Importance of Cognitive and Language Development - Essay Example

?Cognitive and Language Development How do children make sense of their worlds, which is new and extraordinary for them? The typical demeanor of a little child includes eyes wide open and arms expansively outstretched, they explore, analyze and integrate everything that they see around them because, everything that they are in the vicinity off is totally new for these children. Berk (2008) defines cognition as “the inner processes and products of the mind that lead to knowing. In involves all the higher order mental processes such as attending, remembering, symbolizing, categorizing, planning, reasoning, problem solving, creating, and fantasizing”. Like different species of this environment, animals rely on camouflage, feathers and fur coats, and speed may be some of the things that they use to adapt to the environment they live in. Human beings, on the other hand work upon adapting to their environment, with the help of thinking. Through this, they not only adapt to their environment but also transform it. Hence, we can say that among all the species that live in this environment, we as human beings stand apart because of our mental faculties. Children move from simple to complex tasks, while attaining their cognitive skills. They become more and more effective thinkers with their progressing age. It’s important to note that the mental faculties of a child are not incomplete or less effective than that of adults. But we can see that the child’s focus on a limited amount of information might be adaptive (Bjorklund and Blasi, 2011). Jean Piaget was a Swiss cognitive theorist who completed his education in zoology and gave a biological explanation to the things he saw happening in his environment in terms of cognitive development. He viewed cognitive development as an adaptive process in which thinking develops gradually from its less oriented form to something that is driven by logic. It slowly and steadily emerges out to be a fit with the external reality. Piaget’s had a constructivist approach towards the idea of cognitive development. He said that children develop their cognitive skills by progressing via four universal stages. The names of the stages are The Sensorimotor Stage, The Preoperational Stage, The Concrete Operational Stage and The Formal Operational stage (Ginsberg and Opper, 1979). All these constructs that he gave, came under the purview of the theory he gave which he named as the Cognitive Developmental Theory. Vygotsky gave the Sociocultural Theory. In it he devised, that language is a very important determinant of cognitive development and it broadens the purview of cognition of children with the help engagement in dialogues and conversations with people around them, who provide them with new knowledge and reinforce them to master socially relevant and culturally important tasks driven by the norms and values prescribed by the environment they are residing in. According to him the important determinant of cognitive development as it occurs in the life of a child are the social experiences he/she goes through. There are many differences that we come across while trying to decipher the basic nature of both these theories. The very nature of both these theories is different. Piaget devised the theory in terms of the four stages a child progresses through but Vygotsky based his theory on the foundation of developing the basic ideas which are required for the construction of knowledge wherein the concepts of learning play a huge role in the development. According to him development cannot be separated from social contexts a child has to live in, which also involves effective conversations with the significant others with the help of language. This tells us that the most evident difference between the two theories is that Piaget’s theory is hierarchical in nature but on the other hand, we don’t come to see any kind of stagewise progression in Vygotsky’s theory. This tells us that each of the Piaget’s preceding stages must be accomplished before the child moves on to the next; while Vygotsky said that his theory does not depend upon time. Another very important difference is that according to Piaget, child’s mental faculties develop on their own without any help from outside but Vygotsky said that a child’s effective development of cognitive faculties depends to a great extent on the social conversations and interactions that a child undergoes. Piaget had his theory fixed on the standpoint that cognitive development progresses from the individual reality to the social world. An illustration of this premise can be the egocentric speech the child has in the beginning suggests that child is self centered. This proves as an impediment for him to consider other’s point of view. On the other hand Vygotsky believed development stems itself from the social world which finally moves on to individual’s criterion for internalization. According to him, egocentric speech is just a transition from socially oriented communication to a language that is individual oriented and adapted as private or inner speech patterns showed in the course of development. From the aforementioned facts, we devise a major difference in the thinking of these two proponents that according to Piaget, development precedes learning and Vygotsky believed that learning precedes development. Piaget devised his theory on the premise of Adaptation. It involves the summation of three important processes which are indispensable for a child’s cognitive development. These are Assimilation, Accommodation and Equilibration. Assimilation is a process that involves the incorporation of new incoming information into the integrated knowledge base already established. Accommodation is a process wherein we adjust old schemas and concepts after noticing that the current way of thinking is not competent enough to make sense of the world as it is. Equilibration