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Piagetian Theory of Cognition
(Pointers From Reviews)
By Grace NwosuAssistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction
Who Was Piaget?
A Swiss natural scientists(natural science)
A child psychologist
He studied children way of thinking.
He believed in maturation before learning occurs.
He married and had three children whom he studied form birth.
Approach Built On Piagetian Theory Of Cognitive
Constructivism: process by which cognitive and sociomoral development are enhanced
Children interact with humans and materials.
Assimilation(absorbing information) and
Accommodation(adjusting to get use to something)
Physical Knowledge Activities
Children’s action on objects Their observations. Reactions– experimentation to find out what
happens.
Group Games
Foster interaction based on rules. Children adaptation to social world. In Piaget’s
sense it makes children to exercise, control over things. For instance joining in games and follow the rules or not. Examples are races, hiding games, guessing games, chasing games, and card games.
Traditional School Curricula
It makes emphasis on:- reading, writing and arithematic.
Goffin et al (2001) urged teachers to take advantage of routine situation in the classroom and make children to think about numbers in order to accomplish what they want. For instance, during snack time, have children distribute napkins, ask how many napkins are needed for all children?
Piaget’s structural stages
Piaget’s theory of cognitive development has four stages
Sensorimotor (birth-2 years of age) children demonstrate intelligence through motor activity without words or symbols (drawings or writings).
Preoperational stage-2-7 years old
Demonstrate intelligence through the use of symbols, language, memory and imagination are developed. Egocentric thinking is predominant.
Concrete operational stage(7-11years
Elementary and early adolescence ages. Think logically about concrete things such as
numbers, weight, lengths, mass, area, liquid and volume
Formal operational stage (11years and above)
Higher level of Piaget’s cognitive development. Intelligence is demonstrated through logical
use of symbols related to abstract concepts.
Classroom implications of Piagetian cognitive theory
Be aware of different developmental stages and their behavioral acts.
Create cognitive conflict for children to enhance thinking ability. For instance some kindergarteners know counting from 1-30, a higher number means larger quantity.
Classroom implications cont.
Provide instructional activities that will lead to thinking and problem solving e.g enrich environment with variety of appropriate developmentally materials.
Helping children to challenge themselves count above 30.
Classroom implications cont.
Make available toys, materials, and instructional activities that are open- ended.
They promote problem solving.
Make opportunities available for children to engage into cooperation and negotiation. E.g dramatic play, recess and free choice center.
Conclusion
Piaget theory emphasizes interaction of children with physical world.
Biggest changes occur as a result of conflicts between what is know and the problem encountering.
Maturity precedes learning. Teachers to plan developmentally appropriate
activities.Reaction
Reaction
Adults should strive to model good ways of doing things because our children are little scientists and eyes that see. They will experiment to find things for themselves.
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