PSY 250: Middle Childhood Body and Mind

important concepts and influences on physical activity

less physical activity in late elementary school because of fewer or shorter recesses and gym class usually once a week, slower growth but more strength, and improved medical care and health habits (personal hygiene)

asthma

a life-long, chronic lung disease that cause inflammation in the airways and makes it difficult to breathe

factors influencing asthma

if child’s other family members have it, they have allergic conditions, they live in urban areas or areas with higher pollution, or if they have obesity

brain development

prefrontal cortex, corpus callosum, and myelination all contribute to a super connected brain

implications of brain development

reduction in reaction time and selective attention

selective attention

the ability to concentrate on some stimuli while ignoring others

automatization

repetition of a sequence of thought and actions until it no longer requires conscious thought

ADHD symptoms and treatment

difficulty focusing, fidgeting, acting out in class, and therapy and medication

specific learning disorder

deficits in specific areas of learning, usually in math, reading, or writing. Difficulties in one area can usually lead to difficulty in another area

Autism Spectrum Disorders

antisocial behavior and difficulty communicating, specific interests; 1 in 36 children in the US today

characteristics of concrete operational thought

ability to reason, ability to organize things into groups (classification), ability to grasp concepts that are implied (transitive inference), and ability to order subjects according to a rule (seriation). Better cognitive flexibility, selective attention, inhibitory control, planning, semantic memory, metamemory, language skills, discourse skills, pragmatics, vocabularly and grammar, inferences, and metaphors.

Information Processing Theory

better information processing and executive functioning observed in middle childhood

predictors of academic success

greater exposure to language limits implications of a language delay and expectations from administrators, teachers, school, parents and society. Students from a lower SES tend to perform worse in school both academically and behaviorally

the hidden curriculum

unwritten and unstated rules that influence learning in schools

important concepts of standardized tests

used to determine academic success of students based on how teachers teach, results are used to determine schools that are worthy of extra funding to support their students (high scores = higher funding), controversial because schools that are doing worse on standardized tests most likely need more funding

phonics approach

teaching reading through syllables and sight words, helps beginners with the basics andeasier to learn than whole language approach, but usually less fun

whole language approach

teaches reading as a part of everyday life, doesn’t focus on the basics so some students struggle later on, but is usually more fun (and more difficult) than the phonics approach

ability grouping

process of putting students with similar abilities in the same group to work with one another; can boost the self-esteem of the students in higher groups, but also brings down the self-esteem of the students in lower groups; social comparisons

IEP

an individualized educational program for children who receive special education related services; outlines a plan that has educational goals and services that are individualized, not mainstreamed