Transcript Cognitive Development

Cognitive Development
S00057700
By : Jamie O’Brien
What is cognitive development?
• Expressed by (Berk. 2004) as “children
actively construct knowledge as they
manipulate and explore their world.”
• Cognitive Development has been
categorized into four main stages when
dealing with children, these were founded
by the main theorist for this topic, Jean
Piaget.
Stage one of cognitive
development
1: Sensori-motor period (0-2 years)
Actions are performed on the world in
terms of their five senses. Initially the
child’s behaviour is governed by simple
reflexes. This stage is sub-staged into six
parts.
The child cannot
understand that the
toy is still there even
though it has been
covered by a sheet of
paper
The sub-stages
Substage 1: (0-1 months) modification of reflexes
Substage 2: (1-4 months) primary circular
reactions
Substage 3: (4-8 months) secondary circular
functions
Substage 4: (8-12 months) coordination of
secondary reactions attainment of object
performance
Substage 5: (12-18 months) tertiary circular
reactions
Substage 6: (18-24 months) representational
thought
Stage two of cognitive development
2: Pre-operational stage ( 2-7 years)
• The emergence of language, modelling
and memory are key features. It is in this
when, that according to (McGurk. 1975,
p.36-37) ‘the child’s internal, cognitive
representation of the external world is
gradually developing and differentiating
but many serious limitations are also in
evidence.’
Stage three of cognitive
development
3: Concrete operations period (7-11 years)
According to Piaget, this stage is when children
begin to understand the relationship between
things in the world but still cannot think in
abstract terms. Although their thinking has
greater flexibility, they are capable of operational
groupings only with concrete objects.
if you have two five inch sticks laid
parallel to each other, then move
one of them a little, the child may
believe that the moved stick is now
longer than the other.
Stage four of cognitive
development
4: Formal operations period (11+ years)
The individual moves from a less to a more
mature level of functioning. McGurk(1975,
p. 39) notes that ‘[t]he hallmark of this
stage is the child’s ability to reason
abstractly without relying upon concrete
situations or events.’
Cognitive development in infancy
• In the first 18 months of life, infants are maturing
not only physically but cognitively as well.
‘Piaget describes the first two years of life as a
time of rapid growth in the child’s ability to think,
reason and understand the world.’ (Slee,P. 2002,
p.142-143). Infants belong within the Sensorimotor period in which they are using their
sensory systems and motor activity to help them
to acquire knowledge about the world.
Cognitive development in early
childhood
• Belong in the Pre operational stage of
development.
• ‘most obvious change is an extraordinary
increase in representational, or symbolic
activity.’ (Berk. P.216, 2004)
• Eg. The child pushes the block along the
floor saying ‘broom broom’, they know that
the block is not a car but the block
signifies something to the child.
Cognitive development in middle
childhood
• During Primary school years, children make significant
strides in terms of their cognitive development.
• Piaget places them within the concrete operations
period.
• ‘Children begin to understand the relationship between
things in the world but still cannot think in abstract terms’
(Slee,P. p.331, 2002)
• Thought is more logical, organised and flexible than in
early childhood.
A child in middle childhood will know
that If you pour the mild from the
short, fat glass into the tall, skinny
glass, that there is the same amount
of milk as before, despite the
dramatic increase in mild-level!
Cognitive development in later
childhood
• Piaget places these individuals in the
Formal operational stage where these
children develop the capacity for scientific
abstract thinking.
• In this stage children progress dramatically
in the way of understanding and having
the ability to think in a mature and
sophisticated manner.
Other cognitive processes
• Piaget also included accommodation,
assimilation and organization in his theory of
cognitive development.
• Accommodation: adapting to the environment
• Assimilation: incorporating experiences into
cognitive structures
• Organization: the way cognitive acts are
grouped and arranged to form sequences,
mental “folders” or schemata.
Jean Piaget
• Piaget’s proposal of the four stages of
cognitive development created a
revolution in the study of cognitive
development.
• During the 1970s and the 1980s his study
dominated the study of any other theorist
and put new meaning to the child’s
acquisition of early literacy and numeracy
skills.
•
“Jean Piaget was born
in Neuchâtel,
Switzerland, on August
9, 1896 .” (C.George
Bueree para.1, 2006)
Piaget proved to quite accurate in his study
of cognitive development as this graph
shows. The only problem with his study is
that it was biased. Most of his experiments
were performed on his own children and not
on a variety of different children from all
walks of life.
Lev Vygotsky’s Cognitive theory
• His research stretched from 1896 till 1934
• Stressed the significance of the environment and
culture in the learning process.
• Disagreed with Piaget’s view on the structures of
cognitive development.
• Argued that children’s cognitive abilities were
formed and progressed by interacting with the
environment.
• ‘Scaffolding’, or teacher-guided learning of
repeated or relevant behaviour, is one of his key
concepts.
• He was born in the same year as Piaget in Russia
•
For him, the individual’s development is a
result of his or her culture. Development, in
Vygotsky´s theory, applies mainly to mental
development, such as thought, language
and reasoning process. These abilities were
understood to develop through social
interactions with others (especially parents)
and therefore represented the shared
knowledge of the culture.
He states:
“Every function in the child’s cultural
development appears twice: first, between
people (interpsychological) and then inside
the child (intrapsychological). This applies
equally to voluntary attention, to logical
memory, and to the formation of ideas. All
the higher functions originate as actual
relationships between individuals (Vygotsky,
1978, p.57).” (Sólrún B. Kristinsdóttir, para.1, 2001)
Theories and today’s
understanding
• In the 21st century when trying to define the
theory of cognitive development Piaget is the
one whose detailed and extensive theory
stands out amongst the others.
• Although his experiments were biased and he
faced many constraints when trying to conduct
his study, his final analysis in the topic proves
to be the most accurate and still taught as THE
theory of cognitive development in schools
today.
Bibliography
• Bueree, C (1999). Personality theories.
http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/piaget.html.
• Kristinsdóttir,B (2001).
http://starfsfolk.khi.is/solrunb/vygotsky.htm.
• Berk, L (2004).Development through the lifespans- 3rd
ed. United States of America: Pearson Education.inc
• Slee. P (2002). Children adolescent and family
development. Australia: Cambridge University Press
• McGurt, H (1978) Issues in childhood social
development. London: Methuen