Developmental (developing as a learner)

neuroplasticity

theory that explores the ability of the brain to change and adapt its structure to the environment

strengths of neuroplasticity

• supported by case studies showing continuous development or “bounce back” after trauma or injury

• supported through brain scans of children through childhood

• supported by research into specific professions (ex. taxi driver)

• may help in the treatment of those with cognitive impairments, or after trauma

• supports idea that learning can occur no matter the age

• applicable in animals (increased gray matter in rats with toys)

limitations of neuroplasticity

• doesn’t explain why some brain development can occur rapidly, while others take longer, and some brain development just can’t occur (ex. loss of function that persists after stroke)

• doesn’t consider biological limits (such as age)

• doesn’t account for personal internal motivation for learning new things

• relies on correlational research or case studies (low generalisability)

localisation of function

theory that specific areas of the brain perform specific functions

strengths of localisation

• supported by case studies where loss of one area corresponds to loss of a specific function

• helps understand origin of cognitive impairments

• supported by brain scans taken during specific activities

limitations of localisation

• areas of the brain may be able to adapt, for ex. if an area is damaged in an accident, other areas may be able to compensate, suggests that localisation is not concrete/ permanent

• difficult to study/observe, as brain activity for one function is complex, and unethical to dissect human brains

• case studies can’t be generalised

• over emphasis on specific regions fails to recognise the interactions between regions, and how that impacts function

• reductionist to simplify complex functions into one area

• beta bias (ignores sex differences), fails to distinguish between how it may differ between sexes

piaget’s theory of cognitive development

theory that suggests that children learn in specific stages (that are related to their age), and cannot move onto the next without mastering specific tasks in the previous

• this learning is done through assimilation (fitting new info into an existing schema) and accommodation (changing an existing schema to fit new info)

• there are 4 main stages (sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, formal operations) SPCF

stages of piaget’s theory of cognitive development

1. sensorimotor (0-2): learning about world through senses and actions, learning object permanence (knowing an object exists even when hidden)

2. pre-operational (2-7): still only intuitive thinking (just what is present/apparent), often egocentric (don’t understand other peoples’ POV), often animism (personification of non-living objects)

3. concrete operational (7-11): understand logical rules, conservatism (amount stays the same despite change in appearance) and reversibility, comprehend diff POVs

4. formal operations (11+): abstract concepts, deductive reasoning (comparing statements to get logical conclusion), understand hypotheticals

schema

mental framework or representation of ideas

strengths of piaget’s theory

• foundational for early research into cognitive development

• supports ideas of constructivism: children actively build their knowledge rather than just passively taking it in, and new knowledge builds on previous knowledge (aka. schemas)

• major influence on education and parenting

• generated lots of research

• emphasises that children and adults think differnetly, different cognitive abilities, not just lack of knowledge

limitations of piaget’s theory

• small, unrepresentative samples often used

• given that experiments are designed by grown adults, often tasks or wording of questions are too complex for young children (like mountain scene as shown by Borke) **common limitation for cognitive developmental research

• doesn’t distinguish between competence and performance (what they understand vs what they do)

• often cross-sectional NOT longitudinal, hard to see changes over time

• timing may be too precise (stages and ages)

• under-estimates importance of instruction, creates universal model of development, disregards parents/culture

• may overestimate people capable of formal operations, or underestimate abilities of infants (adult ability may be dependent on formal education)

general problems with studying cognitive development

• need an age-appropriate task that’s not too complicated, but measures what you want to observe

• need to be able to test their knowledge without accidentally teaching them it instead

• often difficult or expensive to conduct longitudinal studies with young children

• need balance between having a lab setting with controlled variables, and an authentic environment where children can act normally (not have test anxiety)

another study to potentially critique piagets (police doll)

hughes police doll study

• set-up: model with 2 intersecting walls in a t-shape, with 2 policemen at the end of two of the walls (such that there is one section where they cannot “see”)

• children aged 3-5 asked to place a doll where the policemen cannot see it

• 90% of children placed it correctly, where policemen couldn’t see it, even if THEY themselves could see the doll

• suggests that children are not egocentric, and can see other POVs when given an age-appropriate task (like hide and go seek)

another study to critique piagets study (recreation with 50-70+ yr old adults)

study done by McDonald

• retested 3 mountain task with 50-70+ year old adults

• mistakes made were often “nearly correct” or egotistical despite participants understanding that they needed to look from a diff POV

• suggests that the task is too hard (hard to distinguish between photos taken at 36 degrees), and poor performance may be from intellectual stress-induced reversion (where when the sensory system is overloaded, they revert to default, or the option they know exists (their own POV))

• suggests that task should be simplified, and test anxiety/ performing under pressure should be considered

vygotsky’s theory

theory that cognitive development is based on interaction with others, specifically more knowledgeable otehrs (MKOs) who teach things inside the zone of proximal development (ZPD) through scaffolding

more knowledgeable others (MKOs)

an individual who has more experience and information with the ability to teach someone else content inside the ZPD (ex. teacher, parent, adult, skilled peer)

zone of proximal development (ZPD)

space between what a child can learn on their own, and what is beyond their reach. domain of things they can learn with guidance from an MKO

scaffolding

process through which difficult concepts are broken down with the help of an MKO, specifically geared towards the individual child

types of speech in vygotsky’s theory

1. social: external communication with others (2)

