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•

WNw.m hhe .rom/",ntedi.t 2. ,

betl';e!'n both lidt:! of the brain. Scientists .... 110 study the brain are typically very cautiou, with t ... m, .uch as kft- br~m,d and righr-brainM h«aw;e the buin i, more ""mp)"" than those term, "'U .. t (KD«t & othe", 2001).

The Bm,n ~nd Children', EdIlCllr;<>n There have be.n numerou, cliirru m.de about how children', education should be brain-based. Some journalim have .,­wted th.t educators $hould look to neuroscitnct for aruwers as to how be$! to teach childten ba>ed on the brain', growth .nd development

Unfonunatel,., too often bold "atemem, have be.n mad. about the impli ­cations of buin Kience for d'.ildren·, education that are ,p«ulati"e . t best and often far removed from what neurosdtnti.m know aboUlthe brain (Breur, 1999).

"

Ke don't have to look aoy further than the hype about "left-brained" indi,iduaJ. being mOre logicallnd "right·brained" individual. beiog more creative to see whe .. links between neurosdence and brain .duc.tion are incorrectly m.M (Soma, 1995). FI<iURE J .. "Ale l1um.n B •• in'. l1eml.phe, ...

The "'''' IWvu (h<mi.ph ..... ) of th. human b, .. n IT< d<lldy.un in this photosupb.

Anolher commonly promoled lin}: bctwe!'n nroro,citnct and brain edu­Cllion i. that the .. is a critical or .. n,itiYe period~. biological window of opporlUnil}'- when l.arning is ea.y, effeaive, and e .. il,. retained. Howev ... , there is 00 nroroKientific evidence 10 support this belief (Breut, 1999). One leading ntutoscientist evtn told educators that although children'. bnim acquire a srrat deal of infomt.1tion during the early,.." .. mo.t learning likely takes plw: after .yoapl;' forma­tion stabilues, which is after the age of ten (Goldman-R.tkic, l~).

Piagers Theory Poet Nooh Perry once asked, "\Vbo know, the thoughu of a child?" More than anyone, th. famou, Swiss psycllOlogist Jean Pi~ge\ (1896-1980) kn('W.

COllnitln PTocesses In actively corutructing thei' world, children use scltenta$. A .. hema U a concept Or fr;unework that exim in an individual', mind to organi"" ond in ­te'pret information . Schema, can range from the .imple (,uch ... a Kh.ma of a car) 10 complex (such a. a ",hema for what ""nstitute5 the universe). A six-)-ear-old who recog­niza that five small toy Car$ can be Slored in.n equal number of .moll bo:<es is eR,d.­ing a scltema for number. Piagd, int ..... t in &ehemu focwed on how children organize and rna'" ,en", out of th.ir curr.nt experience._

Pi~ge\ (1952) said that two prO(".eJ.Ses are r"pon,ible for how children use ond .dapt thei, "hemas: ... imilation md accommodation _ Auimilation <xcurs ",h.n Il child in_ corporates ne .... knowledg. into existing knowledge. That;', in assimilation children.,-.imilale the environment into. rlema. _-\c;omm<Hiation GCCUU when a child . djum to n('W inform.tion. That i., children adjust their >ehemu to the en,ironm.n!.

Consider an .ight-)-ear-old girl who i, gi'-en a hammer and lUil to h.ng • picture on the ,,011. She has neyer used l hammer, but from obscrving others do this .h. realize. that a h;unmer i •• n obj«t to be held, that it is swung by th. handle to hit the nail, and that it usually i •• wung • number of tim ... Recognwng each of these things, $he liu her behavior into thi, schem .. she ~lrudy h .. (assimilation). But the hammer is heavy, so .h. holds it ntar the top. She <wings too hard md th. nail bends, SO ,he adju,a the prwurt of her strikes . The .. adju.tment, rellea her abilil}' to slightly alter her conception of the world (accommodation). lust u both ... imilation . nd accommodation are required in thi~ ""ample, so are th<y required in many of the child'. thinking ch.JJenges (.e<: fig­ure 2.5 on p.ge 40).

