.
📘 Chapter 6: Learning to Think on Their Own
(Based on Children’s Thinking, 7th ed.)
🧠 OVERVIEW
This chapter focuses on how children develop the ability to control their own thinking. It
highlights the development of executive function, strategy use, and the roles of working
memory, metacognition, and knowledge base in supporting self-directed cognition.
🧩 ASSUMPTIONS OF INFORMATION-PROCESSING
APPROACHES
● The brain is like a computer — it encodes, stores, and retrieves information.
● Focus is on how children process information, plan, remember, and solve problems.
● Development is seen as continuous and based on the improvement of:
○ Basic processes (e.g., speed, attention)
○ Working memory
○ Executive function
○ Strategy use
⚙️ DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC-LEVEL PROCESSES:
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
, 🧠 Executive Function (EF)
● Refers to mental processes that regulate behavior:
○ Inhibition (self-control)
○ Cognitive flexibility (switching strategies)
○ Working memory (holding and manipulating info)
⏱️ Speed of Processing
● Children become faster processors with age.
● Faster speed improves performance across cognitive tasks.
🧠 Memory Span & Working Memory
● Memory span = how many items a child can recall.
● Working memory = the system that holds and manipulates info (e.g., math in your
head).
● Working memory increases with age:
○ More info can be stored.
○ Better manipulation of data.
🚫 Inhibition and Resistance to Interference
● Young children have difficulty inhibiting impulsive responses.
● With age, they become better at:
📘 Chapter 6: Learning to Think on Their Own
(Based on Children’s Thinking, 7th ed.)
🧠 OVERVIEW
This chapter focuses on how children develop the ability to control their own thinking. It
highlights the development of executive function, strategy use, and the roles of working
memory, metacognition, and knowledge base in supporting self-directed cognition.
🧩 ASSUMPTIONS OF INFORMATION-PROCESSING
APPROACHES
● The brain is like a computer — it encodes, stores, and retrieves information.
● Focus is on how children process information, plan, remember, and solve problems.
● Development is seen as continuous and based on the improvement of:
○ Basic processes (e.g., speed, attention)
○ Working memory
○ Executive function
○ Strategy use
⚙️ DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC-LEVEL PROCESSES:
EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
, 🧠 Executive Function (EF)
● Refers to mental processes that regulate behavior:
○ Inhibition (self-control)
○ Cognitive flexibility (switching strategies)
○ Working memory (holding and manipulating info)
⏱️ Speed of Processing
● Children become faster processors with age.
● Faster speed improves performance across cognitive tasks.
🧠 Memory Span & Working Memory
● Memory span = how many items a child can recall.
● Working memory = the system that holds and manipulates info (e.g., math in your
head).
● Working memory increases with age:
○ More info can be stored.
○ Better manipulation of data.
🚫 Inhibition and Resistance to Interference
● Young children have difficulty inhibiting impulsive responses.
● With age, they become better at:
