Linguistic Development

Language can be difficult because we need to articulate vowel sounds, consonants and consonant blends such as "buh" and "duh".  Children excel in learning a language when it's spoken around them.  Children do not just absorb the language but construct their opinions on word meaning and structure, as Piaget's theory suggested. As you've probably heard there is a sensitive period where children learn language rapidly. This occurs between age 5 and 10. However I learned in another educational psychology class that it's still possibly to learn a foreign language even when you're old at an efficient rate. In this book there's a nice word semantics which means meaning of words and word combinations.

I like how this book says read,read and read to help children expand their vocabulary. Reading helps vocabulary because you might remember a certain passage that will trigger the vocabulary word. Rules of syntax allow us to put together sentences. Syntax is how to put words together into sentences (this is usually done unconsciously). The development of syntax and semantics help listening comprehension. Some times I can be really bad at this. Children in the early elementary years believe listening is simply sitting still and being quiet. Some cultures such as in Asian and Mexican ones believe it to be offensive to ask a question for clarification.

                                                          

(A good book to read about an unknown in history

who has made important contributions to the US. )

Children don't listen well because they use the context of the situation more and use their preconceived beliefs in what someone is saying. As children grow older they base their listening less on the context. As children grow they can go beyond a literal interpretation such as with the phrase "don't put all your eggs in one basket". During the preschool and early elementary years children have a hard time pronouncing sounds s and th and other sounds. By age 8 or 9 most students have mastered the sounds of English. Even in the upper elementary level students do not take into account what someone else knows. Another nice word is pragmatics which means knowledge about cultural-specific social conventions that includes initiating a conversation and picking topics to talk about. This is another important component in linguistic development. A person who changes the topic frequently or interrupts people may have others become irritated or annoyed. 

Word play such as rhymes, chants, and jokes help students master a language.  While doing these activities they develop metalinguistic awareness, the ability to think about language.  This process seems to develop slowly.   

Analysis of Vygotsky's Theory

One fault with Vygotsky's theory is that often he didn't mention specific ages that the abilities would occur.  His emphasis on culture makes his theory important as the culture shapes a child's development.  As mentioned before in Vygotsky's theory, social interaction is important and adults attach meaning to objects and events for them.  But it should be noted what I learned in my first blog post.  Remember this in the survey?

"4. Although students initially have many misconceptions about the world, they quickly revise their thinking once their parents present information that contradicts their existing beliefs.
This is too good to be true.  Actually students hold strong to their misconceptions even with contradictory truth.  One of the biggest challenges of teachers is to help discard their erroneous beliefs.''

So whenever the adults attach meaning it may not stick with them.  Adults help students through a process called scaffolding.  Think of how a scaffold holds a person up when they're working on a building.  As the building is becoming closer to being constructed the scaffold is needed less.  Scaffolding in terms of cognitive development is when a person provides needed assistance for a task.  Some ways to provide a scaffold is to help students develop a plan for dealing with a new task, demonstrate the proper performance of the task in a way that students can easily imitate and also divide a task into small steps.

                                    

                              (Real scaffolding on a building in Cincinnati.  

                         We need to remove the scaffolding from 

                 people so we can conquer a task!)

A teacher in the book Ms. McManus provides scaffolding to help her students write better.  She gave them graphic note-writing sheets that help with brainstorming and organize their thoughts before they write.  Plus she provided a variety of criteria that they should consider while writing.  Almost every cultural now involves children participating in adult activities so scaffolding and adults attaching meaning is important. An intensive form of guided participation is called apprenticeship. I think this word has been understood well by people.  Also there is cognitive apprenticeship which is not just about learning the task but thinking about it correctly.

