Chapter2 Final Version

e
UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND LEARNERS 2ND EDITION CHAPTER 2 How We Learn?7 How Students Develop and Learn ,
A publication from Pearson Custom Publishing exclusively for Monash University page 31 l
‘37? i -_' 35:}; f4. 'r43‘}"fjf‘.g';_..f.'vl . 4.55 “9‘ ',./v I- veg ‘- 14/ j 4;: g3 Vii»: '5‘}, clap-u” ., ;. i ' . ‘
4. ' ' — m 4‘ 4 v, rr 4' '_,, so; ' 1' ~ . \- 1:? 1’6 " Fee, '4 t w 7;: 1:; --‘~ “x, J 4-,».
‘3” ‘9 .5 a, f‘ ‘ «fi'd In“ !" - ’ , ”‘1. K ‘ «'fi '4 ' .4 ' C‘ ~35» gen" :4.- - :1»? ‘ --'o‘ i. ‘
g. we: eve-”fee * '4. . 4:s-2»“>:.::r4' ' .4.‘~.::\\ 2- m“: » we“? we», *3}. , as: '4 - We“. v4. .
—'' §;91;%;
vaseswwp
{.2 .’
", ‘ Y”if ‘ , ‘ 71.31236"
ems“ «av :” W . ' guilt. 22’ ~_
'~ y I 3.5% 33%, ‘ I, 2&{1‘Qi‘I-9f3;y a:2. 4+ 1' .1
4,‘ '3?“
- . t.
“fitted 32‘s,
-.
I.,r--‘
,j’ ' " -. C1» :34.” q! 4%
1 -.. ' _. .-_-.:;_-. 27' ',
/ fl.-,fl'_. mix-i"
ugh..i‘kg;u -K.‘ ‘y.
.4 , . ‘-
' 333??“
,5
1 '0 }‘31 o 5?; . 9'3}:'
. riff" - - -. i‘E" /' . '54”? " 2..» ' 5., 27"‘4155’ - M31135; 4mm » . v “-3; 5’ flu". ‘9
Defining development 68
Three questions about development
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? General principles of development
I The developing braln 10
The curriculum guide you are using calls for a unit on poetry, including ”WIS offunctioning
lessons on symbolism in poems. You are concerned that many of your Neurons-
. Implications for teachers
Year 5 students may not be ready to understand this abstract concept.
. Physlcal development 16
To test the waters, you ask a few students what a symbol is. Growth
‘lt‘s sort of like a big metal thing that you bang together.‘ Keira Motor development
waves her hands like a drum major. '
‘Yeah,’ Alex adds, ‘My sister Kathryn plays one in the school band.’ ”33"" theory of cognitive development 80
You realise they are on the wrong track here, so you try again. 21;,“sz on develog’mtle‘nt
‘l was thinking of a different kind of symbol, like a ring as a symbol of S“: n encresin m ing
. , Stages of cognitive development
marriage or a heart as a symbol of love, or . . .
You are met with blank stares. lmpllcatlons of Piaget's theory for teachers 90
Andrew ventures, ‘You mean like the Olympic torch?‘ Understanding and budding on students
‘And what does that symbolise, Andrew?’ you ask. A gamma t t‘ k led
‘Like I said, a torch.’ Andrew wonders how you could be so dense. c "finial, 9°“ ruc_ing inow ge
Some IIMitations of Piaget s theory
Neo-Piagetian views of cognitive
development
Vygotsky's sociocultural perspectlve 93
Critical thinking Social sources ofindividual thinking
What do these students’ reactions tell you about their thinking? How fhulturlal “E’s :ndgcognZIve'deglelopme’r’it
. . ,. , eroeo an ua ean pnvaespeec
would you approach this unit.9 What more would you do to listen to your The zone ofproximal development
students’ thinking so you could match your teaching to their level of
. . . . . Implications of Vygotsky's theory
thinking? How would you give your students concrete experience With for teachers 97
symbolism? How will you decide whether the students are Assisted Ieaming
. . 7
developmentally ready for this material. The value of play 100
. The development of language 101

Collaboration When and how children learn language
With three or four of your colleagues, plan a lesson about symbolism in Diversity in language: Dual-language
poetry that would be appropriate for students in this class. Pair up with development
another group and teach your lesson. Language development in the school years
l—
‘ Woolfolk, A. & Margetts, K. (2016). Educationalpsycha/ogy. [4th ed.), Melbourne,VlC: Pearson Australia. *
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) — 9781488617973 — Woolfolk/Understanding Learning and Learners 29 CB.
CHAPTER 2 How We Learn? « How Students Develop and Learn UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND LEARNERS 2ND EDITION
page 32 A publication from Pearson Custom Publishing exclusively for Monash University
What is going on with Andrew? In this chapter, you will find out. We begin with a discussion of the general
principles of human development and take a brief look at the human brain and physical development. Then
we examine the ideas of two of the most influential cognitive developmental theorists, Jean Piaget and Lev
Vygotsky. Piaget's ideas have implications for teachers about what their students can learn and when the
students are ready to learn it. We will consider important criticisms of his ideas as well. The work of Lev
Vygotsky, a Russian psychologist, is becoming more and more influential. His theory highlights the
important role of cultural influences in cognitive development. Finally, we explore language development
and discuss the role of the school in developing and enriching language skills.
BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

m Define development and outline the three agreed-upon principles and three continuing debates
about development.
Em Summarise current understandings about the physical development of the brain and implications
for learning.
m Explain how physical development influences learning.
m Explain how children's thinking differs at each of Piaget’s four stages of development.
m Discuss how the ideas of Piaget and Vygotsky influence educational practice.
Em Describe how cultural tools and social influences shape thinking.
m Explain how language develops during the school years and discuss the possible effects of
learning two languages at once.
3:33“: ‘ifi‘éfilfigggntrggg The term development in its most general psychological sense refers to certain changes that
upon principles and three occur in human beings (or animals) between conception and death. The term is not applied to all
ggcglglgrri‘gegtebates about changes, but rather to those that appear in orderly ways and remain for a reasonably long period
of time. A temporary change caused by a brief illness, for example, is not considered a part of
development. Human development can be divided into a number of different aspects. Physical
development deals with changes in the body. Emotional development is the term generally
development Orderly adaptive used for changes in understanding, expression, and regulation of feelings. Social development
changes we go through from refers to changes in the way an individual relates to others. Cognitive development refers to
conception to death. changes in thinking.
physical development Changes Many changes during development are Simply matters of growth and maturation. Growth
in body structure and function refers to changes in Size or quantity. PhySically, this includes increases in the Size of body parts, in
overtime. weight and height, and in the number of neural connections in the brain. As well as being
influenced by maturation, growth is affected by environmental factors including nutrition,
emotlonal development Changes d' h It t t . d 1. ht d 1 h 1 . 1 11b .
in understanding, expression, and isease, s e er, res , exposure 0 exerCise an sun 1g , an a so psyc o ogica we eing.
regulation offeeiings_ Maturation refers to changes that occur naturally and spontaneously and that are, to a large
extent, genetically programmed. Maturational changes emerge over time and are relatively
:Ezliifigvgflgfgt Sflznags in unaffected by environment, except in cases of malnutrition or severe illness.
relate to others individually and at Much of a person’s physical development falls into these two categories. Other changes are
broadersocietal levels. brought about through learning, as individuals interact with their environment. Such changes
make up a large part of a person’s social development. But what about the development of thinking
cognitive development Changes d . l . l d . l k'll ; M h l . h . h b h
by which mental processes an interpersona (seem an emotiona) s l s. ost psyc o ogists agree t at in t ese areas, or
become more complex and maturation and interaction with the environment (or nature and nurture, as they are sometimes
sophisticated overtime. called) are important, but they disagree about the amount of emphasis to place on each. Nature
58 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Woolfolk, A. & Margetts, K. (2016). Educational psychology. (4th ed.). Melbourne, VIC: Pearson Australia.
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) — 9781488617973 — Woolfolk/Understanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
versus nurture is one of three continuing discussions in theories of development. The roles of
culture and community were addressed in Chapter 2.
Three questions about development

Because there are many different approaches to research and theory, as you saw in Chapter 1, there
are some continuing debates about key questions surrounding development.
What is the source of development? Nature versus nurture Which is more important
in development: the ‘nature’ of an individual (heredity, genes, biological processes, maturation,
etc.) or the ‘nurture’ ofenvironmental contexts (education, parenting, culture, social policies, etc)?
This debate has raged for at least 2000 years and has had many labels along the way—‘heredity
versus environment’, ‘biology versus culture’, ‘maturation versus learning’, and ‘innate versus
acquired abilities’. Previously, philosophers, poets, religious leaders, and politicians have argued
the question. More recently, scientists have brought new tools to the discussion as they can, for
example, map genes or trace the effects of drugs on brain activity (Gottlieb, Wahlsten & Lickliter,
2006). Even in scientific explanations, the pendulum has swung back and forth between nature
and nurture (Cairns 8c Cairns, 2006; Overton, 2006).
Today, the environment is seen as critical to development, but so are biological factors and
individual differences. Some psychologists assert that behaviours are determined 100 per cent by
biology and 100 per cent by environment—they cannot be separated (Miller, 2011). Current views
emphasise complex interactions of nature and nurture. For example, a child born with a very
easygoing, calm disposition will likely elicit different reactions from parents, playmates, and
teachers than a child who is often upset and difficult to soothe, which shows that individuals are
active in constructing their own environments. But environments shape individuals as well—if
not, what good would education be? So today, the either/or debates about nature and nurture are
< of less interest to educational and developmental psychologists. As a pioneering developmental )
psychologist said over 120 years ago, the more exciting questions involve understanding how ‘both
causes work together’ (Baldwin, 1895, p. 77).
What is the shape of development? Continuity versus discontinuity Is human

development a continuous process of adding to and increasing abilities, or are there leaps or moves
to new stages when abilities actually change? A continuous process would be like gradual
improvement in your running endurance through systematic exercise. A discontinuous change
would be like many of the changes in humans during puberty, such as the ability to reproduce—an
entirely different ability. Qualitative changes are contrasted with purely quantitative change, such
as the adolescent growing taller.
Continuous or quantitative change is like walking up a ramp to go higher and higher: progress
is steady. A discontinuous or qualitative change is more like walking up stairs: there are level
periods, then there is a sudden increase as you ascend the next step. Piaget’s theory of cognitive
development, described in a later section, is an example of qualitative, discontinuous change in
children’s thinking abilities. But other explanations of cognitive development based on learning
theories emphasise gradual, continuous change.
Timing: Is it too late? Critical periods and earlier versus later experiences Are
there critical periods when certain abilities, such as language, need to develop? Ifthose opportunities
are missed, can the child still ‘catch up’? These are questions about timing and development. You
will read later in this chapter that there seems to be a critical period for learning accurate language growth Changes in size or quantity.
pronunciation. The earlier people learn a second language, the more their pronunciation is near— physically, this includes increases in
native. After adolescence it is difficult to learn a new language without speaking with an accent the size 0f body parts. in weight and
(Anderson (SC Graham, 1994). height, and in the number of neural
Many early psychologists, particularly those influenced by Freud, believed that early connections In the brain.
childhood experiences were critical, especially for emotional, social, and cognitive development. maturation Genetically
More recent research shows that later experiences are powerful, too, and can change the direction programmed, naturally occurring
of development (Kagan 8c Herschkowitz, 2005). Most psychologists today talk about sensitive changes overtime.
periods—not critical periods. These are times when a person is especially ready for or responsive unsltlve periods Times when a
to certain experiences. So the best time to learn a second language on your own without direct person is especially ready furor
instruction is in childhood, but adults can and do learn second languages. responsive to certain experiences.
CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 69
Beware of either/or As you might imagine, these debates about development prove too
complicated to be settled by splitting alternatives into either/ or possibilities (Grifliths & Gray,
2005). Today, most psychologists see human development, learning, and motivation as a set of
interacting and coacting contexts, from the inner biological structures and processes that influence
development, such as genes, cells, nutrition, and disease, to the external factors of families,
neighbourhoods, social relationships, educational and health institutions, public policies, time
periods, historical events, and so on. So, the effects of a childhood disease on the cognitive
development of a child born in the 16th century to a poor family and treated by bloodletting or
leeches will be quite different fi'om the effect of the same disease on a child born in 2016 to a
wealthy family and given the best treatment available for that time period. Throughout the rest of
this book, we will try to make sense of development, learning, motivation, and teaching without
P falling into the either/or trap.
\1
General principles of development
\ Although there is disagreement about both what is involved in development and the way it takes
. ’ I place, there are a few general principles almost all theorists would support.
1. People develop at different rates. In your own classroom, you will have a range of examples of
,_ different developmental rates. Some students will be larger, better coordinated, or more
i "V . mature in their thinking and social relationships. Others will be much slower to mature in
' these areas. Except in rare cases of very rapid or very slow development, such differences are
normal and should be expected in any large group of students.
2. Development is relatively orderly. People develop abilities in a logical order. In infancy, they sit
Some changes are before they walk, babble before they talk, and see the world through their own eyes before they
qualitative—like the dramatic can begin to imagine how others see it. In school, they will master addition before algebra,
changes ofa tadpole as ’t Harry Potter before Shakespeare, and so on. Theorists may disagree on exactly what comes
turns into a frog (shown . _ .
above). Other changes are before what, but they all seem to find a relatively logical progres51on.
quantitative—like the change 3. Development takes place gradually. Very rarely do changes occur overnight. A student who
in Harry’s size (belOW)- cannot manipulate a pencil or answer a hypothetical question may well develop this ability,
9 but the change is likely to take time.
. .. ® ‘\
p 0 What are the different aspects of development? l
' 0 What are three principles of development? /»
l | THE DEVELOPING BRAIN
_—HAT
WOULD YOU SAY? \
Sourcesr You are being interviewed for a job in a great region—it is known for innovation. After a few minutes, ’
grégmttiamgfibmwsa l the principal asks, ‘Do you know anything about this brain-based education? I've read a lot about that
o Miroslav Hlavko l Dreamstime; Iately'. How would you answer?
© Uupko Smokovski | /,‘
Shutterstock .7 7,
All our development and learning is mediated through the brain (Levitt, 2007). The brain
comprises different parts and levels, each with its own particular function, and with connections
within and between other levels and parts. These interconnections occur through a network of
nerve cells. As the neural networks become more complex and refined, changes occur in the
way we think and learn and operate in the world. Scientific research by Grossman, Churchill,
McKinney, Kodish, Otte, and Greenough (2003) and Knudsen (2004) shows that critical features
of the structure of the brain are shaped by experiences starting before and soon after birth, and that
many of these features are well—established before a child commences school.
Levels of functioning -
The structures of the brain are organised in layers that reflect different levels of functioning: the Summarise. current
. . . . . . . understandings about the
brain stem, the limbic region, and the cerebral cortex as shown in Figure 3.1. The brain stem physical development of
(lowest level) is located at the base ofthe brain and controls bodily functions, posture, and reflexes. igslgiaarii’inagnd implications
It includes the medulla and the pons that control breathing, heart rate, digestion, and other '
instinctive bodily functions. The feathery—looking cerebellum coordinates and orchestrates
balance and smooth, skilled movements—from the graceful gestures of the dancer to the everyday
action of eating without stabbing yourself in the nose with a fork. The cerebellum may also play a
role in higher cognitive functions such as learning. The reticular formation in the central part of
the brain stem plays a role in attention and arousal, blocking some messages and sending others on
to higher brain centres for processing.
The next level is the limbic region, located between the cerebral
cortex and the spinal cord, and outside the corpus callosum. The limbic
region is responsible for our basic drives, emotions, and some aspects of
memory. It contains the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, .~.,..
thalamus, and basal ganglia. The hippocampus is critical in recalling new Monstrous ‘x . ‘mm
information and recent experiences, while the amygdala directs emotions. V . e ’— _, _R K
. . . pliullary giana -. , . s ,
Our drives and feelings, such as our thirst, hunger, body temperature, ‘ ~ ’3; I mi, ’ '
hormones, and motivation, are controlled by the hypothalamus. The "W3 ./ w
thalamus is involved in the ability to learn new information, particularly amygdala ‘
if it is verbal. It passes sensory and motor information to and from the "a?“
cortex (Meece, 2002).
The outer 2.5 to 3 millimetre—thick covering of the cerebrum is the mm" m m “a“
wrinkled-looking cerebral cortex—the largest area of the’brain. The STRUCTURES OF THE BRAIN
cerebral cortex accounts for about 85 per cent of the brains weight in
adulthood and contains the greatest number of neurons—the tiny The structures 0’ the brain. are organised in layers
. . . With different levels of functioning.
structures that store and transmit information. The cerebral cortex
allows the greatest human accomplishments, such as complex problem FIG URE 3 . 1
solving and language. This crumpled sheet of neurons serves three major
functions: receiving signals from sense organs (such as visual or auditory signals), controlling
voluntary movement, and forming associations. In humans, this area of the brain is much larger
than it is in other animals. The cortex is the last part of the brain to develop, so it is believed to be
more susceptible to environmental influences than other areas of the brain (Gluck, Mercado &
Myers, 2013; Meece & Daniels, 2008; Schacter, Gilbert, Wenger 8c Nock, 2014). Let us see how
this part of the brain develops.
The cerebral cortex The cerebral cortex develops more slowly than other parts of the brain,
and parts of the cortex mature at different rates. The parts of the cortex that develop first are
reflected in the capacities of the young child. For example, in the first year there is rapid growth
in the cortical areas responsible for physical movement, hearing, and vision, and development in
these capabilities is rapid. Areas responsible for more complex functioning take longer to mature.
The temporal lobes of the cortex that play major roles in emotions and language do not develop
fully until the secondary school years and maybe later. The final areas to mature are the frontal CONNECT AND EXTEND
lobes, which control higher order thinking processes. To THE RESEARCH
Neuroscientists are beginning to understand how brain development is related to risk taking, There is much research currently
decision making, and managing impulsive behaviours. Getting angry or wanting revenge when occurring on the brain,
we are insulted are common human emotions. It is the job of the frontal lobes to control these development, learning, and
impulses through reason, planning, or delay ofgratification. But the impulse—inhibiting capacities teachingThe National 8cientific
. . . . . Council on the Developing Child at
of the brain are not present at birth (as all new parents quickly discover). Research suggests that it Harvard University has developed a
takes at least two decades for the biological processes of brain development to produce fully series of Reports and Working
functional frontal lobes (Kelley, Schochet & Landry, 2004; Weinberger, 2001). This helps us to Papers that present rigorous,
understand why upper primary and secondary school students often have difficulty balancing scientifically b359d information
impulse with reason and planning. One explanation is that the limbic system, which is associated about key issues related to the
. . . . . . . brain and child development. See:
With emotions and responsiveness to pleasure and emotionalstimulation, develops earlier than the <www_devel0pingchild.ha rva rd. edu/
frontal lobe, which is involved With Judgement and decmon making (Casey, Getz & Galvan, resources/repons_and_working_
2008). Weinberger suggests that parents have to ‘loan’ their children frontal lobes, by helping them papers>.
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Peaison Australia Group Pty Ltd) — 9781488617973 — Woolfolk/Understanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
set rules and limits and make plans, until the child’s own frontal lobes can take over. Schools and
teachers also can play major roles in cognitive and emotional development if they provide
appropriate environments for these developing, but sometimes impulsive, brains (Meece, 2002).
Specialisation and integration Different areas ofthe cortex seem to

