Monday, February 21, 2011

Stages of Cognitive Development

1. Sensori-motor (Birth-2 yrs) Differentiates self from objects; Recognizes self as agent of action and begins to act intentionally: e.g. pulls a string to set mobile in motion or shakes a rattle to make a noise; Achieves object permanence: realises that things continue to exist even when no longer present to the sense (pace Bishop Berkeley)

2. Pre-operational (2-7 years) Learns to use language and to represent objects by images and words ; Thinking is still egocentric: has difficulty taking the viewpoint of others ; Classifies objects by a single feature: e.g. groups together all the red blocks regardless of shape or all the square blocks regardless of colour

3. Concrete operational (7-11 years) Can think logically about objects and events; Achieves conservation of number (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight (age 9); Classifies objects according to several features and can order them in series along a single dimension such as size.

4. Formal operational (11 years and up) Can think logically about abstract propositions and test hypotheses systematically; Becomes concerned with the hypothetical, the future, and ideological problems

Piaget's approach is central to the school of cognitive theory known as "cognitive constructivism": other scholars, known as "social constructivists", such as Vygotsky and Bruner, have laid more emphasis on the part played by language and other people in enabling children to learn.

Read more: Piaget's developmental theory http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/piaget.htm#ixzz1EbEQSwem
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