PRESENTED BY GHULAM ABASS JAMALITOPIC COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTASSIGNED BY DR. IFTIKHAR HUSSAN JAFFERIROLL NO. M/EDU/2K16/09

FACULTY OF EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF SINDH ELSA KAZI CAMPUS HYDERABAD

Cognitive developmentCognitive developmentCognitive development is the construction of thought

processes, including remembering, problem solving, and

decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to

adulthood.Twentieth-century American poet Marianne Moore said

that the mind is “an enchanting thing.” How this enchanting

thing develops has intrigued many psychologists. First, we

explore increasing interest in the development of the brain

and then turn to two major cognitive theories—Piaget’s and

Vygotsky’s.

How Does the Brain Develop?How Does the Brain Develop?

Everything we do, feel and say from Everything we do, feel and say from infancy to the end of life reflect the infancy to the end of life reflect the

functioning of our brainfunctioning of our brain

How is the brain organized?How is the brain organized?

The NeuronThe Neuron

The neuron is the basic building block of the nervous system

They are often grouped in bundles called nerves.

There are billions and billions of neurons throughout the body

4 parts of the neuron4 parts of the neuron

1. Dendrites are specialized to receive

signals from neighboring neurons and

carry them back to the cell body

Thin, bushy-like structures that receive

information from outside the neuron

Relays the information into the cell body

The NeuronThe Neuron2. The Cell body

contains the cell nucleus

The cell body relays the information down to the axon

The structure of a neuronThe structure of a neuron3. Axon: A thin, long structure that transmits

signals from the cell body to the terminal buttons.

‐ The axon is wrapped in myelin, a fatty sheath that allows it to transmit information more rapidly.

..

Once the information hits the Once the information hits the

Terminal buttonTerminal button, it is transmitted , it is transmitted

outside the cell by outside the cell by

neurotransmittersneurotransmitters, which reside in , which reside in

the axon terminalthe axon terminal

The NeuronThe Neuron

Synaptic transmissionSynaptic transmission

The neurons don’t actually touch each other, there

is a gap between one neuron and the next called

Synapses.

The space between neurons

Information must be transmitted across the synapse

to other neurons via the neurotransmitters.

Presynaptic Neuron

Postsynaptic Neuron

NeurotransmittersNeurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that reside in the axon terminals

They communicate to other neurons by binding to receptors on neighboring neurons

What observations can you What observations can you make about the brain?make about the brain?

Brain Brain DevelopmentDevelopment

The wrinkled outer area of the brain is called the Cerebral Cortex-

The cortex regulates many of our functions that we think of distinctly human.

Your personality, ability to carry out plans, certain types of thinking, memory, sensory activity.

Looking at the BrainLooking at the BrainThe exterior covering (cortex) of the brain is wrinkled which increases the surface area of the brain

The brain is divided into 2 hemispheres

‐ Right and left hemispheres

The The Corpus CallosumCorpus Callosum connects connects these hemispheres and allows these hemispheres and allows communication from one side communication from one side

of the brain to the other.of the brain to the other.

Corpus CallosumCorpus Callosum

PIAGET’S THEORYPIAGET’S THEORY Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the 20th century‘s most influential

researchers in the area of developmental psychology. He originally trained in the areas of biology and philosophy and

considered himself a ―genetic epistemologist.‖ (genetic= development, epistemology = study of knowledge)

Piaget wanted to know how children learned through their development in the study of knowledge.

He administered Binet‘s IQ test in Paris and observed that children‘s answers were qualitatively different.

Piaget‘s theory is based on the idea that the developing child builds cognitive structures (schemes used to understand and respond to physical environment).

He believed the child‘s cognitive structure increased with development. Piaget‘s theories of infant development were based on his observations of

his own three children.

