1. How does Piaget affect your practice? Knowledge as a process based on the activities of the learner. To know is to act. Relationship between learner and object is always undergoing transformation.

2. Piaget: The Cognitive Developmental Perspective “People make sense out of their worlds by gathering and organizing information” Four factors affect development: –Biological maturation –Activity –Social experience –Equilibration Development of logical thinking.

3. Basic Piagetian Concepts Organization, organize thinking processes into psychological structure, schemas Adaptation to maintain equilibration Schemes, building blocks of thinking Assimilation, use existing scheme to make sense Accomodation, modifying scheme to make a new sense Equilibration, drive for balance Cognitive dissonance, lack of psychological balance

4. Four Stages of Cognitive Dev. Sensorimotor, learning based on senses and movement. –Object permanence –Goal directed actions –Reversing actions –Cause and effect thinking

5. Preopertional Stage Language and rules Symbolic thought Irreversible thinking Egocentrism/centration

6. Concrete Operational Stage Stability Transformation Reversible thinking Classification Conservation

7. Formal Operations Hypothetical thinking Abstract thinking Relativistic thinking Combinatorial thinking Deductive thinking

8. Applying Piaget Match strategies to abilities Consider lessons with multiple levels Create disequilibration Actively engage students in the learning process Apply information across situations Provide concrete experiences and manipulation

9. Trouble with Stages Lack of consistency Doesn’t explain how children are experts Not universal Leads to overgeneralization Is primarily “scientific” Biological origins? Role of motor activity?