1.0 INTRODUCTION
Every child is a gift from God. Every child is unique in its own
way. It is the responsible that has been laid upon the shoulder of
the society surrounding the child to shape the child. No child
should be left behind. This coursework is about child development
focusing on cognitive development of a child. Cognitive development
refers to development of intelligence according to stages. Thus,
the development of a child can be observed through the childrens
personality, motivation and social characteristic of human being.
It is important to know the development of a child by stages. The
development of a child can be affected by both biological and
environmental factor. If a child doesnt have the balance
development or growth, we cannot solely blame on heredity of the
child. Rather we should see the main cause being obstacle for the
development and growth of the child. The society may also be blamed
for this.
2.0 CONCEPT OF CHILD DEVELOPMENTThe concept of child development
can be categorized into the concept of child and development.
According to Oxford Dictionaries, the word child refers to a young
human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of
majority. While according to According to American Heritage
Dictionary, child is a person in between the stages of birth and
puberty. To summarize, the word child can be defined as a person
who has not attained maturity. On the other hand, concept of
development refers to a dynamic process of progression which occurs
in stages. Development can be cathegorized into qualitative and
quantitative process. Human development is changes that are in
qualitative, not quantitative. These changes cannot be measured,
but we can see it clearly when we compare with an early stage than
the stage we are right now (Atan Long, 1980). Qualitative process
cannot be measured by any means of apparatus. For example, a
newborn baby doesnt know how to talk. But when he reaches one year
old, he is able to say one or more words like mama or papa. This
development cannot be measured but can be only observed. On the
other hand, quantitative process can be measured by physical means
like ruler, weighing scale, and measuring tape. Hence, growth is
categorized as quantitative process as it can be measured.
Development can occur in terms of physical, mental or cognitive,
emotional and social. To sum up, child development is the process
or the stages taking place during biological and physical growth of
a child which is from birth till puberty.
3.0 PRINCIPLE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENTAccording to Wikipedia,
principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be
followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable
consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or
the way that a system is constructed. Development of a child can be
divided into four categories which is physical development,
emotional development, cognitive development and social
development. Among which all these developments are very important
for a balance overall development of a child. There are certain
principles which show that certain parts of the body of a child
which grows faster than others. However, this development is same
for all children. The first principle of child development is
cephalocaudle. Cephalocaudle is progression of development of a
child from top to down. It begins from head, followed by arms and
then legs. This can be vividly seen in an infant who lifts up his
head first before he could use his arms. He then later uses his
legs to crawl, walk or even run. It all happens in stages. An
infant starts to lift up his head when he is two months. However,
according to Medline Plus, a childs neck is unable to support his
head when he is pulled to a sitting position. Within three to four
months, his neck is able to support his head. Later, the infant is
able to use his arms when in his fifth to sixth month. The infant
may begin to crawl in his sixth to twelfth months before
progressing to walk and run. The second principle of child
development is proximodistal development. According to (Novella J.
Ruffin, 2001), based on theory, the spinal cord actually developed
first before the outer part of the body. This means that a child
attains gross motor skills before he could attain fine motor
skills. Grass motor skills are larger movement using large muscles.
For example, gross motor skill is the ability of a child to use his
muscle in his arms and legs. He is able to run, swim and lift up
heavy things. Whereas, fine motor skills involves smaller actions
of the child. This is related to his ability to use small muscles
in fingers and toes. For example, the child is able to draw, use
scissors, and play with toys. Thus, in any parts of a childs body,
gross motor skills begin first before fine motor skills. The third
principle of child development is growth and development is in an
orderly manner. It means that a child will progress stage by stage.