Body movement BOdY sensation have different functions, as shown in Figure 3.2. These specialised
and coordination , . . . .
Parietal functions are quite speCific and elementary. To accomplish more complex
_,_,— fl lobe functions such as speaking or reading, the various areas of the cortex must
Frontal /~ ' 4" ‘,‘, Visual work together (Anderson, 2010; Byrnes & Fox, 1998). For example, many
lobe _, “i ‘ g, i‘\ cortex areas of the cortex are necessary in processing language. To answer a
”I: “I .1 (IFH \ " question, you must first hear it. This involves the primary auditory cortex.
I lg n 4567‘, Werm'clee’s area (near the auditory cortex) is necessary for connecting
\ "' ’ffimfl “ls ,’ ,- meaning with particular words and Broca’s area. Broca’s area (near the area
.i 7 ”f ‘Q-iigefé; V of the brain that controls the lips, jaw, and tongue) has a role in setting up
‘ Auditory “31‘“ a grammatically correct way of expressing an idea. Movements controlled
I cortex \ Occipital by the motor cortex are required to speak your response. A person with a
, Temporal lobe functioningBroca’s area but a damaged Wernicke’s area will say meaningless
k i?“ things in a grammatically correct structure. Damage limited to Broca’s
i ) area, on the other hand, is associated with short, ungrammatical sentences,
but the words are appropriate (Friederici, 2011; Kuhl, 2004).
A VIEW OF THE CEREBRAL CORTEX Another aspect of brain functioning that has implications for
This is a Simple representation 0f the left side 0f development and learning is lateralisation, or the specialisation of the
the human brain, showing the cerebral cortex. The two hemispheres of the brain. Each hemisphere has slightly different
cortex ’5 divided into fiiiieiei“ areas, or lobes, each
functions and is more efficient at processing particular information.
havmg a variety of regions wrth different functions. A _ _ , _ _ _
few of the major functions are also indicated here. Lateralisation enables the brain to work more effectively than if both Sides
undertook exactly the same functions. The corpus callosum is situated
F|G URE 3. 2 between the hemispheres and is involved in the transfer of information
from one side of the brain to the other. We know that each half of the
brain generally controls physical functions on the opposite side of the body. Damage to the right
side of the brain will affect function of the left side of the body, and vice versa. In addition,
certain areas of the brain affect particular behaviours. For most of us, the left hemisphere of the
brain has a major role in logical thought, language processing, and positive emotion, and the
right hemisphere handles much of the spatial—visual information, music and rhythm, and
negative emotions (nonverbal information). For some left-handed people, the relationship may be
reversed, and for most left—handers there is less hemispheric specialisation altogether (Berk,
2012). In addition, females seem to show less hemispheric specialisation than males (O’Boyle 8c
Gill, 1998). However, before lateralisation is complete, damage to one part of the cortex can
often be more easily overcome as other parts of the cortex take over the function of the damaged
area. It is believed that this is because the brain has greatest plasticity—the ability of the brain
to be affected by experience and to develop new pathways, or develop alternative pathways if a
particular function is damaged—in the early years of life.
Differences in performance by the brain’s hemispheres, however, are more relative than absolute.
Nearly any task requires participation ofmany different areas ofthe brain in constant communication
with each other. For example, the right side of the brain is better at working out the meaning of a
story, but the left side is where grammar and syntax are understood, so both sides of the brain have
to work together in reading. Thus, beware of educational approaches based on simplistic views of
brain functioning—what Keith Stanovich (1998) has called ‘the left—brain—right—brain nonsense that
IItOrIllflth The specialisation has inundated education through workshops, inservices, and the trade publications’ (p. 420).
°i the if” hemispheres (Sides) °i Neuroscientific research does not support this practice (National Scientific Council on the
the brain cortex. Developing Child, 2007; Schunk, 2012). Remember, no activity is exclusively the work of a single
plasticity The ability of the brain part of the brain—so there is no such thing as a ‘right—brained student’ unless that individual has had
to be affected by experience and the left hemisphere removed, a rare and radical treatment for some forms of epilepsy.
to develop new pathways, or
develop alternative pathways if a
particular function is damaged. Neurons
neumis Nerve cells that store At birth, the infant brain has 100 to 200 billion neurons (nerve cells that store and transmit
and transfer informatjom information). Extending from the cell body, axons and dendrites—long arm— and branch—like
UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND LEARNERS 2ND EDITION CHAPTER 2 How We Learn? — How Studenls Develop and Learn
A publication from Pearson Custom Publishing exclusively for Monash University page 37
fibres—connect with other neurons and share information. Look at Figure 3.3: the dendrites
bring information in through receptors and the axons transmit information out through the
axon terminals. The neurons transmit information to each other by releasing chemicals called
neurotransmitters that jump across the tiny spaces, called synapses, between the axon terminals
of one neuron and the dendritic receptors of other neurons. How quickly and efficiently messages
are transmitted is affected by myelination—the coating of neuron fibres with an insulating fatty
covering. This process is something like coating bare electrical wires with rubber or plastic and
is a function of the brain’s glial cells. Myelination is influenced by experience and occurs quickly
in the early years, and continues gradually into adolescence. It contributes to the rapid growth in
brain size in the first few years of life, and influences thinking and learning. Glial cells appear to
also help in fighting infections and controlling blood flow.
Genetic programming and external experiences affect the timing and development of neural
connections (Halfon & Hochstein, 2002). How well these cells communicate depends on the
activation of existing connections and the development of new connections.
The brain’s plasticity means that even though the brain is developing rapidly during early
childhood, learning and changes to the brain continue over a lifetime. By the time we are born, it
is believed that we have all the neurons we will ever have, about 100 to 200 billion, and each
neuron has about 2500 synapses. The fibres that reach out from the neurons, and the synapses
between the fibre ends, increase during the first years oflife, perhaps into adolescence and beyond.
By age 2 to 3 years, each neuron has around 15 000 synapses; at this age the brain has many more
synapses than it will need for optimum performance (Halfon & Hochstein, 2002). In fact, our
brains are oversupplied with the neurons and synapses needed for us to adapt to our environments.
However, only those that are useful will survive, and unused neurons will be ‘pruned’ (Bransford,
Brown 8: Cocking, 2000). Pruning, or the dropping—out of unused or less efficient pathways,
contributes to the process of structuring organised networks and more effective brain functioning.
R“ 7, / Axon sends
/ "\ ,7 ,, messages to Myelin covering
Nucleus
other cells the axon speeds
transmission of
.
fl»
V, neural impulses
\i" V
i i\ ’i [:7’ W \l/
3 /X\ 7) i /
W.» / l\ ‘V
. . IL: \l
Dendrites receive ' 7 \
messages from . ,
other neurons i ‘7, g
I h Synapse Dendrite
n t e synapse, or '
intersection between Axon 7 , f} 1
axon and dendrite, I n.1,- '. r 7
neurotransmitters 4,, 7t , ‘ 7““
carry information L , ‘ d
from one neuron to H "A ‘
another ’ . synapses The tiny spaces between
Neurotransmitters neurons—chemical messages are
sent across these gaps.
A NEURON Myelination The process by which
Each neuron (nerve cell) includes dendrites that bring in messages and an axon that sends out neural fibres 3'9 003‘“ With a
messages. Each neuron is in a network with many others. fatty sheath called myeIIn that
enables information to transfer
SOURCE: Adapted from K. S. Berger (2009). The developing person through childhood and adolescence (p. 137, top left more efficientin
illustration of Figure 5.3). W. H. Freeman and Worth Publishers.
pruning The dropping-out of
FIGURE 3 3 unused or less efficient neural
' pathways.
While pruning generally has positive consequences, it can also result in less effective functioning,
as with adaptive or experience—expectant functions and sensitive periods (Bruer, 2006).
Two kinds of synaptic overproduction and pruning processes take place. Experience-expectant
synapses are overproduced in certain parts of the brain during particular developmental periods,
awaiting (expecting) stimulation. For some neurons, the timing and quality of experiences is
critical for development. For example, during the first months of life, the brain expects visual and
auditory stimulation. If a normal range of sights and sounds occur, then the visual and auditory
areas of the brain are stimulated to develop. But children who are born completely deaf receive no
auditory stimulation and, as a result, they have fewer synaptic connections in the auditory cortex
than children who are able to hear. Experience—expectant overproduction and pruning processes
are responsible for the development and refining of attributes common to all humans and are
genetically preprogrammed (Halfon 8c Hochstein, 2002).
The second kind of overproduction and pruning involves experience-dependent synapses. This
involves synaptic connections being formed based on the individual’s experiences. These
connections are not dependent on timing or developmental stages. New synapses are formed in
response to neural activity in very localised areas of the brain when the individual is successful
in processing information. Again, more synapses are produced than will be retained after
‘pruning’. Experience—dependent processes are involved in learning and contribute to our
individual uniqueness. These processes do not occur in isolation. For example, while auditory
processing depends on experience—expectant plasticity, it is also likely to be influenced by
experience—dependent changes (Nelson, de Haan & Thomas, 2006).
Experiences and stimulation cause changes in the structure of the brain and lead to
development (experience—expectant processes) and learning (experience—dependent processes).
Animal studies have shown that rats raised in stimulating environments (with toys, tasks for
learning, and human handling) develop 25 per cent more synapses than rats who are raised with
little stimulation (Greenough, Black 8c Wallace, 1987). It is clear that extreme deprivation of
stimulation can have negative effects on brain development, but extra stimulation will not
necessarily improve development for young children who are getting adequate or typical amounts
of stimulation (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2010; Zimmerman,
Christakis & Meltzoff, 2007). Therefore spending money on expensive toys or baby education
programs probably provides more stimulation than is necessary.
Early severe stimulus deprivation can have lasting effects, but because of brain plasticity or
adaptability, some compensation can overcome deprivation or damage. Of course, many factors
besides stimulus deprivation, such as the mother’s intake of drugs (including alcohol and caffeine)
during pregnancy, toxins in the infant’s environment such as chemicals and gases, or poor
nutrition, can have direct and dramatic negative effects on brain development.
Cultural differences in brain activity provide examples of how interactions in the world can
shape the brain. For example, one study about how languages affect reading showed that when
native Chinese speakers read, they activated parts of their brain associated with spatial information
processing, probably because the language characters used in written Chinese are pictures. But
Chinese speakers also activated these spatial areas of the brain when they read English,
demonstrating that reading proficiency can be reached through different neural pathways (Hinton,
Miyamoto & Della—Chiesa, 2008). So the brain is ever—changing and is shaped by activity, culture,
and context. We build knowledge as we do things, as we manipulate objects and ideas mentally
and physically. What does this mean for teaching?
Implications for teachers

Brain development and learning are intimately related. Learning can change the structure of the
brain. As teachers, there are some important points to remember.
Many cognitive functions are differentiated—they are associated with different parts of the
brain. Thus students are likely to have different strengths and abilities and different ways of
responding to and processing information, and these are likely to be affected by students’ level
of maturity (as we will encounter in later sections of this book). However, early identification and
intervention for children with developmental difficulties and adverse situations are critical. It is
more difficult to change patterns of functioning as a person gets older. Interventions prior to and
UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND LEARNERS 2ND EDITION CHAPTER 2 How We Learn? - How Students Develop and Learn
| A publication from Pearson Custom Publishing exclusively for Monash University page 39
Educators are hearing more and more about brain-based education, the importance of early stimulation for brain development,
the ‘Mozart effect', and right- and left-brain activities. Based on some research findings that listening to 10 minutes of Mozart
can briefly improve spatial reasoning (Rauscher & Shaw, 1998; Steele, Bass & Crook, 1999), Zell Miller, a former governor of
the US state of Georgia established a program to give a Mozart CD to every newborn. The scientists who had done the work
could not believe how their research had been ‘applied' (Katzir & ParéBlagoev, 2006). The governor apparently had confused
experiments on infant brain development with studies of adults (Pinker, 2002). Are there clear educational implications from
the neuroscience research on the brain?
POINT understandings of how people learn, not how their brain

works. For example, we have known for over 100 years
NO, THE IMPLICATIONS ARE NOT CLEAR. that it is more effective to learn in many shorter practice
John Bruer, president of the James S. McDonnell sessions as opposed to one long cramming session. To
Foundation, has written articles that are critical of the tie that to building more dendrites does not give teachers
brain-based education craze (Bruer, 1999; 2002). He notes new Strategies (Alferink 8‘ Farmer-Dougan, 2010)-
that many socalled applications of brain research begin
with solid science, but then move to unwarranted . COUNTERPOINT
speculation, and end in a sort of appealing folk tale about
the brain and learning. He suggests that for each claim, the YES! TEACHING SHOULD BE BRAIN'BASED-
educator should ask, ‘Where does the science end and In their article on ‘Applying cognitive neuroscience
the speculation begin?’ For example, one claim that Bruer research to education' in the Educational Psychologist,
questions is the notion of right-brain, left-brain learning: Tami Katzir and Juliana PareBlagoev (2006) concluded:
‘Right brain versus left brain’ is one of those popular When applied correctly, brain ‘sCIence may serve as a .
. . . . vehicle for advancmg the application of our understanding
Ideas that Will not die. Speculations about the . .
. . . . . of learning and development . . . Brain research can
educational Significance of brain laterality have been . .
. . . . . challenge common-sense Views about teaching and
Circulating in the education literature for 30 years. , . . _
. . . . . learning by suggesting additional systems that are
Although repeatedly CTltIClzed and dismissed by . . . . . . , .
. . . . . involved in particular tasks and actIVIties (p. 70). Brain
psychologists and brain SCIentists, the speculation . . .
. . research is leading to much better understandings about
continues. DaVId Sousa devotes a chapter of How . . . . . . .
. . . . . learning disabilities. For example, neurosmence studies of
the Brain Learns to explaining brain laterality and 7 7 7 7 7 7
. . people With reading disabilities have found that these
presents classroom strategies that teachers might 7 , 7 ,
. . . indIVIduals may have trouble With sounds and sound
use to ensure that both hemispheres are involved in . . . ..
. , . . . patterns or With retnevmg the names of very familiar
learning . . . Now let s conSIder the brain seiences and . .
letters, so there may be different bases for the reading
how or whether they offer support for some of the . . . . .
. . . disabilities (Kat2ir & PareBlagoev, 2006).
particular teaching strategies Sousa recommends. To 7 7
. . . . . . There are examples of applying knowledge of brain
involve the right hemisphere in learning, Sousa writes, . . .
research to education. A reading improvement product
teachers should encourage students to generate and . .
. . . . called Fast ForWord was developed by two neurosmentists,
use mental imagery . . . What brain SCIentists currently . . . .
. . . Michael Merzenich and Paula Tallal, and is used in
know about spatial reasoning and mental imagery _ _
. . . . . classrooms around the United States: see <www.scuearn.
prowdes counter examples to such SlmpllStIC claims 7 7 7
. . com/resuIts/success-stories>. It speCIfically uses
as these. Such claims arise out of a folk theory about . . . . . . , ..
. . . . . . discoveries in neural plasti0ity to change the brain 5 ability
brain laterality, not a neuroscrentific one . . . Different . .
. . . . to read the printed word (Tallal & Miller, 2003).
brain areas are speCIalized for different tasks, but that . . . . .
. . . . . Kurt Fischer, in his 2009 preSIdential address to the
speCIalization occurs at a finer level of analy5is than . _ , 7
‘using visual image , Using visual image ma be a first conference of the International Mind, Brain, and
. ry. . . . ry. y Education Society (IMBES), made the point that we
useful learning strategy, but if it is useful it IS not . .
. . . .. . can go from understanding how the brain works to
because it involves an othermse underutilized right . . .
. . . understanding cognitive processes, and then from
hemisphere in learning. (Bruer, 1999, pp. 653—654) . . . .
understanding cognitive process to developing
No teacher doubts that the brain is important in learning. educational practices. Butjumping directly from
But knowing that learning affects the brain does not tell us knowledge about brain to educational practices probably
how to teach. All learning affects the brain: ‘this should be involves too much speculation.
obvious, but nowadays any banality about learning can Schools should not be run on curriculums based solely
be dressed up in neurospeak and treated like a great on the biology of the brain. However, to ignore what we do
revelation of science’ (Pinker, 2002, p. 86). Virtually all of know about the brain would be equally irresponsible. Brain-
the socalled ‘best practices' for brain-based education based learning offers some direction for educators who
are simple restatements of good teaching based on want more purposeful, informed teaching.
l Woolfolk, A. & Margetts, K. (2016). Educationalpsychology. (4th ed). Melbourne, VIC: Pearson Australia.
in the early years of school are likely to be more effective than those in the middle and later school
years (National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, 2007).
CONNECI'AND EXTEND Much has been written lately about brain-based education. Many of these publications for
gmNeréggigfiggANDmE parents and teachers have useful ideas, but beware ofsuggestions that oversimplify the complexities
—_ of the brain. The National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2007) warns that there is
lhfliizszhy: :friiitixrzeanrii‘ce no credible scientific evidence to support the claim that specialised DVDs or particular music
functioning ofthe brain? recordings have a measurable impact on the architecture of the developing brain. As you can read
in the Point/Counterpoint on page 75, the jury is still out on many of these programs.
0 Which part of the brain is associated with higher mentalfunctions? \‘I

