piaget's theory of cognitive development

Question 1

how many schema are children born with?

Answer 1

a small number - just enough to interact with the world/other people

Question 2

true or false?
as children develop, they construct more complex mental representations of the world

Answer 2

true

Question 3

when do we develop more abstract concepts of the world?
give an example of an abstract concept

Answer 3

later in life - e.g. justice, morality

Question 4

what does the motivation to learn involve?

Answer 4

disequilibrium + equilibration

Question 5

what leads to disequilibrium?

Answer 5

when our existing schema don’t allow us to make sense of something new

Question 6

how do we escape disequilibrium?

Answer 6

we have to adapt to the new situation by exploring + developing our understanding

Question 7

define ‘equilibration’

Answer 7

it takes place when we have encountered new information + assimilated it into an existing schema or accommodated it by forming a new one - this reaches a balance known as equilibration

Question 8

how did Piaget view the process of learning?

Answer 8

adapting to a new situation in order to be able to understand it

Question 9

when does assimilation take place?

Answer 9

when we understand a new experience + equilibrate by adding new information to an existing schema

Question 10

give an example of assimilation

Answer 10

a child in a family with dogs can adapt to the existence of different dog breeds by assimilating them into their dog schema

Question 11

when does accommodation take place?

Answer 11

in response to dramatically new experiences

Question 12

how does the child adjust during ‘accommodation’?

Answer 12

they either radically change their current schema or form a new schema

Question 13

give an example of accommodation

Answer 13

a child with a pet dog may at first think of cats as dogs (4 legs, fur, tail) but then recognise the existence of a separate category called ‘cats’ - this forms a new ‘cat schema’

Question 14

what are 2 strengths of this theory?

Answer 14

~ research support
~ real-world application

Question 15

what was Howe et. al.’s method?

Answer 15

children aged 9-12 were placed in groups of 4 to investigate + discuss the movement of objects down a slope

Question 16

what did Howe et. al. find?

Answer 16

each child had picked up different facts + reached slightly different conclusions, meaning that each child had formed an individual mental representation of how objects move on slopes (as Piaget would’ve expected)

Question 17

what did Howe et. al. provide evidence for?

Answer 17

the individual formation of mental representations, even when the children have similar leaning experiences

Question 18

what is one limitation of this theory, in terms of roles of others?

Answer 18

it may be an incomplete explanation of learning, as it doesn’t put enough emphasis on the roles of others

Question 19

how did Piaget view learning compared to other theories?

Answer 19

he saw it as an individual process, whereas other theories view learning more as a social process, supported by MKOs (e.g. Vygotsky)

Question 20

what is one limitation of this theory, in terms of role of motivation?

Answer 20

Piaget overstated the role of motivation in learning - he studied an unrepresentative, intelligent sample of children, who may have been more motivated by most

Question 21

where does this theory have an application?

Answer 21

teaching

Question 22

what in his theory has transformed teaching?

Answer 22

his theory of active learning by exploring environment + forming our own mental representations

Question 23

how did Piaget change teaching in the 1960s?

Answer 23

his ideas transformed ‘copying down notes’ into active tasks to allow children to construct their own understanding of the curriculum

Question 24

give an example of how children may learn in early years compared to sixth form based on Piaget’s ideas

Answer 24

in early years, children may discover physical properties of water + sand, whereas during A-Level students may read up on a topic before arriving to the lesson - this is discovery learning