Lecture on Cognitive Theory of Development
Jean Piaget
Theorist who studied childhood development (approaching it
not from a psychoanalytical or psychosocial perspective but
on children’s cognitive growth.
Holds that our cognitive abilities develop through specific
stages, which exemplifies the discontinuity approach to
development. As we progress to a new stage, there is a
distinct shift in how we think and reason.
Jean Piaget says:
-children develop schemata to help them understand the
world.
-By the time children have reached adulthood, they have
created schemata for almost everything. When children learn
new information, they adjust their schemata through two
processes: assimilation and accommodation.
*Schemata are concepts (mental models) that are used to
help us categorize and interpret information.
*Assimilation is when they take in information that is
comparable to what they already know.
-First, children assimilate new information or experiences in
terms of their current schemata.
*Accommodation describes when they change their
schemata based on new information.
-This process continues as children interact with their
environment. (Development: Schemas, Assimilation, &
Accommodation https://www.youtube.com/watch?
V=Xj0CUeyucJw
2-year-old Blake learned the schema for dogs because his
family has a Labrador retriever.
-When Blake sees other dogs in his picture books, he says,
“Look mommy, dog!” Thus, he has assimilated them into his
schema for dogs.
One day, Blake sees a sheep for the first time and says,
“Look mommy, dog!” Having a basic schema that a dog is an
animal with four legs and fur, Blake thinks all furry, four-
legged creatures are dogs.
When Blake’s mom tells him that the animal he sees is a
sheep, not a dog, Blake must accommodate his schema for
dogs to include more information based on his new
experiences. Blake’s schema for dog was too broad, since
not all furry, four-legged creatures are dogs. He now
modifies his schema for dogs and forms a new one for
sheep.
Like Freud and Erikson, Piaget thought
development unfolds in a series of stages approximately
associated with age ranges. He proposed a theory of
cognitive development that unfolds in four stages:
(1) sensor-motor,
(2) pre-operational
(3) concrete-operational and
(4) formal operational.
(Watch Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development.
Https://www.youtube.com/watch?V=ihcgygx7aaa)
The first stage or the sensorimotor stage may be the stage in
which a child learns about himself and his environment
through motor and reflex moves. The child’s thoughts derive
from movement and sensation (Springhouse Company,
1990). They find out and progress by performing simple
motor movements such as for example looking, grasping,
crying, listening, touching and sucking. Additionally, down
the road, they will also gain a basic knowledge of the
relationships of trigger and effect. Object permanence
appears around 9 months and additional physical
development allows the kids to begin developing new
intellectual abilities. Piaget contends that some fundamental
language abilities are developed in the end of this stage.
(Watch: Piaget - Stage 1 - Sensorimotor stage : Object
Permanence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Time_continue=16&v=ncdlnup7oa8&feature=emb_logo)
Pre-operational stage follows following the child
reaches at age 2. Throughout that stage, a child’s
cleverness is demonstrated through the utilization of
symbols, and his words make use of matures, advancing to
simple sentences. The child’s storage and creativeness are
developed to a particular extend but thinking is done in non-
logical and non-reversible manner. (Stage 2.A typical child
on Piaget's conservation tasks.
(Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Time_continue=4&v=gnarvcwah6i&feature=emb_logo)
The following stage is the concrete operational stage -where
the kid reaches the age of 7-11. Children then develops
seven types of conservation, namely number, duration,
liquid, mass, weight, area and volume level. The child’s
cleverness is further demonstrated through logical and
systematic manipulation of symbols linked to concrete
objects, and his operational thinking evolves exponentially,
nevertheless, his thinking at this stage is still concrete.
The final stage in the cognitive advancement may be the
formal operational stage, where in fact the child’s developed
intelligence can be demonstrated through the logical make
use of symbols linked to abstract concepts. That is reflected
in his/her speech as in selection of words, and capacity for
metaphorical usage.
Short-Answer Task: From the way you answer the tool on
your perception on the use of reinforcement and punishment
above (assessment), discuss (in 8-10 sentence paragraph)
the implication of the use of reinforcement and punishment
in the teaching-learning environment. (Rubrics: content-5;
org.-3; mechanics and neatness-2)
(The students in Mr. Sand’s advanced high school
geography course are struggling with their reading
assignments, and they readily share their frustration with
their teacher.)
Lucy:The textbook is really hard. I can’t understand it at all!
Mike: Same here!I’m really trying, Mr. Sand, but most of the
time I have no idea what I’m reading.
(Many other students nod their heads in agreement.)
Mr. Sand: Okay,let us see if we can figure out why you might
be having trouble. Look at the section called ‘Economic
Activity’ on page 55, which was part of last night’s
reading...Tell me the kinds of problems you had when you
read this passage, then maybe I can help you understand it
better.
(The students eagerly describe their difficulties)
Jane: I never heard of some of the words. What’s tertiary
mean? What’s quaternary ?
Peter: Yeah. And what are commodities?There’s too much
to learn. Do you expect us to memorize all of this stuff?
John: OK, I see your point.I guess this stuff can be pretty
abstract. No, I don’t want you to memorize it all. What’s most
important is that you get the main idea, which in this case is
that different levels of economic activity build on one
another. Here, let me show you what I mean. We start out
with primary activities, which involve direct use of natural
resources.
Mr. Sand: (writes on the board) Primary activity—using
natural resources.
Mr. Sand: Who can give me some examples of natural
resources we use right here in Pennsylvania?”
Sam: Coal
Kristen: Milk
Nikki: And vegetables
Mr. Sand: Excellent examples!Now in secondary activities,
people change those items into other things that can be
used.
Mr. Sand: (writes on the board) Secondary activity—
changing natural resources into other products.
Mr. Sand: Let us identify some possible examples for this
one.

1.Why are the students having trouble making sense of their

textbook?
2.What characteristics of the text seem to be interfering with
their understanding?
3.What strategies does Mr. Sand use to help the students
understand the passage about economic activities?

Discuss the implication of behaviorism focusing on Skinner’s

Operant Conditioning (with special attention to reinforcement
and punishment) in teaching

Criteria: Content-10; Org.-3; Mechanics-2