0 What is meant by the terms lateralisation, plasticity, myelination, and I
pruning, and why are these processes important? /I
We have explained physical changes in the brain and turn next to explore physical development
and changes in other parts of the body, what influences these changes, and how these changes can
impact on individual development and learning.
- PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
EST/Eigmlnpih’iii‘éfloes Changes in our physical size, proportions, functions, and appearance influence what we can and
learning. cannot do, make new behaviours possible, influence how others respond to us, and impact on our
self—image. For example, a toddler can pick up small objects when the muscles and nerves for using
the thumb and the forefinger in opposition have developed, but will have difficulty controlling
a pencil. An 8—year—old, by contrast, should be able to write consistently formed letters and
complete a range of intricate fine motor tasks. However, if they experience difficulty this could
affect their written work, and their literacy self—efficacy and self—image. There is a strong link
between physical development and cognitive, social, and emotional development. A child who
is able to move freely from one place to another and manipulate objects is more able to explore,
experiment, and interact with others and thus develop cognitively, socially, and emotionally than
a child who is more physically constrained.
Growth
Changes in body size Think back to the definition of physical development earlier in this
chapter. As children grow, their height, weight, and the proportion of body parts relative to each
other change. Height increases rapidly during infancy. The height of a 1—year—old is typically
50 per cent greater than at birth; at 2 years of age, it is 75 per cent greater. Weight also increases
rapidly. Birth weight typically triples by 1 year ofage, and quadruples by 2 years ofage. The growth
rate slows from about 3 to 9 years of age during childhood. Girls and boys have similar body size
until puberty or the time when the body develops the ability to reproduce, and associated
observable gender differences occur. This is a time when adolescents experience a growth spurt.
In Australia, the growth charts are based on those developed by the (US) National Center for
Health Statistics and are useful for monitoring growth and health (Figure 3.4).
Girls usually commence puberty two years earlier than boys. As a result, at about age 10 or 11
years, girls are often taller and heavier than boys. By 14 years of age, this trend is reversed as boys
experience their growth spurt (Berk, 2012).
Body proportion The rate of growth varies for different body parts. At birth, the head is
approximately the same circumference as the chest and one—quarter the total length of the body.
Arms and legs are about the same size and relatively short in comparison to adult proportions.
The centre of gravity is relatively high and the infant is ‘top heavy’. Movement is restricted and
balance is difficult. During early childhood, the body becomes more slender, arms and legs
_ lengthen relative to the torso and head, the centre of gravity becomes lower and, associated
puberty The time when the body . . . . . .
develops the ability to reproduce With bone and muscle development, upright posture is more eaSily maintained. By about 6 years
and associated observable gender of age, body proportions are more adult—like. As well as differences in height and weight, other
differences occur. gender—related differences become apparent at puberty. Girls’ hips are relatively broader than
amazon-1:3". um: 239M021: M

WNW-WWW reconc- M W Wm monu- —_
I213MISIII7IBIIZD IZIJMISIOITIO‘DID
MI- I-I-I- a-n run-n? m-n— — -- --- an
nnmmnl-m-I-m '6 7‘ _ EgEEIIWIIIW ::
== ==|IIIIE==EE- "
—-E—_I-uz7-_!§W r1 :
Pr
I
—§=Elllllllll a
E_=—I--------,m " i
l ———— - ”5 7 ————l""---- as
_"P"’"’!!=m
"""“’ ""‘" """‘""'
hut . .
°° ""
ragga: 7 06 1‘ —r- -»- ‘
l‘“"‘°"""""”"“'"""“
,1'0""”1"‘567910I1'r
:‘J'C‘L'T". _ urfllg—u-fl.”
--_—-,I
" a 4‘ —-=.-. .. :
‘. ‘ 'I-Il II ngfififllm 2 la " l pffifii‘ifiifi'“ 2
:I 4-- III—IIEIIEZaé’AIIIIII“
, I—IIIIVAZZ'AVA-I-l-I I
- it" ”InlllllA‘dAagun-Aflli
; is“ , .n-IIIUH'IMQ‘IIIII _-
'
I so I—IIIDZZEVAflIIIII '_ o .5. . .IHIIIVIUVVIVJIIII-I
" ’ II-II'W'Qagl-IIIIII
a A . "b
‘ m "l L5“
L . IHII'A'IZ'IA'IIIIIIIII
, ‘, . . i “6 m
‘ 3,, Inn-amuzmulll= 2?: 2w 1 Julianna-I'll...
so . . I—IV/AflmZIIIIIIIIE
. , ' noi am 5" I I—I'IAI'JIAQEIIl-IIIII
r r r .— m 20°
u m: VOZfi: Eia’fl-a as m r“ 1 .I—nflfigdllllI!!-—ii .5190
"5 fl?(/ ’1'- ” m w H, -gfl?‘-= ll“... ,0 we
"will Ill”!
l“2 :w fled /
5 »~~ ..'" .
Ada...
I, '9” .42 ‘
”will“ "
. PM” , :2! ~ .... :
Hl’fii‘i!
11--
as ”WI-l-l-IWIEIEE ‘1‘” i in ,7WWMIIIIIIVA'KIIBEI ,_ l: u

as ,7/AVHIIIIIIHngIEE 5:: S L:- . ”fit/I‘l-I-Ill'ly-Kgllgfi ,5 ,2, 3
3. mull-lllznnazai ,, . ,3. sVéfllllllfl'APAEaglgi-I a .
a I—Ill-IU'mEa-l- s32 ”HI-l-mllfilflfllu ,m
-.- ”In-lluunnmallll
. A ‘° '”°90 l " ”IHIIIVAHQUMEFEEI
, - r y ' " “n a.
.. I-IIIEU'IEEZIIIIII ‘0 PM -4. F, I V 5' . m
“sewerage-sass:
i” .. yaaaaéél I
0 6° , =: if:
,I’
aééééfifiiii
reggae“
» //
3
=2
cl» lgéaaiullllfllllll .
. had-IIIMIIIII
4/ . ,o so
Eaaéz’flllll
I.30 a
I'll ..
.4 I. Im I...- It: °°
In . ._---- new I II... In . - III-II. III-II . u
231587.910III2'3I‘I5‘6‘Tifligm 2315U7.9")"12'3‘4‘5‘5'7‘3‘933
:mem;c.-....__- misguwsx.
GROWTH CHARTS
SOURCE: Developed by the National Center for Health Statistics in collaboration with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
(2000), <www.cdc.gov/growthcharts>.
FlGURE 3.4
their waist and boys’ shoulders are relatively broader than their hips (Archibald, Graber 8c
Brooks—Gunn, 2006).
Body composition Changes in height and weight are associated with changes in body
composition. The body has the highest proportion of body fat to height during infancy and this
decreases from 2 or 3 years of age until about 6 to 8 years of age. Girls have slightly more body fat
than boys and this increases at and following puberty when the body fat-to-height ratio increases
in girls and decreases in boys. Bones become harder and less watery through the process of
ossification; muscles become longer, thicker, and less watery. These changes contribute to
increased strength, control, dexterity, flexibility, agility, coordination, and speed of the body and
its movements. Puberty is also characterised by increases in the size of the heart and lungs and an
associated decrease in heart rate. Boys tend to have a larger heart and lungs than girls and this
contributes to boys being stronger than girls (Berk, 2012).
Puberty Growth is strongly influenced by hormones, each with their own specialised function.
The most important hormones for physical growth are released from the pituitary gland located in
the base of the brain near the hypothalamus. The human growth hormone (HGH), produced
throughout life, is responsible for most tissue growth. Pituitary secretions control sexual maturation
and stimulate the release of sex hormones.
During puberty, female ovaries start to produce mature eggs and the male testes begin to
produce sperm. Puberty is also associated with other characteristics which impact on each child’s
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) — 9781488617973 — WoolfoIk/Understanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
appearance. Between ages 8 and 13 years, the breasts of girls start to ‘bud’ prior to the onset of
menstruation at 10 to 16 years of age, followed by the appearance of underarm and pubic hair. As
noted previously, male puberty usually commences two years behind female puberty. At puberty,
boys initially develop enlarged testes and sometimes ‘budding’ of the breasts, pubic hair and an
enlarged penis. This is followed by underarm and facial hair, and a deepened voice as the larynx
and vocal cords increase in size (Berk, 2012).
Growth is strongly influenced by our genetic inheritance but also by a range of environmental
factors including nutrition, sleep, protection from the elements, exercise, exposure to sunlight,
drugs and toxins, and emotional wellbeing. Along with the changes at puberty, our physical
condition is associated with social and psychological functioning and learning. While early
maturation appears to have some advantages for boys in terms of popularity and sports,
disadvantages have been identified both for boys and girls. They are more likely to experience
depression and anxiety (Wigfield, Byrnes & Eccles, 2006), and drug and alcohol abuse (Steinberg,
2008; Westling, Andrews, Hampson 8c Peterson, 2008). These issues are addressed in more detail
in Chapter 4.
Physical activity and weight control Physical activity in childhood and adolescence is
critical for one’s health and psychological wellbeing, and in reducing the risk of coronary disease
(Page & Tucker, 1994; Pate, Baronowski, Dowda & Trost, 1995) and obesity (Bar-Or 8c
Baronowski, 1994). The 2002 Children’s Nutrition Survey (New Zealand Ministry of Health,
2003) showed that 21 per cent of 5— to 14—year—olds were overweight and 10 per cent were obese.
In 2007—08, 25 per cent of all Australian children aged 5—17 years were overweight or obese,
compared with 21 per cent in 1995. In the same period, the rate of obesity for boys in this age
group doubled to 10 per cent, while the rate for girls remained unchanged at 6 per cent (Australian
Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2009).
Overweight and obesity in Australian children and adults is an ongoing concern. The use of
body mass index (BMI) or weight—to—height ratio charts is recommended for identifying children
at risk of health problems through being overweight (85th percentile) or obese (95th percentile),
A study in Singapore (Chia 8t Wang, 2003) of 275 boys and 243 girls aged between 9 and 13 years
of age reported that students who were underweight for height had higher levels of satisfaction
with their body weight and physical self—worth than overweight children or children with normal
weight for height. Underweight children had higher levels of physical fitness, and girls had higher
levels of physical fitness than boys in all weight categories. Such is the concern about physical
activity that in 2004 the Australian Government announced $31 billion in funding for education,
conditional on schools providing a minimum two hours per week of physical education in the
compulsory years of schooling, in an attempt to curb preventable health problems. In 2007, the
government announced the development and promotion of healthy eating and physical activity
guidelines for children and young people.
Body satisfaction appears to vary with age and between boys and girls (Hills 8: Byrne, 1998).
Body dissatisfaction in pre— or early—adolescent girls is strongly related to eating disorders in
adolescent girls (Crawford, 2005) and friendship groups, and an emotional tendency towards guilt,
anger, and sadness contributes to unhealthy eating patterns and weight control behaviours
including binge eating, vomiting, and dieting (Hutchison (undated), cited in Crawford, 2005).
According to one study by Patton, Glover, Bond, Butler, Godfrey, DiPietro, and Bowes (2000) in
the late 1990s, more than 85 per cent of girls in Australia aged 14 to 16 years had been on some
type of diet. A recent estimate has suggested that around 4 per cent of the Australian population
have an eating disorder (Deloitte Access Economics, 2012) and that an adolescent is 10 times more
likely to suffer with anorexia than diabetes (Burrows, 2003). Concern about anorexia and bulimia
is addressed in Chapter 4.
Motor development
Changes in the body as a result of growth contribute to the development and refinement of
movement or motor skills. Motor development involves qualitative changes in the movement or
motor development Qualitative actions of the body and depends on brain maturation; sensory input; increased size, composition,
changes inthe movement or and strength of the muscular—skeletal system; experiences; and opportunities for practice. With
actions of the body and its parts. increased strength, speed, flexibility, agility, balance, and coordination of the body, movements
become more precise and proficient. Fine motor skills involve control over the small muscles
and bones of the body, particularly in the hands, feet, and face. The term ‘fine motor skill’ is
often used synonymously with the term ‘eye—hand coordination’. Eye—hand coordination reflects the
capacity of the central nervous system to identify and process visual information and to respond
with precise movements, such as writing in a straight line. By 5 years of age, about 90 per cent of
children have developed a preference for their right hand for most skilled work, while 10 per cent
prefer their left hand. More boys than girls are left—handed (Scharoun 8c Bryden, 2014). Fine
motor development and eye—hand coordination occur in combination with gross motor skills.
For example, head and trunk control and visual control of arm and hand movements impact on
the quality of fine motor skills. Gross motor skills involve abilities for controlling movements
of large bones and muscles typically associated with posture, walking, running, sitting, throwing,
catching, and so on.
The development of motor skills occurs gradually and in a predictable sequence: from
reflexive uncontrolled actions to increased control and development of new movement patterns,
which are then integrated to produce complex movement patterns. The major physical challenges
during the first year of life are associated with the ability to develop and maintain upright posture;
to change position and move from one place to another; and to reach, grasp, release, and carry or
transport objects. The emergence, use, and refinement of these motor skills enables children to
explore, experiment, understand, and operate more effectively in the world in which they live.
Fine motor skills continue to be refined until adolescence when precise, dexterous movement of
the fingers enables efficient use of different tools.
Between 12 months and 5 or 6 years of age, children develop and consolidate basic or
fundamental movement patterns or skills. Locomotive patterns include walking, running, jumping,
hopping, galloping, and skipping. Ballistic skills include throwing, catching, and kicking. These
skills are fundamental for more mature, integrated complex movements typical in games and
sports, and their development is associated with changes in the ability to judge distance and speed
(Wickstrom, 1983). These skills are developed in association with sensory perceptual processes
. . . . , . fine motor skills Controlled
whereby information is received and responded to through the senses. Sensory perception is movements associated with the
part of almost anything we do. The ability to perceive similarities and differences is closely linked use of small muscles and bones
to cognitive development. Ofme bOUY-
As children reach middle childhood and adolescence, gross motor skills become more
, , , , , , , gross motor skllls Controlled
rhythmical and gender differences also emerge. Boys perform better than girls in actiVities movements associated with the
requiring strength, in gross motor activities and ball throwing. Girls are better at fine motor use of large bones and muscles
activities—their grasp is more accurate and faster than that of boys, their walking is more ofthe b°dY~
exact, and they can hop over longer distances, Table 3.1 summarises the developmental mm” perception The use of
challenges and changes in motor development at different stages. Opportunities to practise skills the senses to identify and respond
and receive feedback on performance, particularly in infancy and early childhood, is critical for to stimuli.
TABLE 3.1 Motor development

AGE GROSS MOTOR SKILLS FINE MOTOR SKILLS
Reflexes weaken and disappear Locomotion: roll, crawl, walk Eye—hand coordination
and voluntary movement
patterns emerge.
Fundamental movement skills throw, catch, kick Rotation of forearm

develop and consolidate. Flexibility of wrist
Adaptive use of the hand for managing tools such as for dressing,
feeding, bathing, drawing, completing puzzles, using scissors
Skills and body parts are activities such as dance, shuffling and dealing cards, assembling models. knitting and
increasingly integrated. gymnastics, swimming, sewing, using keys, folding paper, managing eating and other tools
hockey, athletics, tennis
CHAPTER 2 How We Learn? — How Students Develop and Learn UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND LEARNERS 2ND EDITION
TABLE 3.2 Prerequisite skills for handwriting

FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT PREREQUISITE SKILLS
Ability to control wrist and finger movements and eye—hand - small muscle development
coordination to make basic strokes - eye—hand coordination
- ability to hold writing tool
. ability to make basic strokes
UNDERSTANDING OF LETI'ERS AND WRITING PREREQUISITE SKILLS

Ability to identify similar and different shape, size and direction 0 letter perception
of letters - orientation to printed language (understanding that printed
language represents spoken language)
SOURCE: Adapted from L. Lamme (1979). Handwriting in an early childhood curriculum. Young Children, 35(1), 20—27. Reprinted with permission from
the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Full text of all NAEYC position statements is available at <www.naeyc.org/
positionstatements>.
the consolidation and refinement of motor skills and the ability to maintain age-related
performance in later childhood (Gallahue, Osmun 8c Goodway, 2011).
Handwriting As children enter the school system they are expected to use pens and pencils and
to write. This can be very difficult without the prerequisite physical and cognitive development and
skills, such as basic fine motor skills and the ability to understand and make letters (Lamme, 1979).
When educators are aware of these prerequisites, realistic expectations and support will help
children experience success. Table 3.2 lists the six prerequisite skills for handwriting that Linda
Lamme identified.
@ 0 What is physical development and why is it important? I
Given the strong link between physical development and cognitive functioning, we turn next to
examine a theory of cognitive development offered by a biologist turned psychologist, Jean Piaget.
PIAGET ! S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

stop think write Can you be in Brisbane, Queensland, and Australia all at the same time? Is
this a difficult question for you? How long did it take you to answer?
Commencing in the 19505, Swiss psychologistjean Piaget devised a model describing how humans
go about making sense of their world by gathering and organising information (Piaget, 1954;
1963; 19703; 1970b). We will examine Piaget’s ideas closely, because they provide an explanation
of the development of thinking from infancy to adulthood.
According to Piaget (1954), certain ways ofthinking that are quite simple for an adult, such as the
stop think write question above, are not so simple for a child. For example, Piaget asked a 9-year-old:
What is your nationality?——I am Swiss—How come?—Because I live in Switzerland—Are
you also a Genevan?—No, that’s not possible . . . I’m already Swiss, I can’t also be Genevan.
(Piaget, 1965, p. 252)
Sometimes all you need to do to teach a new concept is to give students a few basic facts as
background. At other times, however, all the facts in the world are useless. The students simply are
not ready to learn the concept. Like the 9—year—old above, they may have trouble with classifying
one concept (Geneva) as a subset of another (Switzerland). Or their concepts of time may be
different from your own. They may think, for example, that they will some day catch up to a
sibling in age, or they may confuse the past and the future. Let us examine why.
so EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) — 9781488617973 — WoolfolklUnderstanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
Influences on development
Cognitive development is much more than the addition of new facts and ideas to an existing
store of information. According to Piaget, our thinking processes change radically, though
slowly, from birth to maturity because we constantly strive to make sense of the world. How do
we do this? Piaget identified four factors—biological maturation, activity, social experiences,
and equilibration—that interact to influence changes in thinking (Piaget, 1970a). Let us
briefly examine the first three factors. We will return to a discussion of equilibration in the
next section.
One of the most important influences on the way we make sense of the world is maturation,
the unfolding of the biological changes that are genetically programmed. Parents and teachers have
little impact on this aspect of cognitive development, except to be sure that children get the
nourishment and care they need to be healthy.
Activity is another influence. With physical maturation comes the increasing ability to act on
the environment and learn from it. When a young child’s coordination is reasonably developed,
for example, the child may discover principles about balance by experimenting with a see—saw.
Thus, as we act on the environment—as we explore, test, observe, and eventually organise
information—we are likely to alter our thinking processes at the same time.
As we develop, we are also interacting with the people around us. According to Piaget, our
cognitive development is influenced by social transmission, or learning from others. Without social
transmission, we would need to reinvent all the knowledge already offered by our culture. The
amount people can learn from social transmission varies according to their level of cognitive
development.
Maturation, activity, and social transmission all work together to influence cognitive
development. How do we respond to these influences?
Basic tendencies in thinking

