Piagets Cognitive Development Theory Lori Decker EDU 6655

Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory Lori Decker EDU 6655

Overview � Background � Key Ideas � Stages 1 -4 � Inconsistencies in Stage 4 � Metacognition � Universality of Theory � Educational Effects

Background Ø Piaget was a stage theorist, meaning children construct new ways to interpret environment Ø He was a self-defined genetic epistemologist Ø Also a naturalist in the sense of observing naturally occurring things Ø He used the Quasi-experimental tradition of cognitive development in Geneva 1920 s Ø And an inductive approach – took specimens of thinking and then classified it into stages

Key Ideas Ø Assimilation – a fight between the child and the environment so the organism changes, often through imitation Ø Accommodation – information pulls child’s mind in opposite directions so he must change his thinking to adapt Ø Participation – an active process of two things acting upon one another (object and child)

Stage 1 Sensorimotor - Ages 0 -2 Ø Repeating physical actions to form new schemes or action patterns ØThere are 6 stages ØObject permanence forming at the end of this stage as well as seeing self as separate objects

Stage 2 Preoperational – Ages 2 -7 ØSymbols ØGreater language use ØMore make-believe play ØParallel play ØEgocentric ØOne to one correspondence but can’t conserve

Stage 3 Concrete Operations – Ages 7 -11 ØConservation is learned ØClassification is acquired ØCooperative play is practiced ØStarting to overcome egocentrism

Stage 4 Formal Operations ØReasoning is evident ØChild can control variables ØCorrelation and proportion are developing ØChild can form categories within categories and has thinking about own thinking (operations on operations), or metacognition

Inconsistencies in Formal Operations In a 1972 article “Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood” Piaget disputes his own claim about formal operations Ø He claims that all adults go through formal operations but adds they are affected by quality/frequency of opportunity of experience Ø Conclusion: formal operations may not show across all domains and maybe only to those areas exposed Ø

Metacognition Ø Marker of formal operations Ø Metacognition – thinking about own thoughts and be able to communicate them -self as subject -other points of view exist Ø Self-Regulation develops with metacognition -deliberate direction of thoughts and control of one’s emotions

Universality � Piaget asserted his theory was cross-cultural through these beliefs: ◦ Adaptive process – organism learns to adapt in different settings ◦ Construction process-organism and environment are always interacting ◦ Variations in cognitive development – include formal education and other ways the culture affects a child

Universality continued… �A study in Papua New Guinea showed theory not the method of testing is crosscultural � If you test with a relevant tool (string bag for New Guineans versus sticks – Piaget’s students) � Conclusion: formal operations is a higher cognitive level ◦ Higher is not always better, like Western norm

Educational Effects Ø To further formal operations, it is important to consider the appropriate design of education Ø Teachers should encourage abstract thought, metacognition, self-regulation Ø Interaction with peers is crucial for autonomy Ø Teacher as collaborator, not master

References Boddington, E. (2009). Cognitive process of development in children. Retrieved from http: //www. eric. ed. gov/ERICDocs/ data/ericdocs 2 sql/content_storage_01/0000019 b/80/44/ac/c 5. pdf. Crain, W. (2005). Piaget’s Cognitive-Development Theory. In Prentice Hall, Theories of development (pp. 112 -141). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Fox, E. & Riconscente, M. (2008). Metacognition and self-regulation in James, Piaget, and Vygotsky. Educational Psychology Review, 20, 373 -389, doi: 10. 1007/s 10648 -008 -9079 -2 Kuhn, Deanna. (2008). Formal operations from a twenty-first century perspective. Human Development, 51, 48 -55. doi: 10. 1159/000113155 Maynard, A. (2008). What we thought we knew and how we came to know it: four decades of cross-cultural research from a Piagetian point of view. Human Development, 51, 56 -65. doi: 10. 1159/000113156. Valsiner, J. (2005). Participating in Piaget. Society, 57 -61, Retrieved from http: //www. springerlink. com/content/y 837 m 3 jxxa 8 nt 703/