Piag.t also .mpba.ized that to make sen .. out of their world, children cogni­tively org.nize their experiences. Organiz<ltion is Piagd. concept of grouping i.olated behavior! into l higher_order, more ,moothly functiooing cognitive system. Every l",-el of thought is organized. Continual refinement of this ocganization ;. .n inherent part of development. Children who ha>-e ooly a vague id.a about how to use a hammer might ~bo h~ye a vague idea .bout how to use other tools. After learning how to u.e e.ch one,

o.nd """'Pre! .

',i

",'maC)'.

..

....... irnn.ltion OCCUll "il.n people incorporat. II ..... information Ln10

their aisting odIemoti<: knowI.­edS<- How m,g/o' 'hu .. g/o,.,....,. aid fi') Jim "''''''P' '" ",./hL

"""''''''' .",:1 ""ol. ""'" "" her puaHfing >du .... "" lnow/tdg< abour rna. objeml

"'=mmodotion <><xu" ... h,n !,<"pl< ad;Ia' thou Icnowl«!&e oclu:mao to ....... information. H<1'4' ""ih, IhL f'rl odjuJl her"""""'" "Prd;", ""m"", ... and ""j~ d~,· in, /orr '''''"'')i<J <fJo<' .. """I d.. pi.:hJ,d

child~n must interrelate these 11>", or org.nix their bJ""iedge. if they are to b«om • • kiIl.d in using lool>. In the $Om. w~y. ,hildren continulily int~gr.t~ and coordi ­note the many other branch .. of knowledge that often d. · '"tlop independently. Organization occurs within $I.ges of d'\'~lopment as ,,"tIl a. across them.

flGURf 1.' ..... ima.lion ~nd Actommod.tiOft

Equilibration ;' • mecll. n;'m thaI Piag<1 propo"4 to

exploin how children .hift from on. nag. of thought 10 the next. The shift "'curs 0$ children experience cogoi . 1;, .. (;Qnflict, Of • di"qu;librium, It! trying to under$land the "'nTl<i Evtntually, the child r~<ol~ th~ conllie! and r.il<h •• a balance, or equilibrium, of thought. Piaget be· li~oed tbe,e is ronsidenble movement bet ... een states of cogniti"" equilibrium and disequUibrium as assimilation and ",commodation work in concert to produce cognili"" change. Fo, =mple, if chUrlren beli~oe thlt an ~mounl of ~quid changes simply beau.se il is poum into a conWn<r with . different shape (from a contain", that ia .hon and wide into I (.Ontaine, that is tall ~nd nanow), thoy might be puu.l<d bpuch i,.u .. IS ",""Crt the ~'"'tro' liquid came from and whether there is actually more ~quid to drink. The child will eventually ,."ohoe thes.e putties as her thought becom .. more advanced. In the """'1day ... orld. the dtild is constantly faced with such countereurnples and inconsistencies.

P;'letian Staps TItrough his observations. Piaget also came to belie\"e that cogni­ti'"e de\"elopment unfolw in I sequence of fou, stages. Each of the stag .. is age.rtlatM and consists of distincti'"e """)'$ of thinlcing.lt is the differenl ""or of thinking that make, one stage discontinuous from Ind more ad"'n~ than another. According to Pi'get, knowing more information doe. not make the child', thinking more advanced. The ad· vance is q .... !itali,-elr diff.rem. Piaget', I1Ige, ore coiled setuorimotor, pH'operational, concrete operational, and fonnal ope,alion;>! (Ke figure 2.6).

170. S<-nso.imotor Stag. The scnloOrim<>t<>, , uge, whiCh lasts from birth 10 about t ... o ~ar:s of age, ia the fin! Plogetian .tage. In thil S\age, infant.< construct an undemanding of the world by coordinating their .. ruory experiences (such os seeing and hearing) with Ll,eir motor action.< (ruching. touching}-hena the term KmOrima'or. At the beginning of this 'tage, infant. show little more than refie:rive paltem, 10 ildap! to the world. By the end of the 'tage, thoy dUpI..y fit mo", complt>: """"rimo!or panerm.

Pi.get believed that an especially impomnt wgniti'"e accompfuhmen! in infancy is object permanence. Thi, in'"O\>"« undentanding th~t obj<c1.$ and e\"~nt.< continue to exist even when they cannot be .. tn, heard, or touched. A .. cond accompfuhmenl ia the gradual realization that there ia. difference or boundary between oneself and the .ur­rounding rnvironment. Imagine what your thought would be like if you could not dis­tinguish bet».-een yoursdf and your world. Your thought ,,·ould be chaotic, diso,ganiwi, and unpredictable. TIlls is what the mcntallife of. newborn islih, according to Piagtt. Th. young innnt does not differtntiate betwten "if and world and has no .. nse of ob· ject permanen~ By the ~nd of tho oeruorimotor period, the child does diff ... ntlote be · twffn the self and the world and ia a,,-art thl! object.< continuo to W! 0 .. ", time.

