Module 06 : Cognitive

Development in the Middle

Years

Student Objectives:
To learn how children in the middle years think
To learn about Piaget’s concrete operational stage
To learn about how children’s thinking changes during
the concrete operational stage
To learn about intelligence and testing intelligence
To understand how to encourage cognitive development

6.1 Introduction
This module will focus on a child’s
cognitive development during the middle
years, which runs from the age of seven
until eleven.

Jean Piaget refers to this stage as the “concrete operational

stage,” and during this time of development, children become
skilled at understanding information that is both logical and
concrete. However, children also struggle to grasp concepts
that are abstract or hypothetical. They can focus on complex
situations and problems, and they can understand situations
from several different viewpoints. This module will take a
close look at this period of cognitive development, and will
give a detailed overview of what occurs.
6.2 How Children in the Middle
Years Think
Before we get into the theories used to
explain cognitive development in the middle
years of childhood, it is important to take
a look at how these children think.

During the middle childhood years, cognitive abilities such as

memory and concentration improve significantly. Children have
a much stronger attention span than they did before, and they
can better remember information for more extended periods. Not
only is this ability improved, but their selective attention
is also better, too. This means that they can tune out any
distractions, and can focus on the task at hand. This newly
developed ability is of great importance in the classroom, of
course, as children can now have a more focused approach to
their teachers and schoolwork.

Their short-term memory also goes through a vast improvement

between the ages of seven to 11, and children are capable of
thinking more quickly and can remember more than one thing at
a time.
However, a younger child would struggle to stay on task when
in school. At this point, children can engage in mental
multitasking. They can focus on the questions of their
teachers, think about several different answers, give a
response, process the responses of their peers, and
participate in class discussions.

Children at this age have a systematic way of thinking about

multiple things, and they have a sense of their inner world.
These children are also improving their problem-solving
skills.
6.3 Piaget’s Theory and the
Concrete Operations Stage
As has been stated, Piaget called this
period of cognitive development the
“concrete operations stage.”

Piaget used the term “operations” to describe the abilities

that a child has not developed yet. He also refers to these
operations as “reversible.” By reversible, he meant that the
physical or mental actions can occur in different ways or in
differing directions. When in this stage, these children
cannot think both abstractly and logically, but instead, they
are limited to concrete thinking. The latter is based on their
real experience instead of on abstract ones. Unlike young
children, children at this age do not use make-believe, but
they might role-play. They are also not as easily misled,
unlike their younger counterparts.

Piaget found that there is a significant change in the way

children think during the concrete operations stage. During
the research, Piaget noticed that the children’s thinking
processes changed significantly during this stage.

Children at this age engage in the concept of classification,

which is the ability to group items according to features.
They also engage in serial ordering, which is the ability to
group items according to logical progression.
Additionally, older children can understand the cause-and-
effect of relationships, and they can understand science and
mathematics. They also can comprehend stable identity, which
is a concept where a person’s self is consistent, even when
circumstances are altered.
For instance, these children understand that their father will
maintain a male identity regardless of how old he gets or what
he wears.
According to Piaget, children who are at the beginning of this
stage show a concept called “conservation,” which is the
ability to see how the physical properties remain even when
the form and appearance change. As you might remember from
Module 5, toddlers and preschoolers are not able to understand
this concept.

If you poured the same amount of liquid in two different

containers, the younger child would assume the one that looked
fuller would have more liquid. The older children, however,
would realize that this is not the case.
Another difference between toddlers, preschoolers, and
children in the middle years is the idea of egocentrism.
Remember, this is the inability to understand others’ points
of view. Young children cannot do this, but by the time a
child is in the concrete operations stage, they understand
this concept.

6.4 Differing Opinions

As with any theory, Piaget’s model has come
under some heat by modern researchers.

These modern researchers have taken some steps to provide

examples of how not all of Piaget’s theories about his
cognitive operations stage are fact. One example of this comes
from Robert Siegler, who theorized that the concept of
conservation is a progressive, slow change instead of a sudden
change, as explained by Piaget.
Other researchers have found that children develop by
progression through a series of capacities instead of a series
of stages. Additionally, these researchers believe that most
children understand a lot more than what Piaget theorized.

When training, for example, a younger child can perform many

of the same things that older children do. Modern research has
also shown that children are not as suggestible, concrete, or
egocentric as Piaget theorized. Additionally, cognitive
development is not only influenced by brain development, but
it is also determined by cultural and biological influences.

6.5 The Middle Years and Memory

School-age children are much better at
remembering than younger children, of
course, as they have experienced more of the
world.

