Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development - Report Example

Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development Introduction Cognitive development refers to the construction of thought processes. It includes remembrance, decision-making since childhood to adolescence then adulthood and problem solving processes. There was a belief that infants were unable to think or develop any complex ideas. They were believed to remain incognito until later when they learned a language. It has now been discovered that babies are very aware of their environments from the time of birth. Babies begin learning from the time of birth and gather all manner of information from their environment. This information is processed in their brains to influence their learning. Cognitive development may refer to how an individual perceives, thinks and understands their world. This is influenced by their interaction of their genetic and learning factors. The major areas of cognitive development are intelligence and reasoning, information processing and development of the language. As such, the paper will analyse and evaluate Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development. Historically, cognitive development in children has been studied in different ways. One way is a study of intelligence tests such as the intelligence quotient that was adopted by Lewis Terman (1877-1956). The scoring of the IQ is based on mental age. Using this score, a child of average intelligence match will his age. A gifted child will have a higher IQ than that of his average age. Behavioural researcher developed the earning theory. Watson John and B.F. Skinner advanced that children are malleable. The learning theory focused on the role of environmental elements in influencing the children’s intelligence especially their ability to learn by rewarding desirable behaviour and punishing undesirable behaviour. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Piaget (1973) believed that children play a major role in development of intelligence and learning. A child was seen as a philosopher who learns from the experiences he has gone through. Most of his inspiration came from observing children. The theory is mainly aimed at mental concepts such as remembrance, reasoning, perception and beliefs. In his work Piaget illustrated that children often think in different ways from adults (Piaget, 1964). This does not imply that they think at a lower intelligence level. Children are normally born with a basic mental structure that is genetically inherited. This structure is the subsequent knowledge and learning in children. Cognitive was seen as a continuous organization of mental concepts that emerge from experience and maturity in later years. Piaget advanced the idea that children construct an understanding of their world and then experience differences between what they find in the environment from what they already know (Piaget, 1973). The cognitive development stages were enumerated to include sensor-motor, preoperational, concrete operations and formal operations stages. Singer & Revenson (1997) advanced that these stages take time to develop and unfold. Children have to pass through all the stages in order to achieve intellectual maturity. The sequence of the stages is always fixed and unchangeable. Children can therefore not jump any stage. Children proceed in all stages in a similar order. However, they may progress through the stages at different rates. A child acquires more cognitive abilities and motor skills with every gradual stage of development. Different child may behaviours are displayed at each stage. The transition between the stages is gradual and the child may be subtly aware of gaining new perspectives. However, in each development stage, there are distinct changes such as play, language, time, number and morality (Singer & Revenson, 1997). The main elements of the theory include schema, processes that allow transition between stages and stages of cognitive development. A schema is a building intelligence. It is a way of organizing information that people use to interpret their world. It is a unit of knowledge that may relate to a single aspect of the person’s world that may include objects, abstract concepts and actions. It is used to respond and understand situations. They are stored and applied when need arise. Children are in a cognitive balance state if they can interpret their schema at a given time. The processes that allow for transition between stages are assimilation, equilibrium, disequilibrium and accommodation. Educators view the processes as explanations to cognitive processes of learning rather than processes that influence major changes and shifts in cognitive ability. Assimilation and accommodation processes assist in adjustments to environmental changes. They are seen as adaptation processes that are continuous and use the environment to influence learning. Piaget views adaptation as the most important principle in the functioning of humans. The stages of cognitive include the sensor-motor stage that extends from birth to age of two. Senses, motor ability and reflexes rapidly develop at this stage. Intelligence will be displayed by the child’s ability to display and refinement of reflex movements. For example, a child may reach his preferred toys and suck on the nipple instead of the pacifier when he is hungry. Understanding the world is based on perceptions that the child has experienced. Actions that are developed accidentally are applied/ repeated to new and different situations to get similar results. The ability of forming primitive mental images develops at the sensory-motor stage periphery. A child at this point acquires permanence of objects. Before this point, the child other objects apart from himself exist. The preoperational stage runs from age two to seven years. The child is often unable to think logically. After they acquire language, children are able to use mental images and symbols to represent the world. The images and symbols are only success in representing the world based on the child’s intuition and perceptions. A child in this stage is very egocentric. He takes great