The Prtopera,io"a/ Slag. The prn>perlt;onal sta~ is the stCOnd Piagetlon .tage. Last· ing approximltoly from two to ....... " ~ar. of Ige. it ia more symbolic than sensorimotor thought but do.. n<>t inwlve operational thought. HoWC\"e"r, it is egocentric and intuiti"" rather that! logical.

•

m,un 1.5 lVt:ef. Four Stop. 01 eo,;nm.e Oeniopment

Preopcmion.l thought un be lubdivided ioto , .... " $ulmages: symbolic function and intuiti'" thought Th~ symbolic function ... botage occurs roughly bttw«n t>o'O and four ~.rs of age. In tru.. sub.tag~. the young child gains the ability 10 repr=nt mentally an object that is 001 present. nu. stmmes the child', mcntol world to n~ dimension$. Expaoded US< of language lIld the emergen« of pretend play .rt oth .. exu"pies of an ;nctcast in Il""boiic thought during this •• rly childhood .ub'laSt_ Young childttn ~n 10 US< \a;bble<l dffigns 10 rep.ntnl ~pl., houses, can, cloud •• lJId many other .. peets of the wo,ld.l\lssibly ~ust young ch.i.ldrm are not very con=ed .boul •• ality. their dnwings a" fanciful and inventive. Sum ue blue •• l<ies ue green. and can flo;u on cloud. in their imaginalive world. The symooli,m is simple but mongo not unlike .b· m.ainnt found in SOme modem art. As the famollS ",'.ntieth·century Spanish .,-ti,t Pablo Pic.uso once "m.r~, "I used to dr:o.w lik Ropha.! but it !u.s uktn me a lifttime to draw Ii}:( J"Oung clIiIdrm." One 3l1-yrar-old Iooktd .t the scribble h. had juot drawn and described it as • pelican kissing ... 01 (sec figure 2.7, On page 42). In the elementary Khool ~u, child"n', dr.wings bttome mOrt rtalink, lIrat. and pr..a.. (on figu" 2.7b on pag. 42). Suns are yrllow • .tries are blue, and caU t .. ,-e\ on road ..

E~n though J"Oung dlildren makt distinctive progr«s in thi'lub,t'ge, thei. p'" operational thought ,till hIS two important limitations: egocentrism and animism. Ego­unlri,m is the inability to distinguish bc~-een on", own pe"pcai, .. and >Om..,n •• \$t., pe"pccID-". The following telephone interaction bctw«n fou.·yrar-old Marr. who is at home. and her fath«, who is at wo.l:. typifi¢s egoantric thought:

Father: Mary, is Mommythe.c'

Mary: (Silently nod$)

Father. Mary,can I apt .... to Mommy?

Mary: (Nom .gain .i1ently)

Mary's T¢Sponlt is egocentric in that she faik to conoider h« father', peupeai .... ; $he d~ not r.aliu that h. <aIlnOl see her nod.

Pi_gOl and Barl>d Inhelder (1%9) initially sludiM young dlildrtn', egocentrism by devising the th.« mounains usl: (see figurt 2.8 on page 42 ). The clIiId ,,-alb around th. mod.l of the mountain. and bc<:om •• familiar ,,~th what the moWlains 1001: like {rom diffe",nll""'p«liws. Th. child also can on th.t th«e arc diff«mt obj«ts on the moun­tain,. The child then is ... ted on one lide of the t.tble on "'hicb the mountain, are placM. The expenrnenteT mows a doll to difforent locatioru around the tabl •. At .. dl

"

n

(.l A H·ynr·oId'. ormbolk d ...... ;"g. Halfway into !hi> drawing. th. J~.yur.oId >aid i1 ...,..". ~an kU>ing • 1eO!."

• (b) nu. 11'l' .. r..,ld', drawing is o •• ar OIld mOre , .. listie but We less invmti'''',

fiG URE 1. J tlevo.onu,1 CIuonp.ln Chlldre. ", Drawln,.

