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Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development - Coggle Diagram
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
Schema
Building blocks (units) of knowledge
Equilibrium (mental balance)
Script
Innate schemas (newborns)
Reflexes (eg sucking schema)
Grasp relflex
Rooting reflex
Adaption Processes
Assimilation
Uses an existing schema to deal with new object or situation
Equilibation
New Situation
Disequilibrium
Accommodation
Assimilation
Accommodation
When the existing schema (knowledge) does not work and needs to be changed to deal with a new object or situation
Equilibration
Force which moves development along.
Leaps and bounds, rather than at a steady rate
Occurs when a child's schemas can deal with most new information through assimilation
Disequilibrium occurs when new information can not be fitte into existing schemas (assimilation)
The force which drives the learning processes as we do not like to be frustrated and will seek to restore balance by mastering new challenge (accommodation)
Oone new information acquired, the process of assimilation with the new schema will continue until the next time an adjustment is needed
Intellectual growth
Stages of Cognitive Development :
Preoperational
Age 2 to age 7
Thinks about things symbolically
Thinking is still egocentric
Concrete operational
From age 7 to 11
Turning point in cognitive development
Logical (operational) thought
Child can work things out internally
Children can conserve number (age 6), mass (age 7) weight (age 9)
Conservation is the understanding that something stays the same in quantity, even though its appearance changes (eg pouring water from a short glass to a tall glass)
Sensorimotor
Birth to age 2
Object permanence
Mental representation of object
Formal operational
From age 11+ (adolscence and adulthood)
Develop the ability to think about abstract concepts and logically test hypotheses
Child goes through stage in same order and child development is determined by biological maturation and interaction with environment
Effect of social setting and culture on cognitive development
spatial awareness- developed earlier in Aboriginal children than Swiss children - cultural factors (nomadic groups need spatial awareness)
Educational Implications
Piaget did not explicity relate his theory to educaiton
Applied to teadching and learning by later researchers
Piaget theory has been extremely influential in developing educational policy and teaching practice internationally
Discovery learning
Recurring themes of individual learning, flexibility in curriculum, centrality of plan in learning, use of environment, learning by discover and importance of evaluation of progress
Teachers should not assume that only what is measurable is valuable
Notion of readiness concerns when certain information or concepts should be taught
Children should not be taught certain concepts until they have reached appropriate stage of cognitive development
Assimilation and accommodation require an active (not passive) learner as problem-solving skills cannot be taught and must be discovered
Learning should be student centered and accomplished through active discovery learning.
Roll of teacher is to facilitate learning, rather than direct tuition
Teacher should encourage the following:
Use active methods that require rediscovering or reconstructing "truths"
Use collaborative as well as individual activities (for learning from peers)
Focus on process of learning, rather than end product
Devising situations that present useful problems and create disequilibrium in the child
Evaluate the level of the childs development so suitable tasks can be set
Tests sometimes difficult to understand (confusing)