For example, a child cannot straightaway get run as soon as it is
born. The child will first learn move his legs, then to crawl, walk
and then only will run. Thus, each and every development occurs in
an orderly manner. Other example will be speaking. Scientists have
found out that before a child could utter the first word, he will
be learning the rules of language and how adults use it to
communicate. In the first two months, the child will make sounds
like oohahh. However as the child is in his fourth and fifth
months, he is able to call out his mom, mama and call his dad,
papa. The child will further develop in his speech by catching up
more words and eventually will be able to construct a two to three
words sentence. Besides speaking, the childs food intake should
also be an orderly manner. The child should take soft food before
taking solid food. The initial food that should be given for a born
new baby is breastmilk. A child cannot be given rice immediately
after his birth. The child slowly progresses to take soft food and
then later to hard food.The fourth principle of child development
is development proceeds from simple (concrete) to complex. Simple
activities like categorizing things into same group or called
assimilation are concrete. Take for instance, a child sees an
orange and a mangosteen. In the beginning stages of cognitive
development, if the child was asked to describe the similarities,
he would say that there are no similarities. Seeing no
relationship, the child would try to describe some properties of
the fruits. For example, he would talk about the colors of the
fruits. He might say that the orange is in orange colour while the
mangosteen is in purple. Besides, he would also talk about the
shape of the fruits. He would say that they both are round in
shape. Thus, he recognizes the properties of objects in the
beginning periods of cognitive development. The child will be able
to classify things; which is a concrete thought of how things look
alike. But as the child progresses in his cognitive development, he
observes things in a more complex manner. He is able to understand
the relationship of an orange and a mangosteen; which is the fruit
category. By now, the child is capable of classification.The fifth
principle of child development is that growth and development is a
continuous process. There must be a foundation laid before a house
is built. Same goes to the development of a child. Before acquiring
a new skill, the child should already have the basic principle; and
the new kill will be the foundation for further attainment and
mastery of skills. For example, before a child could turn over, he
should be able to lift his head. Other best example would be, a
child should be able to move his arms before grasping an object.
The mastery of drawing involves increasing skills from holding the
pencil. Thus, a child adds new skills to the skills that have been
already acquired. The sixth principle of child development is
growth and development depends on maturation and learning.
According to Oxford Dictionary, the word mature means become fully
developed or growth; or fully developed physically. Thus,
maturation biological development or growth in sequential order.
The most significant development responsible for maturation is
development of brain and nervous system. It is important to enhance
cognitive and motor skills. Thus, a child will be able to think
more maturely and be able to make physical movements. It so happens
in sequential order that a child must develop to a certain point of
maturation in order to step into new skills. Take for instance, a 1
year old boy is hungry. All he can do is just to cry for milk.
However, if the boy reaches 4 years old boy and is to feel hungry,
he wouldnt be crying for food. He is now able to talk and ask his
mother to provide some food. This shows the maturation and
learning. The childs brain has developed further or matured and
with the help of his environment he is able to speak and understand
words. The environment in which the child is living will greatly
influence the maturation of a child. A stimulating environment will
help the child to develop his competency.
4.0 FACTORS INFLUENCING CHILDS COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTEvery child
has same development characteristics in every aspect especially
cognitive development. However, it is the rate of development which
differs from one to another. Factors influencing a childs cognitive
development can be categorized into two which are endogen
(intrinsic of child) factors and exogen factors (extrinsic of
child). Endogen factors are the biological factors or factors
influencing the child in mothers womb itself. It is caused by
heredity or temperament. A child is born as a result of fusion of
ovum from mother and sperm from father. Thus, a child may inherit
either the mothers characteristics or that of the father. There are
also opinions that only genetic factors influence a childs
cognitive development, some who disagree, while others say that its
a mixture of both inheritance and environment. However, according
to a recent study directed by Dr. Bouchard at the University of
Minnesota, evidence supports that nearly 70 percent of your
intelligence is inherited. In the survey carried using both
identical and fraternal twins also prove that cognitive development
is inherited. Dr. Thompson believes the findings show that
environment has little to do with intelligence.Besides genetic
factors, defect in sense organs can also influence a childs
cognitive development. Sensory receptors in organs are very
important for every child as they receive stimuli from external
environment and convert them into nervous system signals which then
will be transferred to brain through nerves. The brain then
interprets the signals. For example, skin is an organ for sense of
touch. If a child would touch a hot kettle, the sensory receptors
in the skin will send information through sensory nerves to central
