Development

• Piaget theory

  • four cognitive stages:

  1. Sensorimotor (birth-2yrs) = sensory/motor abilities, learn world through senses. Object permanence
  2. Preoperational stage (2-7) = symbolic thinking/language skills. egocentric = difficulty understanding others have different perspectives
  3. Concrete operational (7-11) Logical thinking, understand concepts. Can conserve.
  4. Formal operational (11+) Abstract thinking, reason logically about hypothetically. Think systematically
• Assimilation (piaget)


  • When a child incorporates new information into existing schema.
• Accomodation (piaget)


  • When child modifies existing schema to fit new information.
• Piaget

  Emphasises active role of children in constructing own understanding of world around them. Children = active learners, construct own knowledge through experience and interactions w environment
• Piaget - education

  Educators should take into account the cognitive abilities at each stage of development
• Piaget

  • Children progress through each stage through aging
  • Cannot progress until biologically ready to. Teaching a child an advanced skill before ready, waste of time
• Piaget = glass experiment with water. Prior to age 7 = taller glass more water, after = understand conservation
• McGarrigle / Donaldson = Naughty Teddy Study - AIM

  To see if there was a change in child's reaction if there was no deliberate change in row of counters (accidental)
• McGarrigle / Donaldson = Naughty Teddy Study - METHOD

  • 80 children from Scotland
  • 40 mean age of 4
  • 40 mean age of 5
  • Introduced to naughty teddy
  • Pushed counters, spread out to make look longer/shorter
  • Ask if there were more in spread out vs close together
• McGarrigle / Donaldson = Naughty Teddy Study - RESULTS

  • 41% Correct answer when changed deliberately
  • 68% Correct when teddy disrupted
  • Older children conserved more effectively
• McGarrigle / Donaldson = Naughty Teddy Study - CONCL

  Traditional method of conservation underestimated children. Younger aged children than Piaget's theory can conserve
• McGarrigle / Donaldson = Naughty Teddy Study - Evaluation

  • Same school = teaching the same, inaccurate
  • Distracted by teddy = didn't notice change, are not conserving
• Hughes policeman doll study - AIM

  Investigate children's reduction of egocentricity
• Hughes policeman doll study - METHOD

  • 30 children aged 3.5-5 from Scotland
  • Children shows model of street scene with toy policeman doll
  • Experimenter asked child to take perspective of policeman and hide doll from viewpoint of a second policeman
  • Done twice.
• Hughes policeman doll study - RESULTS

  • Under age of 3 = hid from own viewpoint, lacking understanding over others' perspectives
  • By age of 4 = children more likely to take perspective of second policeman (90%)
• Hughes policeman doll study - CONCL

  3.5-5 can see other perspectives if task clear
• Hughes policeman doll study - EVALUATION

  • Task made more sense to children than Piaget's mountain experiment
  • Researcher may have unconsciously hinted at answer.
• Dweck's Mindset Theory of learning

  Individuals have two different mindsets that influence their learning + development

  1. Fixed = abilities and intelligence are fixed, cannot be changed. Avoid challenges, give up.
  2. Growth = believe abilities and intelligence can be changed. Embrace challenges
• Dweck

  • Individuals' mindset can be influenced by praise + feedback from others
  • Praise can reinforce a fixed mindset, praising effort can reinforce growth mindset
• Dweck - self efficacy

  • Individual's belief in their own ability to succeed at a particular task. People with growth mindset more likely to have higher self-efficacy = believe their abilities can be developed
  • Fixed = may have lower self efficacy
• Dweck = in education

  Teachers should praise hard work = growth mindset.
• Verbalisers


  Prefer to learn through spoken or written words.
• Visualisers 


  Prefer to learn through visual information
• Kinaesthetic learners


  Learn through a "hands on" approach. Taking part and doing something