Aspects of Development
“Children are not
miniature adults.”
(p. 30)



Think Differently
See the World
Differently
Live by Different
Moral and Ethical
Principles
Issues of Development

Does Cognitive Development Fall Within
the Domain of the Classroom Teacher?
Piaget: How Cognitive
Development Occurs
Schemes
 Adaptation

– Assimilation
– Accommodation
Equilibration
 Contructivism

Piaget: Stages of Development
Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to Age 2)
 Reflexes
 Motor Activity
 Trial and Error
 Development of Object Permanence
Piaget: Stages of Development
Preoperational Stage (Ages 2 to 7)
 Symbols and Language
 Inability to Understand Conservation
“It’s the same.”
“This one has more.”
Piaget: Stages of Development
Preoperational Stage (Ages 2 to 7)
Why can’t the child understand
conservation?

Illogical Thinking
– Centration
– Focus on States
– Lack of Reversibility
Piaget: Stages of Development
Preoperational Stage (Ages 2 to 7)
 Other Examples of Illogical Thinking
– Egocentrism
– Artificialism and Animism
– Problems in Classification
Piaget: Stages of Development
Concrete Operational (Ages 7 to 11)
Class Inclusion is no longer a problem in Concrete
Operations.
Piaget: Stages of Development
Concrete Operational (Ages 7 to 11)
 Reversibility
 De-centered Thought
 Not as Egocentric
 Seriation
Bob is taller than Phil. Phil is taller
than Joe. Is Bob taller than Joe?
Bob is taller than Phil. Joe is shorter
than Phil. Who is taller?
Piaget: Stages of Development
Concrete Operational (Ages 7 to 11)
Limitations
Unable to Deal with Abstractions
 Limited Deductive Reasoning Capability

Piaget: Stages of Development
Formal Operational Stage (Age 11 to Adult)
 Hypothetical Situations
 Able to Test Hypotheses Internally
 Enhanced Problem Solving Ability
Formal Operations
Whelks are more colorful than periwinkles. Whelks
are less colorful than abalones. Therefore:
Formal Operations
Worms move slower than lice and worms are smaller than
mice. Worms move faster than mice and worms are larger
than lice. Therefore:
Piaget: Criticisms and Revisions:
The American Question
Tasks Can be Taught Earlier
 Exceptions to Egocentricity
 Development Depends on Task
 Development Influenced by Experience

Vygotsky: View of Cognitive
Development

Assumptions
– Learning is a Social Process
– Zone of Proximal Development

Means of Learning
– Private Speech
– Scaffolding
Issues of Development

Does Psychosocial Development Fall
Within the Domain of the Classroom
Teacher?
Erikson: Stages of Psychosocial
Development
Trust Versus Mistrust (Birth to 18 Months)
Autonomy Versus Doubt (18 Months to 3
Years)
Initiative Versus Guilt (3 to 6 Years)
Industry Versus Inferiority (6 to 12 Years)
Erikson: Stages of Psychosocial
Development
Identity Versus Role Confusion (12 to 18
Years)
Intimacy Versus Isolation (Young Adult)
Generativity Versus Self-Absorption
(Middle Adult)
Integrity Versus Despair (Late Adult)
Issues of Development

Does Moral Development Fall Within the
Domain of the Classroom Teacher?
Theories of Moral Development

Piaget
– Heteronomous Morality (Younger)
– Autonomous Morality (Older)
Theories of Moral Development

Kohlberg
– Preconventional
Punishment and Obedience Orientation
 Instrumental Relativist Orientation

– Conventional
“Good Boy-Good Girl” Orientation
 Law and Order Orientation

– Postconventional
Social Contract Orientation
 Universal Ethical Principle Orientation

Theories of Moral Development

Moral Dilemma

One of your brightest middle school
students spills her purse which
contains a non-prescription pain
reliever product.
You believe her
when she tells you that her mother
sent her to the store to buy them
yesterday, but she forgot they were
still in her purse.
However,
possession of the pill violates your
school's zero-tolerance drug policy
which you voted for.
Would you
report the incident?
Theories of Moral Development

Kohlberg
– Present moral reasoning that is just above the
child’s current level to facilitate development
– Moral reasoning is not the same thing as moral
behavior.
– Most people show reasoning from more than
one stage.
– A word about the 10 commandments (p. 54).