Cognitive Development Diana, Olivia, and Emma

Definition Cognitive Development Construction of thought processes Lasts from childhood all the way up to adulthood Ex: Remembering, problem solving, and decision making

Origin Research for the theory of cognitive development began in 1936 Started by John Piaget (1896-1980) (a.k.a. Father of Cognitive Development) Determined that children & adults thought differently Believed all behavior is related to thinking or cognition Cognition is developmental & is affected by genetics & environment

Sensory Motor Stage First of four stages of cognitive development From Birth- age 2 Mastery of concrete objects Children learn through their senses (seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, tasting) Object permanence developed by the end of this stage

Pre-Operational Stage Ages 2-6 Language development begins; goes hand in hand with symbolic thought Child relies on intuition Child may also give human qualities to inanimate objects (animism) Child is egocentric, only sees world in terms of themselves Can answer “what” but not “why” questions Child plays pretend (enhances use of symbols) Understands that drawings/words have meaning Has understanding of past & present

Concrete Operational Stage Ages 7-11 Children can use deductive reasoning Won’t be tricked when they see something literally Still can’t reason abstractly/can’t do mental problem solving (mental manipulation) Capable of conservation (things stay the same regardless of change in appearance) Capable of seriation and classification

Formal Operational Stage Ages 12+ Mastery of thought Person can do inductive & deductive reasoning from hypothetical situations Can perform mental manipulations Can answer how and why questions Can think about thinking in a systematic way

Formal Operational Stage (continued) There are five cognitive processes a formal operational thinker can do better than a concrete one Logic (all dogs are vicious, Fifi is a dog, Fifi is vicious) Abstract reasoning (considering variety of possibilities) Hypothetical reasoning (thinking of different solutions to a problem; what-ifs and potential scenarios) Extended thinking of mental leaps (if I do this bad thing, another bad thing would happen, which would lead me to having to do a thing, and it will be bad) Projective thinking (thinking across multiple time horizons) Reflective thinking (reflecting upon and learning from actions and experience)

3 Steps to understanding the theory Reflexes: simple blocks of cognition that help infants to adapt (sucking & grasping) Schema: reflexes categorized into schema in the same way that a computer organizes data Operations: logical thought processes

Information is learned in following ways: Assimilation: fitting new information into an already existing schema Accommodation: Adjusting schema to fit new situations or demands; adjusting existing knowledge to accommodate new information Learners can also absorb information using both methods

Equilibration Third aspect of intellectual growth Striking balance between the learner and their environment There is disequilibration with new information Lasts until accommodation/assimilation settles in The faster equilibration is reached, the more advanced a child is in logic development

Readiness Approach Children cannot learn until maturation gives them the ability State of intellectual development determines what they can learn

Learner Centered Educational Theory Emphasis on need for learner to participate in learning Knowledge can’t always be transmitted verbally Information must be reconstructed by exploring, manipulation, experimenting, questioning, and searching Learning is also a social process that is enhanced through collaboration and peer interaction Teachers take on more of the role of facilitators