V,e,·, \',"" , , " ,

t , Chi ld

"'<',·d h~'e

" , • ,

• , (Md ..,.!ed h~,.

FIGURE J .. Th. no_ Mou ntalM Tisk V~ 1 .lto .... the child', F<rspectiv< from where he or >he io ,i' ting. V""" 2 i. OIl <nmpl< of the photograph th< child would "" !hQwn, miud in with <>th<n from diffi:r<nt 1'<"1'«'; ..... To =roaJr identify this ,';"", the dUJd Iw 10 lake tho F<"pecu .... of , p<TOOn "11ing at 'r<>' O. ~Iy, • pu><hooI dt~d who thin4 in • pm>p<ntio.w WIT <ann'" p<rfunn thil wi<.. "''lIon uked what • vi ..... of the m<>unuins looIu Ii!<.: from pooitlOn .. the child "'ects. photograph ~ from location ... tho dtild'. Yin< at tho tim<.

location the child i .... Ud to .. lec! from, &eries of photo$ the one that mon "",utat.1, refl.CIS the view tht doll il $«ing. Childt..., in the preo~ralionol mg. oft.n pick Ih. vie,.. thaI r.necu wit .... they Ir •• ilting .. th., ilion th. doll', vi",".

Anlmum abo characterizes preopention.1 tbQughL It is the bdi,f that in""imal< objotru Ju,'e "!ifelikt" qual;t;.s and .te capable of action. A young child might !how an· imi>m by saying. "Th>.t tr .. pushed th~ bf off and it feU down" 0, ""The ,idrnoalJ<. made me nud- 11 made me rall down."

What furthtr cognitive chang .. take place in the pr<'Opc,ationa\ $tage' The ;ntuit;'·. thought . ubnage i> the s«ond sub.tage of pr<'Ope .. tionai thought. >luting at about four yurs of age and l>.$ting until about seven yea .. of age. At thi> sub,uge. chi\dre~ begin to US< primitive reasoning and wam to know the an ....... " to all son. of question;, Pi'get coiled tlili sub.t.S' "intuiti, .. - bca.UK the children S«m SO 'UTe about thei'

- • ••

•• ••• m;uu:u An.,..

-.•• ~ ... •

• •• ,'.J A random UT., of objoru. (It) AI> onI<rtd .... OJ' of objtcts.

kno,.,.lrd~ and undn1tanding 1'"1 arc un."..,... of how they know what they know. That ;5, th<y SO}" th"l' know tom.thing but know il without the us< of ntionil thinking.

An example of young childrtn', limitation in ~uon;n8 .bility i. the diflkully they have putting thing> imo COrl«t c~l.gories. Look at the COIl«1100 of obj.CIS in fig. ur. 2.9 •. Yon would prol»bly .tspond to th. diuaion "l'ul the things together thaI you btlitvt brlong togethe," by grouping the <lhj«u by fixe and sII'f'(. Yon, wrung migln look somtthing lib thll ahown in figure 2.91>. Fact<! with. ,imnar CO~«tioD of objKu that can bc son..:! on 1M buil: of two or mo .. propn'lies, pr~,...tion.a.l childrnJ sol· dom an capable of winS these: properties consulmt!y 10 tort the obj«u into appropri_ at< glOUping>-.ln!be socW rulm, if. !'our-rr"-o/d girl is I'vm the wkof di,iding 1m 1'«<$ inlO groups lo:rorchng 10 wheth .. thty ar. friendl and who!h" tiKy uc boys Or girl!. sh. ;. unlikely 10 arri"" II • classification of friendly boys. friendly girls, unfriendly boys, unfriendly girls.

