Cognitive Development and Education

Question 1

What was Jean Piaget’s view on cognitions?

Answer 1

He believed that we are genetically programmed to have the ability to think abstractly and this is what makes us different to non-human animals.

Question 2

What did Piaget mean by ‘schema’?

Answer 2

Schema are mental organisations with which we make sense of the world and which direct our actions.

Question 3

What are the four stages Piaget came up with in his stage theory of cognitive development and what ages does each stage happen at?

Answer 3

Sensorimotor (0-2 years), Pre-operational (2-7 years), Concrete operational (7-11 years) and Formal operational (11 years to adulthood).

Question 4

What happens in Piaget’s Sensorimotor stage?

Answer 4

• Children learn knowledge from physical experiences and sensory input
• Object permanence - child starts to realise when objects are out of sight they still exist

Question 5

What happens in the Pre-operational stage?

Answer 5

• Memory and imagination improve
• Language develops
• Thinking not yet logical
• Child believes what they can see, everyone else can see too

Question 6

What happens in the Concrete-operational stage?

Answer 6

• Child begins to understand logic and can think beyond what they can see
• Understands there is more than one viewpoint
• Develops conversation skills

Question 7

What happens in the Formal operational stage?

Answer 7

• Formal logic

- Not everyone reaches this stage - most sophisticated stage of thinking

Question 8

What was Vygotsky interested in?

Answer 8

The development of thinking and its role in learning.

Question 9

What did Vygotsky suggest children have to do with development?

Answer 9

A Zone of Proximal Development which is the area of cognitive skills a child can reach with the help of a more-knowledgeable other.

Question 10

What did Vygotsky believe influences children’s cognitive development the most?

Answer 10

The environment in which they grow up.

Question 11

What did Bruner consider cognitive development as?

Answer 11

He considered that it was not simply understanding concepts or problem solving, but also the ability to be creative and autonomous, and ‘invent’ new thoughts.

Question 12

What were the three stages in Bruner’s stage theory of cognitive development and what ages does each stage correspond to?

Answer 12

Enactive stage (0-1 year), Iconic stage (1-6 years) and Symbolic stage (7 years onwards).

Question 13

What happens in the enactive stage?

Answer 13

Actual objects need to be touched and played with - child may have no internalised schema or representation of the object.

Question 14

What happens in the iconic stage?

Answer 14

Objects are represented by pictures or icons.

Question 15

What happens in the symbolic stage?

Answer 15

Words or formulae can represent the object.

Question 16

What is an example of where Bruner’s stages are used?

Answer 16

Used in the classroom - teachers go through these stages as the children grow up.

Question 17

What are the main points Bruner and Piaget agree on?

Answer 17

• Children are pre-adapted to learn
• Children’s cognition develops over time
• Symbols can be used when cognition develops

Question 18

What are the main points Bruner and Piaget disagree on?

Answer 18

• Bruner says development is continuous, Piaget says it is stage theory
• Bruner says language precedes learning, Piaget says it comes after

Question 19

What did Perry propose about college students?

Answer 19

He proposed that they pass through a predictable sequence of stages.

Question 20

What was Perry’s view of cognitive development?

Answer 20

Stage theory - 4 stages of mental and moral development.

Question 21

What is Perry’s first stage and who is it for?

Answer 21

• First stage is typically for young people and is called ‘dualism’
• Belief than every problem is solvable

Question 22

What is Perry’s last stage?

Answer 22

• Commitment

- Stage when there is an acceptance of the uncertainty of life

Question 23

What is Bruner’s Spiral Curriculum?

Answer 23

Suggests information is structured so new knowledge is taught at a simplified level first and then revised at more complex levels.

Question 24

What did Bruner mean by ‘Scaffolding’?

Answer 24

• Involves structured support between a more knowledgeable person and a learner
• Support is gradually removed as child learns until they can achieve task on their own

Question 25

What did Vygotsky believe the role of teachers should be?

Answer 25

Role is to facilitate the learning process by designing tasks in the child’s Zone of Proximal Development

Question 26

What did Piaget say about teachers?

Answer 26

They should provide an appropriate, stimulating environment to allow the child to discover.

Question 27

What is meant by discovery learning?

Answer 27

Learners construct own knowledge for themselves and develop own meaning.

Question 28

What was the aim of Wood, Bruner and Ross’s study?

Answer 28

To see how children respond to a tutor when they had a problem to solve, and see if this behavior changes with different age groups.

Question 29

What was the sample used in Wood, Bruner and Ross’s study?

Answer 29

• 30 children aged 3 to 5
• From Massachusetts, America
• Parents volunteered after seeing adverts

Question 30

What was ‘The Task’ in Wood, Bruner and Ross’s study?

Answer 30

• Tested individually in sessions lasting from 20 minutes to 1 hour
• Required children to make wooden-toy pyramid with 6 layers from 21 blocks
• Blocks interlocked through rod and hole system

Question 31

What did the tutor do while the children took part in ‘The Task’?

Answer 31

Tutor used a standardized set of prescribed actions, and made sure the child did as much as possible by themselves, using verbal and physical instructions if needed.

Question 32

How long were the children allowed to play with the 21 blocks before they were shown how to make a pair of blocks?

Answer 32

5 minutes

Question 33

What did the tutor do if the child ignored the tutor and continued to play?

Answer 33

Tutor would again present paired blocks.

Question 34

What did the tutor do if the child could take the blocks the tutor had just made and played with them?

Answer 34

Tutor would again present paired blocks, pairing them in front of child.

Question 35

What did the tutor do if the child could take up the blocks and manipulate them in a similar way?

Answer 35

Tutor would verbally point out any errors they were making.

Question 36

How were the children scored?

Answer 36

Event sampling used so children had a tally of behavior: Assisted, Unassisted and Matched, Mismatched (whether they could match the construction)

Question 37

What were the general results of the 3 year olds?

Answer 37

• Performed worse on the task

- No 3 year olds put 4 blocks together correctly

Question 38

What were the tutor help results of the 3 year olds?

Answer 38

• They needed more tutor help to construct blocks

- Often ignored tutor

Question 39

What were the general results of the 4 & 5 year olds?

Answer 39

• Performed better on the task

- All 4 & 5 year olds put the 4 blocks together correctly

Question 40

What were the tutor help results of the 4 & 5 year olds?

Answer 40

• Needed less help

- Accepted help more

Question 41

What are the conclusions about the 3 year olds?

Answer 41

They needed more help but often ignored the tutor more.

Question 42

What are other conclusions of this study?

Answer 42

• Demonstrates how scaffolding can be used
• Suggests an individual approach is important to help children
• Supports Piaget’s stages of Cognitive Development as shows older children have better understanding

Question 43

What are the three main learning groups?

Answer 43

• Physical learner
• Auditory learner
• Visual learner

Question 44

What are three good strategies for memorising things?

Answer 44

Research on memory has shown us mnemonics help us memorise, and so does rehearsing and mind maps.