Outline and evaluate Piaget’s constructivist theory of cognitive development In order to put Piaget's model into context it is useful to consider what intellect is, and some of the factors that influence cognitive development of the child. Additionally I will briefly discuss the term ‘constructivist’. Child development is generally concerned with how the child learns and expresses themselves at various ages. Typically studies are carried out on children from birth to adolescence. Specifically, most psychologists are interested in the processes that occur at particular ages, and what the child's capabilities are at each stage of their childhood.
It will then briefly describe Piaget’s theory by providing an overview of the four stages of cognitive development which include sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational, before presenting two of the most common criticisms of his theory. Finally the essay will conclude with a brief summary of the points discussed. Prior to the development of his theory, Piaget worked for Albert Binet, a psychologist who was working to test the intelligence of both adults and children. During this time Piaget’s role was to conduct tests on children. His interest in children’s cognitive processes developed when he started to notice that children of similar ages made the same kinds of mistakes on test questions.
Jean Piaget conducted research by a clinical method, whereby, to establish his theory, he presented children with problems to solve and watched and recorded A) the ways in which they approached them and B) their reasoning. He did this with varying ages. To him children were not just passive receivers. Piaget’s theory is based primarily upon development. Piaget argued that children’s development occur in the sequence of 4 stages.
Gopnik first uses a personal experience to captivate her audience then proceeds to provide scientific evidence on the psychological abilities of children, beginning with newborn babies to toddlers about the age of four. The author informs readers on the thought capabilities of children by providing examples of the changes in mind development in different age categories. She suggests that "newborn babies (the youngest tested was only 42 minutes old) can imitate facial expressions" (Gopnik, 238) and how children that are nine months old can already distinguish between internal feelings such as happiness, sadness and anger. Gopnik recaps experiments that discover how children have learnt about people's wants and how they may conflict with their own in this portion of her writing. Two year old children seem to turn intentionally difficult and challenge their parents constantly, letting desire take control.
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).
Validity and Reliability Several aspects of the research support its credibility. First, the authors give a good deal of background information on the various means of psychological assessment of children within several theoretical frameworks, including psychoanalytic, behavioral, cognitive, constructivist, cognitive-constructivist, and cognitive-behavioral. Johnson (1997) describes theory triangulation as "the use of multiple theories and perspectives to help interpret and explain the data." (p.283) Hamama & Ronen (2009) present the Project Summary Paper, A methodological review – David Ellis 3 theoretical framework in the beginning, offering it as rationale for seeking self-report from
 Respect for diversity.  Use of discussion to resolve conflicts.  Performance across the curriculum including language and maths skills. It is also used by educationalist as one method of improving children’s cognitive skills as identified in Bloom’s Taxonomy and built on earlier research by Piaget and Vygotsky that suggested that thinking skills and capacities are developed by cognitive challenge. Bloom’s taxonomy identified six levels of cognitive skills of which three are classed as the lower order and three are classed as higher order: 1.
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.
Basing on research of Brody & Benbow (1987) and Stanley (1985), Heward (1996) indicated: “Programs that allow gifted students to accelerate their academic program have been highly successful in terms of academic achievements, extracurricular activities and social and emotional adjustment” (p.482). Beside acceleration, curriculum compacting is also an effective method to engage talented children in learning activities. It aims at focusing on important content in required curriculum, removing superfluous information and substituting appropriate materials (Heward, 1996). According to studies of Renzulli, Smith and Reis (as cited in Haring & McCormick, 1974), curriculum compacting guarantees that the
(b) Describe two examples of gender socialisation within the family. [4] Wide range of possible examples, such as different dress codes, toys, games, forms of discipline and regulations for girls and boys. One mark for the example plus one mark for development (2 x 2 marks). (c) Explain how a child learns to interact with other people. [8] 5-8 Answers at this level will demonstrate a good understanding of the question, with links to relevant sociological material such as G. H. Mead’s account of how children learn through interaction with others.