development (6)
nature
characteristics or genetics inherited affecting brain development
nurture
environmental factors affecting brain development
what is the cortex
outer covering of the brain where mental processing takes place
what is the thalamus
its responsible for sensory processing & sending and recieving sensory messages to and from other parts of the brain
what does the brainstem do?
controls our basic functions such as breathing & digestion
how many chromosomes do neurotypical people have?
23 pairs - 46 chromosomes
what does an extra y chromosome cause ?
down syndrome
what are the developmental effects of smoking in pregnancy?
affects the size of the babies brain as nicotine slows brain growth
what effect does alcohol have in pregnancy on development?
leads to foetal alchohol syndrome, liked to problems such as a smaller head with an underdeveloped brain and central nervous system damage
what are the effects of stress on pregnancy?
a mothers stress levels increase the risk of brain malfunction in the baby due to the release of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol
what is meant by interactionist
when both nature and nurture affect something
the brain in the 3rd week of pregnancy
an area of the ectoderm thickens to form the neural plate. The foetal brain and spine begin as a neural tube
the brain in the 4th week of pregnancy
the neural tube begins to divide into the spinal cord, forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.
the brain in the 6th week of pregnancy
forebrain will divide to form the cortex and the thalamus
the brain in the 15th week of pregnancy
the cerebellum and part of the brainstem form from the hindbrain, the midbrain also develops into part of the brainstem
the brain in the 6th month of pregnancy
the brain is fully formed but not at full size. from this point on abortion isn't allowed in the uk (24 weeks)
the brain at birth
the baby's fully formed brain is 1/4 of the size of avg adult brain
the brain at 3 years old
brain doubles in size in the first year then reaches 80% of its adult size by 3. the brain continues to develop until 25
early brain development
3wk
an area of the ectoderm thickens to form the neural plate. The foetal brain and spine begin as a neural tube
4wk
the neural tube begins to divide into the spinal cord, forebrain, midbrain and hindbrain.
6wk
forebrain will divide to form the cortex and the thalamus
15wk
the cerebellum and part of the brainstem form from the hindbrain, the midbrain also develops into part of the brainstem
6 months
the brain is fully formed but not at full size. from this point on abortion isn't allowed in the uk (24 weeks)
birth
the baby's fully formed brain is 1/4 of the size of avg adult brain
3 years old
brain doubles in size in the first year then reaches 80% of its adult size by 3. the brain continues to develop until 25
what is a schema
a mental frameworkabout beliefs ideas & concepts that influence cognitive processing (thinking) and develop through experience. help us organise & interpret information
how do schemas develop?
assimilation ans accomodation
what is piaget's theory?
- there are cognitive differences between children and adults thinking
- childrens thinking develops in stages
-you csnt teach a ch ild to perform certain activities until they are biologically ready
- schemas continuously develop through childhood and adulthood
- children should learn by discovery and be free to ask questions as it aids accomodation & assimilation (define accomodation and assimilation)
what are piaget's stages of development?
0-2 : sensorymotor stage
2-7 : pre- operational stage
7-11 : concrete operational stage
11+ : formal operational stage
the sensorymotor stage is when
a child cant link their sensory and motor skills
a child develops object permanence at 8 months old
the pre-operational stage is when
2-7 a child can't conserve (water moved to different size containers example) they can only see from their own pov - egocentric. havent developed logical thinking
the concrete operational stage is when:
ages 7-11
children can now conserve and arent egocentric (have decentred)
have better reasoning but only with physical things, can't really understand abstract concepts/ situations
Formal operational stage is when:
ages 11+
capable of formal and scientific reasoning
can understand abstract ideas and reason about things that arent physical
egocentric
only seeing things from their own point of view
conservation (child development)
the understanding that certain properties of an object (like quantity, mass, or volume) remain the same despite changes in its appearance or arrangement
what is assimilation
adding pieces of information to an exusting schema - the info doesnt contradict any previous notion and doesnt change the main schema
what is accomodation
the creation of a new schema to accomodate a new piece of information that contradicts the previous notion/schema
object permanence
the ability to understand that an object still exists even if it cant be seen
cerebellum
co- ordinates movement and balance as well as having a role in language and emotion
examples of nature in early brain development
47 chromosomes cause down syndrome , multiple specific genes linked to ASD, the genes affect neural development synaptic function and brain connectivity
weakness of piagets theory
p- limited sample
e- middle class swiss children, mensung that their social class and culture had roles in development therefire
a- cant be generalised to ither social classes or cultures meaning it lacks population validity
p-reductionist
e-ignores factors such as parebting style eg. di the parents encourage outdoor play or ipad kids?
