Cognitive Development Table Cognitive Development Concept Piaget Sensorimotor stage Example that Could be Observed in an Elementary Classroom Developmentally Appropriate Learning Activity The child is playing with a toy that is circle shaped with different shapes cut out all around it. The child has to take the different shaped blocks and put them into the right shape. But the child is doing this incorrectly. Children can usually Children sometimes think figuratively role-play, and they around the ages of 2 to might use a car as a 6. Sometime during this telephone, or they might age group there is an use a piece of paper as a expansion in a child’s telescope. This is called linguistic abilities, but pretending. they are incapable of logical reasoning at this age (Ormrod & Jones, 2018). The teacher can teach the child where the shape should go on the toy so the child can learn how to correctly insert the toy. Definition It starts when a baby is born and goes up until they are 2. The child uses his/her sensations to help them relate with their environments. Preoperational stage © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Having a center in the classroom where the children can play dress up, and they can act out the role they are dressed up as, for instance, if a child puts on a nurse outfit then they would act like a nurse, taking a pulse, blood pressure, temperature etc.. Concrete operations stage Children start having adult like thoughts starting between the ages of 7 to 11. They do have a narrow way of thinking about truelife specific circumstances. (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. 218). A child is now able to organize various items into two or more distinct groups (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. 218). The teacher can give a student a certain number of blocks. For instance, the teacher gives her student 30 blocks the teacher assembles the blocks into three separate stacks and then asks the student if the number of blocks remain the same or are there extra or are there a smaller amount than before. Formal operations stage 11 to 12 is the start of rational thinking and processes are utilized to hypothetical concepts and specific items and circumstances. At sometime during this period students will have skills that appear and will be necessary for further thinking in science and math (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. 218). During this time in the classroom the students is making plausible assumptions from proposed theories. In the classroom the teacher can have students work a problem and then the teacher can have the students assess the result to the theory. © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Assimilation Assimilation is reacting to and maybe understanding an item or experience in a way that’s reliable with and current arrangement (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. 212). When the student hears a bell, they know it is time to finish the assignment that the teacher has given them. Fire alarms, tornado alarms can make for chaos in the classroom. The teacher can show the students how to stay calm and listen to directions during one of these alarms. Accommodation Children have a hard time when they are presented with a new item or applying their current arrangements, so they also alter the current arrangement for a new one (Ormrod & Jones, 2018). The teacher can make a lesson that teaches the students about the differences between these animals. Equilibration The effort to move from stability to instability and back to stability yet again (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. 215). A child no matter what age does not develop All children associate one word with two different things such as a snake. When a child learns what a snake is, they will then call a worm a snake, because they think they are the same because they are long, slimy and can move the same way. A child can tell the difference between two things such as a worm and a snake and can correctly classify them. Role of diversity In the classroom you will see games, toys, © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. The teacher can make a lesson that shows different animals and how they look different, feel different, what the differences are in general. In the classroom the teacher needs to try new Social construction of meaning Vygotsky Mediated learning Internalization Inner speech like everyone else. Every child develops differently, and they also act differently when presented with the same situations. Students are allowed to work together so that they can find the solution to a problem. puzzles and educational devices that are suitable for the age of the children. Looking around the classroom you would see students sitting in groups working together to get a solution for the problem. and different ways to keep students interested and involved in the classroom. The teacher can make a lesson that includes all students. Some students can be helping other students solve a problem and this helps create social connections. Social collaboration This activity can be seen The teacher can put new where an adult is going by putting different objects in the boxes that to help a child things in separate boxes, are hard, soft, rough understand a trend or such as cooked noodles, texture and slimy. As the experience (typically pudding, rocks, etc. and students feel the different ethnically suitable) the students are sticking objects the teacher can tell methods (Ormrod & their hands in the boxes them what feeling senses Jones, 2018, p. Gr 4). feeling these different they are having. objects. Internalization is when This is usually seen The teacher can have a a person who is when young children lesson plan that allows the learning is slowly begin to converse with student to speak and make integrating communally others. word sounds to help centered events to his further the child’s or her inner mental development. activity. (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. G-4). This is a method of This can be seen when a The teacher can give the someone talking to student is working alone students a lesson on lists, themselves to steer on a math problem, for instance she can give © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Scaffolding Zone of proximal development (ZPD) them psychologically instead of talking out loud. (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. G-4). This is a type of support system that will help a student effectively execute a difficult assignment (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. 