Higher Order Thinking at Development Stages

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Findings
Analysis
References

Introduction

The art of high order thinking enables collecting information, synthesizing and reacting in the proper manner. Some of these take place when a person is still very young while some are being acquired as they grow. This kind of thinking is affected by certain environmental characteristics. As children grow, there are three main stages involved. Each stage comes with new adaptive skills. These stages are infants (children from birth to two years), toddlers (children from two to five years) and school age (children from six to 12 years). At each of these stages, children continue to develop more skills and abilities, and thus adding to the list of activities that they are able to perform on their own.

Findings

Analysis

Infants

Children at this stage range from birth to two years of age and possess limited abilities. For instance, they can collect information through observation only (Voss 2012). However, there is very little chance that a child of this age, especially the newborn, can sustain the information gathered through observation mainly because they are not able to talk. Secondly, their brain has not matured enough for them to be able to synthesize the information with expertise as compared to the older children and adults. When a child is still some months old, guardians and parents can help them in enhancing their cognitive abilities. For example, they may be given toys that are tied around and move around. The ones who are very young can follow only with their eyes, or sometimes try to reach out for those toys. After the age of nine months, most children can move around, whether by crawling or walking. At this stage, they try to move around to reach on something interests to them (Bijttebier 2015). Also, at this stage, they are also able to remember things that they have seen before such as faces.

Toddlers

This is the second stage in the growth of a child where he develops even more abilities. The cognitive abilities at this stage are more advanced and are children from ages two to five. They are now able to speak and thus can get information not only through observation but also through inquiry. This is the level at which parents can start teaching manners to their children because they will remember and act in the appropriate way (Robinson 2014). The children are also able to communicate their needs appropriately and comfortably. Their ability to synthesize information also improves since they can do things such as telling stories from pictures that are shown to them. Moreover, most of them usually begin to attend school as soon as they reach this age. Parents are also advised to instill discipline and other skills in their children because they will remember to practice them (Nickerson and Zodhiates2013).

School age

This is the third stage in the growth of a child. Children’s minds are more advanced at this stage, and their age range from six to 12 years. They can synthesize more information than the younger ones. These children are very aware of the environment around them and can familiarize with situations and people that they come into contact with (Murris 2012). Their ability to analyze information is also quite high. Furthermore, their ability to also ask questions and seek clarifications on various matters is also more advanced. The only shortcoming that these children may have is the capacity to analyze more complex situations. In school, they are introduced to more advanced lessons (Alexander 2014). These lessons are often connected to those that they had learned before; their brain is now developed enough to remember things that they were told before. Also, their grasp of faces, places, names and numbers is more advanced.

References

Alexander, P. (2014). Thinking critically and analytically about critical-analytic thinking: An introduction. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

Bijttebier, P. (2015). Assessment of repetitive negative thinking in children: The perseverative thinking questionnaire–child version. Leeds, England: Psychopathology Journal Press.

Murris, K. (2012). The philosophy for child’s curriculum, narrativity and higher-order thinking. Dundee, Scotland: Taylor and Francis Publishers.

Nickerson, R., and Zodhiates, P. (2013). Technology in education: Looking toward 2020. Leeds, England: Routledge.

Robinson, D. H. (2014). Thoughts about critical-analytic thinking deficits and antecedents. Durham, England: Palgrave Macmillan

Voss, F. (2012). Informal reasoning and education. Glasgow, England: Routledge.

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