Theories Of Development: Piaget's Theory Of Cognitive Development

He emphasize that the way children reason at one stage is different from the way they reason at another stage . The first stage, is called the sensorimotor stage which extends from birth to age about two. In this stage, infants build an understanding of the world by integrating with experiences such as seeing and hearing with physical, motoric actions. Infants obtain knowledge of the world from the physical actions they carry out on it. Piaget 's divide sensorimotor stage into six-sub stages.

Lev Vygotsky provided many contributions to development that impacted what we know about how children learn and the kinds of environment that should be provided for optimal development of language. Vygotsky believed that the environment provides children with information that supports language development. Similarly, he theorized that language begins with communication between children and individuals in their environment. He developed the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which is the distance between what a child can do independently and what a child can do with support from an adult. Therefore, the main role of an adult is to help children bridge the distance between what they can do independently and what they can do with some support.

Vygotsky suggested that the child learns language in social interaction and then thinks in terms of that language. However, Vygotsky emphasized the importance of both history and context in the meaning each unit (word) of that language has in the thinking of the individual. Language plays an important role in a child’s development (Gredler, 2009). According to Vygotsky, children use speech not only for social communication, but also to help them solve tasks. Vygotsky (1962) further argued that young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior.

Through his studies on cognition in children, a series of simple but clever tests revealed different cognitive abilities in children at different age stages. Children from birth understand their environment through cognitive development stages that are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Sensorimotor is the first stage of cognitive development which starts from birth to 2 years of age. During this stage, children acquire their knowledge through their movement and sensations.

Industry versus inferiority Going to school places new social and academic demands on children between the age of six and twelve. The acquisition of adequate social and academic skills leads to children feeling self-assured, whereas failure to do so results in feelings of inferiority (Shaffer,

For the positive outcomes it’s all about development of sense of competence. However the negative outcomes talks about feelings of inferiority, no sense of mastery. This stage covers up the early school years. It’s also characterized be new social things. At this point children start to learn their skills and figure out what they are good in.

Kids at this point start to think logically, and they 're aware of their surroundings such as how other people think or feel. They also begin to realize that one 's thought can be kept to themselves and doesn;t have to be shared with others. Formal operational stage, ages from adolescence through adulthood (usually 11/12 upwards). In this stage there 's an increase in their logic thinking, they can think logically about potential events or abstract ideas.

Children in this stage are usually 7-11 years old. Children in this stage are characterized by more rational and organized thinking. Instead of basing their knowledge off of just their own personal experiences, they use “reasoning from specific information to a general principle” (Cherry). Children in this stage can think more logically based on information given and prior knowledge combined. They also are able to look at a situation from other people’s perspectives, making them somewhat less self-centered and more open minded.

The second aspect is the cognitive development which related to Piaget’s theory. Piaget’s theory is all about the cognitive development of childhood. Piaget was interested in how the child learns things and in the way the child think, so he studied the child from infancy to the adolescence. Also, Piaget believed that all the stages are universal, and every child in the world will go through these stages. The third aspect is the social development which can be explained by Erickson's theory.

Cognitive Theory Cognitive Theory was brought to academia by Psychologist Jean Piaget among others. Piaget’s theory argues that there are stages of cognitive development in humans where there are levels of increased intelligence and capability. These stages are defined by terms, that describe the perception of what children make of their world. These thoughts are known as schemas, which Piaget said are the models by which children perceive their reality.

Question One (4 marks) Identify which of Piaget’s stages of cognitive development Mollie and her friends are in. Describe some key characteristics of children in this stage of cognitive development. Describe two examples from the chapter that illustrate characteristics of this stage of cognitive development. “Developmental psychology studies the way human develop and change over time.”

The last stage is the Formal Operational stage, which lasts from age eleven to adulthood. In this phase the child/adult has the increased ability to have idealistic, logical and abstract thoughts. Piaget also developed the idea of a schema. A schema is how people organize the information they gather into smaller

Middle school students are essentially in the middle of it all. They are no longer babies, but they are far from adults. They go through intellectual, social, emotional, physical, sexual, and moral changes that may be difficult for them to understand. Their bodies and their minds are changing at a rapid rate, and at times, these changes can become frustrating to them, as well as to the people around them. By understanding the changes that early adolescents are going through, educators will be more able to help them deal with these changes, and will be better able to guide them through these tough times in their young lives.

However, if the information children consume is age appropriate and moderated correctly, it can be a benefit to their cognitive development. While young children today are constantly exposed to age inappropriate information, if it were