2. private: speaking out loud to yourself, intellectual function (3)

3. inner: silent mind’s thoughts, self regulating (7)

strengths of vygotsky’s theory

• scaffolding has been instrumental in education (well accepted in schools)

• theoretical basis of collaborative learning, such as in groups

• emphasises importance of social interaction (which is lacking in PIaget’s)

limitations of vygotsky’s theory

• too much emphasis on social interaction (lots can be learned independently/internally)

• lack of empirical evidence to support the theory

  • ideas of specific parts of speech (ex. social vs inner vs private) are hard to measure/ observe in studies

• lacks cross-cultural validity (ex. scaffolding may not be effective for all cultures, observation and imitation may be more effective in certain cultures)

• neglects other factors that influence learning like internal motivation, joy or frustration

similarities between vygotsky and piaget’s theories

• both suggest that children are curious and require active participation in learning

• both fundamental concepts widely used in schooling and parenting (viewed as complementary rather than conflicting)

• both don’t consider biological factors such as hormones

• both recognise the cognitive limitations of children (idea that some things are just too complex for children, they have different capacity to learn compared to adults)

• both use ideas of constructivism (new knowledge building on past knowledge)

differences between vygotsky and piaget’s theories

Piaget development defined in distinct stages with age doesn’t address teachers cultural influences don’t impact learning greater emphasis of thoughts and schemas than language

Vygotsky development independent of age/ maturity teachers are a central part of learning cultural norms can strongly impact learning language is a crucial tool in learning with others and self-regulation

similarities between neuroplasticity and localisation

• both connect the brains structures with function

• studied through brain imaging techniques such as MRIs

• both important when studying the development of children’s minds, as well as progress after traumatic brain injuries

• both can vary depending on the individual

• simple theories to explain complex neurological processes

differences between neuroplasticity and localisation

Neuroplasticity ability of the brain to adapt suggests that the brain is flexible allows the brain to change over time

Localisation specific functions only in certain areas more rigid model where function ability is static suggests that there is only one way the brain works

similarities between vygotsky and SCLT

• both require a more experienced model to facilitate learning

• suggest that social interaction is crucial in child development

• both fundamental in schooling and parenting

• suggest that the relationship between the teacher and child impacts learning

differences between vygotsky and SCLT

Vygotsky learning occurs with an MKO in ZPD active scaffolding needed from teacher doesn’t address emotional aspect of learning doesn’t address self-efficacy of child earning requires guidance from older, more experienced person

SCLT learning occurs through observation learning through watching and imitating emotional motivation related to learning self-efficacy impacts imitation learning can occur from anyone (peer, teacher, younger)

social cognitive learning theory

A theory that suggests behaviour is modelled by other members of a group and acquired through observation and/or imitation based on consequences (or lack of consequences) of a behaviour

factors relating to social cognitive learning theory

• if/ when they copy a behaviour is based off of 4 factors

1. attention: models who are more attractive are more likely to be copied (personal relationship, in-group, consistency)

2. retention: can have immediate or delayed imitation

3. motivation: anticipated reawrd/ punishment, vicarious reinforcement, emotional state

4. potential: self-efficacy, belief that they can

strengths of social cognitive learning theory

• easy to test (for ex. in a lab environment)

• supported by empirical studies

• practical applications (parenting, schools)

limitations of social cognitive learning theory

• not realistic, often artificial lab environments (can’t create a personal relationship/ environment, often behaviours learned over long period of time)

• doesn’t explain why some people don’t learn thorugh observation

• not applicable for all types of learning (ex. soft skills cannot be learned through observation, like teamwork, critical thinking)

• doesn’t account for differences between observational learning in children vs. adults

• vague/ loosely organised (unclear how much certain factors influence the learning, ex. how important is the personal relationship with model?)

• disregards biological/ hormonal factors that influence learning

enculturation

process through which cultural values and behaviours (such as norms) are learned and maintained

types of enculturation and how does it occur

3 types of enculturation:

1. vertical: from parents/elders to children

2. horizontal: through peers

3. oblique: social institutions (school, maybe media)

occurs through:

• direct teaching, participatory learning, or observational learning

sociocultural approach to learning

explores how the interactions with other people and the external factors in the surrounding environment change behaviour

• specifically in development: how others impact learning

• ex. either through observing others (SCLT) or guidance from others (Vygotsky’s MKOs)

biological approach to learning

explores how physiological factors influence the brain, and thus behaviour and cognition

• specifically in development: how the brain develops, and the resulting structure and/or function

• ex. localisation / neuroplasticity

cognitive approach to learning

explores how the mind processes, stores, uses and recalls information

• specifically in development: how the brain conceptualises and learns new cognitive schemas/ information