Cognitive

Development:

From: Steyvers, M., &

Tenenbaum, J. (2005). Cognitive
Science, 29(1), 41-78.

Cognitive
Processing
Perspective
Competing approach to Piaget, less

Input
Observed
Environment
Encoding

Computer analogy

Manipulation
Mind
Recode,
decode,
store

Output
Observed
Actions
Retrieve,
response

A Model of the Human Information

Processing System (Figure 7-1)

Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod

Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

Key Ideas in IPT

Information Processing Theory focuses on the
specific ways in which people think about (process) the
information they receive
Input from the environment provides the raw material for
cognitive processing
Sensory register component of memory that holds incoming
information in an unanalyzed from for a very brief time (2-3
seconds or less)

Human memory includes two storage mechanisms in

addition to sensory register
Working memory component of memory that enables people
to actively think about and process a small amount of information
Long- term memory component of memory that holds
knowledge and skills for a relatively long period of time
Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod
Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

Key Ideas in IPT (contd)

Attention is essential to the learning process
A variety of cognitive processes are involved in
moving information from working memory to
LTM
People control how they process information
Central executive component of the human
information processing system that oversees the flow
of information throughout the system

Cognitive development involves the gradual

changes in various components of the IP system

Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod

Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

A. Sensory Register detects visual,

auditory, haptic (touch), smell, taste,

temperature, pain, body position
information
filters out much of the world's potential
information
limited capacity
seconds before decay
unconscious

B. Working memory
Encoding: recasts sensory information
into meaningful representations suitable
for manipulation, using strategies like
rehearsal
organization
elaboration

Limited in capacity
decays quickly, 15 to 30 seconds, if not
processed further

Encoding/Learning Strategies
Rehearsal attempting to learn something by
repeating it over and over; repetition
Organization attempting to learn something by
identifying relationships among pieces of information
as a way of categorizing them
Elaboration embellishing on new information based
on what you already know (using prior knowledge)

Environmental factors, e.g., culture, affect the

kinds of strategies that children develop
Children are more likely to use effective learning
strategies when teachers and other adults encourage
their use, or when it is culturally meaningful
Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod
Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

C. Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The ability to remember information in LTM appears very
early and improves with age
Children increasingly have conscious awareness of the past
Infantile amnesia general inability to recall past events during
the early years of life

The amount of knowledge stored in LTM increases many

times over
Knowledge base ones knowledge about specific topics and the
world in general

Childrens knowledge about the world becomes increasingly

integrated
Schemas tightly integrated set of ideas about a specific object or
situation
Scripts schema that involves a predictable sequence of events
related to a common activity

Childrens growing knowledge base facilitates learning

Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod
Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

Thinking and Reasoning

Thought increasingly makes use of symbols
Symbols mental entity that represents an external object or
event, often without reflecting its perceptual and behavioral
qualities

Logical thinking abilities improve with age

Some logical thinking is evident in infancy
Perceive cause and effect relationships as young
as 6 months old
Reasoning is still influenced by personal motives and biases

Gestures
Sometimes foreshadow the emergence of more sophisticated
thinking and reasoning (e.g., Conservation task)
Appear to provide a way for children to experiment with cognitive
ideas
Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod
Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

D. Central Executive
Directs flow of information; coordinates influence
of LTM onto STM, monitors effectiveness of
strategies (metacognition)
1. Attention
2. Automatization
3. Conceptually-driven processes
4. How knowledge is represented (depth of
processing, use of control processes)

Metacognitive Awareness
Metacognitive awareness extent to which one is able
to reflect upon the nature of ones own thinking
processes
Awareness of the existence of thought (age 3)
Awareness about ones own thought processes
Although preschoolers have the words know, remember, and forget
in their vocabulary, they do not fully grasp these concepts until
elementary and secondary school years

Awareness of limitations of memory

Children are overly optimistic about memory
Optimism of memory abilities is beneficial for cognitive development

Knowledge about effective learning and memory strategies

Children learn more effective memory strategies and how to apply
them as they get older
Repetition and elaboration are increasingly understood and used
Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod
Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

Greta, Age 4
This race car won the Bronze medal
before and now he is dreaming of winning
the Gold or Silver medal

Greta, Age 4
This pirate is laughing
and saying that he has a
thousand dollars for
anyone who can catch
him

Social Construction of Memory

Adults help children reconstruct events that the two of
them previously shared and stored in their LTMs
Benefits of talking about past events

Children are more likely to remember events if they talk about it

Children learn the important things to remember
Children learn the appropriate values for their culture
Children learn to use a narrative structure for story telling

Downside to talking about memories

Children are susceptible to leading questions

Teresa M. McDevitt and Jeanne Ellis Ormrod

Child Development and Education, third edition

Copyright 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
All rights reserved.

Collaborative Learning
Blend of social constructivism and information
processing approach
Co-regulated learning process through
which an adult and child share responsibility for
directing various aspects of a childs learning
Community of Learners (Bruner, Brown &
Campione)
Creating a school environment where children learn
to think deeply about serious matters

Key learning principles

for a Community of Learners
(Meece, Child & Adolescent Development for Educators, 2002, p. 195)

Agency Both teachers and learners

routinely engage in the search for meaning
and understanding
Collaboration Both teachers and students
must share in developing and sustaining
the community of learning. Teachers help
guide students to deeper levels of
understanding, but learning is a shared and
joint activity; also collaboration among
students

 Reflection The classroom is designed to

stimulate active exchange of ideas and
discourse; discussion, critique, self
monitoring of comprehension
Deep discipline inquiry Students engage
in disciplined inquiry on a central theme
that can sustain in-depth research over
time (research, evidence, seeking expert
advice, sharing results