Introduction
One of the most popular theories of cognitive development was created by Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist who believed that cognitive growth occurred in stages. This theory suggests that children move through four different stages of learning. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence. Piaget studied children through to their teens in an effort to determine how they developed logical thinking. He attempted to document the stages of cognitive development by observing the memory processes of children.
- Stages occur in order.
- Children did not skip stages but pass through each one.
- There are visible changes from one stage to the next.
- The stages occur as building blocks, each one using pieces from the last stage.
This type of developmental model incorporates each stage into the next, which is why it is often called a “staircase” model. On this staircase, Piaget labelled four stages of cognitive growth that occurred at an approximate age in children.
- Sensorimotor Intelligence, from birth to age 2.
- Preoperational Thinking, from ages 2 to 7.
- Concrete Operational Thinking, from ages 7 to 11.
- Formal Operational Thinking, from age 11 onward
Piaget believed that children take an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about the world. As kids interact with the world around them, they continually add new knowledge, build upon existing knowledge, and adapt previously held ideas to accommodate new information.
Task
The task of the students is to research the four stages present under the theory of Cognitive Development by Piaget and try to connect it to the development of an individual in each stage. Try to explain each stage as simpliest as you can to allow each and everyone of you easy understanding.
Process
The Sensorimotor Stage: Birth To Age 2
The first stage is aptly named after how infants learn until age two. From birth, infants absorb information through their senses: by touching, looking, and listening. They are very orally fixated and tend to put everything in their mouths. Piaget believed that this stage was valuable to their development, and each consecutive step is built on the growth that occurs in this stage.
We can observe the thought processes of infants through their actions. From about 6 months on, children begin to organize ideas into firm concepts that do not change. An infant may first not make sense of a specific toy, but as they begin to look at it, feel it, and manipulate it often, they are able to represent the object in their minds. This is how we can begin to observe knowledge in babies, as they begin to show understanding of an object for what it is. For example, by playing continuously with a toy animal, an infant begins to understand what the object is and recall their experiences associated with that toy. Piaget labeled this understanding as object permanence, which indicates the knowledge of the toy even if it is out of sight. He considered this understanding to be a major milestone in the sensorimotor stage and believed that it demonstrated the differences in the thought processes of toddlers compared to young infants.
The sensorimotor stage is unique in that is occurs without the use of language. As infants cannot speak, Piaget developed a few creative experiments in an effort to understand what they were thinking. His experiments were able to demonstrate that infants do represent objects and understand that they are permanent. In one of his experiments, Piaget consistently hid a toy underneath a blanket. Toddlers, or children between the ages of 18 and 24 months, took initiative to look for the toy themselves, but infants less than 6 months of age did not. The older infants interpreted the hiding of the toy as a prompt to search for it, which is thought to support the idea of object permanence.
The Preoperational Stage: Age 2 To 7
Children continue to build on the object representation that is significant to the sensorimotor stage in different activities. While the way they represent objects has no logic or reasoning behind it, they continue to grow in this area through dramatic play. Imaginative play, or the art of make-believe, is an indicative sign of this age and stage.
As dramatic play is considered to be beneficial to educational growth, teachers often promote its use in the classroom. The preoperational stage occurs from age two to age seven, which means that imaginative activities are encouraged from preschool all the way to second grade. Dramatic play is considered to be one of the first demonstrations of metacognition in children, or dual thinking. While engaged in imaginative play, children are simultaneously reflecting on the realistic experience.
The Concrete Operational Stage: Age 7 To 11
In Piaget’s next stage, children begin to represent objects and ideas in a more logical way. While the thought process is not on the same level as an adult, they begin to be more flexible in their thoughts and ideas. This allows them to solve problems in a more systematic way, leading to more success in educational activities in school. Piaget labeled this stage as concrete operational because he believed that children were able to manage concrete objects, but not yet think methodically about the representations of objects. It is only later that children are able to reflect on abstract events and manipulate representations of events. For example, a child may implement the rule “if nothing is added or taken away, then the amount of something stays the same.” Applying systemic rules or ideas may help a child solve simple tasks in the classroom, such as addition and subtraction problems or scientific calculations.
The Formal Operational Stage: Age 11 And Beyond
As children move into the formal operational stage, they are able to reason about more abstract ideas. Much like the concrete operational stage, the formal operational stage gets its name from the newly acquired skill of representing objects or events. In class, a teacher is now able to ask hypothetical questions with reasonable expectations. Students must reflect internally on various ideas and manipulate many perspectives at once. “What if the world had never discovered electricity?” “What if the European settlers had never left for the New World?” Abstract questions such as these force students to use hypothetical reasoning to come up with an answer.
Piaget was most interested in hypothetical reasoning in scientific experiments, which resulted in most of his studies being conducted at the middle and high school levels. In one study, students are asked questions about a pendulum, a pivot from which weights are freely suspended. “What determines how fast the pendulum swings: the length of a string holding it, the weight attached to it, or the distance that it is pulled to the side?”
Students in Piaget’s experiments were not allowed to physically solve the problem by manipulating the pendulum but were asked to orally reason a solution. This meant that individuals were forced to imagine all of the factors independently while taking into account the factors that remained constant. Being able to resolve this problem in a systemic way was a clear determinant of formal operations in the thought process. The ability to manipulate various outcomes is the precise skill of the formal operational stage.
There are clear advantages for students who have already achieved the formal operational stage. They require far fewer supports in solving problems, which allows them to be more independent in educational settings and need less direction from their teachers. However, this does not mean that they are able to successfully complete all academic tasks nor is it the only way to do so. Self-regulation remains an important part of academic success; if a student is lacking self-motivation or is not well behaved, they do not do as well in school. Formal operational thinking does not offer specialized skills either, such as musical and artistic talent or athletic greatness. One critique of Piaget’s theory is that this stage only covered scientific problem-solving in educational settings, which most people do not come across in their everyday lives. As such, many never achieve this level of operational thinking, or if they do, they use it only in inexperienced and familiar situations. This proves that more research is needed on the development of personal and interactive issues of children and youth.
Evaluation
Student will be provided different links to serve as their guide in answering. They will be graded with the following rubrics. This includes the organisation and the way students answer the assigned task. Each student will be graded from the following.
- 10 Points - Explanation is clear and concise. Points are well-taken. Examples given are in line with each stage.
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5 Points - Explanation is not that clear. Answer doesn't have any examples given. 3
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3 Points - Answers are not connected to any circumstances. Points taken are confusing.
Conclusion
However, data from similar cross-sectional studies of adolescents do not support the assertion that all individuals will automatically move to the next cognitive stage as they biologically mature simply through normal interaction with the environment (Jordan & Brownlee, 1981). Data from adolescent populations indicates only 30 to 35% of high school seniors attained the cognitive development stage of formal operations (Kuhn, Langer, Kohlberg & Haan, 1977). For formal operations, it appears that maturation establishes the basis, but a special environment is required for most adolescents and adults to attain this stage.