From the beginning of time and still to present day, people have always been curious as to how we develop from little tiny helpless humans into the fully functioning members of society. Two psychologists, Piaget and Vygotsky, developed different theories about cognitive and language development. Piaget’s theory says that children try to understand the world around them in different phases as they grow. As children, they want to make sense of everything that is going on around them. Piaget says that there are four stages of cognitive development that we go through as we age; sensory motor period, pre-operational period, concrete operational period, and finally the formal operational theory. According to Piaget, we should be through all of these …show more content…
The strengths of Piaget’s theories are that many parents and teachers use his theory to develop ideas on how to improve upon a child’s development. The different stages Piaget explained in his theory can help a teacher or parent judge where they think children are at developmentally. It can also help them see what areas the child needs to work on in order to move to the next stage (Cherry, 2017). The teachers can teach and remediate students based on what level or stage they are at. Thanks to Piaget’s theory now we can better understand children, so now we can communicate with them better since we know how they are thinking and developing (Kail, 2016). Piaget’s theory also inspired other researchers to further study child development and improve upon the research that he …show more content…
The first one being that his research was biased. He only used a very small sample of children to complete the study, and he also used his own kids in his experiments (Cherry, 2017). Piaget also did not take into account what children are capable of. He often asked the children too difficult of questions and/or made them very confusing for children to understand. Piaget also did not realize that many people never reach the final stage (formal operational period), he stated that we should all reach that stage between age 11 and adulthood (Kail, 2016). He also thought that the social environment and culture that someone is raised in did not affect the cognitive and language development of a child, this is a big weakness since he did not explore all options for why we develop the way we do. Piaget was also flawed in thinking that language comes after thought, when most other psychologists think development is a combination of both. Piaget said that developing thought was more important than developing language, which caused his findings to be skewed and biased (McLeod,
Jean Piaget was a psychologist who looked at a child’s developing their reasoning skills. Piaget carried out detailed observations of them and as his work started taking shape on how our understanding a child’s intellectual skills and as a result of this he has made changes in education. Piaget understood that cognitive developments occurred in stages, his research concentrated on how children learn and start to gain an understanding of their stage of development to be able to learn new concepts. He identified a four-stage process of cognitive development all the way through childhood. He stated that every child would go through each stage but not at the same time, but he also said that some children would sometimes never reach the later stages.
Piaget – Cognitive Development - Observed his own children, plus others to develop his theories. His theory is broad and runs from birth to adolescence and includes concepts of language, scientific reasoning, moral development and memory. Piaget believed that children went
As Piaget’s theory of child development is put into practice in nurseries and infant schools today I
There are a few key concepts that significantly stand out when researching into Piaget’s theory. One important concept that is an obvious stand out is the stages of cognitive development (Margetts, 2016). From examining this theory it shows that Piaget broke down the stages of cognitive development into four different phases according to age and the person’s ability to use their brain to function and think (Margetts, 2016). The stages are Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 years), Preoperational Stage (2-7 years), Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years) and Formal Operational Stage (11 years to adult) (Ey, 2015). During the sensorimotor stage, intelligence is demonstrated through motor activity without the use symbols (Second Source), this indicates that children (0-2 years) are
Though his has a multicultural approach with its emphasis on individualism, this makes it difficult to test. In addition, the theory fails to address how development occurs. This is where Piaget’s theory comes in. Piaget’s theory has been widely accepted by developmental theorists as it focuses on how development occurs through childhood and into adolescents. Despite having the potential for yielding based results, his theory has been widely accepted by developmental theorist (Belsky, 2016). Unlike Erikson’s theory, Piaget’s theory is not culturally friendly, in that it is near impossible to apply this theory to children who have intellectual disabilities or those who missed developmental milestones as it can underestimate their cognitive ability.
The debate about who has the most accurate theory ,Jean Piaget or Lev Vygotsky. has been ongoing for many years. Both theorist have very supportive and reasonable theories concerning child development, but the differentiate along the lines of how how children process information through attention ,memory, and strategies.( Santrock 2011,p.50) Jean Piaget theory states that children development depends on their experiences and thoughts (schemas) as they grow up . While Vygotsky believed that development of child depends on experiences and assistants with others in the world.