As a result of his early research in biology, Piaget concluded that all species inherit two basic
tendencies, or ‘invariant functions’. The first of these tendencies is towards organisation—the
combining, arranging, recombining, and rearranging of behaviours and thoughts into coherent
systems. The second tendency is towards adaptation, or adjusting to the environment.
Organisation People are born with a tendency to organise their thinking processes into
psychological structures or mechanisms. These structures are our systems for understanding and
interacting with the world. Simple structures are continually combined and coordinated to become
more sophisticated and thus more effective. Very young infants, for example, can either look at an
object or grasp it when it comes in contact with their hands. They cannot coordinate looking and
grasping at the same time. As they develop, however, infants organise these two separate
behavioural structures into a coordinated higher level structure of looking at, reaching for, and
grasping the object. They can, of course, still use each structure separately (Ginsburg 8c Opper,
1988; Miller, 2011).
Piaget gave a special name to these structures: schemes. In his theory, schemes are the basic
building blocks of thinking. They are organised systems of actions or thought that allow us to
mentally represent or ‘think about’ the objects and events in our world. Schemes may be very small
and specific; for example, the sucking—through-a—straw scheme or the recognising—a—rose scheme. _
. . , . organisation Ongomg process of
Or, they may be larger and more general—the drinking scheme or the categorismg—plants scheme. arranging information and
As we noted in the previous section on brain development, a person’s thinking processes become experience into mental systems or
more organised and new schemes develop in response to their experiences. Behaviour also becomes categories.
more sophisticated and better suited to particular situations. adaptation Adjustment to the
Adaptation In addition to the tendency to organise their psychological structures, people also envrronment.
inherit the tendency to adapt to their environment. Two basic processes are involved in adaptation: schemes Mental systems or
assimilation and accommodation. categories of perception
Assimilation takes place when people use their existing schemes to make sense of events in and experience.
their world. Assimilation involves trying to understand something new by fitting it into what we ”flmlmlon Fitting new
already know. At times, we may have to distort the new information to make it fit. For example, information into existing schemes.
the first time many children see a kangaroo, they call it a dog. They try to match the new
experience with an existing scheme for identifying animals.
Accommodation occurs when a person changes existing schemes to respond to a new
situation. If data cannot be made to fit any existing schemes, then more appropriate structures
must be developed. We adjust our thinking to fit the new information, instead of adjusting the
information to fit our thinking. Children demonstrate accommodation when they add the scheme
for recognising kangaroos to their other systems for identifying animals.
People adapt to their increasingly complex environments by using existing schemes whenever
these schemes work (assimilation) and by modifying and adding to their schemes when something
new is needed (accommodation). Both processes are required most of the time. Even using an
established pattern such as sucking through a straw may require some accommodation if the straw
is ofa different size or length than the type you are used to. Ifyou have tried drinkingjuice from
juice boxes, you know that you have to add a new skill to your sucking scheme—don’t squeeze the
box or you will shoot juice through the straw, straight up into the air and over your clothes.
Whenever new experiences are assimilated into an existing scheme, the scheme is enlarged and
changed somewhat, so assimilation involves some accommodation.
There are also times when neither assimilation nor accommodation is used. If people
encounter something that is too unfamiliar, they may ignore it. Experience is filtered to fit the
kind of thinking a person is doing at a given time. For example, ifyou overhear a conversation in
a foreign language, you probably will not try to make sense ofthe exchange unless you have some
knowledge of the language.
Equilibration According to Piaget, organisation, assimilation, and accommodation can be

viewed as a kind ofcomplex balancing act. In his theory, the actual changes in thinking take place
through the process of equilibration—the act of searching for a balance. Piaget assumed that
people continually test the adequacy of their thinking processes in order to achieve that balance.
Briefly, the process ofequilibration works like this: ifwe apply a particular scheme to an event
or a situation and the scheme works, then equilibration exists. If the scheme does not produce a
satisfying result, then disequilibration or disequilibrium exists, and we become uncomfortable.
This motivates us to search for a solution through assimilation and accommodation, and thus our
thinking changes and moves ahead.
- Stages of cognitive development

Explain how children's
we.“
devempmm WHAT WOULD you SAY . 7
Your interview with the principal seems to be going fairly well. Her next question is, ‘We have
openings at several year levels, so I need to know about your understanding of students across
years. Are students in Year 2 and Year 7 that different in the way they think—l mean, in any ways that
would affect your teaching?’
accommodatlon Altering existing

schemes or creating new ones in Now we turn to the actual differences that Piaget hypothesised for children as they develop. Piaget
response to new information. identified four major periods or stages of cognitive development: scnsorimotor, preoperafional, concrete
equilibration In Piaget’s theory, operational, andformal operational. Piaget believed that people pass through the same four stages in
the search for balance between exactly the same order. These stages are generally associated with age, as shown in Table 3.3, but
cognitive schemes and information these are only general guidelines, not labels for all children ofa certain age. Often, people can use
from the environment. one level of thinking to solve one kind of problem and a different level to solve another. Piaget
disoqulllbraflon In Piaget's noted that individuals may go through long periods oftransition between stages and that a person
theory, the '0ut-of-balance‘ state may show characteristics ofone stage in one situation, but characteristics ofa higher or lower stage
that occurs When a person realises in other situations. Therefore, knowing a student’s age is never a guarantee that you know how
that their current ways 0f thinking the child will think (Ginsburg 8c Opper, 1988; Orlando & Machado, 1996).
are not working to solve a problem
“New“ a mum"- Infancy: The sensorimotor stage The earliest period is called the sensorimotor stage,
sensorlmotor Involving the senses because the child’s thinking and understanding ofthe world is informed by their physical actions
and motor activity. on it, such as seeing, hearing, moving, touching, tasting, and so on. During this period, the
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) — 9781488617973 - WoolfolklUnderstanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
TABLE 3.3 Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
PERIOD AND APPROXIMATE AGE RANGE CHARACTERISTICS
Sensorimotor increasingly able to recognise the existence of the world outside themselves and
0—2 years begins to interact with it in different ways
0 moves from reflexive to goaldirected activity
0 develops object permanence
0 begins to use imitation, memory. thought
0 starts to categorise and sort
Preoperational Builds on sensorimotor skills by using knowledge of actions and objects, and uses
2—7 years symbols and language
0 represents reality to themselves through use of symbols and mental images
involving words, gestures
0 increasing ability to categorise
a logical thinking in one direction
. difficulty seeing perspective of others
- limited by centration, irreversibility, egocentrism, and animistic thinking
Concrete operational Can mentally manipulate objects and events, and explain the transformation
7‘11 years - reasoning is logical, flexible, organised
o understands reversibility and conservation
- able to classify and seriate
. increasingly able to consider different perspectives
Formal operational Able to mentally operate on objects involving abstract thinking

11 years—adult o abstract, hypothetical, and deductive reasoning
- wide range of cognitive processes
infant develops object permanence, the understanding that objects exist in the environment
whether the baby perceives them or not. This is the beginning of the important ability to
construct mental representations. As most parents discover, before infants develop object
permanence, it is relatively easy to take something away from them. The trick is to distract them
and remove the object while they are not looking—‘out of sight, out of mind’. The older infant
who searches for the ball that has rolled out of sight is indicating an understanding that objects
still exist even when they are not in view. Recent research, however, suggests that infants as
young as 3 or 4 months may know that the object still exists, but they do not have the memory
skills to ‘hold on’ to the location of the object or the motor skills to coordinate a search
(Baillargeon, 1999; Meece, 2002).
A second major accomplishment in the sensorimotor period is the beginning of logical, goal-
directed actions. Think of the familiar post—box container toy for babies. It is usually plastic, has
a lid, and contains several colourful items that can be tipped out and replaced. A 6—month—old baby
is likely to become frustrated trying to get to the toys inside. An older child who has mastered the
basics of the sensorimotor stage will probably be able to deal with emptying the toy in an orderly
fashion by building a ‘container toy’ scheme: (1) get the lid off, (2) turn the container upside down, object pennanonco
(3) shake if the items jam, and (4) watch the items fall. Separate lower level schemes have been The understanding that objects
organised into a higher level scheme to achieve a goal. have a separate, permanent
The child is soon able to reverse this action by refilling the container. Learning to reverse existence.
actions is a basic accomplishment of the sensorimotor stage. As we will soon read, however, goal-directed actions Deliberate
reversibility in thinking—that is, learning to imagine the reverse of a sequence of actions—takes actions towards a goal.
much longer.
reversibility The ability to think
Early childhood to the early primary school years: The preoperational stage through a series of steps. then
By the end of the sensorimotor stage, the child can use many action schemes. As long as these mentally reverse the Ste!” and
. . . . . . , return to the startIng p0Int
schemes remain tied to physrcal actions, however, they are of no use in recalling the past, keeping
track of information, or planning. For this, children need what Piaget called operations, or operations Mental representations
actions that are logical and follow a set of rules such as those involved in reversibility. 0’ actions that have logical rules.
The stage after sensorimotor is called preoperational, because the child has not yet mastered
these mental operations but is moving towards mastery. This stage is characterised by an increase
in mental representation—the ability to represent thought symbolically.
According to Piaget, the first type of thinking that is separate from action involves making
action schemes symbolic. Symbolic thought—the ability to form and use symbols such as words,
gestures, signs, images, and so on—is a major accomplishment of the preoperational period and
moves children closer to mastering the mental operations of the next stage. This ability to work
with symbols, such as using the word ‘bicycle’ or a picture of a bicycle to represent a real bicycle
that is not actually present, is called the semiotic function.
The child’s earliest use of symbols is in pretending or imitating. Children who are not yet
TO PRACTICE menu
couurcrmo able to talk Will . symbols_pretending
. often use action .
. to drinkIfrom an empty cup or touching
.
— a comb to their hair, showmg that they know what each object is for. This early symbolic
To experience some of the ways . . . . .
children differ from adults in their behaViour also shows that their schemes are becoming more general and less tied to spec1fic
thinking, ask children ofvarious actions. The eating scheme, for example, may be used in imaginative home—play as the child
ages the following questions: pretends to eat a wooden block and calls it ‘bun’. Gradually, symbolic play includes others in
' What 0065 it mean to be alive? soriodramatir play—in which pretend play is more organised, cooperative, and closer to reality.
° Can fiouIr’iame some things that Children are not just representing their world though pretend play; they are aware that what
are a we. . .
. Is the moon alive? they are Idomg is not real.I . .
. Where do dreams come from? During the preoperational stage, we also see the rapid development of that very important
Where do they go? symbol system: language. Between the ages of 2 and 4 years, most children enlarge their
’ “mic" is further: to go ”0'“ the vocabulary from about 200 to 2000 words. The ability to think in words and detach thinking
bottom of the hill all the way . . . . . .
from actions/domg enables us to think imaginatively.
to the top, or to go from the . , . . . . . . .
top of the hill all the wayto The thinking of children in the preoperational stage is, however, limited by (nitration,
the bottom? irreversibility, cgorcntrism, and animistir thinking. As the child moves through the preoperational stage,
' Canapeison "V8 in Brisbane the developing ability to think about objects in symbolic form remains somewhat limited to
and '" Queensland at the same thinking in one direction only, or using one-way logic This limitation makes it very difficult for
time? . , . , . . . .
. . the child to think backwards , or imagine how to reverse the steps in a task, as is shown through
0 Will you be Just as old as your . . I
big brother some deif? Piaget 5 conservation tasks.
0 When is yesterday? Conservation is the principle that the amount or number of something remains the same
° Where “095 the 5“" 8° at even ifthe arrangement or appearance is changed, as long as nothing is added and nothing is taken
night. away. You know that if you tear a piece of paper into several pieces, you Will still have the same
amount of paper. To prove this, you know that you can reverse the process by taping the pieces
back together.
A classic example of difficulty with conservation is found in the preoperational child’s
response to the following Piagetian task. Leah, a 5—year—old, is shown two identical glasses, both
short and wide in shape. Both have exactly the same amount of coloured water in them.
Interviewer: Does one glass have more water, does one glass have less, or are they the same?
momtlonal The stage before
a child masters logical mental Leah. Same.
operations. The experimenter then pours the water from one ofthe glasses into a taller, narrower glass.
semiotic Iunctlon The ability to Interviewer: Now, does one glass have more water, does one glass have less, or are they the
work with symbols—language, same?
pictures, signs. or gestures—in Leah: The tall one has more.

order to represent actions or .
. InterViewer: How do you know?
objects mentally. . .
Leah: It goes up more here [pOints to higher level on taller glass].
conservation Principle that some I . I I I I .
characteristics of an object remain Notice, by the way, that Leah shows a baSic understanding of identity (it s the same water) but
the same despite changes in not an understanding that the amounts are identical (Ginsburg 8r Opper, 1988).
appearance. Based on Piaget, the explanation for Leah’s answer is that her thinking is characterised by
, _ centration or difficult in focusin on more than one as ect ofa situation at a time. She is
contratlon The Inability to focus . ’ _ Iy . g _ P ,
on more than one aspect ofa focusmg on the dimenSion of height. The preoperational child cannot understand that increased
situation at a time. diameter compensates for decreased height, because this requires taking into account two
. .. I dimensions at once. Thus, children at the preoperational stage have trouble freeing themselves
Imrslblllty The Inability to think f th . t' fh th ld
through a series of steps, then rom eiIr own percep ions 0 ow e wot appears. . . .
mentally reverse the steps and Leahs thinking also demonstrates irreverSibility—the inability to mentally go through a
return to the starting point. procedure and then think backwards to the beginning. Leah is not able to understand that the
Woolfolk, A. & Margetts, K. (2016). Educationa/psychology. (4th ed.). Melbourne, VIC: Pearson Australia.
amount ofwater has not changed by imagining the water in the tall glass being poured back into the
original glass.
This brings us to another important characteristic ofthe preoperational stage—egocentrism—
by which preoperational children tend to see the world and the experiences of others from their
own viewpoint. The concept of egocentrisni, as Piaget intended it, does not mean selfishness; it
simply means children often assume that everyone else shares their feelings, reactions, and
perspectives. For example, if a little boy at this stage is afraid of dogs, he may assume that all
children share this fear. Very young children centre on their own perceptions and on the way the
situation appears to them. This is one reason it is difficult for these children to understand that
your right hand is not on the same side as theirs when you are facing them.
Egocentrisni is also evident in the child’s language. You may have noticed young children
happily talking about what they are doing even though no one is listening. This can happen when
the child is alone or, even more often, in a group of children—each child talks enthusiastically,
without any real interaction or conversation. Piaget called this the collective monologue.
Research has shown that young children are not totally egocentric in every situation, I
however. Children as young as 4 years old change the way they talk to 2-year—olds by speaking ogooontrlsni Assuming that
. . . . others experience the world the
in Simpler sentences and, even before the age of 2, children show toys to adults by turning the way you do.
front ofthe toy to face the other person. So young children do seem quite able to take the needs
and different perspectives of others into account, at least in certain situations (Miller, 2011). collective ““IMI°‘_"' Form Of
Animistic thinking—attributing lifelike qualities such as thoughts, feelings, and intentions to Sglloeiipdlallk blllcllochliilrrgelillryl a
inanimate objects—is another characteristic of the preoperational stage and closely linked to interact or communicate.
egocentrism.
The Guidelines on page 86 give ideas for working with preoperational thinkers. anlniistic WIN"! Attributing
lifelike qualities to inanimate
Upper primary and middle school years: The concrete operational stage Piaget objects.
coined the term concrete operations to describe this stage of ‘hands—on’ thinking. The
operations are concrete because they are applied to actual objects that are present. They are concrete operations Mental
tasks tied to concrete objects and
operations because the child performs the actions mentally and they are reversible. The basic situations.
characteristics of the stage are the recognition of the logical stability of the physical world, the
ability to decenter and focus on multiple dimensions or perspectives, the realisation that elements Identity TheIprincipleIthat a
can be changed or transformed and still conserve many of their original characteristics, the gjgflllmtomea remains the same
understanding that these changes can be reversed.
Look at Figure 3.5, which shows examples of the different tasks given to children to assess compensation The principle that
conservation and the approximate age ranges when most children can solve these problems. changes in one dimension can be
According to Piaget, a child’s ability to solve conservation problems depends on an understanding Offset by changes in another.
of three basic aspects of reasoning: identity, compensation, and reversibility. With a complete classification Grouping objects
mastery of identity, the child knows that if nothing is added or taken away, the material into categories.
remains the same. With an understanding of reciprocity
or compensation, the child knows that an apparent
change in one direction can be compensated for by a o ‘ l I —. [“51“ _ r . a,
change in another direction. That is, if the same amount 9.67:. ' '2 ‘iIg 'l l : ' ' . ‘ .
ofliquid rises higher in one glass than another, the glass ';5-.‘$'l‘ ifr“. flit-221’s". "‘rl , 7-. v ' '.
must be narrower. And with an understanding of agg": " '13-". T
reversibility, the child can mentally cancel out the change 333” )4! ;. .-
that has been made. They are able to think through a i ' i 45‘ .
series of steps, then mentally reverse the steps and return ‘ _ Ail-b
to the starting point. In the example given earlier, Leah i ‘ a
apparently knew it was the same water (identity), but '. I '
lacked compensation and reversibility, so she is still I l” \
moving towards conservation. ‘i' >
Another important operation mastered at this stage is 4‘
classification. Classification depends on a child’s abilities
to focus on a single characteristic of objects in a set and
group the objects according to that characteristic. Given 12 The ability to manipulate concrete objects helps children understand
objects of assorted colours and shapes, the concrete abstract relationships such as the connection between symbols and
operational child can invariably pick out the ones that are quantity.
round or square.
CHAPTER 3 PHYSlCAL AND COGNlllVE DEVELOPMENT 85
TEACHING THE PREOPERATIONAL CHILD
Use concrete props and visual aids whenever possible. Be sensitive to the possibility that children may have
Examples different meanings for the same word or different
1_ When you discuss concepts such as .pan.’ ‘whole', or words for the same meaning. Students may also expect
‘one-half', use shapes on a felt board or cardboard everyone to understand words they have invented.
‘pizzas' to demonstrate. Examples
2. Let children add and subtract with sticks, rocks, or 1- If a Child protests, " won't take a nap. I'” lUSt rest!’ be
coloured chips. aware that a nap may mean something such as ‘changing
into pyjamas and being in my bed at home'.
Make instructions relatively short, using actions as 2. Ask children to explain the meanings of their invented
well as words. words.
Examples
1_ When giving instructions about how to enter the room Give children a great deal of hands-on practice with the
after a break and prepare for an activity, ask a child to skills that serve as building blocks for more complex
demonstrate the procedure for the rest of the class by skills 5“Ch as reading comprehension.
walking in quietly, going straight to his or her seat, and Examples
placing the required materials on his or her desk. 1. Provide cutout letters to build words.
2. Explain a game by acting out one of the parts. 2. Supplement paper~and-penci| tasks in arithmetic with
3. Show children what their finished work should look like. activities that require handling objects, measuring, and
Display examples where students can see them easily. simple calculations—cooking, building a dismay area for
class work, dividing a batch of popcorn equally, etc.
Don't expect the children to be consistent in their
ability to see the world from someone else’s point of Provide a wide range of experiences in order to build a
view. foundation for concept learning and language.
Examples Examples
1. Avoid social studies lessons about worlds too far removed 1- Take excursions to 1005. gardensi theatres, and concerts;
from the children's experience. invite storytellers to the class.
2. Avoid long lectures on sharing. Be clear about rules for 2- GiVe Children words to describe what they are doing,
sharing or use of materials, but avoid long explanations of hearing, seeing, touching, tasting, and smelling.
the rationales for the rules.
More advanced classification at this stage involves recognising that one class fits into another.
A city can be in a particular state or region and also in a particular country, as you probably
indicated in your answer to the stop think write question. As children apply this advanced
classification to locations, they often become fascinated with ‘complete’ addresses such as James
Brown, 69 Sunset Road, Bankstown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Southern Hemisphere,
Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Universe.
Classification is also related to reversibility. The ability to reverse a process mentally now
allows the concrete operational child to see that there is more than one way to classify a group of
objects. The child understands, for example, that buttons can be classified by colour, then
reclassified by size or by the number ofholes.
Seriation is the process ofinaking an orderly arrangement from large to small, or vice versa.
This understanding of sequential relationships permits a student to construct a logical series in
which A < B < C (A is less than B is less than C) and so on. Unlike the preoperational child, the
concrete operational child can grasp the notion that B can be larger than A but smaller than C.
With the abilities to handle operations such as conservation, classification, and seriation, the
child at the concrete operational stage has finally developed a complete and very logical system of
thinking. This system of thinking, however, is still tied to physical reality. The logic is based on
. . .
sedation Arranging objects in
concrete
.
situations that
_ .
can be organised, classified, or ‘ manipulated.
. .
Thus, children at this stage
sequential order according to one can imagine several different arrangements for the furniture in their rooms before they act. They
aspect, such as size, weight. or do not have to solve the problem strictly through trial and error by actually making the
volume. arrangements. However, the concrete operational child is not yet able to reason about hypothetical,
UNDERSTANDING LEARNING AND LEARNERS 2ND EDITION CHAPTER 2 How We Learn? — How Students Develop and Learn
6—7 years Is there the same amount of ls there now the same
water in each bottle? amount of water in the
bottle and in the dish?
6—7 years Is there the same amount Is there now the same I
of play-dough in each ball? amount of play-dough
in each piece?
I... III- II I.
III- IIII I I
l 7,, ' ‘ I _ I
8—10 years Does each cow have the same Does each cow now have the
amount of grass to eat? same amount of grass to eat?
SOME PIAGETIAN CONSERVATION TASKS

