Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Piaget (1896 - 1980) Swiss Psychologist, worked for several decades on understanding children’s cognitive development. Most widely known theory of cognitive development. Was intrigued by kids’ thoughts & behavior, & worked to understand their cognitive development.

Piaget: Background Young Piaget was incredibly advanced. Published first paper at 10 Wrote on mollusks, based on these writings was asked to be curator of mollusks at a museum in Geneva (he declined in order to finish secondary school) Earned his doctorate in natural sciences at 21 Began to study Psychology, applying intelligence tests to school children

A quick overview:

Piaget was a constructivist Assumption that learning is an active process of construction rather than a passive assimilation of information or rote memorisation. He was credited for founding constructivism.

Piaget and Constructivism Best known for idea that individuals construct their understanding, and that learning is a constructive process Active learning as opposed to simply absorbing info from a teacher, book, etc. The child is seen as a ‘little scientist’ constructing understandings of the world largely alone

Piaget & Constructivism He believed all learning is constructed, whether it is something we are taught or something we learn on our own. Whether or not we are taught in a “constructivist” manner, Piaget believed we are constructing knowledge in all our learning.

Let’s watch! Start- 3.45min https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nz2dtv--ok

Piaget & Learning- Key terms: Schema: A mental framework that helps interpret information. E.g. What’s fast, shiny, expensive, small? Cognitive Equilibrium: Harmony between our thought process and our environments.

Piaget & Learning Key terms: Assimilation: A process of matching external reality to an existing cognitive structure. E.g. a child using a remote as a phone.

Piaget & Learning Key terms: Accommodation: When there’s an inconsistency between the learner’s cognitive structure & the thing being learned the child will reorganise their thoughts/actions. E.g. realising that there is no voice coming from the remote and using the phone to talk.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Piaget believed, a child’s capacity to understand certain concepts is based on the child’s developmental stage

Piaget’s Four Stages 2. Preoperational (~2-7) Believed that all children develop according to four stages based on how they see the world. He thought the age may vary for some, but that we all go through the stages in the same order. 1. Sensorimotor (birth –2 years) 2. Preoperational (~2-7) 3. Concrete operational (~7-11) 4. Formal operations (~12-15)

Sensorimotor Stage Birth to about 2 years, rapid change is seen throughout The child will: Explore the world through senses & motor activity Early on, baby can’t tell difference between themselves & the environment If they can’t see something then it doesn’t exist Begin to understand cause & effect Can later follow something with their eyes

Sensorimotor Stage Key terms Object permanence: The concept that an object will continue to exist even when hidden from view.

Sensorimotor Stage Key terms Goal directed behaviour: Behaviour that is carried out with a particular purpose in mind (happens towards the end of this stage). E.g. If there are lollies on the table the child may pull the table cloth down to obtain lollies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nz2dtv--ok 3.45min-4.40

Preoperational Stage About 2 to about 7 Better speech communication Can imagine the future & reflect on the past Develop basic numerical abilities Still pretty egocentric, but learning to be able to delay gratification Can’t understand conservation of matter Has difficulty distinguishing fantasy from reality (ex: cartoon characters are real people).

Preoperational stage key terms Conservation of matter – understanding that something doesn’t change even though it looks different, shape is not related to quantity Children do not have this mastered at this stage.

Preoperational stage key terms Centration: only focusing on one feature of an object at a time. E.g. Children who perceive the bottom right line row of coins to be longer are only focusing on one thing- length.

Preoperational stage key terms Animism: the belief that everything that exists has some kind of consciousness or awareness. E.g. When Zohra’s brother chucks her Barbie doll, Zohra is concerned that it is hurt and needs to be taken to the doctors.

Preoperational stage key terms Intuitive: able to make sense of something immediately without reasoning. E.g. Thinking that the moon or sun is following you when in the car. It’s there again! Hello

Preoperational stage key terms Egocentrism: only seeing the world from your point of view. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OinqFgsIbh0

Preoperational stage key terms Reversibility: the ability to follow a line of reasoning back to its original starting point. Children do not have this mastered at this stage. E.g. Phillips(1981), asked a 4 year old boy whether he had a brother. “Yes his name is Jim,” replied the boy. Then when asked, whether Jim had a brother, the boy answered, “No.”

Preoperational stage key terms Transformation: The understanding that something can change from one state (or structure) to another. Children do not have this mastered at this stage. E.g. Knowing that when water is frozen it will go into a solid state (ice), and that ice when in a warm environment will go back to a liquid state.

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nz2dtv--ok 4.40-6.40min

Concrete Operational Stage From about 7 to about 11 Abstract reasoning ability & ability to generalise from the concrete increases Understands conservation of matter

Concrete operational stage key terms Decentration: the ability to focus on more than one particular thing. What are you able to focus on? -space -quantity -length

Concrete operational stage key terms Conservation: The idea that an object does not change its weight, mass, volume or area when the object changes its shape. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acan7kNaIzo

Concrete operational stage key terms Classification: The ability to organise information (things or events) into categories based on common feature that sets them apart from other classes or groups (categories). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCTT-4zznDc

Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nz2dtv--ok 6.40-7.05min

Formal Operations From about 12 to about 15 Be able to think about hypothetical situations Form & test hypotheses Organise information Reason scientifically

Formal operations stage key terms Logical thinking: The ability to develop plans, solve problems by reasoning, systematically test solutions. Abstract thinking: A way of thinking that does not require you to rely on being able to visualise things in order to understand concepts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw36PpYPPZM 7.05-end

In conclusion on Piaget’s development Development happens from one stage to another through interaction with the environment. Piaget did not think it was possible to hurry along or skip stages through education Changes from stage to stage may occur abruptly and kids will differ in how long they are in each stage. The child can only learn certain things when she is at the right developmental stage

Problems with Piaget’s Theory Children often grasp ideas earlier than what Piaget found Cognitive development across domains are inconsistent (e.g. some are better at reading than math) Studies have shown that development can to some degree be accelerated