1. Social Constructivism and Cognitive Development

2. Definition:
Society cannot hold together without something that is shared
There is no objective “reality” in itself. Things do not have their own intrinsic meaning.
We subjectively impose meaning on things.
DISCUSSION: How does this relate to our consideration of myth and story?

3. We force meaning on something, when doing so allows us to see or perceive what we want to see or perceive,
And then we call it TRUTH, FACT, DOGMA, REALITY
As we look at and experience changing context, we adjust our perceptions accordingly
DISCUSSION: GENDER, Perceptions have changed dramatically in the last decade.

4. Jean Piaget: Cognitive development theory
Swiss
Published first paper at the age of ten
Begins as a biologist, but then moves to psych: IQ tests: How do children think

5. Stage theory Cognitive theory
Piaget addressed HOW CHILDREN THINK
POSITED THAT THIS IS, IN LARGE PART, DEVELOPMENTAL, MATURALTIONAL
Says that childrens’ ability to think and how they see the world matures over time and that children are not tiny adults

6. Two ways we learn: Discuss how this fits Zootopia…
Assimilation: Just add to knowledge we already accept
“predators kill/eat other animals. They are scary with big teeth”
A lion: so, if an animal is like a lion it must be…

7. Accommodation: We must change our understanding to take in new information!
SCHEMA: Mental constructs that help us understand the world
As we mature, we have experiences that challenge our schema and we either change our view or insist we are correct depending on our readiness
Schema and Equilibrium:

8. Equilibrium/disequilibrium: Are we ready?

9. Stage 1: Sensori-motor Birth-2
Uses senses to explore and has reflexive behaviors ex. Moro reflex: PRIMARY REACTION
Ends with complex coordinations

10. Making things happen (SECONDARY REACTIONS) Use of tools (TERTIARY REACTIONS)

11. Stage 2: Pre-operational 2-6
Language=imagination=play=relationships to world and self;
Symbolic thinking, decenters : moves from parallel play to interaction

12. Imagination; trying on roles

13. Concrete Operational 7-11 Years Logic, rules, negotiations
Concrete Operational 7-11 Years Logic, rules, negotiations!!! Thinking is black and white; right,wrong, just, unjust, not a lot of room for subtlety or nuance, not analytical….

14. Trading, negotiating, assigning value (why do we value such things
Trading, negotiating, assigning value (why do we value such things?) And more physical risk…

15. Formal Operational: 12+ Ability to think in abstract and hypotheticals; Studies show, usually requires instruction

17. Lev Vygotsky

18. Social Constructivism

19. Vygotsky ( )
Stresses as FUNDAMENTAL the role of community, society in the development of cognition (how we think and perceive)
Piaget says we must developmentally ready, and of course, society influences that development
Vygotsky says social learning precedes and shapes our development “learning is a necessary and universal aspect of developing culturally organized, specifically human psychological function”

20. Zone of proximal development (ZPD) Guided Learning

21. Adults transmit their CULTURE’S TOOLS of intellectual adaptation that children internalize
Example: Memory strategies
We learn note taking, verbal cues
Incan culture used knot tying
Native American cultures often used dances, patterns in art
We model, provide instruction, correct course, etc. as children internalize: MKO “more knowledgeable other”

22. Language:Vygotsky
Social Speech: Used to talk to others (typical to age 2)
Private Speech: Directed to the self, serves an intellectual function; processing, directing (typical from age 3)
Silent, inner speech: Speech goes underground, takes on a self-regulating function and is transformed into silent inner speech (from age 7)
INTERNALIZATION OF LANGUAGE: ALL THREE FUNCTION THROUGHOUT LIFE

23. Play: Vygotsky
“ Since language is both a symbolic system of communication and a cultural tool used to transmit culture and history, play is an essential part of both language development and a child's understanding of the external world.  When a child is at play, he or she is in a constant dialogue either with self or others.  Children at play are making sense of the world through a process of "inner speech" - that is, they are often talking out loud to themselves.  As adults, we lose this capacity because it is not socially sanctioned. ”
From Child Development Media