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Cognitivism (Cognitive Theory)
Cognitivism
This learning theory was in response to
behaviorism. Cognivists claimed that behaviorism failed
to explain cognition and sees that mind is an
information processor. It emphasizes understanding as a
whole instead of just as pieces
Cognitivism considers the mind as an information
processor like a computer
According to cognitive psychologists, language is not
just a learned habit devoid of creative thinking, but
learners are indued with language acquisition device
(LAD) and use it not only to learn languages but also
to be creative
Cognitivism sees that every individual can learn their
mother tongue with no need to grammar rules or to
attend any institute All this occurs through the
interaction with the society and the peers
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Language according to Chomsky is an inborn issue and
every individual has a language acquisition device
(LAD) which enables them to learn any language
A child most of the time can use certain words or
expressions which they never heard and Chomsky says
that they already existed in their device
Pioneers of Cognitivism
Jean Piaget
Benjamin Bloom
Noam Chomsky
Jerome Bruner
The role of the learner
The learner according to cognitive psychologists is an
active participant in the learning process. They use
different strategies and techniques to process and
build their personal understanding of the content to
which they are exposed. Students are not considered as
recipients and black slates that the teacher fills with
knowledge, but as active participants and builders of
the learning Jean
Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
The first stage is sensorimotor stage (from birth to
two years). The infants at this stage begins to
discover the world and the surrounding environment
using their senses and try to construct the meaning of
things they see or hear
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The second stage is preoperational stage (two to seven
years). In this stage, the child continues to develop
abstract ways of thinking including developing language
skills and using words and behaviors to represent
events they have experienced previously
The third stage is concrete operational stage (seven to
eleven years of age). This stage is considered the
turning point in the stages of cognitive development
during which the child becomes less selfish and more
rational. In this stage, the child acquires the ability
to develop and apply logical and concrete rules to
objects including the ability to classify objects into
groups and subgroups, in addition to the ability to
understand logical matters such as height, weight,
understanding and memorization. For instance, a child
is able to recognize that the appearance of water
changes when placed in a small or large bottle, wide or
narrow, but that the water itself never changes
The fourth stage is formal operational stage (eleven to
fifteen years). In this stage, children learn how to
use logic and create theories. It is considered the
final stage of cognitive development in which the child
learns more advanced rules of logic that enable them to
understand abstract topics and solve problems
there are two types of processes at work in cognitive
development according to Piaget: Assimilation and
Accommodation
Cognitive development is the consequence of the fixed
association of assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation happen while modifying or changing new
information to agree with our schemas (what we already
know). This keeps the new information and adds it to
what already is in our minds. Accomodation is while we
reconstitute or modify what we already know as the new
information can fit in better. This emerges from
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problems placed by the environment and when our
perceptions do not agree with with what we know or
think
Information processing stages
sensory memory: Our sensory receptors receive much
information from the external environment and store it
in the sensory register for a very short time, but
little of this information is paid then gets moved to
the next stage and receives processing
Short-term memory: It is also called working memory,
this memory is the second station for information after
sensory memory, as it consists of a temporary
repository of storage in which information is kept for
about 30 seconds, and it receives only the information
to which attention is paid, and the one desired to be
remembered and processed by the long-term memory
long-term memory: It is where information, experiences
and knowledge settle in its final form, where
information is stored in the form of mental
representations permanently. After encoding and
processing it in working memory, and long-term memory
has the advantage that its storage capacity is enormous
Key concepts
Cognition: is the awareness and the understanding of
facts through the abstract mind
Schema: (plural: schemata or schemas) is an organized
unit of knowledge inviduals have about events, people
and facts. It is based on past experiences and is
obtained to guide current understanding or action
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Memory: is a cognitive process which enables people to
encode, store and retrieve information
Language Acquisition Device (LAD): is a tool and innate
capacity in the human brain that allows children to
learn and understand language quickly
Equilibration: is the cognitive balancing of new
information with old knowledge existed in the mind
Adaptation: consists of two sub‐processes: assimilation
and accommodation