KEY CONCEPTS OF PIAGET’S THEORYKEY CONCEPTS OF PIAGET’S THEORY

Schemas Assimilation and accommodation Organization Equilibration

SCHEMASSCHEMASSchemas an internal representation of the world. A schema describes both the mental and physical actions involved in understanding and knowing. Schemas are mental or cognitive structures which enables a person to adapt and to organise the environment. Schemas are categories of knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the world. Piaget called the schema the basic building block of intelligent behaviour – a way of organizing knowledge (includes both a category of knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge). Indeed, it is useful to think of schemas as ―units‖ of knowledge, each relating to one aspect of the world, including objects, actions and abstract (i.e. theoretical) concepts. As experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas. For example, at birth the schema of a baby is reflexive in nature such as sucking and grasping. The sucking reflex is a schema and the infant will suck on whatever is put in its mouth such as a nipple or a finger The infant is unable to differentiate because it has only a single sucking schema. Slowly, the infant learns to differentiate where milk-producing objects are accepted while non-milk objects are rejected. At this point, the infant has two sucking schemas, one for milk-producing objects and one for non-milk producing objects

Assimilation and accommodationAssimilation and accommodationAssimilation is using an existing schema to deal with a new object or situation. The process of taking in new information into our previously existing schema is known as assimilation.Accommodation is another part of adaptation involves changing or altering our existing schemas in light of new information, a process known as accommodation. Accommodation involves altering existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information or new experience. New schemas may also be developed during this process.

EXAMPLE; Consider an 8-year-old girl who is given a hammer and nail to hang a picture on the wall. She has never used a hammer, but from observing others do this she realizes that a hammer is an object to be held, that it is swung by the handle to hit the nail, and that it usually is swung a number of times. Recognizing each of these things, she fits her behaviour into this schema she already has (assimilation). But the hammer is heavy, so she holds it near the top. She swings too hard and the nail bends, so she adjusts the pressure of her strikes. These adjustments reflect her ability to slightly alter her conception of the world (accommodation).

ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATION To make sense out of their world, said Piaget, children cognitively organize their experiences. Organization in Piaget’s theory is the grouping of isolated behaviours and thoughts into a higher-order system. Continual refinement of this organization is an inherent part of development. A boy with only a vague idea about how to use a hammer also may have a vague idea about how to use other tools. After learning how to use each one, he relates these uses, organizing his knowledge.

EQUILIBRATIONEQUILIBRATIONPiaget believed that cognitive development did not progress at a steady rate, but rather in leaps and bounds. Equilibrium is occurs when a child’s schemas can deal with most new information through assimilation. However, an unpleasant state of disequilibrium occur when new information cannot be fitted into existing schemas (assimilation).Equilibration is a balance between assimilation and accommodation as children progress through the stages of cognitive development, it is important to maintain a balance between applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and changing behaviour to account new knowledge (accommodation). Equilibration helps explain how children are able to move from one stage of thought into the next.EXAMPLE;if a child believes that the amount of a liquid changes simply because the liquid is poured into a container with a different shape—for instance, from a container that is short and wide into a container that is tall and narrow—she might be puzzled by such issues as where the “extra” liquid came from and whether there is actually more liquid to drink. The child will eventually resolve these puzzles as her thought becomes more advanced. In the everyday world, the child is constantly faced with such counterexamples and inconsistencies.

STAGES OF PIAGET’S THEORYSTAGES OF PIAGET’S THEORY

1. Sensorimotor Stage2. Preoperational Stage3. Concrete Operational Stage4. Formal Operational Stage 

Sensorimotor Sensorimotor StageStage

From birth to 2 year age.The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages in cognitive development which "extends from birth to the acquisition of language. In this stage, infants progressively construct knowledge and understanding of the world by coordinating experiences (such as vision and hearing) with physical interactions with objects (such as grasping, sucking, and stepping).  Infants gain knowledge of the world from the physical actions they perform within it they progress from reflexive, instinctual action at birth to the beginning of symbolic thought toward the end of the stage.Children learn that they are separate from the environment. They can think about aspects of the environment, even though these may be outside the reach of the child's senses. In this stage, according to Piaget, the development of object permanence is one of the most important accomplishments.  Object permanence is a child's understanding that objects continue to exist even though he or she cannot see or hear them. Peek-a-boo is a good test for that. By the end of the sensorimotor period, children develop a permanent sense of self and object.

