Topic 1: Development

• forebrain

  the anterior part of the brain, including the hemispheres and the central brain structures.
• midbrain

  the middle section of the brain forming part of the central nervous system.
• hindbrain

  the lower part of the brain, that includes the cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata.
• cerebellum

  an area of the brain near to the brainstem that controls motor movements (muscle activity).
• medulla oblongata

  connects the upper brain to the spinal cord and controls automatic/involuntary responses such as sneezing and breathing also heart rate and blood pressure. Forms by the time a foetus is 20 Weeks old.
• sensorimotor stage (birth - 2 years)

  Infants use their senses and movements to get information about their world. They begin with reflex actions then learn to control their movements. At around 6 months they develop object permanence.
• object permanence

  knowing something exists even if it is out of sight.
• pre-operational stage (2-7 years)


  split into 2 stages: symbolic function stage (2-4 years) and intuitive thought stage (4-7 years).
• symbolic function stage (2-4 years)


  Children start imitating others and can use objects as symbols. Children see the world through their own eyes, not through someone else's (egocentrism).
• intuitive thought stage (4-7 years)

  Children ask a lot of questions as they realise that they know a lot and want to know more.
• symbolic play

  children play using objects and ideas to represent other objects and ideas.
• egocentrism

  unable to see the world from any other viewpoint but one's own.
• animism

  believing that objects that are not alive can behave as if they are alive.
• centration

  focusing on one feature of a situation and ignoring other relevant features.
• concrete operational stage (7-12 years)


  children begin to apply rules and strategies to help their thinking and use concrete objects to aid their understanding.
• seriation

  sorting objects, such as into size
• classification

  naming and identifying objects according to size or appearance
• decentration

  the ability to take on multiple views of a situation
• formal operational stage (12+ years)


  control over thoughts themselves. the ability to think about how time changes things. a young person can see that actions have consequences.
• schema/schemata(s)

  mental representations of the world based on one's own experiences. children build their own schemas from their own experiences and so they individually build their own knowledge and understanding.
• assimilation

  incorporating new experiences into existing schemas
• accommodation

  when a schema has to be changed to deal with a new experience
• equilibrium

  when a child's schemas can explain all that they experience; a state of mental balance
• assimilation eg.

  a young child develops a schema for birds flying, and seeing ab aeroplane calls it a bird
• accommodation eg.

  a child will see that birds are alive and aeroplanes are not, and they will need to change their 'everything that flies is a bird' schema
• equilibrium eg.

  the 'bird' schema is changed. aeroplanes are included, and the child understands that they are metal and carry passengers, thus moving from disequilibrium into a state of equilibrium
• fixed mindset

  believing your abilities are fixed and unchangeable
• growth mindset

  believing practice and effort can improve your abilities
• ability

  what someone can do, such as maths ability or ability to play tennis
• effort

  when you try to do better using determination
• Piaget's theory is supported by evidence showing that children do progress through these stages at roughly the same age. However, it has been criticised because some children may skip stages or go backwards between them.
• neural connections


  links formed by messages passing from one nerve cell (neuron) to another
• Piaget's explanation of understanding the World


  Piaget held that children develop through adaptation - they adjust to the world as they experience new things.
• Piaget's theory and the development of intelligence

  The development of intelligence is about building knowledge and skills. Intelligence is acquired through stages of development such as developing object permanence and formal reasoning.

  Intelligence is developed through building schemas via adaptation and through the 4 stages of cognitive development.
• adaptation


  using assimilation and accommodations to make sense of the world
• strengths of Piaget's theory


  • Piaget's work has practical application. Discovery learning draws on Piaget's ideas about focusing on the individual child's stage of development when helping their learning
  • His work has generated a great deal of research, including experiments, to show the existence of the stages and how children build knowledge through creating schemas. Three mountains task supports his ideas. However other studies have found that children can fo things earlier than Piaget thought, this challenges his ideas.
• Weaknesses of Piaget's theory


  • He did not look at the influence of social interactions or the cultural setting, which can affect the development of patterns of thought.
  • Piaget's data came from his interviews and observations with children. As a result , his interpretations may have been subjective (based on personal opinion/feelings), leading to some bias in his findings.
  • Lack of validity in his studies; other studies using similar methods but in more realistic setting produced different findings.
• Mindset is the set of beliefs we all have about our ability to succeed in education and other areas.
• Mindset theory suggests that children who think they can improve will continue to put in effort, whereas those who think they do not have a particular ability tend to stop trying.
• Mindset theory tells us that children with a fixed mindset can change to a growth mindset.