Journey Middle Childhood Cognitive Dev Part 1 of 2

Summary

This video script explores the cognitive development of school-aged children, highlighting their expanding language skills, vocabulary growth, and understanding of grammar. It showcases children's ability to engage in conversation, tell jokes, and adapt their speech for different social contexts. The script also delves into metacognition and selective attention, demonstrating how children strategically approach problem-solving and learn to filter out distractions. Additionally, it examines the impact of cultural arithmetic strategies, as seen in the Oksapmin children of Papua New Guinea, and the importance of organization and integration of knowledge in learning.

Takeaways

• 🌱 School-aged children experience a significant growth in cognitive abilities, even if their physical growth may slow down.
• 🗣️ Children at this age become increasingly talkative, with a rapidly expanding vocabulary that can reach up to 40,000 words by the fifth grade.
• 📚 Their language acquisition is facilitated by years of social interaction, curiosity, and an innate ability to learn new words effortlessly.
• 🧑‍🏫 Children develop a solid understanding of grammar, including how words are arranged and relate to one another.
• 🤡 The maturation of language skills is evident in the way school-agers tell jokes, showcasing their timing and delivery skills.
• 📈 Older kids are more discerning in their language use, understanding the difference between formal speech with adults and casual speech with friends.
• 🤫 School-agers learn the cognitive skill of selective attention, which allows them to focus on tasks while screening out distractions.
• 💭 They develop metacognition, a sophisticated understanding of their own thought processes, enabling strategic and creative problem-solving.
• 📐 In solving problems, children can break them down into smaller, manageable steps without losing sight of the overall goal.
• 🌍 Cultural differences in counting systems, like the Oksapmin's 27 body part counting system, highlight the adaptability of children in learning new arithmetical strategies.
• 🔍 As children's knowledge base grows, they become more adept at organizing and integrating new information, which aids in learning and memorization.

Q & A

What cognitive development is observed in school-aged children according to the script?

School-aged children are taking huge cognitive strides, including significant improvements in language acquisition and vocabulary, reaching up to 40,000 words by the fifth grade.

How does the script describe the development of children's language skills?

The script highlights that children's speech no longer requires conscious effort, and they have a solid understanding of grammar, including how words are arranged and related to one another.

What is an example of how children's language skills can be observed to mature?

The script suggests that one of the most entertaining ways to observe language skills maturing is by swapping jokes with school-agers.

How do school-aged children understand the concept of formal speech when talking to adults?

The script indicates that school-aged children are discerning and understand that talking to an adult requires a formal kind of speech, which is different from their casual conversations with friends.

What cognitive skill is being developed by children who learn to focus on a task despite distractions?

The script refers to this skill as 'selective attention,' which allows children to screen out distractions and concentrate on a given task.

What is 'metacognition' as mentioned in the script?

Metacognition, as described in the script, is the sophisticated understanding of one's own thought processes that school-agers develop.

How do children in the script demonstrate strategic and creative problem-solving?

The script provides an example of children solving a geometry assignment by breaking it down into small steps, focusing on the less familiar aspects of the problem without losing sight of the big picture.

What unique counting strategy is introduced by the script from the Oksapmin children in Papua New Guinea?

The Oksapmin children use a 27 body part counting system, starting with the thumb on one hand and counting around the body until the little finger of the opposite hand.

How did the introduction of western-style arithmetic impact the Oksapmin children's counting strategies?

The introduction of western-style arithmetic led the Oksapmin children to construct new arithmetical strategies that were not part of their indigenous culture, representing a novel historical invention in their social history.

What is an example of how the Oksapmin children adapted their counting strategy to solve arithmetic problems?

The script gives an example where a child represents the number 17 on the neck and adds five more by using body parts, ending with the wrist on the other side of the body, which in their language is equivalent to the number 22.

How does the script illustrate the ease of integrating new information for children who already have a knowledge base?

The script uses the example of Maciste, who finds it easy to learn more about Native Americans because he is already studying the subject at school, and he needs to discover strategies for storing and retrieving information.