nervous system which is brain. Thus, if there is a defect in
sensory organs, then the cognitive development of a child will be
affected.Other than that, food can also be the endogen factor
influencing cognitive development of a child. The intake food
during pregnancy of a mother should be balanced as it is vital for
both mother and fetus. The brain of fetus grows rapidly from 10th
to 18th week of pregnancies. Thus, in this period of time a
pregnant mother should consume appropriate amount of nutrients
which are essential for cognitive development of the fetus. For
example, deficiencies in intake of nutrients like amino acids,
proteins, vitamins and minerals can affect nervous system which
will eventually disrupt the development of brain. Not only
nutrients inadequacies but overabundance may also result in stunted
development in fetal brain.On the other hand, exogen factors are
the factors are the external factors or environmental factors
affecting a childs cognitive development. The main exogen factor
influencing cognitive development is food intake. A child should
take balanced diet so that the mental development wont be affected
by any means. As the old saying goes, fish is brain food. Besides
having proteins, organic vegetables and blueberries are said to
directly benefit the brain. Having sufficient nutrient supplements
will prevent a child from having stunted cognitive
development.Besides that, family of the child plays a very
important role in cognitive development. The environment in which a
child is brought up is very important. If the childs family creates
a peaceful environment, then the child will have healthy cognitive
development. However, if the child is stressed emotionally, he will
be mentally challenged. This might lead to retarded cognitive
development. For example, if the parents keep fighting in front of
the children and abandon them, there will not be a peaceful
environment for the child. The child will feel lonely and feel as
no one to care for him. This will eventually cause him to
depressed, which will in turn challenge his cognitive development.
In addition, the childs cognitive development is also affected by
the way he was brought up. A child is brought up in poverty
stricken family can lead to stressful life too. The child may be
less effective, more punitive, and less warm with children (Mc
Loya, 1990). Hence, family can be said that it has a major role to
play in a childs cognitive development.
Apart from that, the cognitive development of a child is also
influenced by peer group. Peer influence can be said as powerful
influence. This is because, when a child begins to mingle with
friends, he is coming out of family boundary. That means he is
learning to socialize with his friends. When a child mingles with
his peers, his intelligence is believed to increase. In some cases,
it is believed that young children will easily imitate their
friends. For example, when a teacher asks her students to draw a
building, the child will immediately look at his friends drawing to
get an idea on what to draw. He might even draw a same picture like
that of his friends. Somehow this will steer the childs cognitive
development.Last but not least, schools play a very important role
in influencing a childs cognitive development. In fact, one of the
main purposes of schools is for the benefit of cognitive
development of a child. Teaching and learning process done in
schools will directly affect the cognitive development of a child.
The lessons carried by a teacher are to give input to her students
and the children will gain new experiences and knowledge. Different
types of lessons are carried out by the teacher according to the
cognitive levels of the children. This is because; different
children achieve different level of cognitive development. Thus,
lessons taught for the children should be suitable with their
mental ability. By doing this, a child will slowly develop from
stage to stage in intelligence. The teacher will try hard to bring
up the students step by step to attain the stages of cognitive
development. Teachers teach the students on the basis of no child
left behind.
5.0 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD (PIAGETS CONSERVATION TASKS
ON CHILDREN AGED FOUR AND SEVEN)Jean Piaget is a famous
physiologist in Switzerland. He became interested in science
especially in development thinking. He labeled development thinking
genetic epistemology. According to Jean Piaget, cognitive
development goes through four stages that is sensorimotor ( from
birth to 2 years), pre operational periods ( 2-7 years), concrete
operational periods (7- 11 years), and formal operational periods
(after 11 years).The first stage which is the sensorimotor stage is
the earliest stage among all in cognitive development. This stage
is named as sensori motor because a child in this stage uses senses
and motor skills.This is the stage where the infants receive
stimuli from external environment. They are able use their senses
such as sense of touch, sound, smell, and sense of sight. This is
the phase where the child uses physical movements to understand the
surroundings. For instance, the child moves his arms and legs,
closing and opening his eyes voluntarily, and plays with his toys
by grasping them. at the later stage of sensorimotor, children will
gain object permanence. According Jean Piaget, the development of
object permanence is one of the most important accomplishments at
the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development. Object permanence
is the ability of a child to understand that an object exist though
they cannot be seen. Previously, the child was unable to represent
objects in their memory. This is because they do not have memory of
objects out of sight. After mastering the concept of object
permanence, the child will acquire directed groping. The child in
this stage will vary his movements to see how the results differ.