M"'~r of thel<' prrop"ntional enrnpl ... how I chlracteriOlic of thought ",!led ",ntration, ",hich inll'()lves fc><u.in8 (or ",ntaing) atttntion On One chanctai.tic 10 the txclusion of all others. Qntr~tion u mmt de ... ly prel<'nt in p.roperatio.w cb.iIdren', l./.ck of ..... ..., ..... tion, th~ ioka 1.1,a\ ... me cha:rac:aisti.:: ot' an obj«t .t;l)" :he 5:J11c ~ though the object mi&ht chango in .ppe ... .,,"'. ror aamplt, 10 adults it is obvious that • certain amOUnt of liquid ItlYS the '""'" rtgHdltsI of a ronu.inn"lhapc. aut this is not obvious at all 10 YOlUlg children. Rather, they are muck by the hright of the liquid m the contain ... In this typo of conl<l"Vlltion taY; (Pi.1get'. mOSt famou.), a cb.iId is pNKnt...! with t\oo" idCTItical heWlS. cadi fill...! to the samelt"ej with liquid (ICC figur< 2.10 On page 44). The dUld i. aslo:e<l if tht heili" h ...... the $lime unount ofliquid_ The child usu­ally says )'"S. Then the liquid from one beaker is pour...! into I third beaker, .... hich is taller and thinner. The child now il uk...! if the amolUlt of liquid in the tall, thin beak.r i. equal to the liquid that remlin! in the «<ond origInal bemr. Children younger th.o.n s.even or eight usually WI no. Thty justifythcir onJwn by ,derring to the differing hc-ight Or width of the h<-ah-n. 0Ickr children usually answn )'H.lMy justif}· their anown,"p­prop.illtoty: If fOU pound the liquid back. the lffiO<Int "",uld .till be the 5IIIlC.

In Pillgd. view, failmg the (;On..,.,...tion of liquid us): indicates that the child is II the p= ....... tio.w .tage of thinking. Fusing the tdt ruggests the child i. II the con.me operational stage of thinkin&-

According to Pi.ger, preoperational children a\,Q .. nnot perform whit he ~llr<l optTr1.ti"n'. In Pt.1gtt',lheo.y. Ol'"ration> arc mental reprcl<'ntatioo. that ar. reversible.

"

CO' .......

.. Ch"pter 2 Cognltive.oo l1mguase Oewllopment WNW,mt1he,comj"'n!~2e

• FIGURE 2.tO Pialor, Con,efYation Task

As in the beaker task. pr~.school children ha"e difficulty under­<landing that re,e'$;ng on action bring • • bout the original condi­tions from which th. aClion began. Th ... two enrnp1"! $hould further help you UIldent.nd Pi,got's conooepts of operations. A young child might know that 4 + 2 - 6 but not undemand that th. rtVt"., 6 - 2 - 4, is true. Or let'. "Y' p"""hoolc' ,.,alk$ to 1m friend's hQu~ elCh <by but .lway> gets. ride home. If ",hd to walk hom~ from his friend'$ house, he prol»bly would reply that h. didn't know the way bcca ... ~ h. ne"", had walked home btfore.

The beak<r test jJ • weU·known pug.ti.n lest to detormine whethor • child.:an think o~r~tional!J"""""<h" ;,., an mentally T"""ne action. and .bow ",maY.tion of the rul"W1c<. (a) Two idrnticol I><ake" Of< pr...-ntcd to the child. Then, th. ~quid jJ

poured from B uito C, which is taller.."d thinner than A or B. (b) Th< child is OJked if the« t-km (A .nd C) have the .. me

Somt Mvdopmenla/i,", do not belie,.. Piaget "';U emirely cor ­rect in hi< .,timate of when comerv.t;on 1l<i1ls emerge. For Ham­ple, Roche! Colman (1%9) traint<! pr<:<ehool childttn to attend to rel"""\ O$~ oflhe oomervalion task. TIll. improvM their con­.. ,.',alion skills_ ~lman il"" hos mown that attenlionaltraining on one t;'P" of ronstrvation I;uk, such 1.$ number, improves young children 's ~rformanu on anoth .... t~ of ronstrvatio n task, such as mass. She believes that young children develop conservation skills earlier than Piag" envisioned and that snch skills can be im­proved with attentional training. IlrIIOunt of liquid. Th. preoperotionai child ")7$ no. .... 'b.m ..uJ

to point to the I><ilir that h ... mo,.. liquid, the pr<op<r~tional child point> to the tall, thin 1>W:tr.

Yet another ch ... cteristic of preo~ra\ion.1 dlildren is tint they osk a lot of questions. The barrage begin •• round .ge throe

"I ,rin d,~'t """".il '"' anJW<n, bur I'm h<gi""i"g <0 os. ,It< roSh, ~u.mons. • ....... N,,, Y"Ioo, CoIl.-o ",., .. ,<1.0<= ~"'" ~"""_ All _"ou .. _.