is more of a process involved in balancing the person with the environment. This takes place in full swing when a child experiences a state of disequilibrium, wherein he needs to incorporate and adjust the knowledge with the incoming information that is new and ambiguous and thus attain a state of equilibrium or homeostasis (Thompson and Meggit, 1997). In contrast, Vygotsky came up with three claims which affect the cognitive development of a child to a very large extent. These are culture, language and zone of proximal development. Culture is basically an integrated phenomenon wherein our social entity resides. As written above, culture and language play a very important role in the development of the cognitive faculties. Zone of Proximal Development is a zone wherein the child’s learning takes place. It’s an assortment of tasks too difficult for the child to master alone but possible with the help of adults or more trained peers (Jarvis and Chandler, 2001). Vygotsky was of the view that history of both the child and the culture he is a part of, are very important determinants of the child’s cognitive development as they supersede the cognitive schema patterns as given by Piaget. Morgan (2001) defined Schemas as the form action plan which guides us in understanding what is going on around us. Piaget understood the fact that the capacity with which a child progresses through the stages was flexible and depends upon the issue of maturity and social influences. This is so, because every child has a different innate capacity to understand and grasp new knowledge. Therefore, the child should not be coaxed to learn the knowledge of the next stage until he is statutorily ready for the same. But Vygotsky was of the view that instructor was a very important part of the child’s cognitive development and it came before the development itself. Also, the very role of instruction is also important in the zone of proximal development (Flanagan, 1999). Piaget assumed that development was independent of experience and based on the universality of the stages. But Vygotsky believed that the stages don’t stop at a certain stage or a point in one’s life. the development is an ongoing process and when one thing was learned it was used from that particular moment to the whole life ahead of it. It did not stop just because the child crossed the threshold of a new stage. In this view, the development is progressive. Piaget also had this assumption that development had no change when influenced through instruction (Flanagan, 1999). In contrast, Vygotsky was of the view that intellectual development is something that is continually evolving as the child gets to know so many new things each successive moment of his life. it does not have an endpoint and hence cannot be crudely accomplished within the short span of time covered by the stages as prescribed by Piaget. Piaget’s stages cover the span of child’s development till only about fifteen years of his life. And as coined by Piaget, according to his theory, there is nothing that the child accomplishes in his life and in the process of cognitive development after the age of fifteen. A child with special needs, such an autistic child or a child with dyslexia, would not be capable enough to fit the pattern as suggested by Piaget. Also, in many cultures, not all adults reach the formal operational stage and are living their life without any impediments as such (Jarvis, 2001). The similarities that can be pointed out in both these theories can be that both Piaget and Vygotsky were constructivists. Both studied the pattern of cognitive development in a child. Both of them agree that the initiation of development can be associated with cognitive conflict. They also agree on the fact that a child experiences something, and thus strives to make an understanding of the new and ambiguous situation he is a part of. To attain the state of homeostasis, he strives to know more and hence incorporate and adjust the new information with the already established body of knowledge. Both of the theorists gave due importance to egocentric speech. They believed that a child’s egocentric speech is a very important part of a child’s cognitive development. The social factors had an enormous loading on the child’s development as described by both the theorists. The nature of pattern of the internalization shown was transformative. Also, both the theorists converged in to same point when “what” of the development was questioned. They maintain and agree that the goal of the development is the higher mental functions. There are many implications of the Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories for working with learners of different ages. With the help of Piaget’s theory, teachers grab an effective understanding of what the child is thinking. It also helps them to align their teaching methods in such a way that it coincides with the students’ cognitive level. Conservation of constancy, as defined by Garner (2008), is the ability to understand how some characteristics of a thing can change, while others stay the same. The academic institutions today strive to create and implement an academic curriculum basing it on the process of conservation of constancies. Also, if students don’t have this ability, this might prove to b a serious impediment to their academic development. This is so because the processing of data according to them is limited. Hence, this might have a serious negative loading on the ability of the child to think abstractly solving the problems at hand, planning for the future tasks and also, finding out the importance of the phenomena occurring in front of them. In order for teachers to incorporate and develop the skill of constancy, they need to provide them with plethora of opportunities that lets them discern meaning in both physical and the abstract level (Garner, 2008). Piaget was of the view that conservation in a child developed at the age of