Piaget's Theory According to Piaget, children in the earliest stages of life, from birth to 2 years, exist in a sensory-motor stage, where they learn to move and operate their bodies as well as begin to understand simple symbols. In this early stage, children are curious about their environment and begin to learn how to interpret it in sensible ways. The next stage is called preoperational thought and lasts from the ages of 2 until 7. In this stage, children develop stable concepts, mental reasoning and imagination. What is distinct and important about Piaget's views is that he considered imagination and play to be crucial to enable every child to develop his own sense of self and to foster healthy learning habits.
EDU10002 Understanding Language and Literature Assessment 1 There are many theoretical perspectives explaining how children develop and acquire language. Two well recognised cognitive psychologists, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, developed theories that addressed cognitive development and learning among children. Both theorists explore the development of a child’s way of thinking and examine the processes in how these developmental stages occur and impact on a child’s acquisition of language. Whilst there are similarities between the two theories, there are also significant differences. Language acquisition is the cognitive process where humans acquire the ability to perceive and comprehend language, as well as to produce and use words and sentences to communicate with one another (Friederici 2011).
Considering the work of key pioneers and current experts with links to child development theory. There are many theories about how children learn and develop. This area of study is called developmental psychology which covers subjects such as cognitive, language and emotional development. The research methods are based heavily on the on going assessments carried out by observing children over a period of time. Assessment is part of the process of understanding what children know, understand and can do so that future teaching steps can be appropriately planned.
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Jean Piaget (1896-1980) studied how children’s thought processes develop and has been very influential in our understanding of children’s cognitive development. He believed that interaction with peers was the most critical factor in children’s cognitive development. ‘He described children as ‘"little scientists," actively constructing their own theories about the world, testing these theories, and adjusting to new information’ (quote taken from Kendra's Psychology Blog at about.com: Psychology). He suggested mental plans - schemas (schemata) function as guides for action, as structure for interpreting information, as frameworks for solving problems. (For full explanation on schemas, conservation, assimilation and accommodation and explanations of terminology see appendix 2).
Constructivism is another school of psychology, and focuses directly on how people learn; specifically how knowledge is acquired and how it is transformed into learning. The constructivist theory relates to how a person experiences the world. Piaget was particularly interested in how the child experiences the world and how this aspect affects cognitive development. Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland. He was an immensely intelligent man and at the age of
This is achieved through the actions of the developing person on the world” (Cherry, 2010). Piaget created a theory of cognitive development of children, which breaks down into four different stages: Sensorimotor Stage Preoperational Stage Concrete Operational Stage Formal Operations Stage Piaget’s notion that infants were born with schemes beginning at birth called “reflexes”. Infants begin to use these reflexes to adapt to their environments, and then the schemes are replaced with more constructed schemes. Apart of Piaget’s theory was that what a child processes at a early age are based on actions then as the child gets older the processes later turn to mental operations. Piaget called these processes Assimilation and Accommodation.
Shereatta Willis Kaplan University PS220 Unit 9 Assignment Early childhood development is defined as ,a set of concepts, principles, and facts that explain, describe and account for the processes involved in change from immature to mature status and functioning (Bukatko, 2008),development is also generally divided into three broad categories, physical development, cognitive development, and social emotional development. Physical development addresses any change in the body, including how children grow, how they move, and how they perceive their environment. Cognitive development pertains to the mental processes like, language, memory, and problem solving, that children use to acquire and use knowledge. Emotional and social development addresses how children handle relationships with others, as well as understand of their own feelings. Physical development in children follows a directional pattern, large muscles develop before small muscles, legs and arms develop before those in the fingers and hands, and children learn how to perform gross ,or large motor skills such as walking before they learn to perform fine ,or small, motor skills such as drawing.
Principal Psychological Perspectives and Understanding Individual Development P1- Explain the principal psychological perspectives applied to the understanding of the development of individuals Cognitive Cognitive development is the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Theories: * According to psychologist Jean Piaget, children progress through a series of four key stages of cognitive development. Each stage is marked by shifts in how children understand the world: the Sensorimotor Stage, from birth to age 2; the Preoperational Stage, from age 2 to about age 7; the Concrete Operational Stage, from age 7 to 11; and the Formal Operational Stage, which begins in adolescence and spans into adulthood. Cognitive Stage | | Sensorimotor Stage(Birth-2 years) | During the sensorimotor stage infants learn mostly through trial and error learning. Children initially rely on reflexes, eventually modifying them to adapt to their world.
As a result, Jean Piaget proposed the cognitive development theory, which states that most children develop different ways of thinking through interacting with the environment (Santrock, 2010). According to Piaget’s theory, cognitive development occurs in four stages. The sensorimotor stage occurs in the period between birth and age two. Here, children start to learn from the environment and develop different aspects of language (Santrock, 2010). In addition, most children learn how to use different sensory and motor functions of the body.
Erikson for his theory of psychosocial development, who believed that personality develops in a series of stages. However, each author has their own view regarding the educational implication of the various processes, as well as, the role of various environmental components. The following articles (Horn 2009), will attempt to support and the educational implications of each theory. The articles highlight the major theories, research and opinions of Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erik Erikson’ on how children develop and learn. The first article by (Webb 1980) talks about Piaget belief that within each person there is an internal self-regulation mechanism that responds to environmental stimulation by constantly fitting new experiences into existing cognitive structures called schemas developmental stages in teaching.