“According to Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development, it states that all children go through specific stages as their brain matures. It also stated that these stages are completed in a fixed order within all children, according to their range of age (Atherton).” In other words, one cannot expect a two month old baby to solve simple math problems as that of a five year old. There are four stages in which Piaget grouped the development of a child according to their age groups, in which children interact with people and their environment. The sensorimotor stage (birth until age 2) children use their senses to explore their environment. During this stage, children learn how to control objects, although they fail to understand that these objects if not within their view continue to exist. The preoperational stage (2 until age 7) children are not able to see other's viewpoints other than their own. In other words, if the same amount of water is poured into a short wide glass and then a tall thin glass the child will perceive that the taller glass has more water because of the height. The concrete operational stage (7 until 12) children begin to think logically, but only with a practical aid. The last stage of Piaget’s cognitive theory is the formal operation stage (12 through adulthood) in which children develop abstract thinking and begin to think logically in their minds (Piaget).
Research done by Piaget involves the theory of cognitive development in children (Packer, 2017). Piaget used his own child to develop what is considered the most comprehensive methods for understanding the phases of child development. Dr. Franco uses Piaget’s research to build upon her own research. All
In the world of cognitive development , two of the most influential psychologists are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory had a profound impact on the field of cognitive development, and their contributions continue to influence psychologist, educators and researchers today. Both Vygotsky and Piaget's theories provide a different perspective on how children learn, and by looking at both theories, we can better understand a child's cognitive development.
Between each milestone existed an adaptation phase in which the child is able to apply what they already know to what they will need to know for future stages. There are four stages of Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory which consist of sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to 2 years of age and is characterized by the infant beginning to explore the world and tying together sensory information with motor skills while acquiring an understanding of objects continuing to exist, even when not present (object permanence). In the preoperational stage, occurring between 2 and 7 years, the child begins to develop language skills through use of symbols such as words and images and views themselves as being the center of everything (egocentrism). Illogical thinking is still evident. In the concrete operational phase, lasting from 7 to 11 years, the child’s reasoning becomes increasingly more logical and he or she begins to understand the idea of conservation after change in
In both of these theories you’ll find it has its strengths and weaknesses. In Piaget theory, it provides a systematic and organized perspective on infant and child development. By dividing such development into several stages, Piaget theory empowers psychologists’ and caregivers to monitor and evaluate the patterns of infant and child development (Mooney, 2013). Also, his theory reaffirms the importance of environmental variables and the role of the caregiver and the social support of the cognitive and emotional development of children (Hetherington & Parke, 2003). What I find that lacks in Piaget's theory is its methodological rigor and objectivity. Another example is, Piaget's theories and claims were not always based on solid research. He often underestimated the ability of infants and children to manage their routine tasks (Hetherington & Parke, 2003).
In his theory of cognitive development, Jean Piaget introduces the idea that cognitive processes develop in a particular sequence with differing levels of sophistication. The order of this sequence is as so: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. As each stage is marked by unique characteristics, the expectations of individuals in each stage differs, and this can be noted in the way that adults interact with children who are five years old and children who are twelve years old.
The second educational belief grounded in Piaget’s theory is individual differences. Piaget’s theory asserts that children go through all the same developmental stages; however they do so at different rates* because of this teachers should put more effort to arrange classroom activities for groups of children and individuals rather than for the whole class group. Also because individual differences are
What are the major challenges to Piaget's theory of cognitive development and what aspects still have value?
“The influence of Piaget’s ideas in developmental psychology has been enormous. He changed how people viewed the child’s world and their methods of studying children. He was an inspiration to many who came after and took up his ideas. Piaget's ideas have generated a huge amount of research which has increased our understanding of cognitive development.” (McLeod 2009). Piaget purposed that we move through stages of cognitive development. He noticed that children showed different characteristics throughout their childhood development. The four stages of