Cognitive Development During the School Years

1. Cognitive Development During the School Years Later Years Development Lecture 1

2. Last Year... Early years developments Infancy (0 - 2) visual processing number social interactions Preschool years (2 - 5) counting language identity/gender

3. This Year... Later years developments.... School years (5 - 11) Cognitive changes Adolescence (12 - 19?) Theories of adolescence Identity Morality Old age (50+) Memory Attention

4. Aims of this lecture Introduce cognitive changes evident during primary school years After this lecture (and the reading!) you should be able to: - recognize which types of memory are likely to impact on learning. - identify the processes that interact with memory to enhance performance. - explain how metacognitive/metamemory processes also impact on learning.

5. Information Processing: Memory [1] Memory Sensory memory (i.e., in seconds) Working memory Long term memory

6. Information Processing: Memory [1] Memory Sensory memory (i.e., in seconds) Working memory Long term memory How much information can be stored in these memory systems? Is information ‘lost’ in these systems? Are there developmental trends in these systems?

7. Sensory Memory Sperling (1960) Processing visual information Ss presented with matrix 12 of letters for 1/20th second Immediate free recall? approx 40% (4 - 5 letters)

8. Sensory Memory Sperling (1960) Immediate recall of specific (e.g., top) row - 80% target row revealed after 0.3 sec - 55% target row revealed after 1.0 sec - 40% Conclusion? 1/20 sec exposure creates visual trace trace fades within 1/3 sec disappears after 1 sec

9. Sensory Memory Why does recall vary with delay? Without knowing which row - retention of all 12 letters determines score Once target row is known - recall letter string (e.g., P Z A) - remaining rows can fade without impairing score Does sensory memory improve with age? Slightly - but only small advances

10. Phonological loop Visuo-spatial sketchpad Central Executive Working Memory Working memory = active (as opposed to passive sensory memory) Memory traces are ‘rehearsed’ (via rehearsal ‘loop’) allowing additional processing on new information. Working memory is ‘strategic’ Once we are aware of WM - possible to ‘use’ it

11. Working Memory Towse et al. (1998). Counting span task (small and large arrays - 2-5 vs 6-8 items) Count the red triangles afterwards, recall the sequence of cardinal numbers

12. Working Memory Towse et al. (1998). Counting span task (small and large arrays - 2-5 vs 6-8 items) Count the red triangles afterwards, recall the sequence of cardinal numbers

13. Working Memory Towse et al. (1998). Counting span task

14. Working Memory Towse et al. (1998). Counting span task

15. Working Memory Towse et al. (1998). Counting span task ? ? ?

16. Working Memory Towse et al. (1998). Counting span task 3 2 5

17. Working Memory Q. Does WM improve with age? Towse, Hitch & Hutton (1998) - Counting span task Span when last target is small and large

18. Long-Term Memory Does long-term memory improve with age? Confound between the amount of knowledge you hold in LTM and the number of life experiences (i.e., age). However, Kail (2000) found that 11-year-olds retrieve information from LTM six times faster than 4/5-year-olds.. ....although not as quickly as adults. Therefore, developmental trend in LTM retrieval.

19. Memory & Attention Developmental trends in WM and LTM means there is more to ‘memory’ than just ‘memory’.... Three aspects that influence information processing: [1] Automatization - some processes require less attention than others [2] Organization - efficient recall behaviour [3] Selective attention - knowing which information to process (i.e., encode)

20. Automatization [1] Automatization. Processes vary in how much attention they require Automatization is necessary if we are to develop - too much information to process consciously/every time Does this change developmentally? Single-digit addition problems - begin by counting (e.g.,) fingers - after 2-3 years, more likely to use retrieval (i.e., store of number facts to draw upon) - e.g., 3 + 6 = 9 - makes more complex problems easier - e.g., 3 + 6 +7 = 9 + 7 = 16

21. Memory & Organization Retrieval of memorized information is more efficient if data is ‘organized’ e.g., Word list to remember: Apple Sofa Dog Rat Banana Chair Cow Orange Table

22. Memory & Organization Retrieval of memorized information is more efficient if data is ‘organized’ e.g., Word list to remember: Apple Sofa Dog Rat Banana Chair Cow Orange Table 10-year-olds more likely than 6-year- olds to organize items into categories in order to recall e.g., ‘Furniture’ ‘Animals’ ‘Fruit’ (Carr et al., 1989)

23. Selective Attention So far.... Children’s processing of information benefits from ‘automatization’ i.e., the storing of certain facts eases the cognitive burden Retrieval of information also benefits if retrieval strategies are organized i.e., don’t search through total ‘problem space’ for each item What about reducing the amount of information processed in the first place?

