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.