Entry #1 Cognitive Development

I would describe cognitive development as stages a child goes through to learn to think critically and become independent. "Children are not miniature adults (Slavin, 2018, p.23).” Two well know psychologists, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky developed learning theories for cognitive development. Piaget studied his own children and felt children learn from action because of the way they interact with the environment. Vygotsky felt that children learn best by being guided or mentor by a teacher or experiences peer. Many educational reforms stem from these two theories (Slavin, 2018). When analyzing Piaget’s four stages of cognitive, they are distinct and have clear descriptions, however some children may demonstrate two stages at once when they are transitioning between stages. 1. Sensorimotor Stage (Birth - 2), children learn through their senses and motor skills. They progress from reflexes to planned movements and develop object permanence. Ex: When an object is covered up, an infant will think it disappeared and will progress to knowing it is still there but not visible (Slavin, 2018, p. 27). 2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years), children begin using symbols to mentally represent objects. They tend to be egocentric by thinking everyone thinks the way they think. Ex: I remember thinking everyone believed the way I did in my faith, and I was in the third of fourth grade when I realized everyone has their own beliefs and many were different from mine (Slavin, 2018, p. 27). 3. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years), children have difficulty with abstract thought. The must have a “concrete” object to think about and solve problems. Ex: Student who have not experienced a museum, may have difficulty imagining or thinking about what it may look like or happen inside a museum. This is where socioeconomically disadvantaged students who may have not had certain types of experiences may struggle in class (Slavin, 2018, p. 27). 4. Formal Operational Stage (11-adulthood), children begin to develop adult-like thinking. They will begin to think abstractly. Ex: Adolescents can think about what may happen in hypothetical situations and for hypothesis from about situations they do not have any experience with. This may explain why teenagers suddenly know everything (Slavin, 2018, p. 27)! Vygotsky theorized that children develop intellectually in terms of historical and cultural contexts from their experiences. There development depends on “sign systems” that individuals grown up with. An example would be cultures create ways that people think, communicate, and solve problems (Slavin, 2018, p.33). Vygotsky believed learning preceded development. This learning stemmed from self-regulation (learning to solve problems without help) and private speech (talking to oneself to solve problems). His Zone of Proximal Development is a level in which children can learn/accomplish on their own but could be successful with help from a peer or teacher (Slavin, 2018). This is done through mediation, scaffolding, cognitive apprenticeship, and cooperative learning. When students collaborate and share ideas or get the amount of guidance to help them make connections, they can make sense of their world and where they fit in it. They can develop intellectually and culturally. Understanding cognitive development means that I will be able to better meet the needs of my students. I will be able to challenge or “push” them, but not frustrate them. I feel the more I understand how students develop cognitively, I will be able to be a more effective teacher. My administration wants all teachers to teach by using a gradual release model of “I Do, We Do, You Do”. In my classroom, I teach science and I have not really been a fan of the gradual release model, because science is an inquiry based subject and not a skill-based subject like math or ELA. In my class, I put my students in science groups to work collaboratively to investigate phenomena. This allows students to use “private talk” or thinking aloud in their conversations as they try to make sense of investigations and data or even come up with hypotheses. Vygotsky “believed that higher mental functioning usually exists in conversation and collaboration among individuals before it exists within the individual (Slavin, 2018, p. 34).” I am torn between both Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories. I believe scaffolding allows students to be successful when they may have struggled on their own, but I also believe that students learn best when they discover concepts on their own. I have seen many students who rely to heavily on scaffolding, so they wait for answers to be “given” to them. It lessens their motivation to be “given” information. In my experience, students are more invested and motivated when they can investigate and discover or learn on their own. I think the key is to guide them but let them think they are discovering new concepts on their own. I will work on a proper balance of scaffolding in the future. Slavin, R. E. (2018). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (12th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.