Cognition and development

How does Piaget view children’s thinking compared to adults?

• children think in an entirely different way to adults

What are schemas according to Piaget?

• cognitive frameworks that help us to organise and interpret information developed through experience

How did Piaget view schema?

• as the basic unit/ building block of intelligent behaviour

• he also believed that children were born with a small number of schema:

  • enough to help them interact with the world

Define the me-schema?

• the schema children have which stores knowledge about themselves

define disequilibration?

• where our existing schema does not allow us to make sense of something new

define equilibration?

• the balance of assimilation and accommodation

define assimilation?

• fitting new information into an existing schema without changing the schema

define accommodation?

• changing an existing schema or creating a new one to incorporate new information

What is a major strength of Piaget’s theory regarding the learning process?

• it emphasises the active role of children in their own learning- they construct understanding through interraction not passive reception

what practical application has Piaget’s theory had in education?

• it has influenced teaching methods, curriculum design and assessment by highlighting the importance of hands on experiences, exploration and problem solving in promoting cognitive development

why might Piaget’s theory not be universally applicable?

• based on observations of swiss children and ignores cultural differences such as language and socialisation practices

what individual differences are not accounted for in Piaget’s theory?

• genetic predispositions and environmental factors that affect the rate and pattern of development

how did piaget treat social interactions in cognitivedevelopment?

• he placed little emphasis on them and mainly focused on the individuals cognitive process

what does research show about the role of social interractions?

• social interactions e.g  collaborative problem solving and peer interaction play a major role in shaping a child’s cognition

state piaget’s stages of intellectual development?

• sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)

• pre operational stage (2-7 years)

• concrete operations (7-11 years)

• formal operations (11+)

explain the sensorimotor stage?

• when infants explore and understand their world primarily through sensory experiences and motor activities

what is a key milestone within the sensorimotor stage?

object permanence

Define object permanence?

• the realisation that objects still exist even when not visible

At what age does object permanence occur?

• at 8 months

  • piaget assumed that before 8 months a child would no longer search for an object which had passed out of their visual field but after 8 months they would

define goal directed behaviour?

• co-ordinating actions to achieve a desired result

define symbolic thought?

• mental representations of objects, leading to pretend play and language

what cognitive abilities do children begin to develop in the pre operational stage?

• class inclusion

• egocentrism

• conservation

Define conservation?

• the ability to understand that a certain property of an object is the same even if its appearance changes

what do children in the pre- operational stage struggle to distinguish between?

reality and appearance

Define egocentrism?

viewing the world from only one’s point of view

• 3 mountains task- child was asked to see what person could see from other side

  • pre operational children struggled

Define class inclusion?

• the ability to classify objects into 2 or more categories simultaneously

  • children in the preoperational stage struggled when classifying objects due to their inability to understand class inclusion

Explain concrete operations?

• piaget found that from the age of 7 children could conserve and preform better on tasks including egocentrism

  • however they struggle to reason about abstract ideas/ imagine objects or situations which cannot be seen

Define formal operations?

• from the age of 11 years old children are capable of formal reasoning

what did Vygotsky believe about cognitive development?

• he believed it was largely the result of a child’s interactions with others

What are cultural tools according to Vygotsky?

• tools for communicating and dealing with the world which shape peoples thinking

How did Vygotsky think children learn best?

• through learning via interaction with others, not isolation

what is the Zone of proximal Development(ZPD)?

• the gap between what a child can do alone and what they can do with assistance from a more knowledgeable other

what is meant by appropriate assistance in Vygotsky’s theory?

• support that helps a child progress just beyond their current ability

State the 3 important components of effective learning in the ZPD?

• social interactions

• the presence of a more knowledgeable other

• opportunities for the learner to observe and practice skills

what is scaffolding in Vygotsky’s theory?

• temporary support form a more knowledgeable other that is gradually withdrawn as the child become competent

Who introduced the term scaffolding?

• Wood, Bruner and Ross

Did Vygotsky use the term scaffolding himself?

• no he never used the term but the concept is based on his ideas