By abont five, they have ju>! .bout exhausted the adult, around them with "Why?" "Wby" questioru signo! the emergence of the child's intere" in fig­uring out why things are the ""y they .ro. Following is a sampling of four- to 'ix-~ar­olds' questions (Elkind, 1976):

"What make, you grow up?" 'What makes you 1I0p grov.ing?" "\\lho "' .. , the moth .... when e,erybody wa •• baby>" -\Vhy do le~'"eS fall?" "\Vhy does the Sun shine?"

1. Ha"" "hildren ""'nipui<lre group' of obj<ct,. 2. To rtdurt tgoc<nff';,m, ,,,,,,,I,,,, children 'n «><:iaI im ... acrio"~ 3. Ask child"'n to make comp<l,iSlm,_ These might in""lve such conUpts:os bigger,

t.Uer, wid .... , heavier, and longe,. 4. Gi"" ,hildetn <:<pt,,.,,,, in onkring operations. For example, ha", children lin. up

in row. from tall to mort.."d viu versa. Bring in ,-ario"" examples of animal and plant life eyeltS, sw;h as "" .. ro1 photograph. of butterfly d", .. lopment or the .prouting of brans or urnel. of COrn. E;umpltS of tht$< noturo.! .tagtS help children's o,d .... ing abili~·.

S. Havt children draw '''n'' ",jm J>er'Ptcrivt. Encourage them to make the objects in their drawing. appear to be at the lame l"""lion:os in the scene they are "iewing. For aample, if they see a hor,. at the end of • field, they should place the ho,st in the ... m.location in the du""ing.

6. Gm"n<a an irnli",d plane or a hill. L<:\ children roll morbi ... of vario"" ,izes down the pl.ne. Ask them to compore how quickly the diff.",n,.,i"" marbl .. re~h the bottom. Th. should help them understand the roncept of .~d.

7. Ask child"", to jutlify th.ir answtrJ when ,hq draw 'Q~du,iOn1. For ""ample, ",ben rhey say that pouring. liquid from a ,hort, wide contoiner into a tall, thin

-container ml.kes the liquid change in \"Olume, ask, ·Why do you think ",1" or "How «mid J"lU provt' this to One of yoU! friend,!"

The umcr<le Opmo/i,,""1 Su.g. The concre'e optrational $tage, the third Piagcti.n mge of cogniti'"e developmem, I .. m from about .. yttl to about , 1e .. "n rem of age. Concrttt operational thought involve. u.ing optrations. Logical "".""ning r~l.CH intuitiv. reasoning, but only in concrete .im.tion .. a ... ificalion ,kill, Ire pr ... nt, but arutract prnblenu goun$Oh~

A ron"." optration is • '.· ... "'ibl. menta/action pertaining 10 real. concrete obj«t .. Concrete optration. allow the child 10 coordin.te $<"V-

enl characteristics rother than focus on a .ingle property of In Obj«L AI

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'"

,i 'T 'T 'T

'T'T'T"T'T'T 'ICT"T

ftt;IJRE LlI a .. slfl<atIOft

..

the «lnerrte op.ntionallevd. childttn can do ment.Uy whIt they previ· ou.ly could do only phy>iu.lly, and they can ,.""rot concrete opeution$. For cump)" to le'l con .. , ... tion of malt«, the child is presented with two id~ntkill bll4 of day. Th~ e~rimen!t' ,o!]s one ball into aiong, thin .blpt. The child is asked if there is more day in the ball or in the long. thin pi«e of day. By the tune dtildren an ~= Or tigbt yea .. old, most ",,,,,..., thlt the llJl'Iount of day is the same. To lruWtr this problem correctly, children b"ve to imagine that tbe day I>aIl can be rolled out into I long, thin strip and then .. turoed to it! originll round slure. In this ex­ample, the preoperationll child would bave focused either 011 beight Or

Clusifia.tioD is.., important .bility ill CODCn'. <>p<u_

tiaDd thought. \\".., shown • family \fee of four gtn ... · ticru (I '" IV), the prrop.utionol child ha.o troubl< cW.ifyiog th< m<mbera of th< fou. gemutions; the contreI< oper.tional child can duoify the memt><" v<rtiully. horizontally. and obhqudy (up .nd down and acfou) ,

length. The concrete operotional child coordinat .. information "bout both dimensions. An imPOrWlt concrete operation is classifying or dividing things into diff .. ent sets

