Study on Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive development on Maldives Children
1. Introduction
This assignment is about Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive development. Jean Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development about the nature and human intelligence that comes gradually to acquire, to construct and to use it. The nature of intelligence is of two types, Operative and Figurative. Operative intelligence is the active aspect of intelligence whereas; Figurative is more static and involves perception, imitation & mental imageries. So, Piaget believes that children should do experiment or experienced and give reasons in order to learn.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive development
According to him, cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental process as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience. Piaget’s cognitive development is divided into four stages.
· Sensorimotor stage (0 to 2 years).
· Pre-operational stage (2 to 7 years).
· Concrete operational stage (7 to 11 years).
In each stage their thinking and learning level is different and little more complex with experience of real life situation.
As any time, operative intelligence frames how the world is understood and it changes if understanding is not successful. Piaget believed that, understanding and changing involves two basic functions: Assimilation & Accommodation. “Experience allows children to create schemes, which are mental models and then the schemes may be changed through assimilation, accommodation and equilibrium” ( Lisa Babers 2007).
According to Piagetian principle, teaching and learning should be real, authentic and complete with active involvement of educator and learner.
Is Piaget’s theory of Cognitive development is true for Maldivian student? Is poor upbringing cause difference in thinking process? Piaget made cognitive theory with his observation of Western children. Is this theory explains the psychology of Maldivian children?
For this assignment I have chosen Piaget’s cognitive development:
Concrete Operational Stage
During this stage, a child's thought processes become more mature and "adult like” and are capable of carrying out more complex operations. Children will start give logical reasoning replaces intuitive reasoning in real situation. They understand the reversible mental action also coordinate several characteristics rather than focusing on a single property of an object. Children can solve problems that apply to concrete events or objects. (Atherton, 2009, pp.9).
2. Method
To check the cognitive level of Maldivian children I have chosen the experiment of Piaget’s conservation of liquid.
Information of Subjects
Subject A
Age: 5 years 7 Months Gender: Girl
Academic performance: I have talked to her class teacher and she told that this child is very clever and very brightly performing in the class and good at studying.
Family background: She is a healthy child. She is living with her parents and her younger brother. Her mother is well educated and giving her opportunities to do different thing at home. She is little mischievous and likes to experience lot of things. She is very friendly. As her father works outside (mostly in other islands) she is having lack of fathers’ love so whenever her father is with the family she likes to be with her father. She likes her younger brother very much and always try to be with him. In almost all the weekends they have family get-together.
Subject B
Age: 8 years 4 Months Gender: girl
Academic performance: I taught her last year, she is very clever and very bright student. She is very silent and very discipline child in the class.
Family Background: She is living in a good environment with her mother and her younger sister. Her parents are rich and have provided her lots of educational facilities and giving her full support in studying too. Her mother cares very much about her study. She does lot of educational related works at home. She helps her mother in doing housework and helping her younger sister in studying.
Procedure:
Experiment – Conservation of liquid
In order to understand the cognitive development level of these two children I have given them a task of Piaget’s conservation of liquid. I have conducted experiment with both of the subject, Subject A and Subject B separately at their best mood and health to achieve accuracy of the result. The sequence of experiment is as follows:
· First I told we are going to have juice. Do you like juice? I arranged three glasses, two glasses with same size and named Glass A and B, and third glass is tall and skinny glass names as glass C. I arranged the entire setting at the best hygienic condition with the focus is on the experiment.
· Then I poured equal amount of juice into two glasses of same size already labeled A and B, in front of their eyes. Then I asked are these two glasses having same amount of juice or not?
· I pour juice of Glass A into the glass C. Then I asked her, which glass has more juice? Glass B or Cor is it same?
· Again I poured the juice back to glass A.And asked which glass has morejuice?
· Then I poured the juice of Glass A into Glass C and asked which glass you would like to take?
· Then I asked why do you want this particular glass?
· I repeated the experiment twice and recorded all observations carefully.
After few hours, I repeated the experiment again with both Subject A and Subject B together.
3. Discussion and Conclusion
Discussion
Subject A is in pre-operational stage. She is telling that tall and skinny glass is having more juice. According to Piaget, children of this age will not be able to understand the concept of conservation. I found that subject A is looking at the appearance. She is thinking that there was a different (high) amount of juice in tall and skinny glass because the glass is bigger and the level of juice rises.
Subject B is in concrete operational stage. She understands that when juice is poured into a different shaped glass, the quantity of juice remains the same, even though its appearance had changed. According to Piaget, children in this age will gain the ability of conservation and reversibility. In this stage children recognizes that an object does not change its weight, mass, volume or area when the shape alters its appearance.
Conclusion:
This experiment was exciting and interesting to observe the behavior of two individual responding differently to same situation. Finally, I came to the conclusion that,
· Both the children are correct according to their age. Subject A is telling there is more juice in tall and skinny glass because she can compare physical differences among the glasses of juice, but, Subject B is telling both the glasses have same amount of the juice because her thinking is more organized and rational. She is able to interconnect observation with their previous knowledge of accommodation.
· With their easy swift and natural behavior, I can estimate that both the subjects are grown in opportunistic environment with the parents support.
· Both subjects are normal with behavior and intelligence so their cognitive level is according to their age.
· Theory provides awareness about thought process of children at particular stage of development.
· Teacher can plan the efforts more precisely to guide to child to develop desirable moral and social values.
· This information may help to plan and frame school curriculum, lesson planning and adaptation of teaching aids best suitable to particular age group.
· According to my opinion, Piaget’s cognitive theory true to Maldivian children also. If we create better environment with better facilities, their cognitive level will be according to their age.
I recommend teachers to create the classroom with interesting things to explore and encourage students to become active. Construct own schemas through experiences that encourage assimilation and accommodation.
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