Cognitive Development Theory Essay

As a prospective educator, it is important for me to understand the cognitive education theory and how it applies to individuals. Cognitive development is fundament totallyy how the thought process begins. It is the way that people learn and how mental processes snuff it elaborate and develop. These processes include retentivity things, making decisions, and to a fault solving problems. In order for a teacher to be effective, one must(prenominal) understand how chel aren develop mentally so that each student female genitalia be accommodated in the classroom. in that location atomic number 18 many theories regarding cognitive development, and on that point are several factors that remain constant through with(predicate)out all of them. These factors form some of the fundamental premises on cognitive development, which include the ideas that all people go through specific steps or bes of instruction or understanding, and that certain qualifications must be met forward learn ing stop occur. It is the actual specifics of these basic premises that cognitive theorists have differing opinions about. (Slavin, 2009) Two theorists that display the basic premises of cognitive development are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. twain theorists have similarities and differences when it comes to their views on cognitive development. We pull up stakes first begin with the views of the 2 on the nature or development of intelligence. Piaget believed that children are naturally natural with the ability to some(prenominal) interact with and make sense of their environment. Children as well as adults use patterns of thought called schemes to deal with disparate things in the world. The process of assimilation and accommodation is employ to maintain balance in our daily lives.Piaget believed that learning depends on the process of equilibration. When equilibrium is upset, children have the opportunity to grow and develop. (Slavin, 2009, pg. 32) Different experiences t hat we caseful and factors in our environment contri unlesse to developmental change in us. Vygotsky shared some similar ides with Piaget including the intuitive feeling that the environment plays a huge role in the development of intelligence. He also believed that development depended on a sign system, the cultures language or writing system, that children grew up with. (Slavin, 2009, pg. 2) both(prenominal) also believed that in that location is an invariant sequence of steps that is the equal for every(prenominal)one, and that development is influenced by cognitive conflict. While the two share a few similarities on the development of intelligence, there are also differences as well. Piaget feels that development precedes learning. This simply means that something must take pace ahead learning can begin. Vygotsky, on the other(a)wise hand, feels that learning comes before development which is the exact opposite of Piaget. It simply means that you must learn something bef ore development can occur.Piaget and Vygotsky also had two similarities and differences on the stages of development. We will first start with the differences beginning with Piaget who believed that there are four stages to cognitive development. They are the sensorimotor, perioperational, concrete operational, and glob operational. He felt that all children passed through these stages and that you could move faster than others, but not skip a stage. (Slavin, 2009, pg. 33) The sensorimotor stage occurs at conduct through two years of age. It is the stage where infants explore their environment victimization the five senses and motor skills.This includes sucking, grasping, and touching. The perioperational stage is from two to seven years old. Language develops at a fast pace in this stage. At this time the childs thinking is also very self centered, and they lack the understanding of conservation. The concrete operational stage is from ages seven to eleven. At this time, thinking races to shift from existence self-centered to more logical. business solving is no longer restricted and the idea of reversibility also occurs. The last and final stage is the formal operational stage. This happens beginning with the age of eleven moving on into adulthood.Systematic experimentation is used to cypher problems both symbolic and abstract thinking are now possible in this stage. Vygotsky felt that there was not stages, but different elements to cognitive development. The first element is private savoir-faire. Private speech is a childs self talk, which guides their thinking and actions, eventually internalized as silent inner speech (Slavin, 2009, pg. 43) When children are struggling with a difficult situation you often see children talking to themselves to help cope with the situation. When we become adults we still talk to ourselves, but it is usually silent.The next element of cognitive development is the zone of proximal development or ZPD. This is the level of development immediately above the persons present level. (Slavin, 2009, pg. 43) To cave in understand, this can be described as something that the child whitethorn not have learned yet, but are capable of being taught with the assistance of an adult. Educators often refer to this as a teachable second base. (Slavin, 2009, pg. 43) Now that we can see the differences between the two theorists, we can now explore the similarities between the two. Both heorists understand the importance of a child learning a cultures sign system. They both feel that this has a significant impact on development. The two also agree that environmental factors such(prenominal) as sounds, signs, and objects are equally important. Lastly, the two theorists believe that there are some tasks that a child may not understand depending on age, but Vygotsky feels that if it is in the zone of proximal development then(prenominal) the child can be assisted with the help of an adult. Educators have been using b oth Piagets as well as Vygotskys theories in the classroom for years.An example of an activity that can be used in the classroom using Piagets theory of learning takes place in a kindergarten class. The teacher would ask the students to share what they do when it is raining outside. At this age we are in the perioperational stage where children tend to be egocentric. Some say that they go outside and jump in mud puddles while others may say that they stay inside and play with their toys. The children would share their experiences and they would all be correct because not everyone does the same thing.You can use Vygotskys theory of learning in at work in the classroom where third musical score students are learning how to classify different types of dirt. You can place the students in groups where they can discuss how you properly classify the dirt. This will allow the students to hear other students thoughts, and see what methods they use to classify. victimisation this type of co operative learning allows the students to learn from each other. When comparing both classroom applications we see that both classrooms are working as groups learning from each other.Piaget theory is seen in both classrooms. In the kindergarten classroom, the classroom is seeing that there are different ways to deal with the rain. The students are sharing their personal experiences and display that there is no wrong solution. There are many ways of doing things . In the third grade classroom, the students are able to classify the dirt using touch and sight to see and feel the differences in each type. Both classrooms are interacting with the environment and learning from it. Vygotskys cooperative learning is also being played out in both classrooms.In the kindergarten classroom, the students are learning that there are different activities that can be done outside in the rain. Similarly, in the third grade class the students are using cooperative learning to find different ways of classifying dirt. In both classrooms the students are using the think out loud process. The differences in the two classrooms also stand out. When applying Piagets theory in the kindergarten classroom, you see that the students are in the perioperational stage. The students are egocentric and feel that what they say is the only right answer to the question.In the third grade class, the students are in the concrete operational stage. They are able to easily look at and see the differences in the types of dirt that they are working with. When it comes to Vygotskys theory in the kindergarten classroom, the students are working within their zone of proximal development. The students may not understand that they can do more than one thing in the rain because they have done the same thing every time. The teacher is using this as a teachable moment to allow the students to teach each other the different things that can be done.In the third grade class, on the other hand, private speech i s being used. The students are saying their thoughts out loud to classify the dirt. When the students are using cooperative learning they are learning the different ways in which the other students use to classify the dirt. In conclusion, we can see how and why it is important to understand and know how to apply cognitive development theories in the classroom. Both Piaget and Vygotsky played major roles in how we teach our children in todays world. We can use training and skills from both theorists to shape our students into great learners.