piaget's theory of cogntive development Flashcards
outline piaget’s assumption of children’s cognition
children do not know less than adults, but think in an entirely different way. Piaget described them as mini scientists in that they are not passive, children are born with an inate need to learn and should actively learn through trial and error and discovery.
What is the link between schema’s and childrens cognitive development
schema’s are mental frameworks that help individuals organise, and process information in their environment. children are born with a small number of schema, just enough to interact with the world. eg. sucking and grabbing. As children develop their schema’s become more complex and detailed.
outline assimilation as a process of developing schema’s
assimilation - understanding new experience by adding new information into an existing schema. A child in a family with dogs can adaot to the existence of different dog breeds by assimilating them into their dog schema
outline accomodation as a process of developing schema’s
accomodation takes place in response to dramatically new experience, the child has to adjust by creating new schemas. A child with a pet dog might first think of a cat as a dog but then accomodate a separate category for cats.
According to piaget why are we motivated to learn
we are motivated to learn when existing schema’s cannot make sense of current issues which leads to an unpleasant sensation of disequilibrium. In order to escape this children are driven to reach equilbrium through the process of assimilation and accomodation.
outline the research that support’s piaget (AO3)
research by Howe et al supports piaget’s idea that children individually form mental representations, studied children aged 9-12 who were placed in groups of 4 to investigate and discuss the movement of objects down a slope, after all children were found to have increased their understanding in a way that was individual to them.
why does Howe et als research support piaget (AO3)
shows that through discovery and active learning of placing items down a slope each child developed their own understanding and cognitive growth through assimilation of schemas.
how does Howe et al’s research refute piaget (AO3)
piaget did not consider the role of interaction and language in a group, the children were allowed to further their understanding via discussion, perhaps it was the role of a group that aided discovery and lead to schema development
What is the useful application of piaget to the real world (AO3)
Piaget’s theory placed a higher emphasis on discovery learning, an active process where children learn independantly to assimilate and accomodate their own schemas. This has helped shape teaching in schools and place a higher emphasis on discovery learning eg. learning about conseravtion by playing with sand and water. This has led to a less chalk and talk approach to learning.
What is a practical issue of studying chilren to develop theories
piaget studied children through observations and experiments, through this he made inferences about cognition. However, cognitions of a childs thought process is hard to objectively measure as they cannot verbalise their understanding and thought process. This could result in an underestimation of the childs cognition and makes it hard to truly validate assimilation and accomodation happening as schemas change.
