theory and study

• Piaget developed his Theory of Cognitive Development through observing his own children and their friends and tested them on their cognitive abilities at different ages
• Schemas


  Mental representations, thoughts, expectations or ideas based on our experiences
• Sensori-motor stage (birth to 2 years)


  • Infant develops motor co-ordination, as well as a body schema and recognises themselves in the mirror. Lack object permanence at birth
• Pre-operational stage (2 to 7 years)


  • Think that inanimate objects have feelings (animism), lack reversibility in thinking, egocentric
• Concrete-operational stage (7 to 11 years)


  • No longer have animism, develop reversibility, can decentre, can order things (seriation), develop conservation
• Formal operational stage (11 years to adulthood)


  • Ability to think in abstract and hypothetical ways and to successfully solve problems
• Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development can be supported by research evidence including the Piaget (1952) study into the conservation of number
• Piaget's Theory can be criticised for being too reductionist in suggesting that all children automatically go through the same stages based on their biological maturation
• Mindset


  The way that we think in relation to where our talents come from and whether these are changeable
• Fixed mindset


  • Believe that intelligence is pre-defined and we are born with certain abilities
• Growth mindset


  • Believe intelligence can be developed through experiences and if we work hard and learn skills then our abilities and therefore our intelligence will improve
• Teachers and parents play an important part in the development of different mindsets through the type of praise that they give
• Blackwell et al.'s (2007) study into fixed and growth mindsets provides support for Dweck's theory. Students with a growth mindset were found to have stronger learning goals, hold more positive beliefs about effort, and had greater motivation levels
• Willingham believes that there is no evidence that learning styles exist and in fact they are a myth
• According to Willingham students are different in their abilities, interests and prior knowledge, but not in their learning styles. There are preferences about how to learn, but teaching to these preferences will not lead to better learning
• Willingham states that meaning is what is important for learning. Most learning takes place through understanding the meaning
• Cognitive development


  The development of the mind and mental processes, such as thinking
• Piaget created a theory of cognitive development
• Piaget's theory of cognitive development

  • It is invariant and fixed, meaning the same four stages apply to every child regardless of background
• Piaget's four stages of cognitive development

  • Sensorimotor (birth to 2 years)
  • Preoperational (2 to 7 years)
  • Concrete operational (7 to 11 years)
  • Formal operational (11 years onwards)
• Schemas


  Mental pockets of organized information
• Assimilation


  When a schema stays the same but something is added to it
• Accommodation


  When a schema changes due to new information or experiences
• Sensorimotor stage


  Children learn about their environment physically (birth to 2 years)
• Object permanence


  The understanding that an object still exists even when it is hidden from view
• Preoperational stage


  Children develop animism (believing inanimate objects have feelings) and egocentrism (being unable to see others' perspectives) (2 to 7 years)
• Concrete operational stage


  Children develop decentration (dealing with two pieces of information at once), reversibility (understanding objects/numbers can be changed and returned to original form), and conservation (understanding properties like size/length don't change even if appearance does) (7 to 11 years)
• Formal operational stage


  Children develop abstract thinking and can solve complex, hypothetical problems (11 years onwards)
• Piaget's theory is criticized as being too reductionist, as it doesn't account for factors like upbringing, emotional state, education, and genetics
• Piaget's study on conservation of number

  • Aimed to test Piaget's theory that children can only conserve at the concrete operational stage
  • Used an independent measures design with age as the independent variable and conservation ability as the dependent variable
  • Involved showing children two rows of counters and asking if they had the same amount, then spreading out one row and asking again
• Children's ability to conserve


  Develops as they progress through Piaget's stages of cognitive development
• Piaget's study on conservation of number

  • Aimed to test Piaget's theory that children can only conserve at the concrete operational stage
  • Used an independent measures design with age as the independent variable and conservation ability as the dependent variable
  • Involved showing children two rows of counters and asking if they had the same amount, then spreading out one row and asking again
• Children's ability to conserve


  Develops as they progress through Piaget's stages of cognitive development
• Blackw


  Researcher who conducted two studies on mindset theory
• Motivational questionnaire


  Questionnaire used by Blackw to determine if participants had a growth or fixed mindset
• Growth mindset


  • Enjoys challenges, wants to learn and better themselves
• Fixed mindset


  • Wants to give up easily, doesn't enjoy challenges, feels threatened by others' success
• Blackw study 1


  1. Correlational study

  2. Measured math scores of 373 students at end of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade

  3. Students completed motivational questionnaire at start of 7th grade

  4. Aimed to see if growth/fixed mindset impacted math scores
• Students with growth mindset more likely to show improved math scores over time
• Blackw study 2


  1. Correlational study with experimental component

  2. 99 participants, math scores measured at end of 6th and 7th grade

  3. Participants split into experimental and control groups

  4. Experimental group received workshop on growth/fixed mindsets

  5. Control group received workshop on improving intelligence/memory

  6. Measured math scores and teacher observations over time