Development Module 47 Cognitive Development Children Cognitive Development

Development Module 47 Cognitive Development - Children

Cognitive Development • How thinking and intellectual abilities grow, change and decline across the lifespan

Jean Piaget • Influential theory on how thinking develops in children • Children’s thinking is different from adults • Series of stages to get to adult thinking • Children advance through each stage with an active exploration of their world

Schema • Schemas are mental molds into which we pour experiences • For example… when a baby sees its first horse

Then he sees…

Assimilation -fitting new information into existing schemas

Assimilation

Assimilation Wh at? ? ?

Accommodation –process to incorporate the new information HORSES COWS

Accommodation HORSES COWS

Categories become increasingly complex as children learn MAMMALS FISH

Piaget’s Cognitive Development • Four Stages • Birth to adolescence • Sensorimotor • Preoperational • Concrete Operational • Formal Operational

Sensorimotor • Birth to 2 • Developmental Phenomena • Object Permanence • Video • Stranger Anxiety • video

Preoperational • 2 – 6 or 7 yrs. old • Symbolic thought • Pretend play • Egocentrism • Video • Lack of Conservation • Video • Animism • All objects are living and capable of actions & emotions • “Slide was bad it made me fall”

Theory of Mind – 4 years old

Concrete Operational • 6 or 7 to 11 years • Conservation • video • Mathematical transformations – Reversibility • Classification • Capable of sorting items based on a variety of criteria

Formal Operational • At about age 12 • Ability to think abstractly • What is truth, freedom, love? • Ability to logically test hypothesis

Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development • Lev Vygotsky • Learning a social process • Between others • Within oneself • Social and culture influence thinking • Gradual change

Sociocultural Theory of Cognitive Development • Zone of proximal development • Exists between what kids are capable of learning and doing without assistance AND what they could accomplish with the extra help of others • Scaffolding • Giving just enough assistance to the learner in order for them to understand • Internalized Speech • Critical to helping children to organize, guide and regulate their actions

Piaget vs. Vygotsky

Autism Spectrum Disorder • ASD • Disorder that appears around childhood • Significant deficiencies • Communication • social interactions • Rigidly fixated interests • Repetitive behaviors

Autism Spectrum Disorder • Diagnosis • Difficult no medical test • Treatment • No cure • Early intervention treatment can help • More common in boys than girls • No single known cause • No reliable study shows any link between ASD and vaccines

Social Development in Childhood Module 48