Because of this, they have more experience to draw from when

recalling information. Older children also use mnemonic
devices to memorize things, something that young children
cannot do. They often create acronyms, humorous phrases, or
songs that help them to memorize facts, as it helps when a
child can repeat facts over and over again. Children of this
age can also remember more by participating in cooperative
learning, where adult-supervised education depends on the
interaction with a child’s peers, planning, sharing, and
supporting each other.

Children in the middle years also begin to show an ability

known as metamemory, which allows them to not only comprehend
what memory is but also helps them to predict how well they
will remember something.

For example, metamemory will help a child sense how much time
is needed for them to study for their next maths exam.

6.6 Childhood Intelligence

During this point of cognitive development,
psychologists become very interested in the
concept of a child’s intelligence.

In this case, intelligence is the cognitive capacity that will

relate to a person’s adaptation, knowledge, and ability to
understand the reason.

The modern concept of intelligence can be attributed to the

studies of Alfred Binet and Theophile Simon. At the turn of
the twentieth century, these researchers found a way to
measure memory, perception, and vocabulary in their subjects,
who were children.
These researchers took the mental age of the child, which was
calculated by looking at their intellectual attainment, and
divided that by the actual age of the child. This was the
child’s intelligence quotient, better known as their IQ. The
average IQ is set at 100, but new research has shown that this
is not the best way to measure intelligence. The test that
they created to measure IQ was called the Binet-Simon test.
The most famous IQ tests for children still used today are the
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children and the Stanford-
Binet Intelligence Scale.

Some psychologists focus solely on the fact that intelligence

is multifaceted, and that a single test can not simply measure
it. Instead, there is academic intelligence and applied
intelligence, which is a measure of practical IQ. Howard
Gardner, a U.S. developmental psychologist, has theorized that
children have multiple intelligences. These include complex
movement, empathy, and musical ability. Similarly,
psychologist Robert Sternberg introduced the Triarchic Theory
of Intelligence. This theory suggests that the stages of
intelligence consist of three different factors: the skills,
experience, and context of information-processing. These
factors come together, according to Sternberg, to determine
whether behavior or cognition is intelligent.

A person’s intelligence, as measured by one of these IQ tests,

will remain fairly consistent throughout their life. However,
because of the complex way that intelligence works, different
individuals will have very different IQ scores. This is due to
the combination of home and educational environment, genetics,
culture, nutrition and health, motivation, and socioeconomic
status.
Critics of the IQ test claim that these tests are culture-
specific, so depending on where a person comes from, they will
be unable to score as well as someone from a different
culture. For instance, in research from the U.S., minority
children consistently scored lower than middle-class, white
children. However, when the test was standardized based on
their own culture, the cultural minority students scored much
higher.

On the flip side, proponents of IQ tests suggest that it is

certainly possible to create a fair, standardized IQ test that
is appropriate for everyone.

An example of this is Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test. This

is a test that looks at the subject’s ability to answer
problems that come to them in an unfamiliar way. This ensures
that no one has the advantage over other test takers. These
people also claim that IQ scores are the best way to predict
future performance in academics.
Because of the controversy surrounding IQ tests, they are not
used as an official way to measure intelligence but are still
used in some capacity, such as by psychologists and in
organizations, such as the British Mensa Society. As mentioned
earlier, intelligence is multifaceted and this should be
considered in terms of particular contexts.

FACT

As a child moves into the middle years, psychologists become

more interested in the concept of intelligence, or cognitive
capacity. This concept focuses on a person’s adaptation to the
world around them, their knowledge, and their ability to
understand reason.

Source: CPD

Take a Quick Recap Test

6.7 Encouraging Cognitive

Development During the Middle Years
It is possible to encourage children in the
middle years in regards to their cognitive
development, as this development is
generally tied to learning.

As children learn more, they become more skilled, and they can
develop critical areas in their brains.

Parents and teachers can help children foster this growth by

giving them opportunities and helping in the following ways:

Encouraging Reading – Reading is one of the best ways to

improve cognitive abilities, and it helps children
expand their knowledge, increase their language skills,
and improve concentration
Teaching a New Language – Research has shown that
learning a new language can improve cognition, including
more mental flexibility
Building Intrinsic Motivation – Offering motivation in
terms of praise and encouragement when children express
interest in different academic pursuits can also help to
improve cognition

Assignment
Cognitive Development in the Middle Years

Time: 25+ minutes

To make sure you have a good grounding on this topic, make

your way through the activities on this worksheet.

Download the worksheet below, print out and complete.

Download Worksheet (pdf)

Conclusion
Cognitive development in the middle years builds upon the
development that occurred in the toddler and pre-school years.
However, the growth during this stage is much more focused on
concepts such as memory and intelligence, things that younger
children do not have the cognitive capacity to handle.

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