seven or eight. Another implication is that visualization and reflective awareness are very important for the child’s understanding and interpretations about conservation of constancy. By pitching in students to analyze the similarities and differences and thereby trying to explore the comparative meaning out of things, they can improve the conservation of constancy to a very large extent. Vygotsky’s theory has also got a major influence upon the learner’s of different ages. Vygotsky emphasized greatly upon the central topic of his theory that is the Zone of Proximal Development. The basic premise as established by the term mentioned above is that a child’s cognitive development is positively affected and increased to a fourfold with the help of social interactions and dealings with others who are more skilled and knowledgeable. A teacher or peer, who is more capable, provides support and assistance to the student; and with the help of the support of the knowledge of other significant person, the child accomplishes the task at hand. Vygotsky’s theory reinforces and endorses a belief that is “what is learned must be taught” (Daniels, 2001). Teachers should explain the concept under question with the help of guided practice in the classroom. Think aloud protocols, is another way to establish the findings of Vygotsky for the betterment of the child. In this, the students are allowed to talk through the steps of a problem aloud. This can be used with both upper elementary and middle school students. This strategy of thinking aloud assists the children silently for the process of making meaning another important implication can be through the usage of scaffolding which is “a form of adult assistance that enables a child or novice to solve a problem, carry out a task or achieved a goal which would be beyond his unassisted efforts” (Wood et. al, 1976). It also suggests that the usage of language and experience is central to the effective implementation of scaffolding to aid in the learning process. The prevalent view of teaching is the traditional methods of imparting knowledge with the help of books, which is a practice that flows in just one direction. It might not be evident as to whether the child understands anything that is being taught in the class or not. But with the advent of Vygotsky’s approach to cognitive development, more and more schools have started using the modes of play, formal instruction, and discussions. This suggests that when the interaction between the child and the teacher is meaningful, it strives to conjure up the level of learning and understanding. In this way, the child also comes to know about the demeanor he has to establish while interacting in any kind of social relationships. Language development occurs in a set pattern in the early years. It develops at a very fast rate in the early childhood. The basic components of language are phonology (speech sound), semantics (meaning), grammar (syntax and the rules) and finally pragmatics (the right usage). A child of six months can vocalize with intonation; respond to his name and to human voices which don’t have any visual cues. They can distinguish between angry and friendly tones. At 12 months, the child uses one or more words which have some meaning and understands basic instructions. At 18 months, the vocabulary has developed up to 5-20 words which are basically made up of nouns. Repeating of words over and over is seen and is able to respond to simple commands and instructions. At 24 months, vocabulary is much better (about 150-300) and can use prepositions. The child starts to combine words and starts making noun-verb sentences. Rhythm, fluency, volume and pitch of the voice are not well established. At 36 months up to 5 years, usage of pronoun is appropriate, knowledge of three prepositions, and can name the chief parts of the body. The vocabulary is about 900-1000 words. Verbs begin to preponderate in the sentences and the child is able to reason on questions relating to thirst or hunger. Also, at this age, the child can speak his name, age and gender. the child can understand metaphors, can generalize grammatical forms and adjusts the speech according to the listener’s perspectives. From 6 to 10 years of age, the phonemes are exhaustive and the child can understand the syllable stress pattern. The vocabulary has now extended to about a 10,000 words wherein the meanings can be established on the basis of definitions. The child now can use refinement in language through passive voice and can communicate clearly in demanding situations like talking effectively and with appropriate understanding of meaning over the telephone (Berk, 2008). Hence language development and cognitive development are two processes which go hand in hand. Both are important in the smooth and progressive development of a child who is leading on to become an adult. References 1. Laura, E.L. (2008). Child Development (7th Ed.). India: Pearson Education, Inc. 2. Bjorklund, D.F. Blasi, C.H. (2011). Child and Adolescent Development: An Integrated Approach. Belmont, USA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. 3. Ginsberg, H. Opper, S. (1979). Piaget’s Theory of Intellectual Development. Chicago, USA: Prentice-Hall 4. Thomson, H. Meggit, C. (1997). Human Growth and Development. Abingdon: Bookprint Limited. 5. Jarvis, M. Chandler, E (2001). Angles on Psychology. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited. 6. Morgan, C.T. King, R.A. Weisz, J.R. Schopler, J. (2001). Introduction to Psychology (7th Ed). India: Tata McGraw-Hill 7. Flanagan, C. (1999). Applying Child Psychology to Early Child Development. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Limited. 8. Garner, B.K (2008). When Students Seem Stalled: The Missing Link for too Many Kids Who don’t “Get it?” Cognitive Structures. Educational Leadership, 67 (3), 76-78. 9. Daniels, H. (2001). Vygotsky and Pedagogy: New York: Routledge Falmer. Read More