Transcript Child and adolescent development

Child and Adolescent Development:
Cognitive development
Week 2-1
Overview:



Basic theoretical issues
Cognitive-Developmental theory (Piaget)
Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky)
1.Basic theoretical issues

Definition of development
–
–
–
Certain changes that occur in human beings
between conception and death
Temporary change caused by a brief ill or drugs is
not considered part of development
Can be divided into many different aspects,including
physical development,personal development,social
development, and cognitive development.
General principles of development




People develop at different rates
Development is relatively orderly
Development takes place gradually
Development is affected by both heredity and
environment
2.Piaget’s Cognitive Theory



Born in Neuchâtel,
Switzerland, on August 9,
1896.
In 1918, received his
Doctorate in Science
from the University of
Neuchâtel.
In 1952, he became a
professor at the
Sorbonne
Background of Cognitive Theory




Student of biology and zoology
Learned that survival requires adaptation
Any individual organism, as well as an entire species,
must adapt to constant changes in the environment
Viewed development of human cognition/intelligence
as the continual struggle of a very complex organism to
adapt to complex environment
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory:




Human development described in terms of functions
and structures
Functions: inborn biological mechanisms that are the
same for everyone, remain unchanged during lifetime;
help construct internal cognitive structures
Structures: change repeatedly during development
Schemes = cognitive structures
Schemes





Fundamental aspect of theory
Not something that a child has, is what a child does
Relationships between two elements, an object in the
environment and the child’s reaction to the object
E.g., Ball - can push it, throw it, mouth it
Psychological structure, reflects child’s underlying
knowledge that guides interactions with the world.
Schemes


It is the nature and organization of schemes
that define a child’s intelligence at a given time.
Schemes are flexible, typically have a broad
scope, change over time
Example





3.5 years child reading the map of China
Shandong to Shanghai
Shandong to Beijing
How will we go from shanghai to beijing to call
on someone?
Conclusion: The child merges two schemes
into a unit
Functions


Two major functions:
1) Organization: Cognitive structures are
related and fitted into the existing system.
–

Involves integration, not just adding on.
2) Adaptation: Tendency of the child to fit with
its environment in ways that promote survival.
(Sub-processes are assimilation and
accommodation.)
Piaget’s Cognitive Theory:
Constructivism


Children’s knowledge of events in the
environment are not an exact reproduction of
those events. Not like a photograph.
Children shape what they learn from their
environments and shape it to fit with existing
schemes.
Stages (periods) of development




Sensorimotor (0-24 months)
Preoperational period (Ages 2 to 6 years)
Concrete operational period (6 - 11 years)
Formal operations period (11 years adulthood)
Sensorimotor stage (0 to 24 months):






Six substages
Reflexes graduate to more flexible action
patterns
Show increasing levels of intentional and goal
directed behavior
Begin to understand object permanence
Mental representation develops
Deferred imitation, make-believe play
Preoperational stage (24 months to
7 years)






Make-believe play becomes more complex, evolves
to socio-dramatic play
Dual representation develops (realize that photos
represent things in the world)
Helps preschoolers understand others’ perspectives
Still quite egocentric
Animistic thinking
Conservation and hierarchical classification still
difficult
Teaching preoperational child





Use concrete and visual aids
Short instruction with actions and words
Pay attention to the inconsistent perspectives
More hands-on practice
When learning concepts and language,provide
a wide range of experiences
Concrete Operational stage (7 to 11
years)





Thought becomes more logical and organized
Conservation develops: Shows that kids can
de-centre and reverse their thinking
Seriation and inference develops
Cognitive maps develop
Cultural practices and education have a
profound effect at this stage
Teaching the concrete-operational
students






Use concrete props and visual aids
Give students chances to manipulate and test objects
Presentation and readings should be brief and wellorganized
Use familiar examples to explain complex ideals
Give opportunities to classify and group objects and
ideals on increasingly complex levels
Present questions the need logical,analytical thinking
Formal Operational stage (11 years +):



Abstract thinking appears
Deductive reasoning emerges
Even many university students only think in
abstract ways on topics with which they have
extensive experience.
Teaching formal operational students




Continue to use concrete-operational teaching
strategies and materials
Give students the opportunity to explore many
hypothetical questions
Give students opportunities to solve problems
and reason scientifically
If possible, teach broad concepts, not just
facts,using materials relevant to the real life
Educational implications




Children is not “small adults”
Understanding students’ thinking
Teaching based on the developmental levels of
students’ thinking
Learning is a constructive process
Limitations of Piaget’s Theory
The trouble with stages(lack of consistency in
children’s thinking)
 Underestimating children’s abilities
 Children’s trouble with Piagetian tasks can be
explained by information processing theory
(neo-Piagetian theories )
 Can’t explain youth’s thinking(post-formal operation)
 Overlooking the effects of culture and social group

3.Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory



Born on November 5,
1896 in Byelorussia
(Soviet Union)
He was first educated as
lawyer and a philologist
He began his career as
a psychologist in1917
and only pursued this
career for 17 years
before his death from
tuberculosis in 1934.
Basic viewpoints




Emphasized the way that values, beliefs, customs, and
skills of a culture/social group influence children
Focused on dialogues between children and more
experienced members of society
Language leads to self-talk and the development of
cognition, and later metacognition
(errors in text p44)
Vygotsky’s theories



Cultural tools theory
Private/self speech theory
Theory of zone of proximal development
Cultural tools theory



Social interaction is the origin of individual
thinking
Cultural tools,including real tools and symbolic
tools play very important roles in cognitive
development
Higher-order metal processes are mediated by
psychological tools
Private speech theory




Children speak to themselves for self-guidance
Start doing this openly, then to self (you may
see their lips move)
Language forms the foundation for all higher
cognitive processes
Children with learning difficulties show more
private speech over a longer period
Private speech and self-regulation




First, behavior is regulated by others
Next, using the same language to regulated
others’ behavior
Third , using private speech to regulate ones
own behavior
Finally, regulated his/her behavior by silent
inner speech
Theory of zone of proximal
development




A: The area where child can solve a problem
alone
B: Problems beyond the children’s capabilities
C: Zone of proximal development: the area
where the child can’t solve a problem alone,but
can be successful under adult guidance or in
collaboration with a more advanced peer
Instruction should be given in the ZPD
Implications of Vygotsgy’s theory
for teachers

Assisted learning
–
–

Scaffolding
From heteronomous to autonomous
The zone of proximal development
–
–
Assessment of learning potential
Guide students by explanations,demonstrations,and
with other students
Differences between Piaget and
Vygotsky’s theories
Piaget
Background
Course of
Development
Agents of
Development
Implications
Vygotsky
Pause and Discussion
What makes the differences between
Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories?
Application and Generation
 Analyse
the reasons why your
English study are relatively
ineffective.
 Design a suitable project for
enhancing your English performance.
The
End