Human Development and Learning

Cognitive development is defined as gradual and orderly change in human development by which mental processes become more complex and sophisticated (Slavin, pp 30).

Theorists such as Jean Piaget and Lev Semionovich Vgotsky were both influential authoritarians of developmental psychology. Both believed that development was influenced largely by outside factors such as the environment and other people.

Jean Piaget explored why and how mental abilities and processes change throughout development. Piaget applied many principles and aspects of biology to the study of human development. Piaget compares a child to an active organism; indicating that a large part of development depends on a child's manipulation of and active interaction with the environment.

Piaget's theory of cognitive development proposes that a child's intellect or cognitive abilities progress through four distinct stages. Each stage or phase is defined or distinguished by the emergence of new abilities and methods of processing new information. Essentially, Piaget believed that all children are born with an innate tendency to interact with and make sense of their environments. He referenced the basic ways of organizing and processing information as cognitive structures and noted that young children demonstrate patterns of behavior or thinking called schemes. Schemes are used to explore the world around us through touching, feeling, tasting and observation. Development further occurs through the processes of adaptation, assimilation, accommodation and equilibration. Adaptation is the process in which a child learns to adjust schemes in response to the environment. Assimilation is the process of understanding a new object or event and accommodation is the process of modifying an existing scheme. Lastly, equilibration is the process of restoring balance between present understanding and new experiences (Slavin, pp 31). Equilibration is onset when a different result is rendered by the same action(s).

According to Piaget's theory, cognitive development occurs in four stages, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational. During the sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2), babies and children explore their world by using their senses and motor skills. By the end of the sensorimotor stage, children have learned to consider their actions and understand consequences in addition to resolve problems.

In the preoperational stage (age 2 to 7), language skills and concepts significantly improve. However, children in this developmental stage do not fully understand or comprehend the concept of conservation. Conservation is the understanding or realization that two items presented in a different manner are the same in number or theory. For example, if a 2^nd grader is presented with a math problem that reads 5+6=11 he or she may not fully understand that reversing the problem to read 6+5 warrants the same answer or that one whole dollar bill and four quarters equal the same amount of money.

Following the preoperational stage is the concrete operational stage (ages 7 to 11), in which children begin to understand concepts, relationships and solve problems in situations where the objects and situations are familiar. During this time children begin to think more clearly, conservation is readily understood and respond to inferred reality. Inferred reality is the ability to understand situations in various contexts. Children also learn seriation during this stage, the concept of arranging objects or events in sequential order. Additionally, the concept of transitivity is learned during this stage. Transitivity is yet another skill acquired during this stage in which children are able to mentally arrange and compare objects sequentially. Lastly, children in the concrete operational stage learn to utilize class inclusion. Class inclusion involves being able to identify certain groups or people or objects as a part of a whole. The formal operational stage (Age 11 to adulthood) is the final stage of Piaget's developmental theory. Piaget believed that sometime around the onset of puberty children's cognitive abilities begin to be characteristic of that of an adult. During this stage, children develop the ability to think outside the box as opposed to simply what is given to them. This involves critical thinking and problem solving abilities that may not have been fully developed during the concrete operational stage.

Because Piaget's theories regarding development are fundamentally sound, his studies and research have had a major impact on the practice of education and other models of learning. Initially, Piaget's theories were cultivated into developmentally appropriate education programs. According to this concept, educators tailored lesson plans, instructional materials and student class assignments to coincide with what was believed to be developmentally appropriate teaching methods suitable to meet the needs of children in various stages of development.

In contrast, Lev Semionovich Vygotcky, yet another developmental theorist whose research has greatly impacted the field of child development and educational psychology based his theories on two key ideas. He first proposed that the development of ones intellect could only be understood in terms of historical and cultural contexts we experience as children (Slavin, pp 43). Secondly, he believed that development depends on the sign systems individuals grow up with. Sign systems are symbols created by cultures, which enable them to communicate with one another, solve problems and think such as the development of language and language skills, writing and computation systems. Vygotsky believed that cognitive development is highly impacted by input from others while Piaget believed that cognitive development was stimulated by environmental factors.

Vygotsky's theory suggests that learning precedes development while Piaget proposed the exact opposite. Both theories are sound conclusions, as children learn and excel at varying paces and by varying methods. Vygotsky further concluded that development involves children internalizing signs from the sign systems, which enabled them to think and resolve problems independently. This newly acquired ability is called self-regulation. Self-regulation is key to a child's overall development. During this period in the development of self-regulation, children learn that actions and sounds have meaning (Slavin, pp 44). Children learn that certain actions render specific results and begin to think and solve problems without the assistance of others.

Applying Vygotsky's theory in the classroom would involve setting up cooperative learning arrangements among groups of students with differing levels of ability and students taking more responsibility for their own learning, which emphasizes scaffolding (Slavin, pp 46). In contrast, Piaget's theory, focused on the ideal of providing a developmentally appropriate education. This required teachers to create an environment and curriculum, utilize resource materials and tailor their teaching styles, to meet the differing physical and cognitive abilities of students. Additionally, Piaget's theory suggested that a developmental appropriate educational environment meets the social and emotional needs of students as well (Slavin, p 41). By further contrast, to Vygotsky's theory of classroom applications, Piaget thought that is was best to allow children to learn through self discovery and spontaneous interaction while a Vygotsky styled curriculum limits students to a proposed zone of proximity not allowing them to venture outside of Vygotsky's realm of thinking. Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development is based on the idea that development is defined both by what a child can do independently and by what the child can do when assisted by an adult or more competent peer (Slavin, pp 47). Utilizing these theories, teachers are better able to understand where their students are cognitively and plan activities that are developmentally appropriate. Vygotsky's theory can also be used to organize classroom activities in planning individual and group instructions according to the zone of proximal development, planning cooperative learning activities and in further developing scaffolding. The classroom applications of both theorists are similar with respect to factors such as the focus on providing students with developmentally appropriate activities. Both theorists did not wholly agree on the basis of how activities should be structured to be considered, developmentally appropriate. For instance, Vygotsky indicated that in order for the curriculum to be developmentally appropriate, the teacher must plan activities which encompass not only what children are capable of doing on their own but what they learn with the help of others (Slavin, p 47). Piaget believed that teachers should plan activities that allowed students to learn at their own pace and that lessons must be arranged to accommodate for the special needs of all students as individuals and small groups.

References

Slavin, Robert E.. Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, Seventh Edition. Pearson Education. Boston. (2003).