In addition to the tasks shown here, other tasks involve the conservation of number, length, and weight.
These tasks are all achieved over the concrete operational period.
SOURCE: Based on J. Piaget & B. Inhelder (1974). The child's construction of quantities, Jean Piaget: Selected works, Volume VIII,
London. UK: Routledge. Reprinted 1997. 2000 by Routledge.
F|ouRE 3.5
abstract problems that involve the coordination ofmany factors at once. This kind ofcoordination
is part ofPiaget’s next and final stage ofcognitive development.
In any class you teach, a knowledge of concrete operational thinking will be helpful. In the
early grades, the children are moving towards this logical system of thought. In the middle years,
it is in full flower, ready to be applied and extended by your teaching. In the secondary school
years, it is often demonstrated by students whose thinking may not have fully developed to the
next stage—the stage of formal operations. The Guidelines on page 88 should give you ideas for
teaching children who can apply concrete operations.
Secondary school and beyond: Formal operations Some students remain at the concrete
operational stage throughout their school years, even throughout life. However, new experiences,
usually those that take place in school, eventually present most students with problems that they
cannot solve using concrete operations. What happens when a number of variables interact, as in
a laboratory experiment? A mental system for controlling sets ofvariables and working through a
set ofpossibilities is needed. These are the abilities Piaget called formal operations.
stop think write You are packing for a long trip, but want to pack lightly. How many different
three-piece outfits (trousers, shirt, jacket) will you have if you include three shirts, three pairs of
trousers, and threejackets (assuming of course that they all go together in fashion perfection)?
Time yourself to see how long it takes to arrive at the answer.
At the level of formal operations, all the earlier operations and abilities continue in force; that
. f l h‘ k" . 'bl . 1 d . d . f. d d l formal operations Mental tasks
is, orma t in Img is reverSi e, interna , an organise in a system 0. inter epen ent e ements. involving abstract thinking and
The focus of thinking shifts, however, from what is to what might be. Situations do not have to be coordination of a number of
experienced in order to be imagined. Ask a young child how life would be different ifpeople did variables.
CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNlTlVE DEVELOPMENT 87
TEACHING THE CONCRETE OPERATIONAL CHILD
Continue to use concrete props and visual aids, Use familiar examples to explain more complex ideas.
especially when dealing with sophisticated material. Examples
Examples 1. Compare children’s lives with those of characters in a
1. Use time lines and illustrations in history, and three- story. After reading Island of the Blue Dolphins (the true
dimensional models in science. story of a girl who grew up alone on a deserted island),
2. Use diagrams to illustrate hierarchical relationships, such ask ‘Have YOU ever had to stay alone for a long time? HOW
as branches of government and the agencies under each did You feel?’
branch. 2. Teach the concept of area by having children measure two
rooms in the school that are different sizes.
Continue to give children a chance to manipulate and
test objects. Give opportunities to classify and group objects and
Examples ideas on increasingly complex levels.
1. Set up simple scientific experiments such as the following Examples
involving the relationship between fire and oxygen: What 1. Give children slips of paper with individual sentences
happens to a flame when you blow on it from a distance? written on each slip and ask the students to group the
(If you don't blow it out, the flame gets larger briefly, sentences into paragraphs.
because it has more oxygen 10 burn.) What happens when 2. Compare the systems of the human body to other kinds of
YOU COVel the flame With ajar? systems: the brain to a computer, the heart to a pump.
2. Have children make candles by dipping wicks in wax, Break down stories into components, from the broad to
weave cloth on a simple loom, bake bread, set type by the specific: author; story; characters, plot, theme; place,
hand, or do other craft work that illustrates the daily time; dialogue, description, actions.
< occupations of people in the colonial period. >
Present problems that require logical, analytical
Make sure presentations and readings are brief and thinking.
well-organised. Examples
Examples 1. Use mind twisters, brain teasers, MasterMind, and riddles.
1- Assign stories 0" b00k$ Wltll short, logical chapters, moving 2. Discuss open-ended questions that stimulate thinking:
to longer reading assignments only when children are ready. ‘Are the brain and the mind the same thing?’, ‘How should
2. Break up a presentation with a chance to practise the first the local council deal with stray animals?', ‘What is the
steps before introducing the next. largest number?'.
not sleep, and the child might say, ‘People do sleep!‘ In contrast, the adolescent who has mastered
formal operations can consider contrary-to—fact questions. In answering, the adolescent
demonstrates the hallmark of formal operations—hypothetico—deductive reasoning. The
formal thinker can consider a hypothetical situation (people do not sleep) and reason deductively
(from the general assumption to specific implications, such as longer work days, more money spent
on energy and lighting, or new entertainment industries). Formal operations also include inductive
reasoning, or using specific observations to identify general principles. For example, the economist
observes many specific changes in the stock market and attempts to identify general principles
about economic cycles, from this information. Formal operational thinkers can form hypotheses,
set up mental experiments to test them, and isolate or control variables in order to complete a valid
test of the hypotheses. This kind of reasoning is expected in the later years (Bjorklund, 1989).
Abstract formal—operational thinking is necessary for success in many advanced secondary and
tertiary courses. Most maths is concerned with hypothetical situations, assumptions, and givens:
hypothotIco-doducflvo reasoning ‘Let x = 10’, or ‘Assume x2 + y2 = 22’, or ‘Given two sides and an adjacent angle . . .’ Work in social
Aformal operations problem- studies and literature requires abstract thinking, too: ‘What are some metaphors for hope and
solving strategy in WlllCll an despair in Shakespeare’s sonnets?’, ‘What symbols of old age does T. S. Eliot use in The Waste
individual begins by identifying all Land?’ ‘How do animals 5 mbolise human character traits in Aeso 's fables?’ Desmond Tutu a
the factors that might affect a l .y. . . . p ’
problem, and then deduces and respected reformer and religious leader in South Africa, describes a teacher who understood how
systematically evaluates Specific to teach abstract mathematical concepts, even in classes as large as 80, in the Stories of Learning:
solutions. Tributes to Teaching feature opposite.
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) -— 9781488617973 - WoolfolklUnderstanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
The organised, scientific thinking of formal operations requires that students systematically
generate different possibilities for a given situation. For example, if a child capable of formal
operations is asked, ‘How many different shirt/trouser/jacket outfits can you make using three of
each kind ofclothing?’ the child can systematically identify the 27 possible combinations (did you
get it right?). A concrete thinker might namejust a few combinations, using each piece of clothing
only once. The underlying system of combinations is not yet available.
The ability to think hypothetically, consider alternatives, identify all possible combinations,
and analyse one’s own thinking has some interesting consequences for adolescents. Since they can
think about worlds that do not exist, they often become interested in science fiction. Because they
can reason from general principles to specific actions, they often are critical ofpeople whose actions
seem to contradict their principles. Adolescents can deduce the set of‘best’ possibilities and imagine
ideal worlds (or ideal parents and teachers, for that matter). This explains why many students at this
age develop interests in utopias, political causes, and social issues. They want to design better
worlds, and their thinking allows them to do so. Adolescents can also imagine many possible futures
for themselves and may try to decide which is best. Feelings about any ofthese ideals may be strong.
Another characteristic of this stage is adolescent egocentrism. Unlike egocentric young
children, adolescents do not deny that other people may have different perceptions and beliefs; the
adolescents Just become very focused on their own ideas. They analyse their own beliefs and CONNEC‘I'AND EXTEND
attitudes. This can lead to what Elkind (1981) calls the sense ofan imaginary audmire—the feeling that EGOCENTRISM
everyone is watching. Thus, adolescents believe that others are paying them more attention than they W
really are, and analysing them: ‘Everyone noticed that I wore this shirt tw1ce this week”, ‘The whole similarities) between egocentrism in
class thought my answer was dumbl’, ‘Everybody is going to love my new DVD’. You can see that young children and egocentrism in
social blunders or imperfections in appearance can be devastating if ‘everybody is watching’. Luckily, adolescents?
this feeling of being ‘on stage’ seems to peak in early adolescence by age 14 or 15 years.
( DO we all reach the fourth stage? Many psychologists agree that there is a level of thinking )
more sophisticated than concrete operations. However, there is debate about how universal formal
operational thinking actually is, even among adults. The first three stages of Piaget’s theory are
‘forced’ on most people by physical realities. Objects really are permanent. The amount of water
doesn’t change when it is poured into another glass. Formal operations, however, are not so closely
tied to the physical environment. They may be the product of experience and of practice in solving
hypothetical problems and using formal scientific reasoning. These abilities tend to be valued and “0|.“ch egocentrlsm
Tendency by adolescents to focus
taught in literate cultures, particularly in universities. Even so, only about 30 to 40 per cent of on themselves and to assume
secondary school students are successful at Piaget’s formal operational tasks (Meece 81 Daniels, 2008). others do also.
STORIES OE LEARN|NG TRlBUTES TO TEACHlNG

Reverend Desmond Tutu attended a school in South he made learning his subject so much fun. He
Africa that ‘had most of the characteristics of a ghetto always had objects that he used to illustrate
school; hardly any facilities to mention. I went to the what, up to that point, had been cloaked in
laboratory only once on my five or six years at school, mystery and unrelieved gloom. He had an
there was a wholly inadequate library and very few extraordinary knack of making the most
recreational and games facilities'. The overcrowded complicated and abstruse principle seem so
classes that routinely had over 80 students were held straightfonNard and obvious. Nobody, just
in a poorly furnished church building. Reverend Tutu nobody, failed his subject in the public state
notes that maths was not his favourite subject—he examinations. In fact, many of his students
learned maths only because it was compulsory—until obtained distinctions.
he met Mr Ndebele. I thank God for Mr Ndebele and for what he

However, things changed dramatically after meant for so many of us.
Mr NImron Ndebele stood In front of the class. —The Most Reverend Desmond Mpilo Tutu,
He was a middle—Sized man With a fine alto . .
voice. He always had a gentle smile playing Amhb'ShOD 0f Cape Town, South Africa
around his mouth, a very pleasant image, and
SOURCE: Adapted from J. Bluestein (1995). Mentors, masters. and Mrs. MacGregor. Published by Health Communications. Copyright © 1995 by Health
Communications.
CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNlTlVE DEVELOPMENT 89
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) -— 9781488617973 — WoolfolklUnderstanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
Piaget himself (1974) suggested that most adults may be able to use formal operational thought
in only a few areas where they have the greatest experience or interest. So do not expect every
student in your secondary school class to be able to think hypothetically about all the problems you
present. Students who have not learned to go beyond the information given to them are likely to
experience difficulties. Sometimes students find shortcuts for dealing with problems that are beyond
their grasp; they may nieniorise formulas or lists of steps. These systems may be helpful for passing
tests, but real understanding will take place only ifstudents are able to go beyond this superficial use
of memorisation—only, in other words, if they learn to use formal operational thinking. The
following Guidelines may help you support the development of formal operations with your students.
H ELPING STU DENTS TO USE FORMAL OPERATIONS

Continue to use concrete operational teaching Give students opportunities to solve problems and
strategies and materials. reason scientifically.
Examples Examples
1. Use visual aids such as charts and illustrations as well as 1. Set up group discussions in which students design
more sophisticated graphs and diagrams. experiments to answer questions.
2. Compare the experiences of characters in stories to 2. Ask students tojustify two different positions on animal
students' experiences. rights, with logical arguments for each position.
Give students the opportunity to explore many Whenever possible. teach broad concepts, notjust
hypothetical questions. facts, using materials and ideas relevant to the
Examples students’ lives.
1. Have students write position papers, then exchange these Examples
papers with the opposing side and debate topical social 1. When discussing natural disasters, consider other issues
issues—the environment, the economy, national health that impact on the ability of the local community to
insurance, etc. recover.
2. Ask students to write about their personal vision of utopia; 2. Use lyrics from popular songs to teach poetic devices, to
write a description of a universe that has no gender reflect on social problems, and to stimulate discussion on
differences; write a description of Earth after humans are the place of popular music in our culture.
extinct.
0 What are the main influences on cognitive development?
YOURSELF 0 As children move from sensorimotor to formal operational thinking, what

are the major changes?
- IMPLICATIONS OF PIAGET’S THEORY FOR TEACHERS

(tifisgitasgsei‘ghvdflilggig‘tZaksy Piaget did not make specific educational recommendations. He was more interested in
influence educatjonal understanding children’s thinking. He did however express some general ideas about educational
praCtice' philosophy. He believed that the main goal of education should be to help children learn how to
learn, and that education should ‘form not furnish’ the minds of students (Piaget, 1969, p. 70).
Even though Piaget did not design programs of education based on his ideas, many other people
have. For example, the (US) National Association for the Education of Young Children has
guidelines for developmentally appropriate education that incorporate Piaget’s findings, and
many curriculum frameworks in Australia and New Zealand promote an active constructivist,
investigative approach that also involves age— or stage—related outcomes. Piaget has taught us that
we can learn a great deal about how children think by listening carefully and by paying close
attention to their ways ofsolving problems. Ifwe understand children’s thinking, we will be better
able to match teaching methods to children’s abilities.
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) - 9781488617973 - WoolfolklUnderstanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
Understanding and burlding on students’ thinking &?U"c§fid‘,g°om%smEom
The students in any class will vary greatly in both their level of cognitive development and their W
academic knowledge. As a teacher, how can you determine whether students are haVing trouble artteachers in a rural primary-to-
because they lack the necessary thinking abilities or because they simply have not learned the Year-9 schoolwork with students
basic facts? To do this, Case (1985; 1992) suggests you observe your students carefully as they Who characterise several ofPiaget‘s
try to solve the problems you have presented. What kind of logic do they Lise? Do they focus stagesHow-should-these three
. . . teachers adjust their teaching from
on only one aspect of the situation? Are they fooled by appearances? Do they suggest solutions level to level over the course of
systematically or by guessmg and forgetting what they have already tried? Ask your students aweek?
how they tried to solve the problem. Listen to their strategies. What kind of thinking is behind
repeated mistakes or problems? The students are the best sources ofinformation about their own
thinking abilities.
An important implication ofPiaget’s theory for teaching is what Hunt years ago (1961) called
‘the problem of the match’. Students must be neither bored by work that is too simple nor left
behind by teaching they cannot understand. According to Hunt, disequilibration must be kept
‘just right' to encourage growth. Setting up situations that lead to errors can help create an
appropriate level ofdisequilibration. When students experience some conflict between what they
think should happen (a piece ofwood should sink because it is big) and what actually happens (it
floatsl), they may rethink the situation, and new knowledge may develop.
It is worth pointing out, too, that many materials and lessons can be understood at several
levels and can be ‘just right’ for a range of cognitive abilities. Classics such as Alire in Wonderland,
myths and fairy tales can be enjoyed at both concrete and symbolic levels. It is also possible for
students to be introduced to a topic together, then work individually on follow—up activities
matched to their level. Good and Brophy (2003) describe activity cards for three or four ability
levels. These cards provide different readings and assignments, but all are directed towards the
< overall class objectives. One ofthe cards should be a good ‘match’ for each student. >
Activity and constructing knowledge

Piaget’s fundamental insight was that individuals (onstmrt their own understanding; learning is
a constructive process. At every level of cognitive development, you will also want to see that
students are actively engaged in the learning process. In his words:
Knowledge is not a copy of reality. To know an object, to know an event, is not simply to look
at it and make a mental copy or image of it. To know an object is to act on it. To know is to
modify, to transform the object, and to understand the process of this transformation, and as a
consequence to understand the way the object is constructed. (Piaget, 1964, p. 8)
This active experience, even at the earliest school levels, should not be limited to the physical
manipulation ofobjects. It should also include mental manipulation ofideas that arise out ofclass
projects or experiments (Gredler, 2009). For example, as part ofa unit on differentjobs, a primary
school teacher might show the students a picture ofa woman and ask, ‘What could this person be?’.
After answers such as ‘teacher’, ‘doctor’, ‘secretary’, ‘lawyer’, ‘saleswoman’, and so on, the teacher
could suggest, ‘How about a daughter?’. Answers such as ‘sister’, ‘mother’, ‘aunt’, and ‘granddaughter’
may follow. This should help the children switch dimensions in their classification and centre on
another aspect ofthe situation. Next, the teacher might suggest ‘Australian’ or ‘jogger’. With older
children, hierarchical classification might be involved: it is a picture ofa woman, who is a human
being; a human being is a primate, which is a mammal, which is an animal, which is a life form.
All students need to interact with teachers and peers in order to test their thinking, to be
challenged, to receive feedback, and to watch how others work out problems. Disequilibration is
often set in motion quite naturally when the teacher or another student suggests a new way of
thinking about something. As a general rule, students should act, manipulate, observe, and then
talk and/or write (to the teacher and each other) about what they have experienced. Concrete
experiences provide the raw materials for thinking. Communicating with others makes students
use, test, and sometimes change their thinking abilities.
Some limitations of Piaget’s theory