Or sub$(ts and COlUidering their interre1>tiolUhips. Rl:a.soning about a fmlily tree of four generations .. veals. child's cona .. e operation.ll oItills (Furth & Wachs, 1975). The fam­ily tr~ sb<>WII in figure 2.11 su~t! thO! the grandfather (A) Ius three dtildren (B, C, and D), each of ".,.hom has twO children ([ through /l, and One of these children (J) has three children (K, l.., and M). Concrete operational thinke,s understand the chusi-6cation. For example, they can reason that person J can u the same time be father, brother, and grandson. A preoptntion.ll thinker cannot

Some Piagetian tasks requi .. children to reuon .bout relatioru bet..."ffIl clusc.. One such wk is ,.,rlation, the concme operation that in'"I\'tS ordering stimuli along SOme quantilati, .. dimeruion (Judt •• length). To Re if ,tudenu can serialiu, it !tacher migbt place eight sticks of differenl lengths in it h..phuard way on • table. To,e teocher then 05\<$ the Student 10 order the .ticks by length. Many )"lung dtildren tnd up with ""''' or three .mall group. of "big" ,tic\<$ or "little" ,ticb rather than it correa ordering of all eight ,tick... Another mistaken .Integy thoy use is 10 ...... nl)" line up the t.,ps of the sliclr.$ but ignore Iht bottoms, Th~ concre!t operational thinkn .imultantously understands that eadt ,tick mU.<I be longer tlw! the one thot pread .. it Uld ,hont' tlw! the one tho! fol· 10"'" it.

Another .. peel of .. a.soning aboUI the ,eLotions bet...· .. n c~ is trtnsilivity. This in",h·es the ability to logically combine ,elation, 10 understand ce,tain conclusions. [n this case, consid., three ,tick.. (A, S, and C) of differing leng1hs, A i. thelong"t, B is in· tennedi.te in leng1h, Ind C is the shorttll. Does th. child undtrsund that if A > B, and B > C, then" > C1 In Piag,"", theory, conc .. 1< operationll t:hinkers do; preoperational thinkers do not

l. £"'courAg<' ,Iwitn« :0 di"""," am<eptJ And principles. A.<k relevant questions about ,..hal i. being ,tudied to help them focu, on SOmt osp.a of their learning. Rl:fuin

..

VIclto lMIur.: The ""IC'''' and f«mol Opt,_1 Slog<1

'1' ... .. ~.

~ .. -' - - ' _. ,,--"_. .

in thi.!

from telling , Iud.nts the amWe" to their qUe$.iofl$ outright. Try 10 selth.m 10 "acb. the answers through their 0"'0 thinking.

2. ["vol", children In operarw",,) task<. The"" include adding, subtracting, muhiply. ing. dividing, o',,"ring, ",.iating. and ,.,."rung. U", concrete material, for the .. l>$h, po .. ibly introducing m.th .ymbols lat.,..

3. Pfun oUtiviri .. in which nud."" pram" 1M """" PI of a,unaj"g and a",mdjng c/a«jfio:.rwn hitraIT!>i ... H" .. ,rodent, li" the foUo".ing in order of size (,uch as larg .. t to ,mall .. ,); cil}' of AtLont., .ute of Georgi., rountry of United State>, Western Hemisphere. and planet Earth.

4. Includt <Utivitlcs that '«lui" w""rvation of arta, weight. and di.<pl.u:ed volum •. 5. CMlt. activitie, in which children order and revers<: order. Many third-graders have

difficulty in r~.rsing order, such u going from till to short rlth« than short to tall. They 01.0 ha"" troublt. after listing the citi •• they win paM through in taking a trip. ,"versing the order for coming hom •.

6. ComiMut 10 ~.k ll"ud.~1S to jUlnfy Inri, ~flSW"'" ... h", In.,.. wI"" problem. Help them to checlc the volidity and .ccuracy of their condusions.

7. E~",unlg. child"n 10 work in group. and txdumge thoughu wirh weh olher. For aample, a,k a gTOUp of children to create a play, sharing their 'i~in\5 "ith e.chother.

s. M~kt <tire that the m~rmals in tho cu.s.room arc rich enough to ,timul.:". ,rud'Mts' qU<JIi""~ A "", .. tile ins.ect for dWToom discussion is • mtalworm. H ..... ,tuMnts obsen~ it and describe it An overnight .pp<arancc of a more mature mea/worm may take place, ... hieh can surprise student. ond encouroge them to thin!< .bout why thi, OCC\Irr«l.

