CHILD 210

CHAPTER 12 STUDY GUIDE

Winter 2019
Sister McLaughlin

What is concrete operational thought?

Concrete operational thought = Piaget’s term for the ability to reason logically about
direct experiences and perceptions.

What is classification?
Classification = the logical principle that things can be organized into groups.

What is seriation?
Seriation = the knowledge that things can be arranged in a logical series.

What does information processing theory compare human thinking to?

Computers

What are some of the main ideas of information processing theory?

1. Like computers, people sense and perceive large amounts of information
(inputs).
2. They analyze it (like a software).
3. They express their conclusions (outputs) so another person can understand,
as a networked computer and a printer would do.

What is the main difference between Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories of learning?
Vygotsky stressed instruction from teachers and other mentors who provided the
scaffold between potential and knowledge by engaging the child in their ZPD.

What is automatization?
Automatization = a process in which repetition of a sequence of thoughts and
actions makes the sequence routine so that it no longer requires conscious thought.

What is sensory memory?

Sensory memory = incoming stimulus information is stored for a split second to
allow it to be processed.

What is working memory?

Working memory = (short term memory) current conscious mental activity.

What is long-term memory?

Long-term memory = limitless amounts of information can be stored indefinitely
and retrieved.

What is storage?
Storage = how much material has been deposited.

What is retrieval?
 Retrieval = how readily past learning can be brought into working memory.

What is a knowledge base?

Knowledge base = a body of knowledge in a particular area that makes it easier to
master new information in that area.

What increases the knowledge base most?

Past experiences, current opportunity, and personal motivation.

What are control processes?

Control processes = the mechanisms (including selective attention, metacognition,
and emotional regulation) that combine memory, processing speed, and the
knowledge base together to regulate the analysis and flow of information within the
information-processing system.

Know that control processes improve with age and experience.

What is executive function?

Executive function = the ability to use control processes.

Know that understanding of metaphors (drawing comparisons between two things)

increases during middle childhood.

Define pragmatics. Be sure to include the terms informal code and formal code.
Pragmatics = the practical use of language that includes the ability to adjust
language communication according to audience and context; ability to change styles
of speech including formal and informal speech.

What are ELL’s?

English Language Learners (ELLs) = children in the United States whose proficiency
in English is low, usually below a cutoff score on an oral or written test.

What is immersion language learning?

Immersion language learning = a strategy in which instruction in all school subjects
is in the second language that the student is learning.

What is bilingual schooling?

Bilingual schooling = a strategy in which school subjects are taught in both the
learner’s original language and the second language.

What is the relationship between SES and language learning?

Children from lower SES families have smaller vocabularies and their grammar is
simpler.

What is the hidden curriculum? (Notice especially the impact of positive teacher
expectations).
Hidden curriculum = the unofficial, unstated, or implicit patterns within a school
that influence what children learn.
The impact of positive teacher expectations helps the child to participate and learn
social norms.
What is the TIMSS? Where does the U.S. rank?
Trends in Math and Science Study (TIMSS) = an international assessment of math
and science skills in fourth- and eighth-graders.
The U.S. ranks in 10th place.

How do the Japanese teach math differently than in most U.S. classrooms?
They teach fractions in a way the child will better understand and implement
it.

What is the PIRLS? Where does the United States rank?

Process in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) = started in 2001, a planned
five-year cycle of international trend studies in the reading ability of fourth-graders.

What is the “No Child Left Behind Act?” What is one of the controversial aspects?
“No Child Left Behind Act” requires frequent testing to measure whether standards
are being met.
Low scoring schools lose funding and may be closed. Children of average
achievement are pushed to meet benchmark while children far above or below are
usually ignored.

What is Common Core? Why is it controversial?

Common Core = high national standards created by a group of experts chosen by the
governors of all 50 states.
It is controversial because of issues regarding how and what to teach children are
controversial to parents, teachers, and political leaders.

What are charter schools?

Charter schools = a public school with its own set of standards that is funded by the
state or local district in which it is located.

What are vouchers?

Vouchers = tax refund parents can use towards private schooling.

What is homeschooling?
Homeschooling = education in which children are taught at home, usually by their
parents.

Know that homeschooling is legal in all fifty states.

How can parents provide social interaction for their homeschooled children?
They can plan activities with other homeschooling parents or enroll their
children in various classes.