Piaget’s Theory on Cognitive Development
Namsheed.N.T
Introduction• Developed by Jean Piaget( 1896-1980), a swiss
biologist• His approach is known genetic epistemology
Basic Ideas• The principal goal; of education to create men who are capable
of doing new things.• The second aim of education is to form minds which can be
critical , can verify and do not accept everything they are offered.
• He writes “to understand is to invent”
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to the environment
The development of human intellectual abilities take place as a result of the organization and reorganization of certain pattern of behaviour called Schema
Adaptation takes place through the processes like Assimilation and Accommodation
Equilibration is the fundamental factor in development
Concepts Cognitive Structure
According to Piaget, the emergence of new cognitive abilities occurs as a result of the modification of the behaviour patterns that are present at the time of birth. These patterns of behaviour constitute the structural units of human mind that he called schemas
SCHEMA They are the basic structural units of human
mind. They constitute organized pattern of
behaviour that an individual use in dealing with objects in his environment.
An infant’s first schemas represent those instincts and reflexes that are biologically inherited
As development proceeds , each pattern enlarges and changes.
It is co-ordianated with the other patterns to form more complex patterns.
Schema can be simple as well as complex
Cognitive functioning Intelligence is a tool by which the individual
organizes the schemas and adapts to the world.
The process of adaptation or organization of schemas is identified with three different activities
1. Assimilation2. Accommodation3. Equilibration
Assimilation First part of the two-part process of interaction
between external reality and the child’s own attained cognitive structure
Process of “fitting in” or becoming a part of existing cognitive organization
Individual uses his current schema to interpret the external world.
It take place when a previous experience is used to comprehend a new experience in its familiar forms.
Old schema does not change in the process
Example
When a child is engage in sucking, there is a certain pattern of movements of the cheeks, lipos and hands. When a child is confronted with a new object , he will try to understand the new object by applying his old scheme to it.
AccommodationIt involves modification or change
of some elements of an old scheme
Learning a new scheme which is more appropriate for the new object.
ExampleThe moment the child learns to
discriminate between a red shirt and a pink shirt , the pre-existing schema of red colour is accommodated with a new experience of identification of the shade of red , that is, pink colour.
EquilibrationFundamental factor in development
Adjustment process between the organism and the environment.
The process of maintaining balance between assimilation and accommodation
Optimal level of intellectual functioning takes place when there is balance between assimilation and accommodation
It is a progressive and self regulating
process
It leads step by step to a final state of reversibility that characterizes higher cognitive structures.
STAGES OF INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
IntroductionCognitive development arises as a
result of the interaction between the individual and the world
Passes through a series of sequential stages.
Piaget identified four major stages in the cognitive development of an individual
1) Sensory – Motor Stage (0-2 years)2) Pre-operational Stage (2-7 years)3) Concrete – Operational Stage ( 7-11
years)4) Formal operational stage (12-15
years)
The precise ages of each stage vary in different cultures and in different circumstances
But the sequence of the stages remains the same
According to Piaget the child moves from one stage to the next through the interaction of four factors – Equilibration, Maturation, Experience with physical objects and social interaction
Sensory – Motor StageBirth to 2 years
Infants construct their understanding of the world by co-ordinating sensory experiences with motor abilities
The stage is marked by sensation
Simple learning occurs
Through three kinds of circular reactions , the infant moves from blind repetition to repetition designed to make something last, and then on to active experimentation and some inventiveness
There are six sub stages of Sensory motor stages
1) Exercising ready- made sensory motor equipment 0-1 month Sucking, Crying, Elimination,
Gross bodily activity Assimilation and accommodation
are not differentiated
2) Primary circular reactions
1-4 months Stumbles on a new activity Repeats over and over Eg., grasps and lets go Assimilation and
accommodation become differentiated
3) Secondary circular reactions
4-8 monthsActs and waits for result to occur
Eg., shakes a rattle to hear the noise
Brief search for absent objectMoves towards intentionality or goal orientation
4) Co-ordination of secondary schemas
8-12 monthsTurns bottle to reach nippleSets an obstacle aside to reach desired object visible behind it
Imitates a novel response
5)Tertiary circular reactions
12-18 months
Explores new object in a kind of experimentation to find out in what respects object is new
Learn use of means to an end , such as reaching a watch on a pillow by pulling the pillow toward himself
6) Invention of new means through mental combinations
Solves a detour problem by going around a barrier even if it means temporarily moving away from the goal
Infers causes from observing effectsPredicts effects from observing causesInvents new applications of something
learned in a different context
The sensory motor stage is characterized by Object Permanence:
A new born baby does not realize object are permanent
“ Out of sight is out of mind” After 8 months, develops an understanding
that objects constitute to exist even if their hidden from view.
Causality learns that there is a relationship
between his actions and the external world.
Pre- operational stage 2 to 7 years The period of representative intelligence Operation refers to mental manipulation and
transformation of objects and information This stage is characterized by inability for
operations Language development is the important hall-
mark Do not understand concrete logic , cannot take
the popint of view of others, heavily influenced by their perceptions
The stage is characterized by1) Representational thought:2) Transductive reasoning3) Ego-centrism4) Animistic thinking5) Artificialism
CONCRETE OPERATIONAL SATGE 7-11 years Capacity for logical thought emerges Thought process is limited to real
events observed or actual objects handled
Cannot handle abstract experiences
Important mental abilities developed1) Inductive –Deductive reasoning2) Flexibility in thinking3) Understanding of the principle of
conservation4) Classification and serialisation5) Transitivity6) Reversibilty of thought
FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
12-15 yearsThought process becomes quite systematic and reasonably well integrated
Important accomplishments
1)Ability to deal with abstraction
2)Hypothetico- Deductive reasoning
3)Systematic approach to solve problems
4)Use of abstract rules
5)Ability to transfer knowledge
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
Development of ability based curriculum for children
Useful in providing learning experiences in tune with the mental abilities of the child
THANK YOU
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