EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY REFLECTION FOR ACTION Canadian Edition O’Donnell, D’Amico, Schmid, Reeve, Smith

CHAPTER 2 Cognitive Development

Chapter 2 Cognitive Development Themes of the Chapter Biology and maturation underlie all developmental processes Growth-promoting experience must occur in order for cognitive development to be fully realized There are many school-related experiences that help learners realize their developmental potentials Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Guiding Questions How does education enrich brain development? How does Piaget explain cognitive development? What are the stages of cognitive development? How can teachers apply Piaget’s theory in the classroom? (continued) Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Guiding Questions (continued) How does Vygotsky explain sociocognitive development? How can teachers apply Vygotsky’s theory in the classroom? How does language develop? How can teachers use their knowledge of cognitive development when working with diverse learners and students with special needs? Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Brain Development Brain structure and function How does experience (education) affect brain development? Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Brain Structure and Function Hippocampus – processes a person’s new experiences Amygdala – generate negative emotions as the brain’s warning system Neurons – make all brain functions possible Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Figure 2.1 Brain Structures and Their Functions Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Brain Structure and Function Exposure to a stimulating environment will stimulate neurons When stimulated, neurons reach out to neighbouring neurons With repeated stimulation, the number of connections between neurons increases and the neurons bond together This pattern of connections is known as memory Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Brain Structure and Function Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