Apprenticeships are clearly labor intensive and not usually used in the classroom.  However apprenticeships from an expert can be emulated by using the guidance they give.  For example, a student may use the same writing prompts that an expert would use.  Peer interaction is important for 4 reasons.  One is that by discussing the issue they can get a more complete view of it. Two is that by agreeing and disagreeing a child can see multiple perspectives.  Three is that they can provide scaffolding for each other.  And finally the children learn valuable social skills such as how to reach an agreement and coordinate different roles.  The group needs to be aware of groupthink. This is a vocabulary word that I heard through my classes at Marshall University.  I have two different definitions in my textbooks.  To me it is where a group reaches a decision that is not well thought out because people do not want to argue and make people feel uncomfortable. 

Piaget and Vygotsky have "a profound influence on contemporary views of learning, thinking and cognitive development."  They  may be said to compliment each other because Piaget's theory tells about how children reason on their own and Vygotsky's theory tells how children think through social interaction.  Many contemporary theorist agree with Piaget and Vygotsky that language is important and possibly the most important factor in cognitive development.

Vygotsky's Theory

Lev Vygotsky had a premature death so didn't fully develop his theory. Even so his ideas still have a significant impact in child development. Vygotsky has a sociocultural perspective which is a perspective that emphasizes society and the culture of cognitive development. Seeing socio and cultural makes that obvious but sometimes it's tough to articulate the obvious. Piaget didn't emphasize social interaction to be important but Vygotsky does. Adults attach the meanings of objects and events by social interaction. This doesn't need to be done just by conversation but also through art, mathematical symbols, music and literature. An adult could convey what war meant by a picture of people getting fired at and dirty faces and bodies.

 

 (Mr. Vygotsky)

Language evolves from self-talk to inner speech. By around age 2, thought and language becomes intertwined as children start to speak what they think. Children use self-talk, where a child talks to their self verbally to guide them through a task. Eventually self-talk evolves into inner speech, where a child speaks to their self mentally instead of verbally through a task. Research has supported the progression from self-talk to inner speech. As mentioned before, children learn through social interaction. This social interaction causes complex thinking that eventually can be done independently.

Actual development level is the upper limit of tasks that a child can perform by their self. A child's level of potential development is the upper limit of tasks that a child can do with the assistance of a more competent individual. To measure a child's cognitive development we should consider both development levels. Performing tasks at the upper limits of a child's abilities maximizes cognitive growth. The zone of proximal development or ZPD is the range of tasks that a child can perform with assistance and help. Play is another way to boost cognitive growth. It is not a waste of time because it provides valuable training for the adult world. The author talks about her son and his friend playing with a fake restaurant kitchen. The adult roles such as restaurant manager, waiter and cook prepares them for these roles when they grow older.

Analysis of Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

That children construct their own knowledge, relate new experiences with previous ones and challenging circumstances trigger children to change their views "...have stood the test of time".    Physical environment interaction is not as important as physically disabled children are able to learn simply by observation.  Social interaction has shown to be more important than Piaget states and the 4 steps of cognitive development sequences have proven to be true.

An adolescent may show concrete reasoning in some areas while in others they are able to think abstractly.  Training and experience may cause a child to ascend quicker.  For example, a child could have manipulated task materials often and had someone to talk to about how conservation works.  If so then the child may show conservation in the preoperational stage.  Some contemporary theorists believe that there shouldn't be stages but trends.  They further suggest that theses stages tell what children can think not actually what they will think because of different contexts, content areas and culture. 

Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development

I am having a hard time understanding schemes in Piaget's theory of cognitive development so I am omitting them from his theory.  I do believe that the main points are here.  There are assumptions too by Piaget but I am not writing about it since the word scheme dominated.  Keep in mind that the age ranges are averages. 

  

(The man himself.)

1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to age 2) The book uses the example involving a clown.  When a child sees a colorful clown he will reach and try grabbing it until the clown is put in a box.  Children focus on what they are doing and seeing at the moment in the sensorimotor stage.  Before their first birthday, they make the realization that disappeared objects still exist when children develop object permanence.  Also cause-and-effect relationships are formed by realizing that certain actions cause certain results.  In the latter half of the second year, children reach symbolic thought, the ability to represent and think about external objects and events in one's mind.  