Preoperational StagePreoperational StageFrom 2 year to 7 year age.Piaget's second stage, the pre-operational stage, starts when the child begins to learn to speak at age two and lasts up until the age of seven. During the Pre-operational Stage of cognitive development, Piaget noted that children do not yet understand concrete logic and cannot mentally manipulate information. Children's increase in playing and pretending takes place in this stage. However, the child still has trouble seeing things from different points of view. The children's play is mainly categorized by symbolic play and manipulating symbols. Such play is demonstrated by the idea of checkers being snacks, pieces of paper being plates, and a box being a table. Their observations of symbols exemplifies the idea of play with the absence of the actual objects involved. By observing sequences of play, Piaget was able to demonstrate that, towards the end of the second year, a qualitatively new kind of psychological functioning occurs, known as the Pre-operational Stage.

The pre-operational stage is sparse and logically inadequate in regard to mental operations. The child is able to form stable concepts as well as magical beliefs. The child, however, is still not able to perform operations, which are tasks that the child can do mentally, rather than physically. Thinking in this stage is still egocentric, meaning the child has difficulty seeing the viewpoint of others.

The Pre-operational Stage is split into two sub stages:

The symbolic function sub stage (2---4 years)The symbolic function sub stage is when children are able to understand, represent, remember, and picture objects in their mind without having the object in front of them

Intuitive thought sub stage. (4----7 years)The intuitive thought sub stage is when children tend to propose the questions of "why?" and "how come?" This stage is when children want the knowledge of knowing everything

  Concrete Operational StageConcrete Operational Stage Concrete Operational Stage(7 to 12 yrs of age) The Concrete Operational stage is characterized by the appropriate use of logic.Important processes during this stage are:1. Seriation: the ability to sort objects in an order according to size, shape or any other characteristic. Eg.: if given different-shaded objects, they may make a colour gradient.2. Transitivity: the ability to recognize logical relationships among elements in a serial order. Eg.: if A is taller than B and B is taller than C, then A must be taller than C.3. Classification: the ability to name and identify sets of objects according to appearance, size or other characteristic, including the idea that one set of objects can include another4. Decentering: where the child takes into account multiple aspects of a problem to solve it. For example, the child will no longer perceive an exceptionally wide but short cup to contain less than a normally-wide, taller cup.5. Reversibility: the child understands that numbers or objects can be changed, then returned to their original state. For this reason, a child will be able to rapidly determine that if 4+4 = t, t−4 will equal 4, the original quantity.6. Conservation: understanding that quantity, length or number of items is unrelated to the arrangement or appearance of the object or items.7. Elimination of Egocentrism: the ability to view things from anothers perspective. However, in this stage child can solve problems that apply to actual (concrete) objects or events only, and not abstract concepts or hypothetical tasks.

Formal Operational StagesFormal Operational StagesThe final stage is known as the formal operational stage (12 years to adulthood). Intelligence is demonstrated through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. This form of thought includes "assumptions that have no necessary relation to reality. At this point, the person is capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning. During this time, people develop the ability to think about abstract concepts.Piaget stated that "hypothetico-deductive reasoning" becomes important during the formal operational stage. This type of thinking involves hypothetical "what-if" situations that are not always rooted in reality, i.e. counterfactual thinking. It is often required in science and mathematics.Abstract thought emerges during the formal operational stage. Children tend to think very concretely and specifically in earlier stages, and begin to consider possible outcomes and consequences of actions.

Metacognition; the capacity for "thinking about thinking" that allows adolescents and adults to reason about their thought processes and monitor them.Problem-solving is demonstrated when children use trial-and-error to solve problems. The ability to systematically solve a problem in a logical and methodical way emerges.While children in primary school years mostly used inductive reasoning, drawing general conclusions from personal experiences and specific facts, adolescents become capable of deductive reasoning, in which they draw specific conclusions from abstract concepts using logic. This capability results from their capacity to think hypothetically. "However, research has shown that not all persons in all cultures reach formal operations, and most people do not use formal operations in all aspects of their lives".

Vygostky’s Theory of Cognitive DevelopmentVygostky’s Theory of Cognitive Development

Lev Vygotsky made some of the most significant contributions to theories

of child development, especially in the area of cognitive development.

Vygotsky was a Russian psychologist who was born on November 17,

1896 in Orsha.

Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development centered on the ideas that

social interaction and imaginative play are large contributors to the process

of cognitive development in children. He believed that the social

interactions that children engaged in helped them to both discover and

create meaning from the things that they discover. Specifically, he believed

that some of the most important learning a child could experience was in

the social interactions they had with a skilled tutor that is often an adult,

such as a parent or teacher.

The child will observe the behaviors of the tutor as well as follow the verbal

instructions the tutor provides. The child will then emulate what they observe in

their tutor.

The child tries to understand what they observe and the instructions they receive

by copying and internalizing, while learning to apply them to their own lives.

Vygotsky called this collaborative or cooperative dialogue. He called the teacher

or tutor in this role the “more knowledgeable other.” While this role typically

involves adults, as pointed out above, such as teachers, parents, or coaches, it can

also involve social interactions with other children. The important part of the role

is that it is fulfilled by someone from which the child can learn, a more

knowledgeable other. 

Zone of Proximal Development and ScaffoldingZone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding

Vygotsky also proposed something called the “zone of proximal

development” and the idea of “scaffolding” in a child’s development. The

way this works is by recognizing that there are some things a child cannot

do independently, but they would be able to do with the assistance of

someone else. For example, a child may be developing the ability to make

different sounds, but cannot yet talk. With assistance, or scaffolding, from

an adult who begins showing them pictures and repeating the names of the

pictures, the child will soon begin to develop words and start

communicating independently without help. The scaffolding helped them

to develop the skills necessary to communicate on their own.

Language DevelopmentLanguage DevelopmentVygotsky was particularly interested in the role of language in cognitive

development. Given that language is vital to human interactions, he believed that

language was the most important tool that human could utilize. Language, especially

in the realm of collaborative dialogue, is the way the more knowledgeable other

communications important information to a child. Vygotsky believed that there are

three forms of language, as outlined below. .

Social Speech – This is what Vygotsky referred to as the external communication

that people use to talk with other people, and he believed that this form of language

was typical in children from the age of two.

Private Speech – This is what Vykotsky referred to as the internal communication

that a person directs to themselves. It serves an intellectual function, and it is typical

in children from the age of three.

Silent Inner Speech – Vygotsky believed that this is what happens when private

speech diminishes in its audibility until it become a self-regulating function. He

believed this was typical in children from the age of seven.

Vygotsky’s focus on language as a part of cognitive development was based on

the idea that at the beginning of a child’s life, language and thought begin as

separate systems within a child’s brain. He believed that these two systems would

merge in the child at around the age of three, and the two systems would become

interdependent. As the two systems become interdependent, a child’s

communication can be internalized to become private speech to the self, and this

internalization of language is an important component to a child’s cognitive

development.

For Vygotsky, private speech was an important mile marker in a child’s cognitive development because it’s the moment in a child’s development where thoughts become connected with words, and a child begins exhibiting verbal thinking. Whereas social interaction is an important part of cognitive development as a child learns from a more knowledgeable other, private speech allows a child to begin the collaborative process of learning with themselves

Piaget theory vs Piaget theory vs Vygotsky theoryVygotsky theory

Piaget’s theory states that cognitive development essentially is influenced

by social transmission, which describes learning from people around. On

the other hand, Vygotsky’s theory states that cognitive development is

influenced by social interaction; meaning that when an individual is

engaged in social activity, his language and cognition are developing.

Piaget’s theory claims that the development of thinking and language in

an individual can be traced back to the actions, perceptions and imitations

by little children. Vygotsky’s theory, on the other hand, postulates that

there is a strong connection between learning language and the

development of thinking

Piaget and Vygotsky approach learning in different ways. Piaget

observed in detail how children’s learning works, but he didn’t highlight

the role of a mentor or a teacher. Vygotsky’s theory, on the other hand,

doesn’t observe the actual mental development, but rather discusses

general acquisition of a new concept or skill. Both Piaget and Vygotsky

thought that there is always a certain range of tasks outside of students’

understanding. Vygotsky, however, believed that with assistance from a

mentor, these tasks could be performed. Piaget, on the other hand, didn’t

suggest anything regarding the matter.

Vygotsky’s theory is well applied to teaching strategies. Piaget’s theory,

on the other hand, shows a preference for discovering and learning done

by individuals themselves.