ score but also yields 5 composite scores(Verbal Comprehension, Working memory, processing speed, fluid reasoning, and visual spatial)

studies on exercise

recent study of more than 6000 elementary school children revealed 55 mins or more of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily was associated w/ lower incidence of obesity

gist

refers to central idea of info. when gist is used, fuzzy traces are built up - this contributes to improved memory & reasoning of older children because fuzzy traces are more enduring & less likely to be forgotten than verbatim traces

Education for All Handicapped Children Act

required public schools to provide education for children with physical or mental disabilities - was recast as Individuals w/ Disabilities Education Act & reauthorized in 2004 as Individuals w/ Disabilities Education Improvement Act

1000 genes

research concludes that there may be more than _____ that affect intelligence, each possibly having small influence on individual's intelligence - one strategy for determining role of heredity in intelligence is comparing IQs of identical & fraternal twins

arguments for dual language approach

research shows that bilignual children have more advanced info processing skills than monolingual children - if dual language is used too often it's only taught 1-2 years but in general takes immigrant children approx. 3-5 yrs to develop speaking proficiency & 7 yrs to develop reading proficiency in English

mothers reminisce

researchers found children develop more detailed, coherent, and evaluative autobiographical memories when ___________ w/ them in elaborated & evaluative ways

aerobic exercise benefits

researchers found that ____________ children's processing speed, attention, memory, effortful & goal directed thinking & behavior, and creativity - physical activity programs were linked to improvements in children's attention, executive function, and academic achievement

neurofeedback

researchers have been exploring possibility that _________ might improve attention of kids w/ ADHD - neurofeedback trains individuals to become more aware of physiological responses so they can attain better control over their brain's prefrontal cortex

Sternberg

says children w/ different triarchic patterns "look different in school - high analytic ability tend to be favored in conventional schooling; do well under direct instruction & considered smart - high creative intelligence tend to not conform to specific expectation of teachers; instead give unique answers & might get reprimanded/marked down - predominantly practical intelligence often don't relate well to demands of school; do well outside of classroom walls & may have excellent social skills & good common sense; some become successful managers, entrepreneurs, or politicians

Teresa Amabile

says that telling children exactly how to do things leaves them feeling originality is a mistake & exploration is waste of time

musical

sensitivity to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone - occupations: composers & musicians

Emotional and behavioral disorders

serious, persistent problems that involve relationships, aggression, depression, fears associated with personal or school matters, as well as other inappropriate socioemotional characteristics - boys are 3x more likely to have these disorders

memory

short term memory increases considerably during early childhood but after 7yrs doesn't show much increase

ritalin/adderall

stimulant medicine used to treat ADHD - this is a reason for concern of overdiagnosing ADHD because form of treatment in 80& of cases is psychoactive drugs; kids given these drugs have risk for developing substance abuse problems

whole language approach

stresses that reading instruction should parallel children's natural language learning - reading material that supports this approach are whole & meaningful, given material in complete form so they learn to understand language's communicative function

learning disability

students w/ _____ were by far largest group to be given special education followed by children w/ speech & hearing impairments, autism, intellectual disability, and emotional disturbance

Howard Gardner

suggests there are 8 types of intelligence/ "frames of mind"

central executive

supervises & controls flow of info - especially involved in selective attention & inhibition, planning, and decision making,and troubleshooting

Kenji Hakuta

supports combined home language & English approach because: 1) children have difficulty learning subject when it's taught in language they don't understand 2) when both languages are integrated in classroom, children learn 2nd language more readily & participate more actively

normal distribution

symmetrical, with majority of scores falling in middle of range of scores & few scores appearing toward extremes of range - bell shaped

culture-fair tests

tests of intelligence that are designed to be free of cultural bias; two tupes of tests have been devised 1st type: includes items that are familiar to children from all socioeconomic & ethnic backgrounds/items that at least are familiar to children taking test 2nd type: has no verbal questions. -people w/ more education tend to score higher than those w/ less education even thought the tests are supposed to be culture-fair

alphabetic principle

that the letters of the alphabet represent sounds of the language

mathematical

the ability to carry out mathematical operations - occupations: scientists, engineers, accountants

transitivity

the ability to logically combine relations to understand certain conclusions

divergent thinking

thinking that produces many answers to the same question and is characteristic of creativity - approx. 300,000 US children & adults found creativity scores rose until 1990 but since then have been steadily declining

convergent thinking

thinking that produces one correct answer and is characteristic of the kind of thinking tested by standardized intelligence tests

build children's confidence

to expand children's creativity, teachers & parents should encourage children to believe in their own ability to create something innovative

pragmatics

understanding how to use language in culturally appropriate ways - by adolescence most kids know rules for using language in everyday contexts(what's appropriate & inappropriate to say)

children w/ autism benefit from

well structured classroom, individualized teaching, and small group instruction