1. Developmental psychologists believe that every teacher should be skilled at teaching children with a wide variety of needs. Does the teacher-training curriculum at your university reflect this goal? Should all teachers take the same courses or should some teachers be specialized? Give reasons for your opinions.

2. Internet sources vary in quality on any topic, but this may be particularly true of websites designed for parents of children with special needs. Pick one childhood disability or disease and find several web sources devoted to that condition. How might parents evaluate the information provided?

3. Obtain permission to visit a local elementary school and observe. Look for the hidden curriculum. For example, do the children line up? Why or why not? When and how? Does gender, age, ability, or talent affect the grouping of children or the selection of staff? What is on the walls? Are parents involved? If so, how? For everything you observe, speculate about the underlying assumptions.

4. Obtain permission to interview a 7- to 11-year-old child to find out what he or she knows and understands about mathematics. Relate both correct and incorrect responses to the logic of concrete operational thought.

>>ONLINE CONNECTIONS

To accompany your textbook, you have access to a number of online resources, including LearningCurve, which is an adaptive quizzing program; critical thinking questions; and case studies. For access to any of these links, go to www.worthpublishers.com/launchpad/bergerinvitels2ecanadian. In addition to these resources, you’ll find links to video clips, personalized study advice, and an e-Book. Among the videos and activities available online are the following:

• Conservation. Watch clips of children of various ages participating in Piaget’s classic conservation tasks.
• Theory of Mind. Can someone else see what you’re thinking? Video clips demonstrate children replicating the classic theory of mind experiments.