Development - Brain Development and Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

Vocabulary flashcards covering early brain development, divisions of the brain, Piaget's four stages of cognitive development, key psychological terms, and educational implications.

Brain

The organ in your head made up of nerves that processes information and controls behaviour.

Forebrain

The anterior part of the brain, including the hemispheres and the central brain structures.

Midbrain

The middle section of the brain forming part of the central nervous system.

Hindbrain

The lower part of the brain that includes the cerebellum, pons and medulla oblongata.

Anterior

Directed towards the front, when used in relation to our biology.

Posterior

Directed towards the back, when used in relation to our biology.

Cerebellum

An area of the brain near to the brainstem that controls motor movements (muscle activity).

Medulla oblongata

Connects the upper brain to the spinal cord and controls automatic, involuntary responses such as sneezing, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.

Involuntary response

A response to a stimulus that occurs without someone making a conscious choice; they are automatic, such as reflexes.

Neural connections

Links formed by messages passing from one nerve cell (neuron) to another.

Divisions of the brain

Anatomical divisions showing the forebrain, midbrain, brainstem, medulla oblongata, cerebellum, and spinal cord.

Cognitive

Thinking, including problem-solving, perceiving, remembering, using language and reasoning.

Operations

How we reason and think about things.

Object permanence

Knowing something exists even if it is out of sight.

Sensorimotor stage

Piaget's first stage of development (birth to 2 years) where infants use their senses and movements to get information about their world and learn object permanence.

Pre-operational stage

Piaget's second stage of development (2 to 7 years) which consists of the symbolic function stage and the intuitive thought stage.

Symbolic function stage

A stage within the pre-operational stage (2 to 4 years) where children start imitating others, use objects as symbols, and engage in symbolic play.

Intuitive thought stage

A stage within the pre-operational stage (4 to 7 years) that marks the start of reasoning, where children ask many questions and focus on one aspect of a situation.

Symbolic play

Children play using objects and ideas to represent other objects and ideas.

Egocentrism

Unable to see the world from any other viewpoint but one's own.

Animism

Believing that objects that are not alive can behave as if they are alive.

Centration

Focusing on one feature of a situation and ignoring other relevant features.

Irreversibility

Not understanding that an action can be reversed to return to the original state.

Concrete operational stage

Piaget's third stage (7 to 12 years) where children begin to apply rules and strategies to help their thinking and use concrete objects to aid understanding.

Seriation

Sorting objects, such as into size order.

Classification

Naming and identifying objects according to size or appearance.

Reversibility

Understanding that an action can be undone, such as knowing that if $2 + 4 = 6$, then $6 - 2 = 4$.

Conservation

Knowing that length, quantity or number are not related to how things look.

Decentration

The ability to take multiple views of a situation, which conservation relies on.

Formal operational stage

Piaget's fourth stage (12+ years) where young people gain control over thoughts, think about abstract concepts, and understand sequences and consequences.

Morality

General principles about what is right and wrong, including good and bad behaviour.

Schema (Schemata)

Mental representations of the world based on one's own experiences.

Robert Slavin (2005) teaching implications

Educational implications from Piaget's theory emphasizing focus on child processes, discovery learning, acknowledging individual growth rates, and avoiding whole-class teaching.

Adaptation

Using assimilation and accommodation to make sense of the world.

Assimilation

Incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.

Accommodation

When a schema no longer works and has to be changed to deal with a new experience.

Equilibrium

When a child's schemas can explain all that they experience, resulting in a state of mental balance.