117). reading, etc. You might even see their mouth moving. them a task list or can give a lesson on sequential order. You will see this in the classroom anytime an adult or student is helping a student to achieve their goals. The teacher can make the harder lessons into smaller lessons and work with the students who are struggling with the concept the teacher is trying to teach. Once the student/students learn the concept the teacher can then move on to the next part of the lesson and keep doing this procedure until the students have conquered the key goal. These are tasks that children need help perform. They cannot do them on their own but can accomplish the task with help (Ormrod & Jones, 2018, p. 216). You will see this in the classroom when a child asks for help or when they ask someone a question about the information. A good lesson would be to put high students in a group of low students. Students that are high will help the low students with the material. This also helps the students to learn to work in groups. Students are now helping each other to problem solve. © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Role of diversity The belief of Vygotsky was that children developed differently, and it was influenced by communal and intellectual conditions. A diverse classroom will show how students are growing. The teacher’s lesson should be able to adapt to each child on their developmental stage. Reflection Not everyone can agree on the cognitive development of elementary students. If you look at the chart above, you can see that Piaget and Vygotsky had two different opinions on cognitive development and show how development is different in everyone. For instance, Piaget felt that the cognitive development of a child happened during different ages start from when the child is born. Vygotsky did not agree with Piaget because he was not as rigorous with his ideas on mental expansion. I will reflect on how the concepts that are associated to elementary children educational learning procedure, mental growth ideas when preparing for teaching, and developmentally suitable learning events. Piaget and Vygotsky had two different opinions on cognitive development. Piaget felt that children could gain their own knowledge by themselves. For instance, using paints, playing with blocks or just playing alone. He felt that children enthusiastically try to make sense of the environment applying equilibration (Ormrod & Jones, 2018). Vygotsky believed societal contact plays a big role in a child’s learning. Because of children interacting with other people, including their parents, classmates, and teachers it is a continuous learning process. Vygotsky’s theory also suggests that the ethnic legacy of a child is a component in his/her mental growth (Ormrod & Jones, 2018). His theory also suggests that a child’s mental © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. growth occurs when new data is just beyond the zone in which a child can identify on their own, this is known as the Zone of Proximal Development (Ward & Lee, 2005). When making lesson plans and instructions it is crucial to maintain ideas like the ones above to help your students to succeed. If the teacher decides that he/she likes Piaget’s theory, then the teacher would need to make sure that the lessons that are taught are age appropriate. If the teacher decides to go with Vygotsky’s theory, then the teacher will introduce things to students that are a little bit harder for the child to master. Teacher must be aware of how advanced their student is when they are making lesson plans. If the lesson is too hard for some students, then the teacher might step in and put those children in a small group and break it down for them until they understand the task (Ormrod & Jones. 2018). These methods are a great way for teachers because it will help them plan their lessons and instruction and it can also help them meet the needs of their students. It is important for teachers to have age appropriate materials for their students. These materials can be books, puzzles, memory games, math and science materials. For instance, for fourth and fifth grade students you can use activities that include cooking because the student must use fractions, puzzles organizing and categorizing different items. These can help the student’s problem solve and conclude on how to find the answer to the problem (Ormrod & Jones, 2018). Teachers must remember to keep everything age appropriate and the teacher must leave room in the lesson plans for any type of modification to meet the requirements of the pupils. This will help the students recollect the idea of the lesson. © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Reference McLeod, S. A. (2019, April 09). Sensorimotor stage. Simply psychology: https://www.simplypsychology.org/sensorimotor.html Ormrod, J.E., & Jones, B.D. (2018). Essentials of Educational Psychology: Big Ideas to Guide Effective Teaching. (5th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved. Ward, P., and M. Lee. 2005. “Peer-Assisted Learning in Physical Education: A Review of Theory and Research.” Journal of Teaching in Physical Education 24 (3): 205–225. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/17408989.2013.868875 © 2018. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.