For example, the child will shake the clatter to see if makes the
sound. He might even pull objects towards him using strings, or
might even tilt the objects. By doing this, he is learning to see
cause-and-effect relationships. Once he masters the effects of his
activities, he will intend those effects. The second stage of
cognitive development is the preoperational stage.during
preoperational stage, a child will increasingly adapt to symbols.
This can be seen when uses objects to represent things like using
broom to represent a horse while playing. Not only that, the child
is also able to pretend or role play like a mother, teacher, doctor
or even a lawyer. Besides, a child in this stage is very
transductive. He will try to make inferences from one specific to
another. For example, a child sees a round shape thing and asked
his mother, what was it. His mother replied that it was a ball.
Thus, when he sees moon in the sky, he calls it ball too. As for
him, everything which is in round shape is a ball. In addition, a
child in this stage is very egocentric. Egocentric means that a
child sees things in his very point of view. In order to
investigate the mental abilities of children in this stage, Piaget
uses three dimensional display of mountain scene. Children were
asked to select a picture based on what they have observed. They
find it quite hard to do this task. Then the children were asked to
select a picture where the child sitting on the other side of the
mountain looking at different viewpoint would observe. However, the
children chose picture showing their own scene of the mountain.
This is because the children are egocentric or self-centered and
unable to see others viewpoint. They are unable to consider others
perspective. Somehow or rather, the child in the latter part of
this stage will be able to distinguish between reality and fantasy.
The third stage of Piagets cognitive development is concrete
operational stage. At this stage, a child will gain a better
perception of mental development. The child will be able to think
in a logic manner about concrete events. However, a child in this
stage will have difficulty in understanding abstract or
hypothetical concepts. Piaget divided logic thinking of a child
into two manners. They are inductive logic and deductive logic.
Inductive logic is the ability of a child to think from specific
experience to general principles. Inductive logic is based on
experience or observations. Whereas deductive logic is arguments
based on laws or principles. For example, a child said that he
threw a ball to the air and it fell down. Thus the ball will fall
down again if he was to throw it again. This is called inductive as
the child is thinking based on his observation. While his mother
argues that the ball will definitely fall down because of pull of
gravity based on Newtons Law. This is deductive logic. However, the
child in this stage will have difficulty in using deductive logic.
Apart from that, a child in this stage begins to be less
egocentric. It means that the child will be able to think from
other persons perspective. Another ability that a child gains in
this stage is reversibility. This refers to the ability of the
child to mentally cancel out the change that has been made. For
example, in Piagets Conservation Task, a child is given two glasses
of same size containing same amount of water. Then, the water in
one of the glass is poured into a bigger glass and the child is
tested on the amount of water. The child in this stage is able to
conclude that when water in the big glass is poured back into the
small glass, it will give the same amount water level as the other
glass. This is called reversibility. Another ability acquired by
the child in this stage is classification. The child will be able
to realize that things in certain groups can actually fit into
another. This classification is done by the student through
existing schema. For instance, a child will categorize dogs into
animal category and at the same can fit in mammal category.The last
stage of cognitive development by Piaget is the formal operational
stage. In this stage, the child begins to reason hypothetically and
systematically. In this stage, Piaget believed that it is important
for the child to acquire deductive logic to solve problems.
Deductive logic is the ability of the child to use general
principle obtains a specific outcome. Deductive logic is used in
hypothetical situations and usually is necessary in science and
mathematics. There are two important characteristics in formal
operational stage. They are hypothetic-deductive reasoning and
propositional in nature. Hypothetic deductive reasoning is using a
general theory to make a specific prediction for a situation. For
example, when a child faces a problem, he will come out with all
possible outcomes that may affect his actions. Based on the
outcomes, he will deduce a specific hypothesis that might be the
result. Thus, a child in this stage is able to consider possible
result of actions rather than relying exclusively on earlier
experiences. Next is propositional characteristic in nature. It
means that a child does not require concrete stuffs to make
judgments. They can evaluate things in a logical manner without a
need of concrete evidence. The following are task carried on
children aged 4 and 7. The result of our findings are recorded
below.
