Journal Entry

• We are 19 school days away from beginning to work in the schools (Oakwood and Dillard). Make 2 Lists as your journal entry this morning.– List 1: Things you are scared/nervous/anxious

about.– List 2: Things you are excited about and questions

you have.

Cognitive Pop Quiz1. Edith is fairer than Susan. Edith is darker

than Lily. Who is the darkest of the three?2. What number is 30 less than 3 times itself?3. Explain how your life would be different if

you could become invisible.4. Scientists found a 3-year old skull of an

animal with three heads and five feet that lives to be fifty. How could this be?

Answers1. The correct answer is

Susan. This is an example of an elementary logic problem. Young people in formal operations should be able to answer the question while those in the concrete stage will probably have difficulty with it.

Answers

2. The correct answer is 15. This action requires the ability to deal with abstractions. A person in formal operations will set up an algebraic equation to solve the question, while a young person in the concrete stage will try to find the answer by plugging in different numbers:

X = 3X – 30, X-X=3X=X=30, 0=2X-30, 0+30=2X-30=30, 30=2X, 15=X

Answers3. This question require hypothetical reasoning People in formal operations will be able to think of numerous ways their lives would be different if they could become invisible. People in the concrete stage will probably say, “But I can’t become invisible.”

Answers4. This is a ridiculous question with no answer. The person in formal operations will struggle to find an answer, while the child in the concrete stage will simply say, “That is a stupid question.” And the child would be right.

Cognitive Development

• Essential Question: How does being able to recognize the differences in cognitive levels of understanding influence instructional decisions?

Cognitive Learning Theory

• Cognition is the mental process or faculty by which knowledge is acquired. For example, if you asked students to name the best president the US has ever had and students gave you an answer, you have given them the stimulus (question), and they have given you a response (answer).

Cognitive Learning Theory• Jean Piaget- the “Father of Cognitive

Development”1. Established that children and adults think

differently. 2. Work based on studies and observations of

people doing tasks.3. Believed all behavior is related to thinking

(cognition), that cognition is developmental, and both genetics and environment play a role in cognition.

Jean Piaget

Cognitive Learning Theory• Important to understanding his theory are

three steps:1. Reflexes: These are simple blocks of cognition

that help infants adapt (i.e., sucking or grasping)2. Schema: Reflexes are categorized into schema in

the same way a computer organizes data.3. Operations: These are logical thought processes.

• Piaget believed that we learn new information in one of two ways: assimilation and accommodation

Cognitive Learning Theory1. Assimilation- fitting new information

into an already existing schema – i.e., if you ask a student to imagine that

you had never seen a soccer ball and to explain one to you, the student may describe it as being round with a white and black design, thus helping you to assimilate it.

– When faced with a new food, you may say, “What does it taste like?” In this way, you would be trying to assimilate it.

Cognitive Learning Theory

2. Accommodation- adjusting schema to fit new situations or demands – i.e., if you were asked,

“Does 3RS?! = 2M*!?” you could not answer because you don’t know the code. You would need to accommodate.

Cognitive Learning Theory

• Sometimes we must use both accommodation and assimilation. For example, in learning to play chess, we use assimilation (in that chess is like checkers), but we must also use accommodation (in that chess requires new information).

Cognitive Learning Theory

• There are four stages of Cognitive Development:1. Sensory Motor Stage (Ages birth-2)2. Pre-operational Stage (Ages 2-6)3. Concrete Operational Stage (Ages 7-11)4. Formal Operations Stage (Ages 12-?)

Cognitive Learning Theory1. Sensory Motor Stage (Ages birth-2)– Children learn through their senses. When

they encounter a new object, they see it, smell it, hear it, touch it, or put it in their mouths.

– Towards the end of this stage, children develop object permanence, realizing that an object exists independently of their perception of it.

Sensory Motor Stage: Ages Birth-2

Cognitive Learning Theory2. Pre-operational Stage (Ages 2-6)– Language development is an important task of this

period and enhances symbolic thought. The child relies on intuition or what seems right.• EX: If a child is asked whether a tall glass or short glass

(containing equal amounts of water) has more water in it, he will indicate the tall glass because the water goes father to the top and looks fuller.

– There is also evidence of animism, assigning human qualities to everything.

– Children at this age are egocentric, seeing the world in terms of themselves.

– Children can answer “what” questions, but not “why” questions.

Pre-operational Stages: Ages 7-11

Cognitive Learning Theory3. Concrete Operational Stage (Ages 7-11)– Children can reason deductively and deal with the

world in the way they see it. They can no longer be tricked if they can see it literally.

– Children still cannot reason abstractly nor do problem solving in their heads, such as mental manipulation • EX: If a child at this age sees a cartoon with elephants and

donkeys in a boxing ring, he thinks it is two animals, but not Democrats and Republicans.

• EX: If a child is asked, “How would life be different if you did not have a thumb?” he will answer, “But I do have one.” – However, if you tape the child’s thumb down, he can answer the

question.

Concrete Operational Stage (Ages 7-11)

Cognitive Learning Theory

4. Formal Operations Stage (Ages 12-?)– This is the stage of abstract reasoning. – The child can do inductive and deductive

reasoning from hypothetical situations and can perform mental manipulations. He can answer “how” and “why” questions.

– There are 5 cognitive process formal operations thinkers can do better than concrete ones.

Cognitive Learning Theory1. Use logic– EX: if all blondes are silly, and Carol is blonde, then Carol is

silly.

2. Abstract Reasoning– EX: Algebra

3. Hypothetical Reasoning– EX: can think of many plausible solutions to problems.

4. Extending Thinking or Mental Leaps– EX: If I have sex, I might get pregnant, have to drop out of

school, not go to college, not get a good job, etc.

5. Deal with the Future– EX: Once I have finished college, I’m going to law school.

Formal Operations Stage (Ages 12-?)

Piaget’s Critics

1. Piaget’s theories are based on case studies of a small population of white, middle-class children. Are the same stages true for other cultures, atypical living arrangements, and other populations?

1. What influences do environmental factors have on these stages?

Piaget’s Critics2. The sequence and chronology of Piaget are

too rigid. Some “normal” children are far behind these stages while others are far ahead. – Can stages be skipped? – What about precocious 7-year-old chess players? – Shouldn’t adults be capable of formal operational

thinking?• EX: If adults know that drinking and driving is

dangerous, why do they do it?

Piaget’s Critics

3. Piaget does not properly describe adolescents. Should they have their own egocentric stage? – They may appear to understand rules, as in the

formal operations stage, yet many feel that rules apply to everyone but themselves. • EX: Teenagers believe in using birth control, but many

do not use birth control themselves.

Implications for Education

1. If most children do not reach the formal operations stage until age 12, should algebra be taught in middle schools?

2. If children cannot understand the hypothesis and cannot do inductive reasoning before the formal operations stage, should they do science fairs in elementary and middle schools?

3. What happens when teachers ask too many “why” questions to students in the concrete operations stage?

Reflection: Why does it matter?

• As a journal entry, write a response to today’s essential question after our notes:– EQ: How does being

able to recognize the differences in cognitive levels of understanding influence instructional decisions?