A teacher’s understanding of children’s cognitive and moral development Pip Crowley

Cognitive Development Key theorists: O Piaget O Vygotsky

Piaget – cognitive development According to Piaget, children are born with a basic mental structure that later learning and knowledge is based on. There are 4 Stages of Development: O The sensorimotor stage is from birth to age 2; O The preoperational stage is from age 2 to about age 7; O The concrete operational stage is from age 7 to 11; O The formal operational stage begins in adolescence and spans into adulthood.

Vygotsky – cognitive development O Vygotsky's theories emphasis the important role social interactions have in the development of cognition. O According to Vygotsky important learning by the child occurs through social interaction with a skillful tutor. This person may model behaviors and/or provide verbal instructions for the child.

Vygotsky – key terms O The more knowledgeable other (MKO) refers to someone who has a higher ability level than the learner, on the tasks. The concept of the MKO is integrally related to the second important principle of Vygotsky's work the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) O The ZPD - the difference between what a child can achieve on their own and what a child can achieve with guidance and encouragement from an experienced partner. O Vygotsky believed that language develops from social interactions.

Moral Development Key theorists: O Piaget O Kohlberg

Piaget – moral development Piaget identified 2 stages: heteronomous and autonomous morality. O Heteronomous (other-directed) mortality - younger children aged 5 to 10 years In this stage rules given by authority figures (such as parents, teachers and god) are seen as absolute and unbreakable. O Autonomous morality - age 10/11 and continuing through adolescence Children have generally started to view moral rules as socially accepted guidelines designed to benefit everyone’s lives.

Kohlberg – moral development 6 stage model: The Pre-conventional level O Stage 1 - Obedience and Punishment Orientation The individual is good in order to avoid being punished O Stage 2 - Individualism and Exchange Children understand that there is not one right view that is handed down by the authorities The Conventional level O Stage 3 - Good Interpersonal Relationships The child is good, so they are seen as being a good person by others. Stage 4 - Maintaining the Social Order Judgments concern obeying rules in order to uphold the law

Kohlberg – moral development Post-conventional morality O Stage 5 - Social Contract and Individual Rights The individual becomes aware that while rules/laws might exist for the good of the greatest number, sometimes they will work against the interest of particular individuals. O Stage 6 - Universal Principles People at this stage have developed their own set of morals, which may or may not fit the law.

The need for teachers to understand cognitive and moral development O Help them to choose the right learning tasks, the length of time different tasks should go for and they way in which these task should be tackled (Daniels and Shumow, 2003). O Know why their students can’t understand certain tasks. O Understand children’s moral development so they can understand their student’s behaviour and reasoning in the classroom. O May need to teach students how to behave around their peers and authority figures, and establish what behaviours are considered right and wrong.

Understanding development will help in teaching practice O When an educator has a good understanding of child development, they can use that understanding to make evaluations about the behaviours of children in the classroom. O Webb (1980) says that teachers can plan class activities and structure their classroom for their student’s stage of cognitive and moral development. O Teachers play a major role in young peoples lives and must help these children pass through these stages of development and identify the ones who are struggling and need assistance.

Application of cognitive development in the classroom O According to Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development children aged from 7-12 years are in the concrete operational stage. O At about 7 years of age (therefore young grade 2’s) children become less egocentric and learn conservation. This means that the child understands that although the appearance of something changes, the thing itself does not. O This would be a good thing to teach children for numeracy, learning about volumes. This means teaching children that redistributing material does not affect its mass, number or volume. O Teaching students to conserve liquid could involve a demonstration of the same amount of water being poured into a different shaped glass. Showing them that even though the appearance of the test tubes has changed, the quantity of liquid remains the same.

Application of moral development in the classroom In the younger primary children’s morals are learnt by the rules of the teacher and the consequences that follow. Setting class rules for the younger years - grade 1. The students will be held accountable for the rules that the teacher and class created. The teacher will be used as the moral compass and will make sure students are following these rules, and if they are breaking these there will be repercussions to their bad behaviour. Stephens (2009) says that during the younger primary age group students will believe that the rules are there and cannot be broken and if they are, punishment will follow. Another good idea that the article by Stephens states and that I would do as a teacher would be creating school and classroom cultures in which making the right choice and being a good citizen in the community are recognized and rewarded.

References O Cherry, K. (2010). Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. Retrieved March, 25, 2015 from O Daniels, D., & Shumow, L. (2003). Child development and classroom teaching: a review of the literature and implications for educating teachers. Applied Developmental Psychology, 23, 495 – 526. O Marcom Projects. (2010). Moral development in children: Theories, stages, impact [video file]. Retrieved from development-children-theories-stages-impact O Mcloud, S. (2013). Kohlberg. Simple Psychology. Retrieved March, 20, 2015 from O Oswalt, A. (2010). Moral Development: Piaget’s Theory. Retrieved March, 24, 2015 from O Psychohawks. (2010). Theories of cognitive development: Jean Piaget. Retrieved March, 23, 2015 from development-jean-piaget/ O PsychoHawks. (2010). Theories of Cognitive Development: Lev Vygotsky. Retrieved March, 23, 2015 from development-lev-vygotsky/ development-lev-vygotsky/ O Stephens, J. (2009). Moral Development. Retrieved March, 24, 2015 from O Webb, P. (1980). Piaget: Implications for Teaching. Theory into Practice, 19 (2), 93.