Cognitive Development
Cognitive
Development
- Cognitive development is defined simply as
the “change in cognitive structures” (Kohlberg & Mayer, 1972, p. 457),
or in more detail, an “increasing complexity of awareness, including
perceiving, conceiving, reasoning, and judging, through adaptation to the
environment and assimilation of information”
- Cognitive Development- “gradual, orderly
changes by which mental processes become more complex and sophisticated”
(Salvin 2003,p.30)
Major 2
principles of Piagetian’s Theory
Two principles of cognitive
development are adaptation and organization.
Adaptation involves building schemes through direct interaction with the
environment. Two activities involve in adaptation are assimilation and accommodation.
Organization in Piaget’s theory is the grouping of isolated behaviors and
thoughts into a higher-order system. Continual refinement of this organization
is an inherent part of development.
Piaget’s 4
stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor
Stage (0 to 2 years)
The infant uses senses and motor
abilities to Understanding the world, beginning with reflexes and ending with
complex combinations of sensorimotor skills.
Preoperational
Stage (2 to 7 years)
This stage is characterized by an
increase in playing and pretending. Characteristics of this stage include
egocentrism and difficulty understanding conservation.
Concrete
operational Stage (7 to 11 years)
During this stage, children begin
thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding
abstract or hypothetical concepts.
Post
operational Stage (11 to 16 years)
Show logical thinking and able to
work through abstract problems and use logic without presence of concrete
manipulation.
Vygostky’s Theory
Vygotsky believed that we encode and represent our world
through language.
- Language is a symbolic system by which we communicate.
- Language is a cultural tool. History and culture are
transmitted through language.
- Our thoughts are based on language -- "inner
speech"
Vygotsky also was interested in human intellectual
development.
- Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) -- " the
distance between the actual developmental level as determined by
independent problem solving and the level of potential development as
determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in
collaboration with a more capable peer" (in Bruner, 1986, p. 13).
- Scaffolding -- the process of guiding the learner from
what is presently known to what is to be known. This occurs in the ZPD.
The more competent person supports the learner in their endeavor to reach
the new level of development.
- In contrast to Piaget,
Vygotsky believed that instruction precedes development. Instruction
leads the learner into the ZPD.
Some Differences between Vygotsky and Piaget
1. Piaget believed that development
proceeds from the individual to the social world. Egocentric speech suggests
that the child is self-centered and unable to consider the point-of-view of
others. Piaget also maintains that development precedes learning.
2. Vygotsky believed that development
begins at the social level and moves towards individual internalization.
Egocentric speech is seen as a transition between the child's learning language
in a social communicative context, and attempting to internalize it as
"private" or "inner speech" (i.e., thoughts). For Vygotsky,
learning precedes development.
3. Both agree that development may be
initiated by cognitive conflict.
4. Like Piaget, Vygotsky believed that
children's egocentric speech was an important part of their cognitive
development. The two differed in how they viewed the purpose of egocentric
speech.
Vocabulary
Egocentric: Can only see the world from their own point of
view.
Animism: Believe inanimate have feeling as they do.
Centration: paying attention to only one aspect of an
object or situation
Conservation: The understanding that an entity remains the same despite
superficial changes in its form or physical appearance.
Seriation: The ability to order objects in a logical progression.
Schema: Sets of physical actions, mental operations, concepts, or
theories people use to organize and to acquire information about their world.
Assimilation: The process by which children mold new information to fit
their existing schemes.
Accommodation: The process of changing existing schemata to fit new
information.
Equilibration: The innate tendency to keep our cognitive structures in
balance.
Organization: Grouping of isolated behaviors and thoughts into a
higher-order system.
Zone of proximal development: Vygotsky’s term that represents the gap between what
children can do on their own and what they can do with the assistance of
others.
Scaffolding: The process by which adults provide support to a child who
is learning to master a task or problem, performing or directing those elements
of the task that are beyond the child’s ability.
References
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