Child and Adolescent Development: Cognitive development

1
Child and Adolescent DevelopmentCognitive
development

• Week 2-1

2
Overview

• Basic theoretical issues
• Cognitive-Developmental theory (Piaget)
• Sociocultural theory (Vygotsky)

3
1.Basic theoretical issues

• Definition of development
• Certain changes that occur in human beings
  between conception and death
• Temporary change caused by a brief ill or drugs
  is not considered part of development
• Can be divided into many different
  aspects,including physical development,personal
  development,social development, and cognitive
  development.

4
General principles of development

• People develop at different rates
• Development is relatively orderly
• Development takes place gradually
• Development is affected by both heredity and
  environment

5
2.Piagets Cognitive Theory

• Born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on August 9,
  1896. 
• In 1918, received his Doctorate in Science from
  the University of Neuchâtel. 
• In 1952, he became a professor at the Sorbonne

6
Background of Cognitive Theory

• Student of biology and zoology
• Learned that survival requires adaptation
• Any individual organism, as well as an entire
  species, must adapt to constant changes in the
  environment
• Viewed development of human cognition/intelligence
  as the continual struggle of a very complex
  organism to adapt to complex environment

7
Piagets Cognitive Theory

• Human development described in terms of functions
  and structures
• Functions inborn biological mechanisms that are
  the same for everyone, remain unchanged during
  lifetime help construct internal cognitive
  structures
• Structures change repeatedly during development
• Schemes cognitive structures

8
Schemes

• Fundamental aspect of theory
• Not something that a child has, is what a child
  does
• Relationships between two elements, an object in
  the environment and the childs reaction to the
  object
• E.g., Ball - can push it, throw it, mouth it
• Psychological structure, reflects childs
  underlying knowledge that guides interactions
  with the world.

9
Schemes

• It is the nature and organization of schemes that
  define a childs intelligence at a given time.
• Schemes are flexible, typically have a broad
  scope, change over time

10
Example

• 3.5 years child reading the map of China
• Shandong to Shanghai
• Shandong to Beijing
• How will we go from shanghai to beijing to call
  on someone?
• Conclusion The child merges two schemes into a
  unit

11
Functions

• Two major functions
• 1) Organization Cognitive structures are related
  and fitted into the existing system.
• Involves integration, not just adding on.
• 2) Adaptation Tendency of the child to fit with
  its environment in ways that promote survival.
  (Sub-processes are assimilation and
  accommodation.)

12
Piagets Cognitive Theory
Constructivism

• Childrens knowledge of events in the environment
  are not an exact reproduction of those events.
  Not like a photograph.
• Children shape what they learn from their
  environments and shape it to fit with existing
  schemes.

13
Stages (periods) of development

• Sensorimotor (0-24 months)
• Preoperational period (Ages 2 to 6 years)
• Concrete operational period (6 - 11 years)
• Formal operations period (11 years - adulthood)

14
Sensorimotor stage (0 to 24 months)

• Six substages
• Reflexes graduate to more flexible action
  patterns
• Show increasing levels of intentional and goal
  directed behavior
• Begin to understand object permanence
• Mental representation develops
• Deferred imitation, make-believe play

15
Preoperational stage (24 months to 7 years)

• Make-believe play becomes more complex, evolves
  to socio-dramatic play
• Dual representation develops (realize that photos
  represent things in the world)
• Helps preschoolers understand others
  perspectives
• Still quite egocentric
• Animistic thinking
• Conservation and hierarchical classification
  still difficult

16
Teaching preoperational child

• Use concrete and visual aids
• Short instruction with actions and words
• Pay attention to the inconsistent perspectives
• More hands-on practice
• When learning concepts and language,provide a
  wide range of experiences

17
Concrete Operational stage (7 to 11 years)

• Thought becomes more logical and organized
• Conservation develops Shows that kids can
  de-centre and reverse their thinking
• Seriation and inference develops
• Cognitive maps develop
• Cultural practices and education have a profound
  effect at this stage

18
Teaching the concrete-operational students

• Use concrete props and visual aids
• Give students chances to manipulate and test
  objects
• Presentation and readings should be brief and
  well-organized
• Use familiar examples to explain complex ideals
• Give opportunities to classify and group objects
  and ideals on increasingly complex levels
• Present questions the need logical,analytical
  thinking

19
Formal Operational stage (11 years )

• Abstract thinking appears
• Deductive reasoning emerges
• Even many university students only think in
  abstract ways on topics with which they have
  extensive experience.

20
Teaching formal operational students

• Continue to use concrete-operational teaching
  strategies and materials
• Give students the opportunity to explore many
  hypothetical questions
• Give students opportunities to solve problems and
  reason scientifically
• If possible, teach broad concepts, not just
  facts,using materials relevant to the real life

21
Educational implications

• Children is not small adults
• Understanding students thinking
• Teaching based on the developmental levels of
  students thinking
• Learning is a constructive process

22
Limitations of Piagets Theory

• The trouble with stages(lack of consistency in
  childrens thinking)
• Underestimating childrens abilities
• Childrens trouble with Piagetian tasks can be
  explained by information processing theory
• (neo-Piagetian theories )
• Cant explain youths thinking(post-formal
  operation)
• Overlooking the effects of culture and social
  group

23
3.Vygotskys Sociocultural theory

• Born on November 5, 1896 in Byelorussia (Soviet
  Union)
• He was first educated as lawyer and a philologist
  
• He began his career as a psychologist in1917 and
  only pursued this career for 17 years before his
  death from tuberculosis in 1934.

24
Basic viewpoints

• Emphasized the way that values, beliefs, customs,
  and skills of a culture/social group influence
  children
• Focused on dialogues between children and more
  experienced members of society
• Language leads to self-talk and the development
  of cognition, and later metacognition
• (errors in text p44)

25
Vygotskys theories

• Cultural tools theory
• Private/self speech theory
• Theory of zone of proximal development

26
Cultural tools theory

• Social interaction is the origin of individual
  thinking
• Cultural tools,including real tools and symbolic
  tools play very important roles in cognitive
  development
• Higher-order metal processes are mediated by
  psychological tools

27
Private speech theory

• Children speak to themselves for self-guidance
• Start doing this openly, then to self (you may
  see their lips move)
• Language forms the foundation for all higher
  cognitive processes
• Children with learning difficulties show more
  private speech over a longer period

28
Private speech and self-regulation

• First, behavior is regulated by others
• Next, using the same language to regulated
  others behavior
• Third , using private speech to regulate ones own
  behavior
• Finally, regulated his/her behavior by silent
  inner speech

29
Theory of zone of proximal development

• A The area where child can solve a problem alone
• B Problems beyond the childrens capabilities
• C Zone of proximal development the area where
  the child cant solve a problem alone,but can be
  successful under adult guidance or in
  collaboration with a more advanced peer
• Instruction should be given in the ZPD

30
Implications of Vygotsgys theory for teachers

• Assisted learning
• Scaffolding
• From heteronomous to autonomous
• The zone of proximal development
• Assessment of learning potential
• Guide students by explanations,demonstrations,and
  with other students

31
Differences between Piaget and Vygotskys theories
Piaget Vygotsky
Background
Course of Development
Agents of Development
Implications
32
Pause and Discussion

• What makes the differences between Piagets
  and Vygotskys theories?

33
Application and Generation

• Analyse the reasons why your English study are
  relatively ineffective.
• Design a suitable project for enhancing your
  English performance.

34
The End