Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory
Introduction:
Educators need to understand the process of cognitive development in children, so they can plan, execute and evaluate learning experience successfully. Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory provides an insight of how the children’s learning and development occur therefore educators can grasp their educational pedagogy. The aim of the discussion is to convey how Piaget 's Cognitive Development Theory can be used as a guideline for educators to provide an appropriate learning experience for children and their cognitive development. Firstly, the key concepts of Piaget’s theory will be introduced. 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). Furthermore, in Simatwa’s research paper (2010 pg366) mentions that organisation “integrate processes into
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development states four stages of cognitive development. During the first Sensorimotor Stage which Piaget
n this essay I will be discussing the cognitive abilities of children during the period of middle childhood. Jean Piaget's views and findings will be the main focus of this essay as he is considered and rightly so, as one of the most influential figures in cognitive development. In order to gain a better understanding of the period of middle childhood (7-11 years) I will first give a brief outline of the stages, in Piaget's theory leading to the period of middle childhood which he called Concrete Operations stage and the abilities, in Piaget's view of a child in this period. I will also be discussing the disputes to Jean Piaget's theory made by Robbie Case's (1992, 1998)
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.”
Theories of these two cognitive psychologists have been compared and contrasted on different levels. This essay will look into the differences and similarities between their theories. These two psychologist 's theories differ from each other in numerous ways. To begin with, Jean Piaget 's cognitive development theory proposes that children adapt to their environment by actively constructing knowledge as they perceive and explore their surroundings. His theory comprised of four stages of development.
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Piaget asserts, children are born with inherited scripts, called schema, these schema are building blocks for cognitive development. As a child grows, he acquires more of these building blocks; moreover, these building blocks become more complex as the child progresses through different stages in development (Huitt, Hummel 2003). Piaget’s 4 stages of cognitive development are as follows. First, The sensorimotor stage where an infant has rudimentary motor skills, and can eventually
The famous Swiss developmental psychologist, Jean Piaget in his theory also become our main source of theory to study about child development and changed the way we think about how children develop. His theory was important because he saw children as an active participants in their own learning. Between the four stages that have been stated in this Piaget theory, it is important to know which are the main stage that playing a crucial role because from there we know which one is shaping the most of development of a child. 1.1 The influence of nature versus nurture on child development.
(refer to Figure 1 in Appendix 1). All of them focus on the development of complex thinking skills. First at all, Piaget’s cognitive development theory is the most essential theory among others (Müller et al., 2009 and Scholnick et al., 1999 as cited in Lourenço, 2002, pp.281-295). This theory aims to explain the mechanisms and processes of children in understanding and discovering the world. There are 3 basic elements in theory of cognitive development which are schema, assimilation and accommodation.
His greatest strength was his research which has allowed educators, psychologists, and parents to have a greater understanding of a child’s developmental level. According to Lourenco (2012), Piaget believed that children would find the most benefit by working and learning in an educational setting that was at their own level (p. 284). As a result of his research, Piaget encouraged a comprehensive educational system that focused on the understanding of children. Thomas (2005) describe some of the weaknesses of Piaget’s theory, which include the fact that he often underestimated the ability of a child’s intellect.
There are two theorists associated with cognitive development; Piaget and Vygotsky. Piaget believes that things children learn and do are organized as schemes, groups of similar actions and thoughts are repeated in response to the environment. Vygotsky believes that thoughts and language are separate functions for infants and toddlers. This is important for me to know because when teaching my first graders using Piaget’s belief that children curiosity to adapt to their environment, will help me in setting up my classroom so as to provide the friendliest environmental atmosphere. Another useful belief of Piaget that I intend to use, is by exploring and manipulating physical objects, children gain a relationship with their physical environment.
Cognitive Learning Theory suggests that the different methods regarding learning can be elucidated by scrutinising the mental progressions first. Unsuccessful cognitive processes provide effects in learning complications that can be perceived anytime during the period of an individual. Piaget’s theory Piaget’s theory of cognitive development contains of four stages of intellectual development.
In this essay I will address Piagetian Theory, the cognitive performance of children from age seven to eleven, (the concrete operational period), and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of cognitive development. This essay will begin by analysing Piagetian Theory. Cognitive development cannot
His approach of studying the development of the human mind was a synthesis of ideas drawn from biology and philosophy. He looked at human beings as biological organisms who must adapt successively to their environment. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development revolutionized the study of children’s cognitive development and it has undergone some revisions over the years. It also provides a set of basic principles to guide our understanding of cognitive development that are found in most recent theories.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Cognition is a process where different aspects of the mind are working together that lead to knowledge. Piaget’s cognitive development theory is based on stages that children go through as they grow that lead them to actively learn new information. Cognitive change occurs with schemes that children and adults go through to make sense of what is happening around them. The change that occurs is activity based when the child is young and later in life correlates to mental thinking. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development start from birth to adulthood
Jean Piaget, a Swiss-born Psychologist, was one who was particularly interested in how children perceive their environment. So engrossed was he by this process, that Piaget used his own children as scientific models in his experiments, in establishing his theory of Cognitive Development. After analyzing the behaviors of his children in their early development, Piaget concluded that there are four main stages of human cognitive maturation:- The Sensorimotor Stage, the Preoperational Stage, the Concrete Operational Stage and the Formal Operational Stage. This essay seeks to outline and examine Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory, and to illustrate how this theory can influence the learning and teacher pedagogy in classes within the Caribbean region.
My play observation took place at Mill 180 Park in Easthampton, Massachusetts on February 17, 2018 between the hours of 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This is an indoor urban hydroponic park where children can enjoy a variety of different games, food, and an open play area to interact with others. While I was at the park, I observed two school-aged Caucasians engaging in unstructured play. The children were siblings, with the boy being ten years old and his sister eight years old. When I first observed these children, they were not interacting with one another.