Although most psychologists agree with Piaget’s insightful descriptions of how children think,
many disagree with his explanations of why thinking develops as it does.
The trouble With stages Some psychologists have questioned the existence of four separate
stages of thinking, even though they agree that children do go through the changes that Piaget
described (Mascolo & Fischer, 2005; Miller, 2011). One problem with the stage model is the lack
of consistency in children’s thinking. For example, children can conserve number (the number of
blocks does not change when they are rearranged) a year or two before they can conserve weight
(a ball of clay does not change when you flatten it). Why can’t they use conservation consistently
in every situation? In fairness, we should note that, in his later work, even Piaget put less emphasis
on stages of cognitive development and gave more attention to how thinking rlianges through the
process of equilibration (Miller, 2011).
Another problem with the idea of separate stages is that the processes may be more continuous
than they seem. When looked at across longer time periods, change may seem like discontinuous,
qualitative leaps. But if we watch a young child very closely from day to day we might see there are
indeed gradual continuous changes. For example, rather than suddenly appearing, object permanence
may develop gradually as children’s memories develop. The longer you require children to wait before
searching for an object once it disappears from sight, the older they have to be to succeed—so the
problem may be with lack of experience. Change can be both continuous and discontinuous, as
described by a branch of mathematics called (arastrophe theory. Changes that appear suddenly, like the
collapse of a bridge, are preceded by many slowly developing changes, such as gradual, continuous
corrosion of the metal structures. Similarly, gradually developing changes in children can lead to large
changes in abilities that seem abrupt (Dawson—Tunik, Fischer & Stein, 2004; Siegler & Alibali, 2005).
Underestimating children’s abilities It now appears that Piaget underestimated the cognitive
abilities of children, particularly younger ones. The problems he gave young children may have been
too difficult and the directions too confusing. His subjects may have understood more than they could
show on these problems. For example, work by Gelnian and her colleagues (Gelnian, 2000; Gelnian &
Cordes, 2001) shows that preschool children know much more about the concept of number than
Piaget thought, even if they sometimes make mistakes or get confused. As long as preschoolers work
with only three or four objects at a time, they can tell that the number remains the same, even if the
objects are spread far apart or clumped close together. In other words, we may be born with a greater
store of cognitive tools than Piaget suggested. Some basic understandings, such as the permanence of
objects or the sense of number, may be part of our evolutionary equipment, ready for use in our
cognitive development (Geary & Bjorklund, 2000; Woodward & Needhani, 2009).
Piaget’s theory does not explain how even young children can perform at an advanced level in
certain areas where they have highly developed knowledge and expertise. An expert 9-year—old
chess player may think abstractly about chess moves, while a novice 20—year—old player may have
to resort to more concrete strategies to plan and remember moves (Siegler, 1998). This is more
related to individual differences.
Cognitive development and culture One final criticism of Piaget’s theory is that it
overlooks the important effects of the child’s cultural and social group. Research has shown that
differences across cultures depend on the subject or domain tested and whether the culture values
and teaches knowledge in that domain. For example, street children in Brazil who sold lollies
appeared to fail Piaget’s class inclusion test (‘Are there more tulips or more flowers in the picture?)
When the task was rephrased in concepts the children understood—selling lollies—these children
performed better than Brazilian children of the same age who attended school (Saxe, 1999). Even
basic concrete operations such as classification develop differently in different cultures. For
example, when individuals from the erlle people of Africa were asked to sort 20 objects, they
created groups that made sense to theni—a hoe with a potato, a knife with an orange. The
experimenter could not get the erlle to change their categories; they said this is how a wise man
would do it. Finally, the experimenter asked in desperation, ‘Well, how would a fool do it?’. Then
the subjects promptly created the four neat classification piles the experimenter had expected—
food, tools, and so on (Rogoff& Morelli, 1989). When a culture or context emphasises a cognitive
ability, children growing up in that culture tend to acquire the abilities sooner. In a study that
compared Chinese and American children in Grades 1, 3, and 5, the Chinese students mastered a
Piagetian task that involved distance, time, and speed relationships about 2 years ahead ofAinerican
students. This was attributed to the Chinese education system putting more emphasis on maths
and science in the early years ofschool (Zhou, Peverly, Beohni & Chongde, 2001).
Nee-Piagetian views of cognitive development
As you will see in Chapter 7, there are alternative explanations for why children have trouble
with conservation and other Piagetian tasks. These explanations focus on the child’s developing
inforniation—processing skills such as attention, memory capacity, and learning strategies.
Siegler (2000) proposed that as children grow older, they develop progressively better rules and
strategies for solving problems and for thinking logically. Teachers can help students develop
their capacities for formal thinking by putting the students in situations that challenge their
thinking, reveal the shortcomings of their logic, and change the rules they use for thinking.
Some developmental psychologists have devised neo-Piagetian theories that retain Piaget’s
insights about children’s construction ofknowledge and the general trends in children’s thinking,
but add findings from information processing about the role of attention, memory, and strategies.
For example, Robbie Case (1992; 1998) has devised a well—known nee—Piagetian theory to explain
cognitive development. This theory suggests that children develop in stages within specific
domains, such as numerical concepts, spatial concepts, social tasks, storytelling, reasoning about
physical objects, and motor development. As children practise using the schemes in a particular
domain (for example, using counting schemes in the number concept area), accomplishing the
schemes takes less attention. The schemes become more automatic because the child does not have
to ‘think so hard’ about it. This frees up mental resources and memory to do more. The child now
can combine simple schemes into more complex ones and invent new schemes when needed
(assimilation and accommodation in action).
Kurt Fischer (2009) connected cognitive development in different academic domains to research
on the brain. He also examined development in different domains such as reading or maths. We have
seen that one of the implications of research on the brain is that there are multiple pathways for
learning. Fischer has found that, even though children’s brains follow different pathways as the
< children master skills in speaking, reading, and mathematics, the growth patterns oftheir brains show >
a similar series of spurts and they go through predictable levels of development. When learning a new
skill, children move through three tiers—from actions to representations to abstractions. Within each tier,
the pattern is moving from accomplishing a single action to mapping or coordinating two actions
together, such as coordinating addition and multiplication in maths, to creating whole systems of
understanding. At the level of abstractions, they finally move to constructing explanatory principles.
This is reflective of sensorimotor, concrete operations, and formal operations in Piaget’s theory.
0 What is the ‘problem of the match‘ described by Hunt?

CHECK 0 Why is Piaget's theory of cognitive development consistent with active
* UL‘Rthi learning?
0 What are some limitations of Piaget’s theory?
There is another increasingly influential View of cognitive development. Proposed by Lev

Vygotsky, this theory ties cognitive development to culture.
VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

Psychologists today recognise that the child’s culture shapes cognitive development by determining nee-Hayden theories More
what and how the child Will learn about the world. For example, young Zinacanteco Indian girls recent theories that integrate
ofsouthern Mexico learn complicated ways ofweaving cloth through informal teachings of adults findings about attention, memory,
in their communities. Cultures that prize cooperation and sharing teach these abilities early, and strategy use with Piaget's
whereas cultures that encourage competition nurture competitive skills in their children. The insights about children’s thinking
stages observed by Piaget are not necessarily ‘natural’ for all children because to some extent they and the construction 0f knowledge.
reflect the expectations and activities ofWestern cultures (Kozulin, 2003; Rogoff, 2003). sociocultural a...” Emphasises
A major influence on sociocultural theory (also called soriohistoric) was a Russian psychologist the role in development of
who died just over 80 years ago. Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was only 38 years old when he died cooperative dialogues between
of tuberculosis, but he produced more than 100 books and articles. Some translations of his work children and more knowledgeable
. , members of socrety. Children learn
are now available (for example, Vygotsky, 1978; 1986; 1987; 1993; 1997). Vygotsky 5 work began the culture of theircommunity
when he was studying learning and development to improve his own teaching. While Vygotsky (ways of thinking and behaving)
had the benefit of Piaget’s work, the opposite was not possible. Over his brief lifetime, Vygotsky through these interactions.
Copyright © 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) - 9781488617973 — WoolfolklUnderstanding Learning and Learners 2e CB.
CONNECTMD EXTEND wrote about language and thought; the psychology of art, learning, and development; and
TO THE RESEARCH . . . . . .
— educating students With speCIal needs. His work was banned in Russ1a for many years because he
See the Spring 1995 issue ofthe referenced Western psychologists. But in the past 25 years, with the rediscovery of his work,
Educational Psychologist,‘ Vygotsky’s ideas about language, culture, and cognitive development have become major
30(2), for a specral issue on Lev S. . . . . . .
Vygotsky and contemporary influences in psychology and education and have prov1ded extenSions and alternatives to many of
educational psychology'. Piaget’s ideas (Gredler, 2012; Kozulin, 2003; McCaslin & Hickey, 2001; Wink & Putney, 2002).
Vygotsky claimed that children’s cognitive development is best identified by the manner in which
they think, rather than by what they know.
Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that cognitive or higher mental functioning develops in stages.
He believed that up until the age of2 years it is strongly influenced by maturation. To develop his
theory, Vygotsky used a block puzzle consisting of 22 blocks that each varied in colour, shape, and
size. Using his observations of children as they sorted these blocks and how their innate abilities
of attention, perception, and memory became more complex and abstract over time, Vygotsky
identified three stages of mental representational or conceptual thought: ‘clustering things in
unorganised heaps’, such as when children use trial and error or organise objects visually; ‘putting
things into complexes based on concrete factual bonds’, when analysis of separate characteristics of
items occurs and combinations of common elements are developed; and, finally, ‘thinking in
concepts’. The final stage occurs around puberty and is characterised by higher mental functions
such as abstract thought processes, logical analyses, and representations (Vygotsky, 1978).
Vygotsky believed that human activities take place in cultural settings and cannot be
understood apart from these settings. One of his key ideas was that our specific mental structures
and processes can be traced to our interactions with others. These social interactions are more than
simple influences on cognitive development—they actually create our cognitive structures and
thinking processes (Palincsar, 1998). Vygotsky ‘conceptualized development as the transformation
of socially shared activities into internalized processes’ (John—Steiner & Mahn, 1996, p. 192). We
will examine three themes in Vygotsky’s writings that explain how social processes form learning
and thinking: the social sources ofindividual thinking; the role of cultural tools in learning and
development, especially the tool oflanguage; and the zone of proximal development.
- Social sources of individual thinking

gislgrialhfii'gvdigl‘ilhliifénces Vygotsky proposed that we engage in higher levels of thinking in collaborative situations. He
shape thinking. suggested that ‘every function in a child ’s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level
and later on the individual level; first between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child
(intrapsychological)’ (1978, p. 57). In other words, higher mental processes appear first between people
as they are co-constructed during shared activities. The processes then become internalised and
part of that child’s cognitive development. Cognitive functions continue to be transformed as deeper
understanding occurs. Language is essential to these transformations. For example, children first
use language in activities with others, to regulate the behaviour of the others (‘No napl’ or ‘I want a
biscuit’). Later, however, the child can regulate his or her own behaviour using private speech (‘Don’t
spill ’), as you will see in a later section. So, for Vygotsky, social interaction was more than influence—
it was the origin of higher mental processes such as problem solving. Consider this example:
A 6—year—old has lost a toy and asks her father for help. The father asks her where she last saw the
toy; the child says ‘I can’t remember’. He asks a series of questions—did you have it in your
room? Outside? Next door? To each question, the child answers, ‘no’. When he says ‘in the car?’
she says ‘I think so’ and goes to retrieve the toy. (Tharp & Gallimore, 1988, p. 14)
Who remembered? The answer is really neither the father nor the daughter, but the two
together. The remembering and problem solving was (o-(onstm(ted—between people—in the
interaction. But the child may have internalised strategies to use next time something is lost. At
some point, the child will be able to function independently to solve this kind ofproblem. So, like
the strategy for finding the toy, higher functions appear first between a child and a ‘teacher’ before
ctr-constructed m A 500i?“ they exist within the individual child (Kozulin, 1990; 2003).
process m,WhiCh people interact Here is another example of the social sources of individual thinking. This time the social
and negotiate (usually verbally) to . . . . . . . .
create an understanding orto source is other students and the type ofthinking involved is reasoning. Richard Anderson and his
solvea problem.Thefinal product colleagues (2001) studied how Year 4 students in small-group classroom discussions appropriate
is shaped by all participants. (take for themselves and use) argument forms that occur in the discussions. An argument is a
particular form such as ‘I think [POSITION] because [REASON]: where the student fills in the position
and the reason. For example. a student might say. 'l think that the foxes should be left alone
because they are not hurtinganyonc'. Another strategy form is 'IflACTluN] then [BAD CONSEQUENCEI',
as in 'If they don't trap the foxes. then the foxes will eat the sheep". Other forms manage
participation. for example. ‘What do you think [NAME]? or 'Lct [NAME] talk'.
Anderson and colleagues' (2001) research identified 13 forms of talk and argument that helped
to manage the discussion, get everyone to participate. present and defend positions, and handle
confusion. The researchers found that the use of these different forms of talking and thinking
siiowballcd—oncc a useful argument was employed by one student. it spread to other students and the
argument form appeared more and more in the discussions. Open discussions—students asking and
answering each other's questions—were better than teacher-dominated discussion for the
development ofthesc argument forms. Over time. these ways of presenting, attacking. and defending
positions could be internalised as mental reasoning and decision making for the individual students.
Both Piaget and Vygotsky emphasised the importance of social interactions in cognitive
development, but Piaget saw a different role for interaction. He believed that interactions
encourage development by creating discquilibration—cognitivc conflict—that motivates change.
Thus, Piaget believed that the most helpful interactions were those between peers because peers
are on an equal basis and can challenge each other's thinking. Vygotsky (I978: I986: I987: 1993),
on the other hand, suggested that children's cognitive development is fostered by interactions with
people who are more capable or advanced in their thinking—people such as parents and teachers.
Of course, as we have seen above, students can learn from both adults and peers. and digital
technologies now play an increasing role in supporting communication and learning.
Cultural tools and cognitive development

Vygotsky believed that cultural tools, including physical tools
(such as printing presses. rulers, thc abacus—today, we would .. , I
add mobile devices, computers, the intcmct), symbolic and )
psychological tools (such as numbers and mathematical systems. - ‘5
Braille and sign language. maps, works ofart, signs and codes, , , i 7 ,-
and language), and conceptual tools (such as scientific models. . l. V .,
theories, art, literature. and the virtual worlds) play very ‘ .’. . j ‘P i .
important roles in cognitive development. The more complex ' ‘ [l.~ 'o .
the system, the greater the possibility for more complex ’ r i 1“ e ,
thinking and learning. For example. as long as the culture ‘ ' J .- " ,(
provides only Roman numerals for representing quantity. I - "
certain ways of thinking mathematically—from long division — ' ’ _. A ' \ V .
to calculus—arc difficult or impossible. But if a number . ,3
system has a zero. fractions, positive and negative values. and '
an infinite amount of numbers, thcn much more is possible. ‘J
Number systems are cultural tools that support thinking, W ”M “William whites PM“)
learning. and cognitive development. As new conceptual :90"! "mm :31“ m that Onyx '5. the $33.13;.
understandings and theories are developed. the possibilities
for thinking about and adapting these tools is enhanced. SOURCE o 5"“ Pr°mm”‘5m"e'3l°c“‘m‘
When appropriately used, these tools become psychological
tools or ‘tools of the mind'.
Higher order cognitive processes, such as reasoning, remembering, and problem solving. are
"ll'dlllfl'd by (accomplished through and with the help of) symbolic and psychological tools. Adults
teach these tools to children through formal and informal interactions and the children intcrnalisc
them. The psychological tools allow children to transform their thinking by gaining increased
mastery oftheir own cognitive processes. Vygotsky believed the essence of cognitive development
is mastering the use of psychological tools such as language to accomplish advanced thinking and *1 his The real tools
problem solving not possible without those tools (Gredler, 2012; Karpov K Haywood. 1998). The (COMpUtEfS. 5031853- 91CJ and
process is something like this: as children engage in activities with adults or more capable peers, they Embol ”Slams (numbers.
. . . . , languay. yaphsi that allow
exchange ideas and ways of thinking about or representing concepts—drawmg maps. for example. people m a soaety to
as a way to represent spaces and places. In this exchange of signs and symbols and explanations. commumcate' mmk 50M:
children do not just receive the tools—they begin to develop a 'cultural tool kit. to make sense of probIems.and create linen-ledge.
CHAPTER 3 PH -".§-|':."4.L AND IEIZJCl'JI l |".’L DL‘v'LLLJl’l‘IlENl 95
Copyrightfl 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australa Group Pty Ltd) - 9781488617973 - WoolfolklUnderstand’ng Loam’ng and Learners 20 GB.
and learn about their world. These co—created ideas are internalised by children. Thus, children’s
knowledge, ideas, attitudes, and values develop through appropriating or ‘taking for themselves’ the
ways of acting and thinking provided by their culture and by the more capable members of their
group (Wertsch, 2007). They transform the tools as they construct their own representations,
symbols, patterns, and understandings. Understandings can thus vary from person to person, even
within the same age and cultural group.
In Vygotsky’s theory, language is the most important symbol system in the tool kit, and it is
the one that helps to fill the kit with other tools.
The role of language and private speech

Language is critical for cognitive development. Language is a shared social symbolic system
for human communication. It provides a means for expressing ideas and asking questions, the
categories and concepts for thinking, and the links between the past and the future (Driscoll, 2005;
Mercer, 2013). When we consider a problem, we generally think in words and partial sentences.
Ifyou have spent much time around young children, you know that they often talk to themselves
as they play. Piaget called children’s self—directed talk egocentric speech. He assumed that this egocentric
speech is another indication that young children have difficulty seeing the world through the eyes of
others. They talk about what matters to them, without taking into account the needs or interests of
their listeners. As they mature, and especially as they have disagreements with peers, Piaget believed,
children develop socialised speech. They learn to listen and exchange ideas.
By contrast, Vygotsky thought that:
. . . the specifically human capacity for language enables children to provide for auxiliary tools
in the solution of difficult tasks, to overcome impulsive action, to plan a solution to a problem
prior to its execution, and to master their own behaviour. (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 28)
Vygotsky placed more emphasis than Piaget on the role of learning and language in egocentric
or private speech (talking to oneself) for cognitive development. He noted that this external or
private speech occurs as the child internalises social behaviours and is in a situation where they need
to think (Ehrich, 2006; Vygotsky, 1986). As language skills increase, language becomes a tool for
self-regulation and problem solving. Vygotsky perceived that self-regulation and language develop
in a series of stages and support cognitive development. First, the child’s behaviour is regulated by
others, usually parents, using language and other signs such as gestures. For example, the parent says
‘No!’ when the child reaches towards a candle flame. Next, the child learns to regulate the behaviour
of others using the same language tools. The child says ‘No!’ to another child who is trying to take
away a toy, often even imitating the parent’s voice tone. Along with learning to use external speech
to regulate others, the child begins to use private speech to regulate their own behaviour, saying ‘No’
quietly to themselves when tempted to touch the flame. Finally, the child learns to regulate their
own behaviour and think internally by using silent inner speech (Karpov & Haywood, 1998). In a
preschool room, for example, you might hear 4— or S—year—olds saying, ‘No, it won’t fit. Try it here.
Turn. Turn. Maybe this one.’ while they do a puzzle. Around the age of 7 years, self—directed speech
moves from spoken to whispered speech, and then to silent lip movements. Finally, the children just
‘think’ the guiding words or actions (McCafferty, 2004; Winsler, Carlton & Barry, 2000).
These examples illustrating the steps from spoken words to silent inner speech show how higher
mental functions appear first between people as they communicate and regulate each others’
behaviour, and then emerge again within the individual as cognitive processes. Through these
transformations the child is using language to accomplish important cognitive activities, such as
directing attention, solving problems, planning, forming concepts, and gaining self-control.
While the use ofprivate speech decreases with the development ofinner speech, the use of private
speech and muttering to oneselfis common with adolescents and adults when they are confused,
Imam A shared social during problem solving, and for gaining self—control (Duncan & Cheyne, 1999).. ’
symbolic system forhuman Have you ever thought to yourself something like, ‘Let 5 see, the first step is . . . or ‘Where
communication. did I use my glasses last?’ or ‘IfI work to the end ofthis page, then I can . . .’? You were using inner
speech to remind, cue, encourage, or guide yourself. In a really tough situation, such as taking an
private speech Children's Sélf' important test, you might even find that you return to muttering out loud.
talk, which gurdes theirthinklng . , . . , .
and action. Eventually, these We should note that Piaget 5 ideas were reflected In many onygotsky s arguments and Piaget
verbalisations are internalised as later acknowledged that language could be used in both egocentric and problem—solving ways
silentinner speech. (Piaget, 1972).
A pail-cation from Pisarson Custom Publishing exclusively for Monash University page 61
Private w I“ W Because private or egocentric speech helps students to regulate

their thinking. it makes sense to allow. and even encourage, students to use self-tall: in school.
lnsisting on total silence when young students are working on difiicult problems may make the work
even harder for them. You may notice when muttering increases—this could be a sign that students
need help.
The zone of proximal development