24. Selective Attention DeMarie Dreblow & Miller (1988) Children shown 12 boxes - 6 with pictures of houses on the front [A] - 6 with pictures of a cage on the front [B] [A] contain household objects [B] contain toy animals

25. Selective Attention DeMarie Dreblow & Miller (1988) Children told they will need to remember either: [1] where the animals are [2] where the household objects are Study period (to help you remember where your items are) Strategy? [1] Open only relevant boxes [2] Open mainly relevant boxes (but some non-relevant) [3] Open boxes randomly

26. Selective Attention DeMarie Dreblow & Miller (1988) The older children were - more likely to use strategy [1]. The younger children were - more likely to use strategy [3] 8-years 3-years % use [1] [2] [3] Strategy

27. Metacognitive Development So far: WM capacity increases - processing capacity increases Children’s memories become ‘automatized’ - retrieval of stored data aids problem solving Retrieval/recall becomes more organized Attention becomes more selective (i.e., targeted....’strategic’) Why?

28. Metacognitive Development Children learn to think about their thinking - develop ‘metacognitive’ skills Flavell (1976) - children often fail to solve problems for which they possess the necessary solution - the key to success/efficiency is ‘metacognition’ or ‘metamemory’

29. Metacognitive Development ‘Meta’ development [1] recognize when the deliberate storage of info will be useful [2] appreciate that information will be needed in the future [3] understand that information must be rehearsed [4] learning to search for problem-relevant information when [1] [2] and/or [3] were not possible Metamemory development = learning when, where and how to store information, and where, when and how to retrieve it.

30. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Kuhn & Pearsall (1998) Examined the relationship between [1] knowledge of task objectives [2] knowledge of strategies Metastrategic functioning demands the coordination of [1] and [2]

31. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Subjects = 10/11-year-olds worked for 7 weeks on problem. Model boats pulled by weight-and-pulley system Variables were: [1] Boat size [2] Sail size [3] Sail colour [4] Weight [5] Depth of water

32. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Subjects = 10/11-year-olds Model boats pulled by weight-and-pulley system Variables were: [1] Boat size Causal effect [2] Sail size Irrelevant [3] Sail colour Irrelevant [4] Weight Causal effect on small boats only [5] Depth of water Medium/Deep = faster than shallow

33. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Ss chose boat/water depth ‘pairings’ Task to ‘find out what makes a difference’ Throughout study, Ss asked “What are you going to find out?” “What do you think the outcome will be?” “What have you found out?” Ss recorded findings in a notebook, over seven sessions (7 weeks)

34. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Metastrategic knowledge assessed twice (Weeks 2 and 7) Interview Subject introduced to new child “Please tell __ what you are supposed to do here” (i.e., assess children’s understanding of the task) “Can you explain to __ how you decide which ones (i.e., which variables) to investigate? (i.e., assess Ss understanding of which strategies to use)

35. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Types of metastrategic knowledge of task From Level 0 (“just choose anything”) - NO OUTCOME to Level 2 (“try different ones to see how fast they go”) - OUTCOME and Level 4 (“compare a big heavy one and a small light one to see if it makes a difference”) - FEATURES INFLUENCE OUTCOME to Level 6 (“change just the weight and see if it makes a difference”) - CONTROL INDIVIDUAL FEATURES TO ISOLATE CAUSAL EFFECT ON OUTCOME

36. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Types of strategic performance on task Valid inference?

37. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Conclusions? Children with no metastrategic knowledge learn little - if anything - from the 7 sessions Children with partial meta-awareness of the task (i.e., levels 2 and 4) attain some strategic mastery, albeit not consistently. i.e., awareness that variables influence outcome insufficient without recognizing that variables must be isolated Most (75%) of children at level 6 attain consistent mastery

38. Metastrategic Knowledge and Strategic Performance Conclusions? [1] Metastrategic competence can be measured [2] Metastrategic competence and performance are associated [3] Strategic performance is visible..... but metastrategic understanding predicts whether and when strategies are applied

39. Next Time Children as ‘scientific thinkers’ - the road to adult cognition Next Week Rule-use - Siegler’s ‘overlapping waves’ model of cognitive development - Information-processing constraints on rule-use

40. Reading Essential Towse, J. N., Hitch, G. J., & Hutton, U. (1998). A reevaluation of working memory capacity in children. Journal of Memory and Language, 39, 195 - 217. Available on Science Direct. Background Berk, L. (2004). Development Through the Lifespan. (pp. 287 - 293). Cole, M., & Cole, S. (1996). The Development of Children. Eysenck, M. W. (2004). Psychology: an international perspective (pp. 543 - 545). Hove: Psychology Press. Richardson, K., & Sheldon, S. (Eds.). (1988). Cognitive development to adolescence (Chapter 9). Hove: LEA.