Introduction
From
his observation of children, Piaget understood that children were creating
ideas. They were not limited to receiving knowledge from parents or teachers;
they actively constructed their own knowledge. Piaget's work provides the
foundation on which constructionist theories are based.
Constructionists
believe that knowledge is constructed and learning occurs when children create
products or artifacts. They assert that learners are more likely to be engaged
in learning when these artifacts are personally relevant and meaningful.
In
studying the cognitive development of children and adolescents, Piaget
identified four major stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete
operational and formal operational. Piaget believed all children pass through
these phases to advance to the next level of cognitive development. In each
stage, children demonstrate new intellectual abilities and increasingly complex
understanding of the world. Stages cannot be "skipped"; intellectual
development always follows this sequence. The ages at which children progress
through the stages are averages--they vary with the environment and background
of individual children. At any given time a child may exhibit behaviors
characteristic of more than one stage.
Stages of Cognitive Development
The
Inspiration web above illustrates Piaget's four cognitive development stages;
sensorimotor (birth-2 years), preoperational (2 - 7 years), concrete
operational (7 - 11 years), and formal operational (adolescence - adulthood).
By Tiffany Davis, Meghann Hummel, and Kay Sauers (2006)
|
The
first stage, sensorimotor, begins at birth and lasts until 18 months-2
years of age. This stage involves the use of motor activity without the use of
symbols. Knowledge is limited in this stage, because it is based on physical
interactions and experiences. Infants cannot predict reaction, and therefore
must constantly experiment and learn through trial and error. Such exploration
might include shaking a rattle or putting objects in the mouth. As they become
more mobile, infants' ability to develop cognitively increases. Early language
development begins during this stage. Object permanence occurs at 7-9 months,
demonstrating that memory is developing. Infants realize that an object exists
after it can no longer be seen.
The
preoperational stage usually occurs during the period between
toddlerhood (18-24months) and early childhood (7 years). During this stage
children begin to use language; memory and imagination also develop. In the
preoperational stage, children engage in make believe and can understand and
express relationships between the past and the future. More complex concepts,
such as cause and effect relationships, have not been learned. Intelligence is
egocentric and intuitive, not logical.
Caption:
This animation demonstrates one of the Piagetian classic experiments known as
the "Three Mountain Problem." He designed this experiment to support
his theory that children possess egocentrism characteristics of thought during
the preoperational period of cognitive development. Piaget wanted to show that
children have a self-centered perception of the world at this age. This flash
animation demonstrates Piagetian theory. The girl is sitting in front of a
mountain that has a cross visible only from her side. In addition, there is a
doll on the other side of the mountain. According to Piaget, if preoperational
children are asked to say what the doll can see, their response would reflect
what can be seen from their perspective only. Clicking on the green button
rotates the mountain to reveal true perspective of the doll. It does not show
the cross. Critics of this experiment contend that the Three Mountain Problem
is too complex. The same experiment was done using a simplified scene and the
child was able to explain the view from the other side, thus displaying
non-egocentric behavior Kuanchung Chen, Kris Irwin, Jamie Parker, Saied
Roushanzamir (2004).
The
concrete operational stage typically develops between the ages of 7-11
years. Intellectual development in this stage is demonstrated through the use
of logical and systematic manipulation of symbols, which are related to
concrete objects. Thinking becomes less egocentric with increased awareness of
external events, and involves concrete references.
Formal operational is the period from adolescence through adulthood stage.
Adolescents and adults use symbols related to abstract concepts. Adolescents
can think about multiple variables in systematic ways, can formulate
hypotheses, and think about abstract relationships and concepts.
Piaget
believed that intellectual development was a lifelong process, but that when
formal operational thought was attained, no new structures were needed.
Intellectual development in adults involves developing more complex schema
through the addition of knowledge.
Educational Implications
An
important implication of Piaget's theory is adaptation of instruction to the
learner's developmental level. The content of instruction needs to be
consistent with the developmental level of the learner.
The
teacher's role is to facilitate learning by providing a variety of experiences.
"Discovery learning" provides opportunities for learners to explore
and experiment, thereby encouraging new understandings. Opportunities that
allow students of differing cognitive levels to work together often encourage
less mature students to advance to a more mature understanding. One further
implication for instruction is the use of concrete "hands on"
experiences to help children learn. Additional suggestions include:
- Provide
concrete props and visual aids, such as models and/or time line
- Use
familiar examples to facilitate learning more complex ideas, such as story
problems in math.
- Allow
opportunities to classify and group information with increasing
complexity; use outlines and hierarchies to facilitate assimilating new
information with previous knowledge.
- Present
problems that require logical analytic thinking; the use of tools such as
"brain teasers" is encouraged.
Huitt
and Hummel (1998) assert that "only 35% of high school graduates in
industrialized countries obtain formal operations; many people do not think
formally during adulthood". This is significant in terms of developing
instruction and performance support tools for students who are chronologically
adults, but may be limited in their understanding of abstract concepts. For
both adolescent and adult learners, it is important to use these instructional
strategies
- Use
visual aids and models.
- Provide
opportunities to discuss social, political, and cultural issues.
- Teach
broad concepts rather than facts, and to situate these in a context
meaningful and relevant to the learner.
Criticisms of Piaget's Theory
Researchers
during the 1960's and 1970's identified shortcomings in Piaget's theory. First,
critics argue that by describing tasks with confusing abstract terms and using
overly difficult tasks, Piaget under estimated children's abilities.
Researchers have found that young children can succeed on simpler forms of
tasks requiring the same skills. Second, Piaget's theory predicts that thinking
within a particular stage would be similar across tasks. In other words,
preschool children should perform at the preoperational level in all cognitive
tasks. Research has shown diversity in children's thinking across cognitive
tasks. Third, according to Piaget, efforts to teach children developmentally
advanced concepts would be unsuccessful. Researchers have found that in some
instances, children often learn more advanced concepts with relatively brief
instruction. Researchers now believe that children may be more competent that
Piaget originally thought, especially in their practical knowledge.
Caption:
This illustration demonstrates a child developing a schema for a dog by
assimilating information about the dog. The child then sees a cat, using
accommodation compares existing knowledge of a dog to form a schema of a cat.
Animation created by Daurice Grossniklaus and Bob Rodes (2002).
When
the parent reads to the child about dogs, the child constructs a schema about dogs.
Later, the child sees a dog in the park; through the process of assimilation
the child expands his/her understanding of what a dog is. When the dog barks,
the child experiences disequilibria because the child's schema did not include
barking. Then the child discovers the dog is furry, and it licks the child's
hand. Again, the child experiences disequilibria. By adding the newly
discovered information to the existing schema the child is actively
constructing meaning. At this point the child seeks reinforcement from the
parent. The parent affirms and reinforces the new information. Through
assimilation of the new information the child returns to a state of
equilibrium.
The
process of accommodation occurs when the child sees a cat in the park. A new
schema must be formed, because the cat has many traits of the dog, but because
the cat meows and then climbs a tree the child begins to actively construct new
meaning. Again the parent reinforces that this is a cat to resolve the child's
disequilibria. A new schema about cats is then formed and the child returns to
a state of equilibrium.