CONSERVATION TASK ON NUMBER TASK
AGE OF CHILDORIGINAL POSITION TRANSFORMATION
4 Years Old( Nurul Shakinah binti Muhammad Nor)
QuestionAre there same number of coins in each row?
AnswerYes.
QuestionAre there same number of coins in each row?
AnswerNo. One row contains more coins than the other.
7 Years Old( Nur Sofia Suraya binti Najib)
QuestionAre there same number of coins in both the
arrangement?
AnswerYes.
QuestionAre there same number of coins in both the
arrangement?
AnswerYes.
Explanation on Conservation of Number
I have carried out Piagets Conservation Task on volume two
children of age 4 and 7. The child aged 4, Nurul Shakinah and the
child aged 7, Nur Sofia were shown coins arranged close together
and on the other side was coins spread up all in mess. When they
were asked regarding the number of coins, Shakinah said that the
number of coins were not same. However, Sofia answered that the
number of coins were same. Their answer and explanation contradict
each other.By looking at this, it can be said that Shakinah is
still in the preoperational stage of cognitive development. She is
still not matured and unable to make rational decision. She is not
able to reverse operations in her head. She doesnt have the
understanding that the number of coins will be just the same if she
was to arrange arrange them close to each other. When she was asked
to give reason for her answer, she said that the coins which were
in mess occupied more space and thus, they are more. Her thought is
still intuitive as she reveals the style of thinking Piaget called
centralized. She considers only one characteristic whereby the
coins take up more space on the table. She is unable to make
judgments based on the number of coins. Her cognitive level is
still low as she is centralized to sight. She it means that she
says what she sees and unable to make cause-and-effect
relationshipIn contrast, the child aged seven, Sofia can be said
that she has reached the concrete level of cognitive development.
This is because she can picture the transformation taking place.
Unlike Shakinah, Sofias answer that the number of coins were same
is based on rational thinking. She is able to understand
reversibility. The number of coins will be same if they were to be
arranged in a close manner. This proves that the child has attain
concrete level of cognitive development. However, she is still
bound to physical as she needs concrete objects to arrange and
manipulate situations.
CONSERVATION TASK ON LENGTH TASK
AGE OF CHILDORIGINAL POSITION TRANSFORMATION
4 Years Old( Nur Farah Adilah binti Sheikh Nasir)
QuestionAre there same number of coins in both the
arrangement?
AnswerYes.
QuestionAre there same number of coins in both the
arrangement?
AnswerYes.
7 Years Old( Muhammad Shafiq Aizat bin Muhammad Zainal
Abiddin)
QuestionIs each of these straws just as long as the other?
AnswerYes.
QuestionNow, is each of these straws just as long as the
other?
AnswerYes.
Explanation on Conservation of Length
I carried out conservation task on length on two children of age
4 and 7. The children of age 4, Nur Farah and of age 7, Shafiq were
ask to identify the length of straws. First, two straws of same
length were arranged in same position. The children were whether
the straws are of same length and their answer was yes. However,
their answers contradict when the position of the straw was changed
by moving one of the straws a bit forward. Farah said one of the
straw was longer than the other; while Syafiq argued that they were
just same in length. Based on Farahs answer, it can be said that
she is still in the preoperational stage of cognitive development.
Thus, her maturity and thinking ability has not reached concrete
level. She is unable to make reverse operations in her mind that if
she was to put back the straw in horizontal to the other straw, the
length would same. When she was asked to give reason for her
answer, she said one of the straw is longer than the other. Her
thought is still intuitive as she reveals the style of thinking
Piaget called centralized. She is unable to make judgments
logically. She is very egocentric as cant see things from others
perspective. This indicates that Shafiq has attained concrete level
of cognitive development. This is because she can picture the
transformation taking place. Shafiqs answer that the length of both
the straws after transformation is same based on logical thinking.