interest in people and objects in his surroundings but only view them from his single point of view. This is an age of great curiosity; children investigate new things and ask endless questions. At this stage, a child’s thought differs greatly with those of adults. The concrete operations stage runs from age seven to eleven years. The child is able to carry out mental operations. Mental operations are interiorized actions performed in the mind. They enable a child think about physical actions that they had previously performed. The child at this ten can count numbers. A thought that is concrete operational is reversible. A child has the ability to reverse their thought. For example, he knows that if he can add something, he can subtract it as well. A child at this stage can perform simple mathematical operations. These operations are concrete as they are based on physically present objects. A child acquires conservation at this stage. This refers to the ability to see objects as remaining constant despite them going through some transformational physical appearance change. Children conserve quantities such as volume, mass and numbers. The formal operations stage runs from age eleven to sixteen. The child in this stage deals and tackles the present situations i.e. what is here right now. He can use formal thoughts that are operational to think about the distant future, the hypothetical and abstract concepts. This stage coincides with the adolescence stage. It also marks the beginning abstract thinking and deductive reasoning. The child’s thoughts are more flexible, systematic and rational. He can perceive all the possible ways he can use to find solutions to a problem. A problem is perceived from different angles and aspects rather than the single aspect view in the former stages. An adolescent can think about operational thoughts apart from concrete objects. He can think about abstract concepts such as time and space. He develops an innate value system and moral judgment. At this stage, he acquires the mental tools needed for living and survival. Practical Applications of Cognitive Development Theory Parents use this theory to understand what they need to buy to support their children’s growth. This theory helps them to understand how their children grow at various ages. They are able to buy items that are more meaningful to the development of their children through understanding their thought patterns, behaviour formation and learning process. Teachers use this theory to determine which syllabus to use at each level of a child’s learning. For example, research shows that children of the same age and grade have different abilities to obtain fluency in basic mathematics of subtraction and addition. Children in preoperational and concrete stages of development may perform multiple arithmetic tasks with greater ease than children in the earlier stages. The ability to achieve fluency in mathematical operations shows mastery of skills and readiness to learn more complicated mathematic techniques. Teachers who deal with children in the last two stages of development should develop appropriate academic expectations that match the children’s cognitive abilities (Bornstein, Hahn & Wolke, 2013). Reflection on the Importance of Cognitive Development This topic is very important as it brings insights into how a child develops intellectually and learns. It is important to understand how a child develops so that the parent and other stakeholders may know how to support the child in all stages of his development. Understanding a child’s cognitive development influences their learning and parents can use this theory to instil desirable behaviour to their children at the appropriate stage. This topic is very crucial in influencing the learning process, which is a crucial issue in the development of a child to adulthood and in them taking responsible roles in the communities. Understanding cognitive development can help influence children to develop and become responsible adults who are able to support the community and steer development. Parents are able to take an active role in their children’s lives by learning this topic. They are able to understand how their children develop intellectually and thus are able to offer help that is meaningful to their children at each stage of development. This way, they are able to bridge the age gap between them and their children and help them to become responsible adults with meaningful lives. Conclusion Cognitive development is a process of intellectual learning from infancy to early adulthood. The child goes through distinct stages and processes that influence their mental development. Children at each stage may exhibit distinct physical characteristics though. With each age the child’s intellectual capacity grows and becomes more capable of handling complex mental operations. The practical operations of this theory are helping a parent know what to buy in order to support their child’s mental development. Teachers also use the concept to prepare syllabus that is suitable for every age group and grade of the children at their school. This topic is important as it explains how a child develops intellectually. This insight can be used by parents to influence behaviour formation and offer meaningful to support to their children at every stage of development. This may bridge the age gap between the parents and their children. The new questions that came up were: how real are these stages? What are the effects of social and cultural factors on cognitive development isn’t use of Piaget’s own children for observation biased in some way? References Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., & Wolke, D. (2013). Systems and cascades in cognitive development and academic achievement. Child development, 84(1), 154-162. Piaget, J. (1964). Part I: Cognitive development in children: Piaget development and learning. Journal of research in science teaching, 2(3), 176-186. Piaget, J. (1973). Main Trends in Psychology. London: George Allen & Unwin. Singer, D.G. & Revenson, T.A. (1997). A Piaget Primer: How a Child Thinks (Revised Edition). Madison, Connecticut: International Universities Press Inc. Read More