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NAME: NADIA QADER AHMED

TOPIC: REFLECTION PAPER ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

VIDEO TITLE: “COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD”

SPEAKER: JENNIFER VAUGHN

The speaker, Jennifer Vaughn, discusses cognitive developmental milestones in children ages 6 to 12,

specifically around brain development/developmental expectations, the transition to Piaget's concrete operational

stage, and the implications for learning and engagement with their peers. There is rapid development, including

cognitive, emotional, and physical development, during middle childhood (6-12 years old). Middle childhood is an

important time in children's lives to nurture critical-thinking and emotional-regulation abilities, which will allow

children the chance to refine and build experiential learning and opportunities moving forward.

In this reflection, I will examine two key learnings from the video, summarize applicable research, relate

insights from the presentation to topics we discussed in class, and present a question to the speaker.

Key Learnings

1. Brain Development and its Impact on Learning

One of the amazing takeaways from the video is the speed at which children’s brains develop during this

time, specifically the rate in which the brain becomes more efficient. By age six a child’s brain is 95% of its

maximum size, with ongoing myelination improving the cognitive processes. One commonly assumes this

physiological growth underlies improvements in attention, memory, and thinking or problem-solving (Wetzel et al.,

2006). The speaker illustrates how the developments in the frontal lobe correlate greater attention control in the

emphasis of elements requiring higher-order thinking.

Supporting this idea was the research study done by Wetzel et al. (2006), which examined the development

of auditory attention and switching in focus for two groups of children (6-12 years). Results showed as children

aged, they obtained a significant improvement in the ability to filter distractions towards important tasks. Wetzel et

al. (2006) show younger children (6-8 years) are much more distractible and slower in reaction times compared to

the older group (10-12 years) and adults. This shows a developmental trajectory in attention development, that

aligns with materials in the video by improving a child’s efficiency of their brain.
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2. Transition to Concrete Operational Thought

Another important point to take away is the growth of Piaget's theory of cognitive development as children

move into the concrete operational stage (ages 7-11). During this stage, children can begin to apply logical thinking

to the concrete situations, allowing them to perform operations, such as categorization, and understand the idea of

conservation (the idea that quantity does not change, even if the shape or arrangement does) Wetzel et al. (2006)

A good example is the video's mention of inductive reasoning, where children generalize a specific

situation into a broader principle, represents an important cognitive shift. A concrete example could be deducing

that if they noticed their friend shared a snack once, they may infer that they are generally generous. However, they

continue to struggle with developing deductive reasoning (applying a general principle to a specific situation),

which reflects their cognitive limitations at this age.

The Wetzel et al. (2006) study reinforces this pivot by showing children's responses as auditory stimuli

changed. Younger children were worse at ignoring distractions than older children, which again showcases

cognitive development regarding their ability to harness their attention and reasoning.

Connection to Class Material

These reflections relate extremely well with our class conversations about cognitive development theories.

This relates to the concept of Egocentrism, highlighting its decline during middle childhood as children interact

with their peers. As a child's cognitive ability grows, so does their ability to understand others' egocentric points of

view; this is an important element of forming effective social relationships. Additionally, the expansion of the

schema discussed in class corresponds with the idea in the video of the experiences that expand the mind's

framework of understanding the world. As children play with each other while engaged in collaborative play, they

modify their existing schemas, building their social and cognitive experiences.
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Question for the Speaker

If I had one question to ask the speaker, I would simply ask: "How can parents and educators address

cognitive development for our children while managing their ever-growing technology and screen time

involvement?"

Conclusion

In summary, the takeaways from the video on cognitive development reflect the major transformations that

take place during middle childhood, including not only extensive growth in the brain, and genetic expressions, but

also processes of changing cognitive skills and capacities. This age period brings transitions in ability level

complexity including factors such as attention span and logical reasoning ability. It is evident that these

improvements provide a firm basis for future learning and interacting with others. The links between these findings

with the content in our classroom readings highlight the utility of developmental psychology and its usefulness in

helping children foster supportive learning environments.

References

1. Jennifer Vaughn (2021). Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood [Video]. https://youtu.be/-X3_Wz-

Tp_w?si=Aeix9k9UU8WcpCiS

2. Wetzel, N., Widmann, A., & Schroger, E. (2006). The development of involuntary and voluntary attention

from childhood to adulthood: A combined behavioral and event-related potential study. Clinical

Neurophysiology, 117(11), 2191-2203.