The IP Approach As a child develops it... Learns more about the world Understands its own abilities and limitations better Becomes capable of a greater variety of actions Because of changes to its cognitive... ‘Hardware’ – it can process more info, faster ‘Software’ – it has more and better strategies

Piaget and the IP approach agree... That children’s thinking changes over time That more advanced understanding grows out of less advanced

Piaget & the IP approach don’t actually disagree about the data but about how it should be interpreted. E.g. both would acknowledge that most 5 year olds can’t conserve liquid quantity and most 7 year olds can. However, they would disagree about why.

? Disagreements... Piaget IP Approach Emphasises (in)accuracy and (il)logic of child’s mental representations 5 year olds get conservation of liquid quantity wrong because they lack operations of compensation & reversibility Emphasises limitations in the child’s ability to process information 5 year olds get conservation of liquid quantity wrong because they cannot simultaneously process info about height & width ?

? Disagreements... Piaget IP Approach Sees development as reflecting qualitative change in thinking Children become able to conserve liquid quantity when they acquire concrete operations Sees development as reflecting quantitative changes in thinking Children become able to conserve liquid quantity when their processing capacity has increased sufficiently to allow height and width info to be processed simultaneously ?

? Disagreements... Piaget IP Approach Sees development as unfolding through qualitatively different stages Children develop the ability to conserve liquid quantity, mass, number etc. about the age of 7 because concrete operations allow them to grasp their underlying logic Sees development as unfolding gradually and continuously Children learn how to conserve liquid quantity at one time, mass at another, number at another as their experiences and abilities allow them to grasp each. ?