2. Preoperational Stage (age 2 until age 6 or 7) I am confused why the preoperational stage is essentially defined "...children can think about objects and events beyond their immediate view but do not reason in logical, adultlike ways." This is the definition of symbolic thought that occurs in stage one.  Anyways a language explosion occurs as children can think about a wide range of objects and events.  With this explosion new verbal communication develops but it's limited.  Children have preoperational egocentrism, the inability to view other people's perspective and as a result sometimes engage in egocentric speech.  Egocentric speech is verbal communication from a child without knowing another child's perspective and knowledge.

            
Another limit that children have is lack of conservation.  If they were showed picture I above they probably would say that both cups have the same amount of water but in picture II that there is more water in cup C because it's taller.  Conservation is the ability to recognize that if nothing is added or taken away, the amount stays the same regardless of changes in shape or arrangement. 

3. Concrete Operations Stage (age 6 or 7 until age 11 or 12) In the concrete operations stage, adultlike logic appears but is limited to concrete reality. Preoperational egocentrism disappears and children realize other perspectives and opinions.  Conservation is able to be done by children as well as deductive reasoning, the process of drawing a true logical inference from information that is true. 

4. Formal Operations Stage (age 11 or 12 through adulthood) When logical reasoning processes are applied to abstract ideas and concrete ones too then the student has reached the formal operations stage. Abilities important for science and math occur such as formulating and testing multiple hypothesis and separating and controlling variables.  Students now will be able to understand infinity and pi.  Along with the mathematics and science understanding is viewing how the world could become better.  Formal operational egocentrism may occur, the inability to differentiate abstract logic from other perspectives and from practical considerations.  An example of this could be a student hears that the way to end poverty is socialism, lower taxes and capitalism and might think all would work since they can't separate the perspectives. 

Ch. 2 - Cognitive and Linguistic Development - Human Development

Before we venture into questionable theories, there are generalities that normally hold true.



1. The sequence of development is somewhat predictable.  For example before a student becomes proficient in abstract thinking they probably have progressed from thinking logically about concrete objects and observable events.


2. Children develop at difference rates.  I think this is obvious because in school we have seen people who master material quickly and slowly and in between.  However, recognizing ages that students develop in general can be helpful.  At three children can draw triangular and square shapes, at seven or eight they can use repetition as a learning tool and around eleven boys and girls reach puberty. 


3. Development is often marked by spurts and plateaus.  Children may only be able to speak one word sentences for months and have a language explosion at age two.  Also height follows this trend as children in the early elementary school years grow two or three inches a year but in early adolescence they may grow five inches per year.


4. Heredity guides development to some extent.  Our genes influence dispositions such as being shy or outgoing, calm or irritable.  Heredity continues to affect us as we grow through a process called maturation.


5. Environmental factors also make substantial contributions to development.  A large society (such as a state, province or country) normally has three "layers" of environments that affect them.  The most influential is the family, with its practices, relationships between siblings and grandparents, nutrition and medical care and education activities.  Surrounding the family is the layer neighborhood and community, which provides support such as preschools, after-school homework assistance programs, libraries and museums. At even broader level, the state or province in which children live influences them through legislation that governs school policy, tax dollars that flow back to schools, agencies and professional groups offering guidance to teachers and families. Included in all three is culture, the behaviors and beliefs that characterize the long-standing social group.


6. Heredity and environment interact in their effects.
Psychologists have found that heredity and the environment cannot be disentangled, a great verb for it.  A child could have a gene to be tall but if nutrition is inadequate, then the gene loses its affect.  A person could have a shy demeanor but a situation such as becoming more involved in school could cause the temperament to change into more outgoing.

Ch. 1 - Educational Psychology and Teacher Decision Making - Ormrod's Own Psychological Survey

See whether you agree/disagree with these statements.

