2. The Cognitive Background Mark Jenkins

3. Cognition What is it? The capacity to think The thought processes or mental activity by which we acquire and deal with knowledge

4. Theories of Cognitive Development Depend on the belief that we can only deduce what is going on inside the mind on the basis of what we can observe individuals doing Are founded on the belief that there are universal patterns of development

5. Learning in Victorian Times The Tabula Rasa The Passive Learner

6. Simple Behaviourist Ideas Sanction and Reward Pavlov Skinner Watson Hull and others Aspects of this approach to learning can still be seen in schools today

7. Learning as an Active Process

10. Cognitive Development is now Seen as Constructivist What is it? Developing thinking skills Building a set of schemas [knowledge about the world] Developing a coherent view of reality Learning a range of strategies to cope with the realities of the world

11. The 3 Key Theorists of Cognitive Development 1. Jean Piaget 2. Lev Vygotsky 3. Jerome Bruner

12. Cognitive Theories of Learning 2 Distinct Strands 1. Constructivism – Piaget The child learns about the world by acting on it and observing the effects of the actions 2. Social Constructivism – Vygotsky The child learns about the world in dialogue with more experienced others

13. Jean Piaget Born in Switzerland 1n 1896 The dominant thinker on the nature of children’s development in the 1960s & 1970s Interested in HOW children learn as opposed to what or when they might learn it Cognitive development which is based on personal experience

14. Jean Piaget Piaget’s work ‘a discovery so simple that only a genius could have thought of it’ Albert Einstein

15. 5 Key Aspects of the Theory 1. Stages of Development 2. Equilibrium, Accommodation and Assimilation 3. Object Permanence 4. Egocentrism 5. Conservation

16. Piaget’s Stages of Development

17. Sensorimotor Stage [0-2 years] Infants learn about themselves through sensation [sensory] and movement [motor] Knowledge and understanding chiefly drawn from physical action and the senses. Infants develop their first schemas Children remain ego-centric but become aware of object permanence. Divided into 6 distinct sub-sections

18. Object Permanence The realisation that objects have their own existence, independent of our perception of them At seven months a baby will follow an object with it’s eyes but if it is hidden then the child will no longer consider it exists.

19. Preoperational Stage [2-7 years] Children learn through their experiences with real objects in their immediate environment. 2 sub –divisions:- 1. Pre-conceptual substage [2-4 years] Children are egocentric, cannot see things from another’s point of view. Children use symbols [words and pictures] to make sense of their world. 2. Intuitive substage [4-7 years] The ability to believe in something without knowing why he or she believes it. Logic based on incomplete knowledge; such as the wind blows because the tree makes it. An inability to conserve. Animism, children often believe objects have some form of consciousness the child might refer to the naughty chair or bad table.

20. Concrete Operational Stage [7-11 years] Children continue to learn with their experiences of real objects. No longer subject to animism. Logical thought develops, the child emphasising classification or categorisation by similarity and difference. Logic is normally only applied to things that are tangible or can be seen Decentring – They are less egocentric; increasingly see things from another’s point of view, can concentrate on more than one thing at a time. Reversibility – Understands that a number of objects can be changed and then returned to their original shape

21. Formal Operational Stage [12 years to adult] Abstract Concepts, young people begin to understand abstract concepts, such as fairness, justice and peace Deductive Logic, understand that it is possible to create rules that help them to test things out, to have a hypothesis and to solve problems Combinational Logic, have a rational, scientific manner and solve complex problems

22. Equilibrium, Accommodation and Assimilation When we take in new information we assimilate the information. When something happens which questions our understanding and makes us rethink this assimilated information, a state of disequilibrium occurs. The rethinking is known as accommodation. We have to adjust or re-organise our thinking to restore equilibrium, a state where we feel comfortable with our thinking

23. Egocentrism As children develop they become less egocentric and able to see things increasingly from another's point of view The three mountain task

24. Conservation Young children assumed that amounts had changed but as they grew older they realised that the amounts stayed the same. They understand that the quantity, length or number of items is unrelated to the arrangement or appearance of items by the time the reach the concrete operational stage.