a- hollistic approach needed
strengths of piagets theory
p- real life application
e- influential for the school system encouraging task oriented and physical representations in learning as opposed to sitting at a desk and copying
a- practical value- high ecological validity
readiness
you cannot teach a child to perform certain activities until theyre biologically ready
individual learning - differentiation
children go through the same developmental stages but at different rates, therefore teachers must make a special effort to arrange classroom activities to suit every individual by putting them im groups for different tasks etc
learning by discovery
children should discover concepts themselves rather than rote-learning material . children should be able to ask questions and discover things to help accomodation & assimilation
fixed mindset
the belief that ability and achievement are due to genetics and wont be changed by effort
a growth mindset
the belief that ability and achievement are due to hard work and effort
dwecks mindset theory
fixed mindset
the belief that ability and achievement are due to genetics and wont be changed by effort
growth mindset
the belief that ability and achievement are due to effort and hard work
dwecks mindset theory strength
p- real life application
e- educators encouraged to be praising effort over talent and inner abilities to encourage persistence and hard work
a-shows the theory's practical value and the use of it in school proves it has external validity
weakness if dwecks mindset theory
p- can be seen as reductionist
e- focus on the difference between 2 mindsets however ignored critical external factors eg home life, social environment, access ti education
a- doesnt provide a full understanding of all reasons for students success or failiure
willingham's learning theory
- doesnt believe in individual learning styles
- believes there are learning styles specific to the topic
- a students ability to store info is more important than how they learn
- students should learn to use all learning styles
willingham's learning theory evaluation
p- real life application
e- used to inform teaching practices
a- practical value
self efficacy
the belief in your own capability to do things
policeman doll study
A-suggested piagets 3 mountain task was too difficult, to investigate egocentrism in children using a more understandable task
M- children aged 3.5-5 from edinburgh. each child was asked to place a doll where the police doll couldnt see it, this was repeated until the child understood the task as the child was told when they were wrong and allowed to try again. another policeman was added and these results were recorded
R- 90% children were able to place the doll where either policeman couldnt see it, even when more sections were added
C- 90% of 4 year olds had success whereas 60% of 3 year olds had success, children decenter earlier than piaget thought
policeman doll study evaluation
p- investigator effects
e- unintentionally affected results by looking at the right place
a-reduces internal validity
p- limited sample
e- only children from edinburgh
a- reduces population validity
almost "taught" them how to decentre by explaining and allowing them to re try before the recorded attempts
outline mcgarrigle&donaldsons naughty teddy study
A: To see whether children fail Piaget’s conservation tasks because they don’t understand conservation or because the task is too adult-like and confusing when the experimenter deliberately changes the counters.
M: a sample of 80 4–6-year-old children were shown two equal rows of counters. A “Naughty Teddy” doll then accidentally messed up one row instead of the experimenter changing it deliberately. Children were asked if the rows still had the same number.
R: Far more children gave the correct conservation answer in the Naughty Teddy condition (around 60–70%) compared to Piaget’s standard task (about 40–50%).
C: Children understand conservation better than Piaget claimed. They often fail his original task because they assume the experimenter’s deliberate action must mean something, showing that task design affects children’s performance.
strength of mcgarrigle and donaldsons study
p- high ecological validity
e- children tested in familiar environment (their nursery) and interacted with teddy rather than unfamiliar adult
a- children were relaxed and behaved naturally, no jnvestigator effects, more likely to reflect how children would act in real life situations
weakness of mcgarrigle and donaldsons study
p- limited sample
e- only used young children from a small number of nurseries
a- findings not generalisable to all children across different sociocultural backgrounds reducing external balidity of study