According to Vygotsky. at any given point in development there are certain problems that a child
is on the verge of being able to solve. The child just needs some structure. clues. reminders, help
with remembering details or steps. encouragement to keep trying. and so on. Some problems.
of course, are beyond the child's capabilities. even if every step is explained clearly. The zone
of proxhual development (ZPD) ix
. . . the distance between the actual development level as determined by independent problem
solving and the level ofpotential development as determined through problem solving under
adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers. The zone ofproximal development
defines those functions that have not yet matured but are in the process of maturation.
(Vygotsky. I978. pp. 86—87)
Thus. the ZPD defines the dynamic and changing area between a person's current level of
independent fiinctioning and what they can achieve with the assistance of others. This is the area
where instruction can succeed.
Private WI and ”I. DO We can see how Vygotsky's beliefs about the role of private
speech in cognitive development fit with the notion of the zone of proximal development. Often.
an adult helps a child to solve a problem or accomplish a task using verbal prompts and structuring.
We will see later that this type of support has been called scaffolding. This support can be gradually
reduced as the child takes over the guidance, perhaps first by giving the prompts as private speech
and finally as inner speech. Let us move forward to a future day in the life of the girl who had lost
her toy (page 94) and listen to her thoughts when she realises that a schoolbook is missing. They
might sound something like this:
'Where's my maths book? Used it in class. Thought I put it in my schoolbag after class. Dropped
my bag on the bus That dope Andrew kicked my stufl‘. so maybe . . .'
The girl can now systematically search for ideas about the lost book without help from anyone else.
0 According to Vygotsky. what are three main influences on cognitive

development?
0 What are psychological tools and why are they important?
CHECK 0 Explain how interpsychological development becomes
intrapsychological development.
0 What is a student's zone of proximal development?
0 What are the differences between Piaget's and Vygotsky's perspectives
on private speech and its role in development?
IMPLICATIONS OF vvoorsxv's THEORY -

FOR TEACHERS amnwmwgmmr,
There are at least three ways that cultural tools can be passed from one individual to another: m
imitative learning (where one person tries to imitate another); instructed learning (where
learners internalise the instructions of the teacher and use these instructions to self-regulate);
and collaborative learning (where a group of peers strive to understand each other and learning :rmms
occurs in the process) (Tomasello, Kruger 8t Ratner, 1993). Vygotsky was most concerned with cumm hm d .1“Mint
instructed learning through direct teaching and through structuring experiences that support funmm’mg and my me, can do
another's learning. but his theory supports learning through imitation or collaboration as well. wrtii appropriate help and support
CHAPTER 3 PHVSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 97
Copyrighto 2017 Pearson Australia (a division at Pearson Austria Group Pty Ltd) - 9781488817973 — Woollolwmahg Leemhg and Learners 2e 08.
steps of a complicated problem; doing part of the problem (for example. in T
algebra. the students set up the equation and the teacher does the ..-
calculations. or vice versa); giving detailed feedback and allowing revisions; a .,
or asking questions that refocus students’ attention (Rosenshine r‘S’ Meister. I
1992). Cognitive apprenticeships and instructional conversations (,
(Chapter 9) are examples of strategies that are useful in any lesson. ;'
Sometimes the best teacher is another student who has just worked out Aft”:
how to solve the problem. because this student is probably more in tune " 'ES — ,
with the learners zom- ofproximal dcwlopmcnt. Having a student work with 4 f .‘ _ ir . ,
someone who is just a bit better at the activity is a good strategy—both 7,1'.‘ '"
students benefit from the exchange of explanations. elaborations. and " 4 in N
questions.
Additionally. students should be encouraged to use language to
organise their thinking and to talk about what they are trying to
accomplish. Dialogue and discussion are important avenues for learning
(Karpov & Bransford. 1995: Kozulin it Presseisen. 1995; Wink & Putney.
2002). The Guidelines on page 100 give more suggestions for applying According to Vygotsky. much otchildren‘sleamingh
Vygotsky's ideas. assisted or mediated by teachers and tools in their
emhonmem. and most at this guidance 8
Some limitations of Vygotsky’s theory Vygotsky’s theory oornmunicaed throigh language.

provides important considerations by highlighting the role of culture and
social processes in cognitive development. but he may have gone too thr.
As we have seen in this chapter. we may be born with a greater store of
cognitive tools than either Piaget or Vygotsky suggested. Young children appear to figure out
much about the world before they have the chance to learn more formally (Schunk. 2012).
Vygotsky also did not detail the cognitive processes underlying developmental changes—the
cognitive processes that allow students to engage in more advanced and independent participation
in social activities, The main limitation onygotsky's theory is that it consists mostly of general
ideas: Vygotsky died before he could expand and elaborate his ideas and pursue his research. llis
students. Gredler (2009; 2012) and Kozulin (1990; 2003), have furthered his work. Futhermore.
Vygotsky did not have time to detail the applications of his theories for teaching. although he was
very interested in instruction. Most of the applications have been created by others. and we do not
know ii‘Vygotsky would agree with them.
Vygotsky’s .I'Id Piaget’s V” W Both Piaget and Vygotsky believed that the mum
. . . . . . . . . . a WSW”
main goal of education was the development oi higher cognitive tunctions. Piaget defined mmmrsot WANDW
dcwlopmcnt as the active construction of knowledge and looming as the passive formation of —
associations (Siegler, 2(M10). He was interested in knowledge construction and believed that WFWMWG
based at Wu theory and one
cognitive development has to come before learning—'Iearning is subordinated to development and based i. mm mm
not vice—versa' (Piaget, I964. p. l7)—that is. the child has to be cognitively ‘ready’ to learn. thieiroomepuofieeming
Learnets' interactions lead to structural changes in thinking: more complex learning can then “mm-“WWW”
occur. Students can memorise. for example. that Geneva is in Switzerland, but still insist that they Wm“; "'3 "”7 W m
cannot be Genevan and Swiss at the same time. True understanding will happen only when the
child has developed the operation ofclass indrrsr'on—that one category can be included in another.
In contrast. Vygotsky believed that learning is an active process that does not have to wait
for readiness. In fact. 'properly organised learning results in mental development and sets in
motion a variety of developmental processes that would be impossible apart from learning‘
(Vygotsky. 1978, p. 90). He saw learning as a tool in development—learning pulls development
up to higher levels and social interaction is a key in learning (Glassman. 2001; Wink 8t
Putney. 2002). For Vygotsky. this meant that other people play a significant role in cognitive
development.
CHAPTER 3 l"'H " ‘31".st AN‘J |.,".)1.:N|' Wt Lil ‘v'LLiJi’F‘Jl: "\l 99
Copyright 0 2017 Pearson Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) - 9781488817973 - WoollolklUnderstand’ng Leaning and Learners 2e CB.
APPLYING VYGOTSKY’S IDEAS IN TEACHING
Make sure students have access to powerful tools that 3. Model thinking out loud to revise and clarify ideas and
support thinking. procedures.
Examples . _
1. Teach students to use learning and organisational strategies, Tailor scaffolding to the needs 0f students.
research tools, language tools (dictionaries or internet Examples
searches), spreadsheets, and word-processing programs. 1. When students are beginning new tasks or topics,
2. Model the use of tools; show students how you use an provide models, prompts, sentence starters, coaching,
appointment book, an electronic notebook, or a concept and feedback. AS the students grow in competence.
map to make plans and manage time, for example. give less support and more Opportunities for
independent work.
Capitalise on dialogue and group learning. 2. Give students choices about the level of difficulty or
Examples degree of independence in projects; encourage them to
1. Experiment with peer tutoring; teach students how to ask Challenge themselves bllt to seek help when they are
good questions and give helpful explanations. really SlUCK-
2. Experiment with cooperative learning strategies described 3- Anticipate potential difficulties, discuss these Wllh
in Chapter 9_ students, and provide strategies for addressing them.
THE VALUE OF PLAY

Piaget and Vygotsky believed that play supports children’s learning. Piaget identified different
< characteristics of play associated with each of his cognitive stages of development. He believed >
the key role of play is for practising and assimilating new schemas, and that imitative play helps
children accommodate new information.
Vygotsky (1978) believed that play is characterised by make-believe and is a sociocultural
activity which creates a zone of proximal development in which children can take on roles and
perform at higher levels of functioning not normally
available to them in everyday life. ‘In play a child always
" H; _ behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behaviour;
‘9» $ in play it is as though he is a head taller than himself'
' (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 102). For Vygotsky, make-believe play
involves following the rules of behaviour associated with
particular roles. For example, ifa child is pretending to be a
K J ‘ a teacher, they apply their knowledge of the rules for teacher
-l ~ ’ behaviour. As they play, they internalise real—life roles and
/ e‘b: T‘ , rules for functioning in their society. In turn, this helps
-‘ f ,. '1 children develop the capacity to control impulsive actions
‘ ' ' If». ' " and develop deliberate self—regulated functions.
' .. l ,1.” Q Both Piaget and Vygotsky believed that play promotes
\ ~ ~ ~ , o . . * II" - mental representation and symbolic functions which are
n . K9 fundamental to abstract thinking. As noted by Vygotsky
Marla Montessori said, ‘Play is children's work'. Through play-based (1978), 3 Child pretending to ride 3 broomstick 35 if it were 3
learning, students are able to take risks, experiment and explore horse is demonstrating the ability to separate the literal
without the pressure 0f having to be rlght‘. meaning from the abstract meaning of the object. The role of
play in learning is addressed further in Chapter 9.
Clearly, language plays a major role in learning, inside and outside the classroom. Let us look
at this human capability more closely.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE
stop think write How many different shades of green can you name? If you have access to
a paint shop colour card, check out the colours and shades available.
There are more than 6000 natural languages in the world (Tomasello, 2006). In general, cultures
develop words for concepts that are important to them. English—speaking countries have over
3000 words for colours. Such words are important in our lives for fashion and home design, artistic
expression, films and television, and lipstick and eye shadow choices—to name only a few areas
(Price 8c Crapo, 2002). Other cultures care less about colour. For example, the Hanunoo people
of Mindoro Island in the Philippines or the Dani in New Guinea have fewer than five words for
colours, even though they can recognise many colour variations.
Languages transform over time to indicate changing cultural needs and values. The Shoshoni
Native Americans have one word that means ‘to make a crunching sound walking on the sand’.
This word was valuable in the past to communicate about hunting, but today new words
describing technical tools have been added to the Shoshoni language, as their life moves away from
nomadic hunting. To hear hundreds of new let-century tool words, listen to ‘techies’ talk about
computers (Price 8c Crapo, 2002).
When and how children learn language

Here is a conversation between some 5—year—olds and their teacher (Munro 2005):
Anna: We got a new kitten.
Mrs Jones: What’s its name?
< Anna: Snowy. )
Peter: Our kitten escaped our house. It got runned over.
Jess: Ooh, what did you do put the deaded body?
Peter: It didn’t die. Mum took it to the vet. gmégggggmm
Jess: Our cat made five kitties. —
Mrs Jones: Anna, tell us more about your new kitten. '" Chapter 5 you WI" read about
Anna: It is white with a black tail. dynamic assessment—an approach
that is oonsstent wrth Vygotsky’s
Mrs Jones: D065 SHOWY have any tOYS? ideas about the zone of proximal
Anna: Daddy got a ball but Snowy eated it. development Fora description see:
What did the participants in this conversation know about language? First, they ”W000: H-C- &Tzuriei, D. (2002).
. . Applications and challenges in
comprehended what was said by others, at least in part, and were able to speak. In other words, dynamic assessment. Peabody
they displayed both receptive and expressive language. Second, they seemed to comprehend what journal of Education, 77(2),4o_53_
was being said and how 5-year—old friends would say it; they showed an awareness of the
meanings or semantics of language and a knowledge of how the meanings are said; that is, the
grammar or syntax oflanguage. Third, each student seemed to have a purpose for communicating
and knew how to ‘play the communicating game’; they showed an awareness of the pragmatics
of language. Finally, the participants had learned to do these things and believed they could use
them successfully.
When you look for these aspects of language in the conversation you can also identify how
individuals comprehend and express language in terms of a number of dimensions:
0 the ideas, and the complexity of ideas, that are being communicated and how this is done
0 the conventions or rules being used, both in expression and comprehension
0 why particular ideas are being communicated—what you can infer about the participants’
motives or purposes for saying what they said
I the knowledge about communicating and how willing they are to do this.
Like most children in every culture, these children are gradually mastering the complicated
system of their native language. This learning and the knowledge they acquire at any time is
remarkable. They learn to comprehend and say sounds, meanings, words and sequences of words,
volume, voice tone, inflection, and turn—taking rules in coordinated ways as they develop their
ability to communicate effectively in conversations.
Many factors—biological and experiential—play a role in language development. We read
earlier that culture plays a major role by determining what language tools are necessary in the life
of people. The important point is that children learn language as they develop other cognitive
abilities by actively trying to make sense ofwhat they hear and by looking for patterns and making
up rules to put together the jigsaw puzzle of language.
In this process, humans may have built—in biases, rules, and constraints about language that
restrict the number ofpossibilities considered. For example, young children seem to have a constraint
specifying that a new label refers to a whole object, not just a part. Another built-in bias leads
children to assume that the label refers to a class ofsimilar objects. So a child learning about the kitten
is equipped naturally to assume that ‘kitten’ refers to the whole animal (not just its ears) and that
other similar-looking animals are also kittens (Jaswal & Markman, 2001; Markman, 1992). Reward
and correction play a role in helping children learn correct language use, but the child’s thinking in
putting together the parts of this complicated system is very important (Waxman & Lidz, 2006).
- How do young children learn language? How did the 5—year—olds in the above
Explain how language conversation gain their knowledge of language and their ability to use it to communicate?
gggogfiddgiggssghfhzchWI Children’s knowledge and ability in language develops gradually. By their first birthday, they
possible effects of learning show a limited understanding of how language is used in their home or child care setting. They
two languages at once. will probably show little or no productive language. They first learn nouns and then qualify and
describe them. By their second birthday, they can comprehend sentences and express ideas in
strings of up to four words. By their fifth year, they can argue and debate to achieve a goal, ask
questions, talk about past and future events, and fabricate (that is, ‘lie’). When you look at the
early stages of language development, the ideas, conventions, and pragmatic dimensions are
frequently fused together and emerge in an integrated way, so that it is difficult to identify each
dimension separately.
< Diversity in language: Dual-language development >

Almost 400 languages are spoken in Australia, including Australian Indigenous languages. In
2006, 16 per cent of the population spoke a language other than English at home. While this
figure is similar to that in 2001, it represents an increase of 285 000 people in that time. The
number grows each year (ABS, 2010b).
Fortunately, learning a second language does not interfere with understanding in the first
language. The more proficient the speaker is in the first language, the more quickly she or he will
master a second language. Children exposed to two languages from birth reach the milestones in
both languages on the same schedule as monolingual children (children who speak and learn in one
language). Bilingual children may have a larger vocabulary in the
language to which they are most frequently exposed, but over
. - .. I . time they become fully and equally bilingual if the dual—language
. l I I exposure commences early in life; occurs across a wide and rich
K _ .- \ , . variety of contexts; and is systematic, consistent, and sustained
‘ c ’ (Petitto, 2009; Petitto & Kovelman, 2003). Bilingual children
. I ' may mix the vocabularies and grammar of the two languages
"\ ». “ / when they speak. This is not necessarily a sign that they are
r -- .. confused, but may occur because their bilingual parents often
( [J intentionally mix vocabularies as well, selecting the word or
,7 fl expression that best expresses their intent (Creese, 2009).
‘ £1 a It is a misconception that young children learn a second
V ‘\.., y a“ -'u language faster than adolescents or adults. In fact, older students
v , A I go through the stages of language learning faster than young
A r ‘ children. Adults have more learning strategies and greater
$ ’ ‘ knowledge of language in general to bring to bear in mastering a
second language (Diaz—Rico & Weed, 2002). However, after
adolescence it is almost impossible to learn a new language
The more proficient speakers are in their first language, the without speaking with an accent (Au, Oh, Knightly, Jun 35
faster they will Iearnasecond language. Romo, 2008). Age is a factor in learning language, but ‘not
because ofany critical period that limits the possibility oflanguage
learning by adults’ (Marinova—Todd, Marshall 8: Snow, 2000, p. 28). It has been suggested that it
takes from 3 to 5 years to become truly competent in the second language (Berk, 2012; Bhatia &
Richie, 1999). Kathleen Berger (2003) concludes that the best time to reach a second language is
during early or middle childhood, but the best time to learn on your own through exposure (and
to learn native pronunciation) is early childhood. Recent research shows that people who learn
two languages before about 5 years ofage process both languages in the same way and use the same
parts oftheir brains (mostly in the left hemisphere) as those people who learn only one language.
In contrast, people who learn a second language later have to use both hemispheres oftheir brain,
as well as the frontal lobe and working memory—that is, they have to apply more cognitive effort.
Benefits of bilingualism There is no cognitive penalty for students who learn and speak two
languages. In fact, there are benefits. Higher degrees ofbilingualism are correlated with increased
cognitive abilities in such areas as concept formation, creativity, and cognitive flexibility. In
addition, these students have more advanced metalinguistic awareness; for example, they are more
likely to notice grammatical errors. These findings seem to hold as long as there is no stigma
attached to being bilingual and as long as students are not expected to abandon their first language
to learn the second language (Bialystok, 2001; Galambos & Goldin—Meadow, 1990; Hamers &
Blanc, 2000). Even though the advantages of bilingualism seem clear, as we noted in Chapter 2,
there are strong debates about what these findings should mean for education.
Language development in the school years

