Piaget Cognitive-Developmental Theory

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Piaget Cognitive-Developmental Theory:

Children actively construct their knowledge (constructivism)

Theories focused on developmentally appropriate education based on the physical and cognitive abilities as well as social and emotional needs.

(suitable environment, curriculum, materials, instruction)

Focus on the process of thinking, not just the products or outcomes.

-Builds on current level of cognitive functioning

-Methods used to get to the conclusion are important

Self-initiated, active involvement is crucial.

-Ready-made materials are deemphasized

-Students should discover for themselves through spontaneous interactions

-Teachers should provide rich varieties of activities to promote direct action on physical world.

Deemphasis on Adult-like thinking.

-Premature teaching can be worse because there is no true cognitive understanding.

Acceptance of individual differences developmentally.

-Different rates of development

-Individual/small group work

-Assessments made for each child’s previous course of development and not normative standards for the same age-group peers.

2 Major Principles that Guide Intellectual Growth and Biological Development:

1. Adaptation

2. Organization

1. Adaptation-includes assimilation (when new object or event is perceived in an existing schema) and accommodation. (changing internal mental structures to provide consistency with the external reality. Existing schemas are modified or created in order to reach equilibrium.)

2. Organization-nature of adaptive mental structures. The mind is organized in complex, integrative ways.

Cognitive Development Relies on 4 Factors:

1. Biological maturation

2. Experience with the physical environment

3. Experience with the social environment

4. Equilibration (must be present for cognitive development and thought processes)

-Variety of experiences

-Discovery Learning

-Collaborative Learning

-Concrete, hands-on learning

-Visual aids/concrete models

-More familiar examples

-Classify and group information to help assimilate

-Logical and analytical thinking

-Teach broad concepts, not just facts

-Make the context meaningful

Schemata-the mental representation of associated ideas, perceptions, ideas, and actions. They are the basic building blocks of thinking. As cognitive development increases, new schemata are developed and existing schemata are efficiently organized to better adapt the information.

When changes in behaviors are seen, cognitive development has occurred.

4 Stages of Cognitive Development:

1. Sensorimotor (birth-2):

-motor activity without symbols

-knowledge is limited because it is only based on physical interactions and experiences

-learn through trial and error

-early language development

-object permanence (at 7-9 months)

2. Preoperational (2-7)

-uses language

-memory and imagination develop

-past and future concepts are understood

-no cause/effect knowledge

-egocentric

-intuitive intelligence

-not logical

3. Concrete Operational (7-11)

-logical and systematic symbol manipulation

-less egocentric

4. Formal Operational (11-adult)

-symbols for abstract concepts

-hypotheses

-abstract relationships are understood

Criticisms of Piaget:

-underestimated child’s abilities

-more diversity in the cognitive tasks

-children may not always perform at the same stage for each domain

-children can learn more advanced concepts

Typical Characteristics:

1. Sensorimotor:

-aware of only what is immediately in front of them

-shaking or throwing things to experiment

-putting things in their mouths

-later stages include goal-oriented behavior

-object permanence (7-9 months) sign that memory is developing

-crawling, standing, walking leads to increased cognitive development

-end of stage (18-24 months) infants develop early language which is a sign they are developing some symbolic abilities.

2. Preoperational Stage:

-able to think about things symbolically

-language matures

-memory and imagination

-understand the difference between past and future

-make-believe games

-thinking based on intuition and not logical

-cannot grasp cause and effect, time, and comparison

3. Concrete Operational Stage:

-logical, concrete reasoning

-less egocentric thinking

-increasingly aware of external events

-begin to realize one’s own thoughts and feelings are unique

-cannot think too abstractly or hypothetically

4. Formal Operational Stage:

-logically use symbols related to abstract concepts

-multiple variables can be thought about in systematic ways

-formulate hypotheses

-consider different possibilities

-ponder abstract relationships such as justice

-continues to grow through adulthood