Microdevelopment is the process of change in abilities, knowledge and understanding during short time-spans. This book presents a new process-oriented view of development and learning based on recent innovations in psychological research. Instead of characterizing abilities at different ages, researchers investigate processes of development and learning that evolve through time to determine progressive changes. With contributions from the foremost researchers in the field, this study will be essential reading for all interested in cognitive and developmental science.
Author(s): Nira Granott, Jim Parziale
Series: Cambridge Studies in Cognitive and Perceptual Development
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Year: 2002
Language: English
Pages: 368
Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 4
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Figures......Page 9
Tables......Page 12
Contributors......Page 13
Microdevelopment: A process-oriented perspective for studying development and learning......Page 15
State-oriented vs. process-oriented approaches......Page 16
Development and learning......Page 17
Similarities between development and learning......Page 18
Terminology: Microdevelopment, the microgenetic method, and dynamic systems approach......Page 19
Dynamic systems approach......Page 20
Types of microgenetic studies......Page 21
Advantages of studying microdevelopment......Page 24
Variability......Page 29
Transition mechanisms......Page 31
Relationships between micro- and macrodevelopment......Page 32
The effect of context......Page 33
Preview of chapters......Page 35
References......Page 40
Part I Variability......Page 43
Overlapping waves theory......Page 45
Analyzing instructional manipulations......Page 50
Background on self-explanations......Page 51
Explaining number conservation......Page 53
Explaining mathematical equality......Page 58
How does self-explanation help children learn?......Page 67
References......Page 69
2 Microdevelopment and dynamic systems: Applications to infant motor development......Page 73
What is microdevelopment?......Page 74
A dynamic systems approach to development......Page 75
Microdevelopment in patterns of limb coordination in infants......Page 77
Patterns of spontaneous kicking......Page 78
Patterns of spontaneous bimanual coordination, lateral biases, and reaching......Page 81
Treadmill stepping as a microdevelopmental experiment......Page 87
Conclusions......Page 90
References......Page 91
3 Looking at the hands through time: A microgenetic perspective on learning and instruction......Page 94
Gesture-speech mismatch reflects openness to instruction......Page 96
Gesture–speech mismatch reflects the activation of two ideas on the same problem......Page 97
Gesture reflects implicit knowledge that is unique to it......Page 99
Summary......Page 100
A long-term microgenetic study: Change in children’s understanding of mathematical equivalence in the absence of instruction......Page 101
A short-term microgenetic study of the effect of instruction on children’s understanding of mathematical equivalence......Page 103
The effect of the child on instruction: Do children’s gestures influence the course of one-on-one instruction?......Page 108
Untrained observers can “read” gesture in experimental situations......Page 109
Untrained participants can react to gestures in naturalistic teaching situations......Page 110
Gesture plays a role in the give-and-take of information......Page 113
Why might gesture work as a transitional device?......Page 115
Microgenetic studies of gesture and speech......Page 116
References......Page 117
Part II Transition mechanisms......Page 121
4 A multi-component system that constructs knowledge: Insights from microgenetic study......Page 123
Knowledge acquisition, learning, and development......Page 124
Knowledge acquisition in educational settings......Page 125
Knowledge acquisition as a constructive process......Page 126
A human cognitive system that constructs new knowledge......Page 128
Performance strategies......Page 129
Meta-level operators......Page 130
Phases of knowledge construction activity......Page 132
Values as a final component of the knowledge acquisition process......Page 136
Externalization of meta-knowing in social discourse......Page 137
Collaboration as a vehicle for strengthening meta-level knowing......Page 138
How does collaboration enhance cognition?......Page 139
Direct exercise of meta-knowing operations......Page 140
Conclusions......Page 141
References......Page 142
5 Bridging to the unknown: A transition mechanism in learning and development......Page 145
What creates development? Views about transition mechanisms......Page 146
Facilitating the identification of transition mechanisms in development......Page 148
2. Differentiating between aspects of an activity with different developmental levels......Page 149