The 5-year—old children in our earlier conversation used responsive talk, retold earlier
experiences, named and drew similarities between common events, and used various question
frames to elicit information. By the age of 6 years, children’s language suggests that their
thinking moves from being reality—based to allow inferring and anticipating in various ways.
By about age 5 or 6 years, most children have mastered the basics oftheir native language. What
< remains for the school-age child to accomplish? Children’s language abilities change profoundly >
during their years at school. By 8 years, children have usually mastered most of the phonological and
grammatical conventions they will need for both comprehension and expression of language,
although they will learn some more complex grammatical conventions in the period between 8 and
13 years ofage. The greatest changes will be in the ideas or meanings they communicate.
Teachers sometimes talk to children as if they were adults. The children may not comprehend
particular language structures in adult ways. They may place a different interpretation on the
statements, and act accordingly. They won’t know that they have miscomprehended what a
teacher has said until after they have acted and seen the results of their interpretations. They
cannot tell you that they didn't understand. Inability to follow instructions accurately, frustration
in the classroom, confused behaviour, and apparent ‘bad’ behaviour can be traced to an inability
to comprehend what the teacher means.
We need to look at developments in how some children continue to learn to say sounds, what
they know about word meanings and the meanings of sentences; their knowledge of grammar
(syntax); their knowledge of how to use language to communicate (pragmatics); and what they
know about the overall patterns in language (metalinguistic awareness). While we are examining
how these areas develop, it is important to keep in mind that in any child these areas ofknowledge
are integrated. We will address communication difficulties in Chapter 5.
Pronunciation The development oflanguage over the early years shows that the majority ofsounds
have been acquired by age 5 or 6 years. Children don’t acquire all sounds at the same time. In English,
j, v, th, 211, str, SI, and dr are the last sounds to develop. About 10 per cent of 8-year-olds continue to
have difficulty with s, 2, v, ill, and zh (Owens, 2012). While children may have acquired most of the
sounds by the time they enter school, there are other aspects of pronunciation that continue to be
learned. First, they need to learn how the pronunciation ofa sound is affected by the sounds that come
immediately before and after it. Listen and feel how you say the p sound in the two words pin and spin.
Children continue to learn how to say sound blends such as tr, gl, and 5!. It is not appropriate to assume
that children who can correctly say r in isolation can also say it correctly when it is in onset such as In.
Vocabulary and meaning The average 6—year—old has a vocabulary of 5000 to 12 000 words,
increasing to about 40000 words by age 11 years. Some researchers estimate that students in the
early years ofschool learn up to 20 words a day (Berger, 2003). School—age children enjoy language
games and jokes that play on words. In the early primary years, some children may have trouble
with abstract words such as ‘justice’ or ‘economy’.
courircrmo main Changes in how children comprehend words A 5-year-old, a 10-year-old, and a 15-year-
MNGUAGE DEVELOPMENT old may all say ‘Look at that camell’ However, they are likely to understand what they mean in quite
Familiarise yourself with the basic different ways. Children’s word meanings are determined in part by how they relate or link individual
aspects of language development. ideas. Their ability to relate objects or events changes dramatically as they mature. This affects their
Focus on actions that teachers, network of word meanings (their vocabulary), their sentence meanings, and their text meanings.
can take to maXImise students
language and literacy development, 0 Initially, they understand that two objects are similar because they look or sound the same
(that is, they have similar perceptual features). They link perceptual features with words. They
can understand that a car and a bus are similar because they look and make similar sounds.
They have difficulty using their understanding ofmeanings to decide how a bus and a camel
would be similar.
0 Then they understand that two objects are similar because they do similar things or can be
used for the same function. They can understand how a camel and a bus can be similar, even
though they have different perceptual features.
0 Later, they understand that two objects are similar because they share similar abstract or
generic features. They can understand the concept ofmeans of transport.
The meanings that children have for individual words change as children develop intellectually.
With this change, they can see new relationships between objects, and hence attach a more mature
meaning to the terms. The types of meaning they use at any time can influence their reading
comprehension and their ability to understand what they are asked to do. Children younger than
10 years often have difficulty understanding generalisations that refer to items that are not
perceptually present, for example, ‘All mammals suckle their young'. They can generally
understand the corresponding relationship between particular instances of the generalisation, for
example, ‘The cat feeds her kittens’. Some children may understand the generalisation when the
items are present, for example, ‘Do all ofthe squares here have straight sides?’ but not comprehend
‘Do all squares have straight sides?’. Children also learn to comprehend reference to probable
events over this period.
Grammar and syntax Children master the basics of word order, or syntax, in their native
language early. By early primary school, many children can understand the meaning of
passive sentences, yet they do not use such constructions in their normal conversations unless the
passive construction is common in their culture. Other accomplishments during primary school
include first understanding and then using complex grammatical structures such as extra clauses,
qualifiers, and conjunctions. A particular sentence meaning can often be said using alternative
grammatical forms. Each has pragmatic implications. Suppose Su Fen saw Noah throw a book and
then sit down, and then told her teacher what happened. She could describe this sequence ofevents
in several alternative ways:
1. as two simple active sentences: ‘Noah threw a book. Noah sat down.’
2. as a sentence constructed by adjoining the two active sentences: ‘Noah threw a book and then
Noah sat down.’
3. as a sentence using a temporal adverb: ‘Noah threw a book first, and then he sat down.’
4. as a sentence containing a main clause and a subordinate adverbial clause: ‘Before Noah sat
down, he threw a book.’
5. as a cleft sentence: ‘It was Noah who threw the book and then sat down.’
6. as a sentence containing a relative clause: ‘The boy who sat down threw the book first.’
7. as a passive voice sentence: ‘The book was thrown by Noah. Then he sat down.’
8. as a sentence containing an indefinite article: ‘Noah threw a book. Then he sat down.’
syntax The order of words in These statements differ in their grammar and when they might be used. For example, (5) is
phrases or sentences more likely to be used in response to the question: ‘Who threw the book?’ and (4) is more likely
to be used in response to the question ‘What did Noah do before he sat down?’
pragmatics The rules for when
and how to use language to be an _
effective communicator in a Pragmatics Pragmatics involves the appropriate use of language to communicate in social
particular culture. situations—how to enter a conversation, tell ajoke, interrupt, keep a conversation going, or adjust
your language for the listener. Children show an understanding of pragmatics when they talk in
simpler sentences to younger children; command their pets to ‘Come here!’ in louder, deeper
voices; or provide more detail describing an event to a parent who did not participate in the event
(Miller, 2011). Young children may appear to take turns in conversations but, ifyou listen in, you
realise that they are not exchanging information, only talk time—or collective monologue. In
upper primary school, children’s conversations start to sound like conversations. Contributions are
usually on the same topic. Also, by middle childhood, students understand that an observation can
be a command, as in ‘I see too many children at the pencil sharpener’. By adolescence, individuals
are very adept at varying their language style to fit the situation. They can talk to their peers in
slang that makes little sense to adults, but which marks the adolescent as a member of the group.
Yet these same students can speak politely to adults (especially when making requests) and write
persuasively about a topic in history (Berk, 2012).
Pragmatics is often less well understood than other aspects oflanguage. It is critical to how we
use language at any time, and may influence the opportunities we have to further learn language.
It determines the quality of our social interactions and how we communicate ideas to others.
Some pragmatic difficulties occur when:
0 a speaker has difficultyjudging how much information to give during a conversation; they say
either too much or too little
0 a young speaker does not take account of their 50—year—old audience members; the terms and
perspectives would be more appropriate for 20—year—old listeners
0 the speaker misinterprets the body language of the audience and does not adjust to their
increasing irritation and disengagement
O a participant has difficulty ‘listening between the lines’, inferring what the other speakers are
actually saying, and instead interprets everything said literally
O a participant does not use ‘conversation protocols’ satisfactorily; for example, turning to talk
to others in ways that are inappropriate for the particular context, and not taking turns
effectively
0 a speaker has difficulty initiating conversations effectively and
uses ‘opening lines’ that do not work.
Look back at the conversation of the S—year-olds with their . . ,
teacher. What do the conversers seem to know about how to use a. .
language to achieve their purposes? The following questions may help a I I;
you answer this: —' ‘ i, ll It.“
0 How did they use language for different goals or functions? .l -
0 How well did they ‘listen between the lines’ and link ideas in the , ~ iI,‘ ,
conversation with other ideas they had? ,5 , I
0 How did they manage and direct their use of language to com- 5.}
municate?
0 How did they adjust their use oflanguage to the particular context I‘ '5, \
and audience? _’ ’0 1)? ‘
Pragmatic aspects of language are less likely to be assessed or f I In ‘ I)? ‘7

taught systematically in school programs than the other aspects of T‘- ’
language. It is frequently assumed that children learn these aspects
incidentally as they progress through the various social contexts
during school and experience pragmatics being used. Some students, Home environments that emphasise reading as a source
however, find this aspect particularly difficult to learn. In groups they of pleasure can b? central in children's early development
can have difficulty making friends and may become disengaged and 0f language and literacy.
alienated. They may also display behaviour problems in groups.
Metalinguistic awareness Around the age of 5, students begin to develop metalinguistic

awareness. This means their understanding about language and how it works becomes explicit.
They have knowledge about language itself. They are ready to study and extend the rules that have
been implicit—understood but not consciously expressed. This process continues throughout life, metallnailstlc awareness
as we all become better able to manipulate and comprehend language. One goal ofschooling is the The ability to think about language
development of language and literacy. as a system and how it works.
Partnerships with families Especially in the early years, the students’ home experiences are
central in the development of language and literacy (Roskos & Neuman, 1993; Sylva, Melhuish,
Sammons, Siraj—Blatchford, Taggart & Elliot, 2003). In homes that promote literacy, parents and
other adults value reading as a source ofpleasure, and there are books and other printed materials
everywhere. Parents read to their children, take them to bookshops and libraries, teach them that
pictures are associated with the story meaning and words are always the same for a particular story,
limit the amount oftelevision everyone watches, and encourage literacy-related play such as setting
up a pretend school or writing ‘letters’ (Hulit 8r Howard, 2006; Pressley, 1996; Sylva, Melhuish,
Sammons, Siraj—Blatchford, Taggart & Elliot, 2003). Ofcourse, not all homes provide this literacy-
rich environment, but teachers can help, as you can see in the Family and Community Partnerships
feature below.
Promoting literacy
Communicate with parents about the goals and 2. Invite parents to come to class to read to students, take
activities of your program. dictation of stories, tell stories, record or bind books, and
Examples demonstrate skills.
1. At the beginning of school, send home a description of the , _ _ , , _
goals to be achieved in your class—make sure it is in a Prowde home aet'v't'es to be Shared With fam'ly
clear and readable format. members'
2. As you start each unit, send home a newsletter describing Examples
what students wi" be studying—give suggestions for 1. Encourage family members to Work With Children to read
home activities that support the learning. and fOIIOW simple recipes, play language games, keep
diaries orjournals for the family, and visit the library. Get
Involve families in decisions about curriculum, feedback from families or students about the activities.
Examples 2. Give families feedback sheets and ask them to help
1. Have planning workshops at times family members can evaluate the child's SChOOIWOIK'
attend—provide child care for younger siblings, but let 3. Provide lists of good children's literature available locally—
children and families work together on projects. work with libraries, clubs, and churches to identify sources.
SOURCE: L. Morrow (1997). Literacy development in the early years: Helping children read and write (3rd ed.) (pp. 68-70). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Copyright © 1997 by
Pearson Education.
0 How are humans predisposed to develop language? What role does

CHECK learning play?
YOURSELF . ‘ . . . ,
0 What Is meant by the terms pragmatlcs and metalIngUIstIc awareness?
SCAFFOLDING LEARNING
Here is an example of how a teacher named Tamara Several children chorus, ‘We can count by foursl’
supported her students' learning about maths concepts Tamara nods and says, ‘Let's count by fours', as
and problem solving (adapted from Berk, 2001, she taps each child in the line. When she reaches 40
pp. 186—187). she asks 10 more children to come out the front. The
Tamara announces, ‘To prepare for our trip to children continue counting, reaching 80.
ScienceWorks, there’s something very important I ‘Now for the last four children.’
need to do: collect the money for our entrance fees. One of the children calls out ‘We need ninety-
lt's four dollars a person, and we have twenty-four six dollars. That’s a lot!‘ Tamara writes the amount
children. How much is it going to cost us to go?‘ on the board—$96. As she does this she asks the
When none of the children respond, Tamara children about the dollar sign.
modifies her question: ‘How much will it cost for ten The scaffolding that Tamara provides—making
students to get into ScienceWorks? the problem more concrete, breaking it into steps,
Some children answer, ‘Forty'. Others are quiet. using the students as ‘counters', using the familiar
To make sure all children understand, Tamara process of counting by fours—allows her students
asks James to point to 10 children to come out the to understand and solve this problem that they
front. After they form a line, she continues: ‘Now, if could not solve alone.
each ticket costs four dollars and we have ten people,
how much will it cost? How could we find out?’
Thus, Vygotsky’s ideas are relevant for educators who teach directly and also create collaborative
learning environments (Das, 1995; Wink 8c Putney, 2002). One major aspect ofteaching in either
situation is assisted learning.
connrctmo EXTEND Assisted learning

IMPUCATIONS OF WGOTSKY'S . .
THEORY Vygotsky’s theory suggests that teachers need to do more than Just arrange the enVironment so
. .
Make a list of scaffolding
that students
.
can discover on their own.
.
Students
I I
cannot and should not be expected to . reinvent
techniques that would be or rediscover knowledge already available in their cultures. Rather, they should be guided and
appropriate with different assisted in their learning by more capable others—so Vygotsky saw teachers, parents, and other
instructional levels andIcontent adults as central to the student’s learning and development (Puntambekar 8c Hubscher, 2005).
areasIThink ofscaffolding Most of this guidance is communicated through language, although in some cultures observing
techniques that others have used . . . . . , . .
. outsrde
when you learned things _ of a skilled. performance,
. .not talking about it, guides the child s learning—as we shall see With the
school (e.g. sports, hobbies). apprenticeship models in Chapter 9 (Rogoff, 1990).
Some people have called this adult assistance scaffolding (Wood, Bruner 8c Ross, 1976). In
using this term, Bruner and his colleagues were referring to how teachers set up or structured
learning environments. Vygotsky’s theory suggests that more dynamic exchanges between
scaffolding Strategic support for student and teacher allow the teacher to support students in the parts of the tasks they cannot
learning and problem solving that achieve alone (Schunk, 2012). The term aptly suggests that children use this help for support
can include clues, remindelsr while they build a firm understanding that will eventually allow them to solve problems and
encouragement, breakingthe function on their own. The Rearliiiig Every Student feature above gives an example of the use of
problem down into smaller steps, ff Id‘
and other strategies that allow the 5C3 0 ing.
student to gain independence_ Based on Vygotsky’s theory, assisted learning, or guided participation in the classroom,
requires first finding from the student what is needed and then sraffolding—giving information,
assisted learning Providing . . . . .'
, , . .. prompts, reminders, and encouragement at the right time and in the right amounts, and then
strategic help in the Initial stages d 11 ll . h d d d h . T d'd . h h 1
of learning, gradually diminishing gra [la y a OWlI'lg C e stu ents t0 0 IIIOI'C an IIIOII'C on t eir own, 35 I 31113111 lI Wlt er C 355
the assistance as students gain (see Rearlzing Every Student, above). Teachers can a551st learning by adapting materials or problems
independence. to students’ current levels; demonstrating skills or thought processes; taking students through the

Chapter2 Final Version

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter2 Final Version

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter2 Final Version

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

e

. The development of language 101

BY THE END OF THIS CHAPTER, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

Three questions about development

What is the shape of development? Continuity versus discontinuity Is human

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 69

l | THE DEVELOPING BRAIN

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 71

Specialisation and integration Different areas ofthe cortex seem to

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 73

Implications for teachers

POINT understandings of how people learn, not how their brain

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 75

0 Which part of the brain is associated with higher mentalfunctions? \‘I

amazon-1:3". um: 239M021: M

as ”WI-l-l-IWIEIEE ‘1‘” i in ,7WWMIIIIIIVA'KIIBEI ,_ l: u

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 77

TABLE 3.1 Motor development

Fundamental movement skills throw, catch, kick Rotation of forearm

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 79

TABLE 3.2 Prerequisite skills for handwriting

UNDERSTANDING OF LETI'ERS AND WRITING PREREQUISITE SKILLS

@ 0 What is physical development and why is it important? I

PIAGET ! S THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Basic tendencies in thinking

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 81

Equilibration According to Piaget, organisation, assimilation, and accommodation can be

- Stages of cognitive development

accommodatlon Altering existing

Formal operational Able to mentally operate on objects involving abstract thinking

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 33

pictures, signs. or gestures—in Leah: The tall one has more.

CHAPTER 3 PHYSlCAL AND COGNlllVE DEVELOPMENT 85

SOME PIAGETIAN CONSERVATION TASKS

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNlTlVE DEVELOPMENT 87

STORIES OE LEARN|NG TRlBUTES TO TEACHlNG

he met Mr Ndebele. I thank God for Mr Ndebele and for what he

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNlTlVE DEVELOPMENT 89

H ELPING STU DENTS TO USE FORMAL OPERATIONS

0 What are the main influences on cognitive development?

YOURSELF 0 As children move from sensorimotor to formal operational thinking, what

- IMPLICATIONS OF PIAGET’S THEORY FOR TEACHERS

Activity and constructing knowledge

Some limitations of Piaget’s theory

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 91

0 What is the ‘problem of the match‘ described by Hunt?

There is another increasingly influential View of cognitive development. Proposed by Lev

VYGOTSKY’S SOCIOCULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

CHAPTER 3 PHYSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 93

- Social sources of individual thinking

Cultural tools and cognitive development

CHAPTER 3 PH -".§-|':."4.L AND IEIZJCl'JI l |".’L DL‘v'LLLJl’l‘IlENl 95

The role of language and private speech

Private w I“ W Because private or egocentric speech helps students to regulate

The zone of proximal development

0 According to Vygotsky. what are three main inﬂuences on cognitive

IMPLICATIONS OF vvoorsxv's THEORY -

CHAPTER 3 PHVSICAL AND COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT 97

Some limitations of Vygotsky’s theory Vygotsky’s theory oornmunicaed throigh language.

CHAPTER 3 l"'H " ‘31".st AN‘J |.,".)1.:N|' Wt Lil ‘v'LLiJi’F‘Jl: "\l 99