Assignment: Aspects of physical development

Assignment: Aspects of physical development

Respond to each item. Each response should be concise and between 2–3 paragraphs in length. Use MS Word to write your responses and submit your answers to all three questions in one Word document. Copy and paste each question into the document, so your Instructor can see which questions you are answering.

Identify three aspects of physical development that happen during middle childhood and explain how each differs in a 6-year-old versus a 12-year-old.

Identify three aspects of cognitive development that happen during middle childhood and explain how each differs in a 6-year-old versus a 12-year-old.

Recall Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory from Week 1 (also see Chapter 2 of your course text, if necessary). Choose one specific aspect of physical development and one specific aspect of cognitive development during middle childhood. Explain these two aspects in terms of Bronfenbrenner’s theory – how, specifically, might development of these aspects be influenced by factors within the micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrosystems?

Part two: Brain and Cognitive Development

Moreover, these physical and cognitive changes often are interrelated, with physical aspects influencing cognitive aspects, and vice versa. In this Discussion, you will consider the relationship between brain development and cognitive development. Reflect on the following:

How would you describe the link between brain development and cognitive development in middle childhood? You may base your response on the perspective of your choice—Piagetian, sociocultural (Vygotsky), or information-processing.

How does brain maturation influence the development of thinking, reasoning, and other cognitive abilities in middle childhood? How might changes in cognitive abilities affect the way the brain develops?

How might knowledge of brain development patterns be used to enhance cognitive development in children?

With these thoughts in mind, follow the instructions below to post your response to this Discussion topic.

Write an analysis of what you perceive to be the relationship between brain and cognitive development in middle childhood. Identify the theory around which your ideas are based and explain specific links between brain development and milestones proposed by this theory. Be sure to use the Learning Resources to support your response.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.