Piaget By: Ryan DiMarco

Biography Born August 9th 1896 in Switzerland. He received a doctorate in psychology in 1918 from the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland. Professor of psychology at several European universities during his life, including the University of Geneva and the University of Paris. From 1929-1968 he was the Director of the International Bureau of Education. Heavily influenced by Vygotsky later in life. Died 16 September 1980 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Terms Schema: a pattern of thought or behavior that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them. Adaption: the process of adjusting schemes and experiences to each other to maintain equilibrium. Assimilation: a form of adaptation in which an experience in the environment is incorporated into an already existing scheme. Accommodation: a form of adaptation in which an existing scheme is modified and a new one is created in response to an experience.

Nature V Nurture Nature Nurture Piaget

Stages of Development Stage Age Goal Sensorimotor Birth to 18–24 months old Object permanence Preoperational 2 to 7 years old Symbolic thought Concrete operational 7 to 11 years old Operational thought Formal operational Adolescence to adulthood Abstract concepts

Goals Stages Goal Meaning 1 Object Permanence The understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be perceived. 2 Symbolic Thought A type of thinking in which symbols and/or internal images are used to represent objects, persons, and events that are not currently present 3 Operational Thought The child is now mature enough to use logical thought but can only apply logic to physical objects in stage 3. 4 Abstract Concepts Is a level of thinking about things that is removed from the facts of the here and now.

Stage 3: Concrete Operational Characterized by the development of logical thought. Thinking is still concrete Children become much more logical and sophisticated in their thinking during this stage of development.

Stage 4: Formal Operational At this point in development children's thinking becomes much more sophisticated and advanced. Children can think about abstract and theoretical concepts They can use logic to come up with creative solutions to problems. Skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning, and systematic planning also emerge during this stage.

Study: Students will be asked individually to swing pendulums -- made with 3 strings (of different lengths) to which has been attached each of 3 different weights. Participants will be asked to swing all nine combinations of the strings and weights, giving them opportunity to swing each pendulum from different heights with different amounts of force. During each swing the participant will be asked to count how many times each pendulum swings back over the course of five seconds. After attempting the swings students will be asked which factor had the greatest impact on the number of the swings made by the pendulum: force, weight, angle, or length.

Hypothesis Students in both concrete operational and formal operational stages will be able to identify the correct cause of the number of swings. This will be because they can recognize this after writing down and analyzing their own data. Students in concrete operational will be able to recognize it because of the physical

Student Age Prior 1 11 Weight mostly – Height and Pushing will contribute 2 Weight 3 Drop Distance 4 5 Weight, drop distance, and string length 6 Drop distance 7 14 Force of drop 8 15 String length Children tested demographics: 8 male students from a scout troop in eastern PA

Student Prior Responses Age 11 “I think weight contributes most because the more gravity pulls down on it, the faster it moves. Height will also add to the force. Same thing with pushing” Student 4 Age 11 “Weight, because it gives it more force to move”

Results Student Age Prior Post 1 11 Weight mostly – Height and Pushing will contribute String Length 2 Weight 3 Drop Distance 4 5 Weight, drop distance, and string length 6 Drop distance 7 14 Force of drop 8 15 String length

Student Post Responses Age 11 “Length of rope because the shorter the string length more the swings” Student 4 Age 11 “String length because the longer the string the longer the swing time” Student 7 Age 14 “The string length because there is less energy and time needed for it to get broken side to side”

Limitations Only eight students tested Only two where in the age range that matches the formal operational stage All the test subjects were male and of a limited age range I was not physically present for the experiment Time

Conclusion All of the students tested figured out it was string length that had the greatest affect. Children in the concrete operational stage demonstrated concrete operational thinking in their responses. Children in the formal operational stage demonstrated formal operational thinking in their responses. This points to Piaget being right that children in these stages have logical reasoning in the physical world.