1. Some children are predominately left-brain thinkers, whereas others are predominately right-brain thinkers.

2. When you compare boys and girls, we find that the two groups are, on average, similar in mathematical and verbal abilities.

3. The best way to learn and remember a new fact is to repeat it over and over.

4. Although students initially have many misconceptions about the world, they quickly revise their thinking once their parents present information that contradicts their existing beliefs.

5. Taking notes during a lecture usually interferes with the learning process more than it helps.

6.  Students often misjudge how much they know about a topic.

7. When a teacher rewards one student for an appropriate behavior, the behavior of other students may also improve.

8. Anxiety sometimes helps students learn and perform more successfully in the classroom.

9. When teachers have children tutor their classmates in academic subject matter, the tutor gains very little from  the process.

10. The way in which teachers assess students' learning influence what and how the students actually learn.



Now let's see what's true and isn't.

1.  Some children are predominately left-brain thinkers, whereas others are predominately right-brain thinkers.  I thought this was true at first.  But actually the left and right parts of the brain work together often even with simple tasks.

2. When you compare boys and girls, we find that the two groups are, on average, similar in mathematical and verbal abilities.  I thought this was true and I am correct.  I thought there was a stereotype that males are better at math and females are better with verbal abilities.  Any difference between boys and girls in these two categories is too small to make a difference.

 3. The best way to learn and remember a new fact is to repeat it over and over.
This primitive way of learning is ineffective. Students learn when they relate information to something already learned.  One effective way is elaboration, when a student takes new information and puts it in context with what was previously learned.  Another effective way to learn is to make an acronym of the beginning letters of a list and make a catchy phrase starting with the letters.  Also associating pictures with words can be helpful.

4. Although students initially have many misconceptions about the world, they quickly revise their thinking once their parents present information that contradicts their existing beliefs.
This is too good to be true.  Actually students hold strong to their misconceptions even with contradictory truth.  One of the biggest challenges of teachers is to help discard their erroneous beliefs.

5. Taking notes during a lecture usually interferes with the learning process more than it helps.
I thought this was obviously false and turns out it is.  Thanks goodness because I've taken a lot of notes in classes.  As I've experienced this helps retain information in memory.  Some people may remember where the words are on the paper and this will trigger the information.  Also a student can refer to important topics from the lecture whereas the the person who didn't take notes may forget them.

6.  Students often misjudge how much they know about a topic.
 This is true and probably decreases as the student sees his performance with many tests.  A student may mindlessly read a chapter or copy definitions and believe he has mastered the material.

7. When a teacher rewards one student for an appropriate behavior, the behavior of other students may also improve.
True.  A student may see how one got a reward and try to do the action as well.  It's good that this action can have a multiple effect.

8. Anxiety sometimes helps students learn and perform more successfully in the classroom.
 There is positive and negative anxiety so the answer is true.  A moderate level of anxiety is productive for easy tasks.  Also a slight amount of anxiety with public speaking sharpens the speaker. 

9.  When teachers have children tutor their classmates in academic subject matter, the tutor gains very little from  the process.
Having to explain information to a student has enhanced my comprehension of subject matter.  Both the tutor and the person being tutored gain in the tutoring process.  

10.  The way in which teachers assess students' learning influence what and how the students actually learn.
This is true.  Students have a higher tendency to study material in the certain way they are going to be assessed.  If the way they are going to assessed is not through multiple forms then learning will become stagnant.  Since students will focus on the material that is going to be on test, teachers need to make sure the information is important.

Explanation

 

I am writing my interpretation of Educational Psychology Developing Learners by Jeanne Ellis Ormrod.  I try to focus on the main parts of the book and explain concepts in a more understandable way.  I have had Educational Psychology with Dr. Corrigan at Marshall University so I will be able to add insights from this great teacher.  Feel free to comment and agree/disagree with me.