25. Implications of Piaget’s Work New ideas and information should be presented at a level and style consistent with a child’s current mode of thought. Teaching should match the needs of individuals. Moderately new situations and experiences should trigger assimilation and accommodation. Open-ended questioning is thus essential. Learning is supported by action, active experimentation helps to develop thought. Children need to have control over their learning, this requires open-ended activities. Children require long, uninterrupted periods of play and exploration. Observation of what children can say and do will help us understand their development and enable us to plan appropriately.

26. Lev Vygotsky Born in Belarus in 1896 Greatly influenced by both his own large family [8 children] and the rise of Marxism What a child can do in co-operation today he can do alone tomorrow Socio-cognitive development

27. Language and Thinking He emphasised the significant role of language in the development of abstract thought Language is social in origin because it arose in interaction between the child and others The role of the adult was crucial in building up a knowledge of language and an awareness of particular ways of thinking and interpreting experience [contrasting Piaget’s view that language follows the development of a concept]. Speech is crucial to solving problems, both to one’s self and others.

28. The Zone of Proximal Development [ZPD] The Gap between what a child can do alone and with help from someone more skilled and experienced The capacity to learn through instruction is fundamental to human intelligence Interaction between children is also important in learning from each other either as the less experienced or the more experienced who has to process their ideas to make them explicit to the less knowledgeable or skilled child

29. The ZPD

30. Vygotsky v Piaget For Vygotsky social and cognitive development work together. Piaget believed that knowledge comes from personal experience. Vygotsky emphasised the importance of families communities and other children.

31. Implications of Vygotsky’s Work The notion of the ZPD emphasises the importance of SCAFFOLDING. Planning a curriculum to challenge children’s current capability. Conversation, play and opportunities to follow interests and ideas are key to learning. The role of the teacher or other significant adult in fostering the child’s learning is central to the theory

32. Jerome Bruner Born in New York in 1915 Brought together the work of Piaget and Vygotsky. A three stage model of how children represent experiences and turn them into knowledge

33. A Three Stage Model A way in which children represent experiences and turn them into knowledge Enactive Mode - involving physical action (active learning/play) Iconic Mode – where one thing stands for another (artistic/graphical representation) Symbolic Mode – where children represent experience through a range of symbolic systems (including written and numerical forms)

34. Scaffolding Adults can help children’s thinking by being like the scaffolding on a building. At first the building has a great deal of scaffolding [lots of adult support] but gradually, over time as children extend their competence and understanding the scaffolding is progressively removed until it is no longer needed [understanding/independent functioning] It has 5 particular features 1. Recruitment: Engaging child’s interest 2. Reduction in Degrees of Freedom: Simplifying the task for the child 3. Direction Maintenance: Maintain child’s motivation 4. Marking Critical Features: Highlighting the relevant features of the task 5. Demonstration: Modelling solutions, completion and explanation

35. The Spiral Curriculum Extending the concept Bruner developed Vygotsky’s notion of adult involvement in learning. Scaffolding put into an educational context Continuously revisiting and extending during the child’s school life to challenge, reinforce and develop understanding

36. Implications of Bruner’s Work Development can be enabled through experiences Actively through play Iconically through building and painting Symbolically through numbers and language [written and verbal] Teachers need to carefully scaffold the learning process in order to facilitate the individual progress and development of their children Whole school curriculum planning is essential for long term development

37. Bibliography Keenan, T (2002) An Introduction to Child Development London: Sage [Chapter 6] Lindon, J (2005) Understanding Child Development; Linking Theory and Practice London: Hodder Arnold [Chapter 3] Mareschal D, Johnson M and Grayson A [2004]Brain and Cognitive Development in Oates J and Grayson A Cognitive and Language Development in Children Oxford: Blackwell [Chapter 3] Schaffer HR[2004] Introducing Child Psychology Oxford: Blackwell [Chapter 6] Schaffer HR [2006] Key Concepts in Developmental Psychology London: SAGE [Chapter 5]