He is able to understand reversibility. He said, the size of the
straw has not been changed. It was just the position of one straw
was changed. If the straw was to be put back in its original place,
the result will be same length of straws. This proves that the
child has achieved concrete level of cognitive development.
However, he is still bound to physical as he needs concrete objects
to arrange and manipulate situations.
CONSERVATION TASK ON VOLUME TASK
AGE OF CHILDORIGINAL POSITION TRANSFORMATION
4 Years Old( Nurul Huda Aina binti Mohamad Tajuddin)
QuestionIs there same amount of water in both the glasses?
AnswerYes.
QuestionIs there same amount of water in both the cup and the
glass?
AnswerNo. The glass contains more water compared to the cup.
7 Years Old( Nur Hana Diyana binti Mohd Rosli)
QuestionIs there same amount of water in both the glasses?
AnswerYes.
QuestionIs there same amount of water in both the cup and the
glass?
AnswerYes.
Explanation on Conservation of Volume
I have carried out Piagets Conservation Task on volume two
children of age 4 and 7. The child aged 4, Nurul Huda Aina and the
child aged 7, Nur Hana Diyana were shown two glasses containing
same volume of water. When they were asked regarding the volume of
water, they both agreed that the glasses contain same amount of
water. However, their answers contradict each other when one of the
glasses of water was poured into a bigger cup of polystyrene. Nurul
Huda said that the volume of water in glass is more than that of
polystyrene. However, Nur Hana argues that the volume of water in
both the container is just the same.By looking at this, it can be
said that Nurul Huda is still in the preoperational stage of
cognitive development. This is because; her maturity and thinking
ability has not reached concrete level. She is not able to reverse
operations in her head. In short, she didnt master the concept of
invariance yet. She couldnt make operations in her mind that if the
water in the cup was to be poured back into the glass, it would be
same volume of water as the other glass. When she was asked to give
reason for her answer, she said that polystyrene cup contains less
water because the cup is big and only three quarter of water is
filled, whereas the glass contains full amount of water. Her
thought is still intuitive as she reveals the style of thinking
Piaget called centralized. She considers only one characteristic
whereby the cup is big. She is unable to make judgments based on
the volume of water. She is not able to think that no water has
been added or taken out; and that just the container has been
changed.On the other hand, the child aged seven; Nur Hana can be
said that she has reached the concrete level of cognitive
development. This is because she can picture the transformation
taking place. Unlike Huda, Hana answered that the amount of volume
in the cup and glass is the same based on logical thinking. She is
able to understand reversibility. She said, No water has been added
or taken out; and that just the container has been changed. Thus,
the amount of water is just the same. She is also able to explain
that increase in the size of container reduces the water level, not
the amount of it. This proves that the child has attained concrete
level of cognitive development. However, she is still bound to
physical as she needs concrete objects to arrange and manipulate
situations.
6.0 IMPLICATION OF CHILDS COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT TO TEACHING AND
LEARNING PROCESSIt is very important for a teacher to have an
understanding on cognitive development of a child. This is because
a teacher will be able to understand better the reason behind a
childs behavior. Knowing the childs behavior will help the teacher
to adapt herself with the children.No two children are the same.
This is the basic knowledge that a teacher should know. Some
children have high rate of cognitive development compared to
others. Having this knowledge will help the teacher to identify
children with low rate of cognitive development and high rate of
cognitive development. To do this, a teacher can assess her
students by giving simple tests and categorized the students
according to their levels. For example, two students in the same
standard will attain different marks in their test. This is because
one will have higher rate of cognitive development than the other.
