PED 392
Child Growth and Development
 Published at 10 years old
 Ph.D. at 21 in Natural Sciences
 Published amazing amounts
 40 books
 200 articles
 Piaget’s Theory on cognitive development
 Sensorimotor
 Birth to 1 ½ to 2 years Old
 Preoperational
 2 Years Old to 5-7 Years Old
 Concrete Operational
 5-7 Years Old to 11-12 Years Old
 Formal Operational
 11-12 Years Old and up
 Use of Reflexes -
Birth -1 Mo
 Born with reflexes
 Primary Circular reactions –
1-3 Mo
 Associates Movement with reflexes
 Secondary Circular reactions –
3-9 Mo
 Tries to recreate reflexes
 Application of the secondary schemata –
8-12 Mo
 Produce at will
 Tertiary Circular reactions –
12-18 Mo
 Curious of the world
 Invention of new means through mental combinations –
12-24 Mo
 Understanding of things and how to use them
 Begins to think about objects and their absence
 Symbols represent objects
 Words, images, etc
 Fantasy
 Humanizes objects
 Begins to use logic to think
 Think abstractly and makes rational judgments
 Asks questions
 Uses classifications
 Hypothetical thought and reasoning
 Begin to form their own logic
 Difference between “real” and “possible”
 Only things they “know” exist, and now, things they do
not know “might” exist
 Metacognition – Thinking about thinking
 Egocentrism – “perceive, understand and interpret the
world in terms of the self”
 Seriation – Ability to order objects in a logical
progression (ie, shortest to tallest)
 He studied his own children
 He underestimated children
 Tasks were quite complex
 Children lack the ability to explain, but can still do, the
activities
 He did not describe his studies in depth
 Three important aspects of learning
 Exploration
 Social interactions
 Play
 Children need to be “mentally ready” to learn
 Must engage socially.
 Relationships between individuals and society
 Wrote more than 100 books and articles in 10 years.
 Thought and Language was not published until after
his death.
 Work was banned by Soviet Union until 1956.
 Knowledge is co-constructed, as an interaction
between people.
 Interactions with more knowledgeable people increase
knowledge.
 Social interactions help develop knowledge
 Internalization – constructing an internal
representation of external actions or operations.
 Not have to think about activity, just do
 “raise your right hand.”
 Zone of Proximal Development
 Difference between the actual level of development and
the potential level of development in the child.
 Most important tool in cognitive development
 3 types of speech
 Social – communication
 Egocentric – regulate behavior and thinking
 Talking outloud to yourself
 Inner – internalizing egocentric speech
 Talk to self in own head
 Does not emphasize physical maturation
 Distinctions are made, but not defined
 How does the child move from A to B
 Assisted reader to independent reader
 Others are needed for guidance of children's
development
 Adults provide support to a child who is learning to
master a task or problem
 Steps to accomplishing the goal (must be an active
participant in a meaningful way)
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Adult reads to child
Adult reads and points out words, objects
Adult reads, child point out words, objects
Child reads some, adult reads some
Child reads most, adult reads little
Child reads alone