L1- cognitive development

Question 1

What is piagets theory of development?

Answer 1

• children born without knowledge
• children actively construct their own understanding through action of the world
• stage like, the change at each stage is what changes all the information held within the mind. This change is domain general.
• domain specific development is processes and kinds of information which are specific to one domain
• four stages

Question 2

What are the four stages of child development according to piaget?

Answer 2

• Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2yrs)
• pre-operational stage (2-7yrs)
• concrete operational stage (7-11yrs)
• formal operational stage (11yrs+)

Question 3

Strengths and weaknesses of piagets sensorimotor stage:

Answer 3

Strength: sense action learning
Weakness: no symbolic thought, no object permanence or differed imitation

Question 4

Strengths and weaknesses of piagets preoperational stage:

Answer 4

Strength: symbolic thought, now has object permanence
Weakness: centered, only focuses on one aspect of the world. ( conservation taskand three mountains task)

Question 5

Strengths and weaknesses of piagets concrete operational stage:

Answer 5

Strength: de-centred thought. Can do de-conservation Task and three mountains task through operational thinking

Weaknesses : do it to learn it

Question 6

Strengths and weaknesses of piagets formal operational stage:

Answer 6

Strength: just have to think it to learn it
Weakness: nothing

Question 7

What does vygotsky say about children development?

Answer 7

• That children learn through working together with others. Achieve if work with more experienced individuals (hence why different societies have different types of thinking)
• children have domain general, active learning processes (like piaget)
• child constructs skills jointly through social engagement (achieve goal with others, then after the skill is internalised.)
• during the communist revolution which can explain this theory a but further
• outside- in theory; social-> individual->internal

Question 8

Differences between piaget and vygotsky

Answer 8

Piaget; action doesnt fit with thinking. We earn to think bout the world by acting on it alone
Vygtsky; language doesnt fit with doing. We learn to do things though talking and working together

Question 9

What is vygotskys zone of proximal development

Answer 9

At any stage, child can do certain things unaided, with guidance, or not at all
Development is about leading child up to the zpd
If they can do with guidance- it is in the zpd(as w a learner they are enabled to broaden their ability

Question 10

Are piaget and vygotskys theories good?

Answer 10

Both have essential ideas on child development but lots of research does not support their theories details.

One theory alone cannot define child development. Development is the interaction with lots of processes…

Question 11

What is the information processing approach in regards to children’s cognitive development

Answer 11

• Information processing approach sees the brain as a machine for manipulating information.
• development includes improving basic resources and constructing more efficient processes to use these resources
• mixed of domain general and domain specific
• 1. basic resources 2. Meta cognition 3.strategies

Question 12

Three stages of information processing approach and what occurs in each

Answer 12

1) basic resources improve.
- developing mind enables you to do that reconstruction better
- these improve; processing speed increases and processing capacity increases
- inhibition improves in order to suppress irrelevant information
2) meta cognition
- thoughts about thoughts
- memory is rubbish unless you try to remember (improving resource use)
3) strategies
- develop strategies to remember stuff