Cognitive Development - Essay Example

Education: Schools & Society 601.2 Cognitive Development Helaine, November 2009 This work provides a and comparison of the stages of cognitive development and intelligence of children, and forms of cognitive knowledge, from the perspectives of Piaget and Vygotsky. There are several theories of cognitive development i.e. mental growth or intellectual development. The most prominent among them are the psychological theories proposed by Jean Piaget and Lev Semionovich Vygotsky. The study of cognitive development is not only of interest to psychologists, but it also has practical relevance in education because a better understanding of how children learn and grow can help to make teaching more effective. Teaching strategies can be devised to facilitate cognitive development rather than hinder it. For example, the work given to students can be made more appropriate according to their level of cognitive ability, teaching methods can be applied that are more in line with their learning processes, and individual differences can be identified and dealt with more easily. The basic premise of cognitive development theories is that cognitive development is the outcome of a process of socialisation through cognitive experiences. There are usually believed to be stages or periods in which particular developmental characteristics take course. So in each stage, distinct thinking, reasoning and learning patterns are exhibited. Piagets theory for example, assumes that humans cannot be given understandable information; rather, they construct their knowledge through experience. The child is therefore assumed to be actively exploring and not dictated by habits. Both Piagets and Vygotskys theories take a constructivist approach. The fundamental assumption of this approach is that learning is inherent "in the activity of the learner… in the doing" (Duffy & Orrill, 2001). This means that they rely on cognition being considered as a mental construction. In other words, "students learn by fitting new information together with what they already know" (Davison, 2006). Thus, the process of learning is influenced by the students beliefs and attitudes, and society defines the boundaries within which cognitive growth takes place. The constructivist approach can be contrasted with the traditional approach because the latter takes an acquisition view of learning. Also, in traditional teaching, students are expected to memorise content whereas in the constructivist approach, they would also learn the ability to use that knowledge. An important concept at the heart of educational development is that of intelligence. Piaget linked this with the concept of equilibration. Intelligence was seen not as a trait but a process involving schema, assimilation, and accommodation. "A schema refers to a recurring action pattern that guides behaviour… Assimilation is the incorporation of new knowledge into existing schema. Accommodation is the modification of schemata to incorporate new knowledge that does not fit into existing schemata" (Slee, 2002:211). Equilibration is therefore a search to balance the assimilation and accommodation processes. On the other hand, Vygotsky defined intelligence more simply and precisely "as the capacity to learn through instruction" (Slee, 2002:211). However, both Piaget and Vygotsky dealt more extensively with educational development and learning, which follows below. It was not until the likes of Gardner and Sterberg that intelligence has been studied more thoroughly. In Piagets theory, there are four stages of development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational, and the focus is on the interaction between the child and his or her environment. Descriptions of the stages follow: 1. Sensorimotor (0 to 2 years) - From initially responding to reflexes (e.g. sucking), the child learns to organise motor activities in response to the external environment (e.g. by crawling). Thus, knowledge is acquired through physical activity. Concept of object permanence develops and elementary language skills emerge. 2. Preoperational (2 to 7 years) - Children are egocentric and use symbolism to represent people, objects, and places. Oral skills and memory develops. 3. Concrete operational (7 to 11 years) - Logical thinking develops including reversibility. 4. Formal operational (12+) - Abstract thinking develops and so the ability to solve intricate problems and process hypothetical situations. Vygotsky did not define set stages as such, but mentioned three important concepts, namely, private speech, zone of proximal development, and scaffolding. Private speech aids children to think but is internalised as they grow older. The last two concepts are described late in the discussion on classroom applications. In terms of the classroom applications of each theory, a Piagetian classroom contains opportunities for students to construct their knowledge through direct experience. So the teachers role then is to provide "a rich environment for the spontaneous exploration of the child" (Chen), and the children learn for themselves to develop specific skills. Thus, two key principles apply: Firstly, learning is to be active, and secondly, learning should be more holistic. For example, instead of learning a certain isolated skill, they would carry out meaningful activities. Vygotsky emphasised the importance of working within ones proximal development zone. This would involve the child with doing things that they "may not be able to do alone at the time, but are on the verge of doing" (Davison, 2006). This can be useful for lesson planning. The teachers role (or that of an older or more experienced student) would be for scaffolding, that is, providing "encouragement and assistance in the form of advice and suggestions to aid a child in mastering a new concept" (Davison, 2006). As in the Piagetian classroom the child would still learn of his or her own accord, but will be guided in doing so. In addition, the meaningful context would also be provided by relating classroom experiences to the real world, and out of school experiences. Although many differences in the two theories have been noted, they are both essentially constructivist theories. Another similarity between both theorists not mentioned above is in relation to assessments. Both emphases that it should be organised so as to enable the students to demonstrate their competence in a particular knowledge or skill as a natural part of the learning process instead of something that is carried out separately at the end of the course. A summary of the similarities and contrasts between the cognitive development theories of Piaget and Vygotsky is given in the table below. Piaget Vygotsky Similarities Constructivism Learning takes place within a context Knowledge is a construction Assessment tests ability to use the knowledge Contrasts Approach Cognitive constructivism Social constructivism (socio-historical) How learning takes place Through interaction with environment Through symbolism, culture, and collaboration When learning takes place After development Before development Role of teacher Limited Involved Nature of intelligence Process involving schema, assimilation, and accommodation Capacity to learn through instruction Stages of development Four identified stages No set stages References Chen, Irene. (N.d.). An Electronic Textbook of Instructional Technology. http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/et-it/cognitiv.htm Davison, Brandi. (2006). Piaget vs. Vygotsky: The Cognitive Development Theory. Associated Content. Retrieved November 8, 2009 from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/94974/piaget_vs_vygotsky_the_cognitive_development.html. Duffy, Thomas and Orrill, Chandra. 2001. In Kovalchic, A. and Dawson, K. (Ed.). Education and Technology: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. Slee, Philip T. (2002). Child, adolescent, and family development. 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press. Read More