How Education Affects Brain Development Neural plasticity – brain’s capacity for structural change as the result of experience Stimulating environments give the brain a great deal of information to process, store, remember, and later use to solve problems The information may facilitate greater neuronal connectivity Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Cognitive Development Piaget’s Theory Adaptations are inborn process of adjusting to the demands of the environment Schemas are basic structures for organizing information Behavioural schemas are mental representations of physical actions Symbolic schemas are language-based mental representations of objects and events Operations are mental actions to solve a problem Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Assimilation and Accommodation Assimilation is a process of incorporation in which some outside event is brought into a person’s way of thinking Accommodation is a modification process in which an existing schema is changed or modified to make sense of something that is new and different Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Disequilibrium Disequilibrium is a state of cognitive conflict that arises when one’s existing way of thinking is not confirmed by experience Using adaptation a person can move from disequilibrium to equilibrium Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Figure 2.3 Origins and Consequences of Disequilibrium Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Piaget’s Stages in Cognitive Development Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Sensorimotor Stage Primary circular reactions (1-4 months) Some actions are satisfying and repeated Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months) Some actions are found to have interesting effects on the environment Goal-directed behaviour (8-12 months) Intentions replace reflexes Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months) Curiosity leads to experimenting with objects Symbolic problem solving (18-24 months) Symbolic images of environmental objects are created Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Sensorimotor Stage Object Permanence – understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen or detected by other senses Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Preoperational Stage Children create symbolic schemas to represent the objects and events around them Children take part in pretend play Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Concrete Operations Stage Children can develop an internal mental activity that allows them to revise or alter a symbol or image to reach a logical conclusion This mental manipulation can only be with concrete objects and events that lie in front of them Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Capacities of Concrete-Operational Thinking Animism Belief that all things are alive and living In concrete operations children can tell the difference between animate and inanimate objects Centration Focusing on an object’s most salient feature while neglecting equally important but less perceptually salient features In concrete operations children can focus on more than one item at a time (continued) Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Capacities of Concrete-Operational Thinking (continued) Transductive reasoning Causal understanding in which a child thinks that when two events occur simultaneously, one must have caused the other In concrete operations children have a better understanding of cause-and-effect relationships than in the preoperational stage (continued) Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Capacities of Concrete-Operational Thinking (continued) Egocentrism Viewing the world from one’s own perspective while failing to recognize that other people might have a different perspective or point of view In concrete operations children are more aware of others’ perspectives than they were in the preoperational stage (continued) Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Capacities of Concrete-Operational Thinking (continued) Reversibility Capability to reverse an action by mentally performing its opposite In concrete operations children can mentally undo an action Classification Grouping objects into categories In concrete operations children advance to two-dimensional classifications (continued) Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Capacities of Concrete-Operational Thinking (continued) Seriation Mentally arranging or ordering a set of objects along a quantifiable dimension, such as height In concrete operations children arrange objects in serial order from shortest to longest Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Conservation This is the crucial operational schema that defines the concrete operations stage It is the understanding that appearance alterations do not change the essential properties of an object Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Figure 2.5 Three Piagetian Tests of a Child’s Capacity to Conserve Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Capacities of Concrete-Operational Thinking Generate a list of classroom activities that will involve the following: Transductive reasoning Conservation Animism Reversibility Classification Seriation Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Formal Operations Stage With formal-operational thinking, thinking can be independent of concrete reality and involve systematic problem solving Inductive reasoning is the abstraction of a general principle from a variety of examples Deductive reasoning is drawing information or hypotheses out of a general premise or a sample of evidence Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Your Turn Develop a task for each stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development Justify why each task is appropriate for each stage (See p. 49 in your textbook for teaching techniques to enrich formal operations in the classroom) Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Three Applications of Piaget’s Theory Be sensitive to individual differences Motivate by stimulating curiosity Guessing and feedback Suspense Controversy Promote discovery-based learning Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Limitations of Piaget’s Theory Sometimes underestimates the intellectual capacity of infants, preschoolers, and elementary school students Errs when it says that development is marked by qualitative changes Robbie Case at University of Toronto Studied the development of learning strategies in terms of changes in control structures involved in the solution of specific problems Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Limitations of Piaget’s Theory Discovery learning is not as effective as guided discovery learning Neglects the importance of culture and social guidance in cognitive development Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Sociocognitive Development Vygotsky argued that cognitive development emerges mostly out of the child’s social interactions with parents, teachers, peers, and other competent members of society Vygotsky advocated guided participation instead of discovery learning Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Zone of Proximal Development Predevelopment is a level of competence at which a student is unable to solve problems in that domain Zone of proximal development is a level of competence on a task in which the student cannot yet master the task on his or her own but can accomplish that same task with appropriate guidance from a more capable partner Actual development is a level at which students are capable of solving problems independently Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Scaffolding The guidance, support, and tutelage provided by a teacher during social interaction designed to advance students’ current level of skill and understanding Provides support Extends the range of what a learner can do Allows the learner to accomplish tasks otherwise impossible Used only when needed Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Instructional Conversations with Groups of Learners IRE discourse model: conversation during teaching that follows an initiate, respond, evaluate script PQS discourse model: conversation during teaching that follows a probe, question, scaffold script Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Socially Shared Cognition A shared understanding of a problem that emerges during group interaction that would not have been achieved by any individual member of the group acting alone Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Intersubjectivity The unique product that arises from social interaction in which the interaction partners come to a shared understanding of how to manage the problem-solving situation What are some examples of intersubjective experiences? Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Transfer of Responsibility Transfer of responsibility occurs as the student accomplished subgoals of the activity, gains skill and understanding, and shows less need for assistance Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Role of Language in Cognitive Development For Piaget, thought precedes language, and language is a by-product of cognitive development For Vygotsky, language is a social bridge to connect a mentor’s advanced development with a novice’s immature development, and language creates cognitive development Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Three Types of Private Speech Self-guidance – remarks about one’s own activity that are public but not directed to anyone in particular Reading aloud – reading books or other materials aloud, sounding out words, or silently mouthing words Inaudible muttering – quiet remarks that cannot be heard by an observer Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Influence of Cultural Tools First level of sociocognitive development – face-to-face, one-on-one interaction between a competent member of the culture and a less competent member Second level of sociocognitive development – through the culture’s history and technology, effective cultural tools for solving problems Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Importance of Peers to Development Sociocognitive development (Vygotsky) – more able peers can help as much as a teacher and are usually closer to the learner’s zone of proximal development Cognitive development (Piaget) – peers can create cognitive conflict and thus promote development Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory Teacher as a guide, mentor Peers as guides, mentors Culture as guide, mentor A new view of motivation Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Canadian Research into Practice Kieran Egan at Simon Fraser University, proposes a “modified Vygotskian approach” that draws upon and extends the notion of cognitive tools By definition, oral experience has to precede literacy “Cognitive Toolkits” enable us to make sense of the world Teachers should draw upon the sense of wonder Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Language Development Innate language acquisition device Children learn the language of their culture naturally, mostly by listening (18 months to six years of age) Syntax: children have a biological preparedness for structure of language Phonology and semantics: these develop rapidly from age 2 through preschool Role of a teacher: to provide many opportunities for children to use language to interact socially Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Language Disabilities and Brain Functioning Dyslexia – reading disability in which words are read from right to left and letters of the same configuration are reversed Aphasia – language disability in which the person has difficulty understanding or producing speech Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Technology Support for Young Readers & Readers with Special Needs Talking books for young readers Digital or computerized versions of traditional picture storybooks can promote phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and reading comprehension Electronic books for students with special needs Books with large print or audio and text-to-speech capabilities function as assistive technology Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Text-Based Scaffolding Devices Transitional resources – convert text to speech or definitions Illustrative resources – add pictures, charts and videos to the text Summarizing resources – overview of text with concept map or chapter outline Notational resources – promote interaction with note taking or outlining Enrichment resources – informational sidebars, historical background, and links to primary resources Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Second Language Acquisition and Bilingualism Relatively easy during childhood Noticeably more difficult after puberty Bilingualism The use of two or more languages in everyday life Proficiency in one language is highly related to proficiency in a second language Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Copyright Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted by Access Copyright (the Canadian copyright licensing agency) is unlawful. Requests for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his or her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The author and the publisher assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these files or programs or from the use of the information contained herein. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition