Chapter 12 Concrete operation thought characterized by concepts that enable children to use logic called the cognition of middle childhood by Piaget Classification is the organization of things into groups or categories or classes according to some characteristic that they share Transitive inference is the ability to figure out infer the unspoken link transfer between one fact and another Seriation is the knowledge that things can be arranged in a logical series crucial for using the alphabet or for understanding the number sequence Vygotsky regarded instruction as crucial thought that peers and teachers provide the bridge between developmental potential and needed skills and knowledge via guided participation scaffolding and the zone of proximal development Sustained attention alert and focused on sibling s activity as glancing sporadic interest but primary focus on something else or as not attending looking elsewhere People sense and perceive large amounts of information and then they seek specific units of information analyze and express their conclusions so another person can understand Sensory memory is the first component of the human information processing system It stores incoming stimuli for a split second after they are received Working memory short term memory is where sensations become perceptions after the brain selects those perceptions that are meaningful and here conscious mental activity occurs Phonolocial loop stores sounds and visual spatial sketchpad stores sights Long term memory stores information from working memory for hours days months or years Storage is how much material has been deposited and retrieval is how readily past learning can be brought into working memory Knowledge base is a broad body of knowledge in a particular subject makes it easier to master related new information Past experience current opportunity and personal motivation increases knowledge base and is not always what their parents or teachers would like it to be Control processes regulate the analysis and flow of information within the system and is the mechanism that pulls memory processing speed and the knowledge base together and it includes emotional regulation and selective attention Metacognition sometimes defined as thinking about thinking and is the ultimate control process that allows the person to evaluate a cognitive task determine how to accomplish it monitor performance and then make adjustments Pragmatics is the practical use of language which includes the ability to adjust expressions to communicate with varied audiences in different contexts English Language Learners ELLs are some children of every ethnicity based on their proficiency in English Children from low SES families usually have smaller vocabularies but their grammer is simpler and their sentences are shorter They fall behind in talking reading and other subjects Teachers and parents expectations is another cause for low achievement in middle childhood Hidden curriculum which refers to implicit values and assumptions evident in course selection schedules tracking teacher characteristics discipline teaching methods sports competition student government extracurricular activities and so on Immersion is when instruction occurs entirely in the new language by teachers Bilingual schooling is instruction in two languages Science and math achievement are testes in the Trends in Math and Science Study TIMSS and the primary test for reading is the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study PIRLS Girls are ahead in boys in verbal skills but boys are ahead of girls in math and science No Child Left Behind Act is a federal law promoting high national standards for public schools National Assessment of Educational Progress NAEP measure achievement in reading mathematics and other subjects Phonics approach teaching letter sound correspondence versus whole language approach which encourages all language talking listening reading and writing Charter schools are public schools free to students and funded and licensed by the states Private schools are funded by tuition charges endowments and church sponsors Vouchers with which parents may pay some or all of the tuition at a private school Home schooling occurs when parents decide to avoid both public and private schools and instead education their children at home