Thus, identifying students according to their abilities will help
the teacher to separate the students into different level of
classes and carry out different lessons in the classes. For
example, a teacher might ask the students with higher cognitive
development to simply spell out the words. Whereas for students
with lower cognitive development or slow-learners, the teacher
might chunk a word according to their syllables and use different
colors for each syllable so that the children will be able to
visualize in their heads. Besides that, a teacher having knowledge
about cognitive development will be able could be the cause of
childs slow to sympathize with slow-learners and teach the students
patiently. Thus, the teacher wont be angry if students are slow in
learning. She would rather try to find alternative ways of
teaching. For example, she would plan certain activities whereby
the students will be excited and easily attain studies. She might
ask the students to carry out role play, singing or poem reciting
to boost their English Language proficiency. Mostly it wouldnt be a
good start for these students by just reading articles and
answering questions based on it. Not only that, the teacher with
knowledge of cognitive development of a child will be able to do
research on the factors affecting a childs cognitive development. A
childs cognitive can be either affected by heredity or
environmental factors. For example, if the teacher finds out that
the childs mental development is affected by imbalance diet, and
then she can have a conversation concerning this matter with the
childs parents about it. Probably mental depression cognitive
development. This mental depression could be the cause of family
problem; may be facing poverty. In addition, the child may also be
taking imbalance food. If that would be the reason for childs low
cognitive development, the teacher can talk to the organization in
the school to provide food for example through RMT programme.
7.0 CONCLUSION OR SUGGESTIONS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING
PROCESS
Teachers play a very important role in moulding children. This
is because school is the second home for children as they spend
almost for more than six hours in school. Thus, teachers also play
a role as parent. It is a burden that has befallen the teachers to
mould their attitude as well as impart knowledge. They are
responsible for the childrens cognitive development. Children can
be divided into four categories of teaching learning process. The
first category is teaching pre operational children who are in
between two to seven years old. Children in this category need
guidance of teachers as they just begin to acquire knowledge. They
are still not able to reason things. Thus, it is important for a
teacher to use concrete teaching aids and visual aids while
teaching. For example, if the teacher was to teach name of fruits
and colors, she can bring different colors of fruits and question
them. This will make the lesson interesting and the children will
get keenly involved in the activity; rather than chalk and talk
where students will be passive learners. At this stage, whatever
the children visualize will be strongly rooted in their mind. This
will help to boost their memory power and eventually contribute to
cognitive development.Besides that, teachers should give short and
clear instructions to the children. Long instructions will confuse
them as they are not able to catch up. Besides, the word choice of
a teacher in her classroom should not be bombastic rather should be
of simple words. For example, when a teacher is giving instruction
probably to draw a picture, she should give a clear instruction
using simple words so that the students wouldnt be blur about it.
She can also repeat to emphasize on her instruction; or else she
can even draw a simple picture on the white board for the children
to follow. This will give the students confidence in what they are
doing. This will boost confidence in them that what they are doing
is right. This is because children learn how to imitate in this
early stage of cognitive development. Thus, students do not really
understand by mere instructions; but through her drawing on the
white board. Apart from that, in order to contribute to cognitive
development of children, a teacher should carry many activities
which will make the children active learners. For example, the
teacher can give hands-on practice for the children like forming
words from cut-out letters. The students will really use their
intelligence in forming those words. While other activity which
will contribute in cognitive development of children is by
providing wide range of experiences. For instance, the teacher can
bring her students to Zoo Negara, Botanical Garden, and parks.
Children will gain a lot of knowledge besides gaining new
experiences. The second stage will be teaching operational children
with children between the ages of seven to eleven. In this stage,
children will still require concrete resources in learning new
skills. The teacher should provide solid three dimensional models
to represent certain objects. For example, the teacher uses a 3D
magnet to explain about North Pole and South Pole in a magnet; as
well as to describe about attraction or repulsion of opposite
poles. Not only that, the teacher should also provide opportunities
for the children to manipulate objects. For instance, the students
should be given a chance to carry their own experiment to test
respond of plants towards sunlight. My carrying out their own
experiments, students will be able to develop their cognitive
level. They will be able to think more maturely.Furthermore,
teaching method of a teacher should revolve slowly with the
cognitive development of her students. Beginning from simple
methods of teaching, teacher can slowly bring in complex tasks
depending on the cognitive development of students. For example,
the teacher should give a simple reading text for the students in
the beginning, and then gradually increase the level of toughness
of the text. At the end, the can give student longer and complex
stories for the students to read. She can also ask the students to
compare their lives with the characters that of in the text. She
can also provide open-ended questions to generate students ability
to think logically. This will simulate their thinking ability to
think and reason things. 22