3. Analyzing activities within context......Page 150
Identifying and analyzing bridging......Page 151
What is bridging?......Page 152
Forms of bridging......Page 153
How bridging operates in real-time activities......Page 154
Bridging as an attractor for future development......Page 155
What bridging is and what it is not: Bridging versus hypotheses......Page 157
Bridging as a scaffold......Page 159
Bridging as a transition mechanism......Page 160
The prevalence of bridging: Discussion and implications......Page 162
References......Page 165
6 Observing the dynamics of construction: Children building bridges and new ideas......Page 171
Needs and questions......Page 173
The study design......Page 174
The task......Page 175
Analysis......Page 176
Shifts of focus......Page 178
Bridging......Page 183
Distributed cognition......Page 189
An integrated model: The task-solving system......Page 190
Mechanisms of learning......Page 192
References......Page 193
Part III Micro- and macrodevelopment......Page 195
7 Interacting time scales in personality (and cognitive) development: Intentions, emotions, and emergent forms......Page 197
Interscale relations in self-organizing systems......Page 198
Emotions, goals, strategies, and styles in cognitive and personality development......Page 204
Emotions, moods, and personality development: Time scales in brain and mind......Page 207
Microdevelopment in the brain......Page 209
Microdevelopment in the mind......Page 211
Mesodevelopment in the brain......Page 212
Mesodevelopment in the mind......Page 213
Macrodevelopment in the brain......Page 215
Macrodevelopment in the mind......Page 217
Conclusion: Interscale mechanisms in cognitive and personality development......Page 219
References......Page 220
8 How microdevelopment creates macrodevelopment: Reiterated sequences, backward transitions, and the Zone of Current…......Page 227
Process-oriented approaches: A new view of development......Page 228
A microdevelopment model of progress and change......Page 229
Types of variability within and across sequences......Page 230
Interrelations between micro- and macrodevelopment......Page 236
Attributes of the microdevelopment model in a study of robotic “wuggles”......Page 237
Variability – incidence or systematic pattern? Backward transitions, ordered fluctuations, and reiterations......Page 238
Summary and discussion: A microdevelopmental explanation of how development occurs......Page 247
Support from findings and theories of other researchers......Page 248
Specifying and explaining processes suggested in the literature......Page 250
References......Page 254
Introduction......Page 257
Fundamental assumptions......Page 258
Macrodevelopmental approach......Page 259
Microdevelopmental approach......Page 260
Macrodevelopmental approach......Page 266
Microdevelopmental approach......Page 267
Macrodevelopmental approach......Page 272
Microdevelopmental approach......Page 273
Utilities......Page 274
References......Page 278
Part IV Context......Page 281
Introduction......Page 283
Monitoring learning in a classroom, given a constructivist perspective......Page 285
Writing: A window on conceptual and language learning paths......Page 287
Aims and setting of the present study......Page 288
Analyzing the progression of students’ ideas: The written sentences......Page 293
Analysis of sentence syntactic structure......Page 295
Analysis of conceptual information......Page 296
Ability to explain new phenomena: The unit quizzes......Page 298
Requests for more science information......Page 299
English grammar skills......Page 301
Relationships among the conceptual and language variables......Page 302
Some final thoughts......Page 303
References......Page 305
11 Darwin’s construction of the theory of evolution: Microdevelopment of explanations of variation and change in species......Page 308
Processes of building new theory: Micro- and macrodevelopment together......Page 309
Fundamental variability of skills......Page 311
Dropping to a low level to build new skills......Page 313
Darwin’s starting point: The social context of understanding variations......Page 315
Foundations: Geological evolution and the organic world......Page 319
Central theme: Relations among variations in organic and physical worlds......Page 322
Resolution: Principles for unifying and explaining systematic variations......Page 325
A note on socioemotional repercussions of Darwin’s theory......Page 328
Conclusion: Development of deep understanding......Page 329
References......Page 330
12 Developmental dynamics, intentional action, and fuzzy sets......Page 333
Scores as fuzzy numbers......Page 335
Scores, developmental levels, and context specificity......Page 340
Representing change, growth, and development by fuzzy numbers......Page 347
Developmental ranges in longitudinal datasets......Page 349
References......Page 355
Author index......Page 358
Subject index......Page 364
