Piaget’s theory had also provided insight about how children’s minds develop and how children learn best which is through doing and actively exploring. This has assisted significantly in childcare centres and primary schools. It has helped educators and parents understand how their brains function and what type of learning is best suited for their continual development. Although, many argued that Piaget underestimated the cognitive abilities of children and that the problems he gave where too difficult and the directions were too confusing for the abilities of young children (Woolfolk & Margetts 2016, p 92). Recently researchers have observed that
Piaget’s Theory Piaget’s cognitive development theory analyses the growth of children’s development for thinking and intellectual. In fact, American Psychological Association (2015) refers to cognitive development as the ‘The development of processes of knowing, including imagining, perceiving, reasoning, and problem solving’. This essay analyses Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. In addition to this, Piaget’s key concepts will be discussed which include; children and young people construct their own knowledge, individuals possess their own mental templates, equilibration and the stages of cognitive development that children and young people undertake will be investigated. Further to this, a critical reflection will be constructed
However, even as the children can express themselves in various forms, behaviors remain egocentric and most concepts are absolute. From the preoperational stage, the children transition to concrete operational stage from ages 7-11. In the concrete operational stage, children begin to think logically and are capable of
Piaget 's theory of cognitive development. According to Mallon(1967) Piaget was concerned in the question " how do we know what we know?" . Piaget theorized that if one could study the evolution of thought from childhood through adolescence , the question might be answered . According to him general intelligence is an example of adaptive behavior .He believed that at any given stages in the gradual process of intellectual growth, the child is capable of understanding certain concepts and that more complex understandings and intelligence develop as information is recognized and new capabilities develop.
This is then followed by the connections between the key concepts and the cognitive development of children which will an educator’s developing pedagogy. Finally, an outline of the strengths and outlines of Piaget 's theory. The significant Piaget’s key concepts to understand children’s learning and development: Jean Piaget formulated a model which determined a way of how a human’s mind gathers and organises information. Bormanaki and Khoshhal (2017 pg997) state "according to Piaget 's research; human beings have two basic tendencies of thinking." The first tendency is an organisation which is “ongoing process of arranging information and experience into mental systems or categories” (Woolfolk, Margetts 2016 pg81).
Piaget believed that children dynamically create their own knowledge without depending on what they achieve from a teacher or parents (Kay C. Wood, 2001). The Moral philosopher, Kohlberg’s interest was on how the child develops a sense of right or wrong and justice. Kohlberg also believed that children undergo moral development stages during life which is similar to Piaget’s cognitive development stages. While observing children and adult, he realized a particular pattern in which people going through different stages without going back to any previous stage (Cory, 1996). In this review, the stages in each theory are explored and justified using varieties of authentic sources.
As everyone knows, there is a close connection between cognitive development and language development. Vygotsky believed that as children develop language, they actively build a symbol system, which helps them to understand the world (Close, 2010). He viewed language as developing the cognitive of children. Vygotsky’s theory views the important effect that an adult has on the development of language and it describes the importance of Zone of Proximal Development which refers to tasks that are difficult for children to master alone but that can be master with assistance from other people. The assistance is known as scaffolding.
During this age children also develop memory and imagination and an ability to understand the difference between past and future and participate in make-believe. However children’s thinking is still developing and still not completely logical and they find it difficult to understand more complex concepts such as cause and effect, time, and comparison. (https://www.webmd.com/children/piaget-stages-of-development#1) Concrete operational (ages 7 to
Pavlov based his work on the reflexes that are already present within an organism meaning that people “can learn by associating different events with one another” (Swartz et al. 2011). Skinner enforces the notion that reinforcement of behaviour can be achieved through either punishing or rewarding the child. “Essentially, the way a child develops in the Behaviourist Theory is determined by the external conditions that influence particular elements of their development.” (Farr, 2014). A relevant example in education would be providing the children with stickers on the work they excelled in.
Both strategies have benefits, and if a child was to be exposed to both learning strategies, he will benefit from both strategies instead of just one. Also, children have different personalities. Some children may be more introverted, some may be more extroverted. If children were given a choice on whether they would rather do individual work or peer collaboration, obviously the introverted children will choose to do individual work, while the extroverted children will choose to do peer collaboration. If children do this, they will only benefit from one learning strategy and they will not be exposed to the other.