Paiget’s theory of cognitive development CD

Question 1

cognitive development

Answer 1

describes the development of all mental processes eg thinking, reasoning and understanding the world

Question 2

schema definition

Answer 2

a mental framework of beliefs and expectations that influence cognitive processing, which are developed from experience

Question 3

assimilation definition

Answer 3

a form of learning that takes place when we aquire new information or a more advanced understanding

Question 4

accomodation definition

Answer 4

a form of learing that takes place when we aquire new information that changes our understanding of a topic to the extent that we need to form one or more new schema or change schema to give it a new meaning

Question 5

equilibration def

Answer 5

takes place when we have encountered new information and built it into our understanding of a topic

Question 6

What idea did Paiget introduce?

Answer 6

The idea that children do not simply know less than adults do and instead said that they just think differently than adults

Question 7

What did Paiget divide childhood into and what do they represent?

Answer 7

Divided into childhood into stages, each representing new ways of reasoning

Question 8

Which 2 aspects did Paiget look at childrens learning in?

Answer 8

• the role of motivation
• How does knowledge develop?

Question 9

As children develop, what do they construct?

Answer 9

More detailed and complex mental representations of the world - schema

Question 10

Infancy and schema

Answer 10

Children are born with very little schema and begin to construct new ones right away

Question 11

example of one of the first schema

Answer 11

‘me-schema’ is where knowledge about ones-self is stored

Question 12

what does cognitive development involve?

Answer 12

the construction of progressively more detailed schema such as morality

Question 13

when are we pushed to learn?

Answer 13

When our existing schema does not allow us to make sense of something new, which leads to the unpleasant sensation of disequilibrium

Question 14

How can we adapt to new situations?

Answer 14

By exploring and developing out understanding to achieve equilibrium, the prefered mental state

Question 15

assimilation description

Answer 15

Takes place when we understand a new experience and equilibrate by adding new information to existing schema eg dog breeds

Question 16

Accomodation description

Answer 16

Takes place in response to dramatically new experiences. The child has to adjust by radically changing schema or by forming new ones e.g. differentiating between cats and dogs.

Question 17

RWA -
Teaching

strength

Answer 17

• The idea that children learn by actively exploring their environment and forming their own mental representations has changed teaching
• Since 1960, classrooms have been activity-orientated
• This ‘discovery learning’ has different form in different years such as messy play in early years and flipped learning at A-level
  Piaget-inspired approaches may facilitate the development of individual representations of the world.

Question 18

Counterpoint to RWA - No firm evidence showing that children learn better using discovery learning

limitation

Answer 18

• Lazonder and Harmsen concluded that discovery learning with considerable input from teachers was most effective
• Input from others may be the crucial element of its effectiveness
  Discovery learning is less effective than we would expect if Paiget’s theory is correct.

Question 19

Research support - Existence of evidence for the individual formation of mental representations

strength

Answer 19

• Piaget’s theory suggests children form individual representations of the world
• Howe et al did a study with 9-12 year olds where they were split into groups of 4 to investigate and discuss the movement of objects down a slope
• All children’s understanding had increased after study but their understanding had not become more similar as they made their own conclusions
  Therefore, each child formed an individual mental representation of how objects move down slopes.

Question 20

Paiget underestimated the role of others in learning

limitation

Answer 20

• Paiget saw others as potential sources of information and learning experiences
• But learning itself as an individual process
• Contrasts Vygotsky’s theory of learning as a social process where knowledge exists between the learner and the more experienced and only then in the mind of the learner
• Strong evidence supports how learning is enhanced by interaction with others
  Paiget’s theory may be an incomplete explanation for learning.

Question 21

Fantz experiment

supporting schemas

Answer 21

• Used a ‘looking chamber’ to observe which pattern an infant would look at for longer
• Such as a human face or a bullseye
• Children of 2 months looked at human faces for twice as long
• Supports Piaget’s theory as it is important to recognise a human face as they are needed for survival so some schemas develop very early on