Answer to Question 1
Students should refer to improvements in selective attention, processing speed and
capacity, the automatization of certain tasks, and better storage and retrieval
strategies.
Answer to Question 2
Selective attention improves; children begin to use storage and retrieval strategies;
their processing capacity expands, as working memory improves and mental
activities become more automatic; their knowledge base expands and they become
better able to recognize and use effective cognitive strategies. Sixth-grade teachers,
therefore, should offer problems that demand more concentration, challenge the
student to choose and use various cognitive strategies, enhance memory skills, and
draw on the student's growing knowledge base and processing capacity. First-grade
teachers should be aware of their students' cognitive limitations, encouraging
intellectual curiosity and perseverance, coaching them in simple cognitive strategies,
and exposing them to a variety of subject matter to help enlarge their knowledge
base.