9. \Vh", trying 10 uach anylhiMg romplex. ,,...,te prop. and vi.ual aid~ For e::umple. in tuching a sociallocience le"on on what a democncy iI, show a video that i~ustrat~ the concept.

10 . Enrouragt nud,nlS M manipulau and ""Penmen, in s,~nn, uuamrrert material.< in mathemafic .. ,,...,Ie and <UI out in langua~ ~rll, and di5cuJ< Inri, per'pmi.-., with ... ch orlt ... and Iakt fidd Trip, in wci.:l1 .tud;...

TM Ferma! Optrdti<lnal Stag. The form.1 operational stage, which .mugts at aboU! d ., .. n to fif\em yun of age, i. Pi.gds fourth and final cognitive 'tage. Al this mge, in· dividuall mov .. bej'OQd reasoning only about concme erperiencrs and think in more ab­stract, ide.tl.istic, and logical ... ays.

The .bst"ct quality of formal opem;on.l th inki:lS i. evident in .... ,bal problem solving. The con"~e opentional thinker needs to see the conertt. d.m.nts A, fl, and C to make the logical inference that if A ~ B and B = C. then A ~ C. In cootn't, the for­mal ope,..tionol thinker can solve this problem when it i ..... rbally prts.ented.

Accompanying the abstr.ct nature of fornul op<ralional thought are the abilities to id .. li"" and imagine po"ibilities. At this 'tage. adolescents engage in ertended specu · lation about the ideal qualities they desire in them .. l .... and othe .. . These iMali.tic thought. can m erge into fantuy. Many adolescem. bewme imp.tient with their n .... -found ideals and the problems of how to live them out.

At the same time as adolescents are thinking more abstractly .nd ideali.<ticoUy, they . Iso are beginning to think morelogicaUy. Al formal oper.tional thinkers, th.y t.~ in!<

more likl «ientiSI$. They dovis< plans to solve pToblems and systematicaUy test solutions. Piagd. term hypothetical_deductin reasoning embodies the concept that adolescents con develop hypotheses (!>est hunches) .bout ways to solve problems and systematically r.ach a conchuion .

Oue example of hypothetical-deductive rea.oning in,'Oh~ .. modification of the familiar game "Twenty Questions.- Individual. are .ho""Il • set of 42 color pictu re. displayed in • rectangular array (six row, of .even pictures ""h) and asked to deter · mIn .... hich picture the e:<perimenter ha.s in mind (that ;., which i, ·correct") . The

.ubjects ar. only allowed to ask qu~tions to which the aperimenter can answer y~ or no, The object of the game is to Stleet the CO!r«ot picture by aoong as frw question. a. poMible,

Adol .. ",m, who are dMuctive hypothe.i, lester, fonnul". ~ plan and lest a series of hypothe,es, which considerably narrows the field of choices. The mo.t .!feaive plan is • "ho1ving" $It'legy (Q, Is the picture in the right half of Ihe array? A: No. Q: OK. Is it in the top half? And SO on). A correa halving strategy guarantees the illI,wer in seven questions or I,,,. In ""ntrast, Ih. concrete optrational thinker might ptrsist "ith ques­tions that ""minue to test >orne of the Same po .. ibilitie. that pr<"Viou, question. could have diminalM. For aample, th'1' might ask wh<"!her the correct picture i. in ""'. 1 and .r. told that it is not. Later. they ask ",,-beth ... the pictur. is X. which is in rOw 1.

Thus, formal ope .. tion.lthinl:e<l te.t their bypothese. "ith judiciously eho..,n question, and tem. In contrast. concrete optr>tional thinkers often fail to understand the relation betw..,n a bypothesis and a "..,U·chooen test of it, 'lUbbomly clinging to ide., that already h" .. been discountN.

A fonn of egocentrism aI>o emerge. in adole.ana (ElItind, 1976). Adele",", ege­centrism i. Ibe height<nM S<'lf-con.aou.m ... thaI is reflected in adolescents' belief, that other. are .. intere.IM in them as th'1' themselves are. Adol=cnt egocentrism . 1"" in­cludes a =Se of p'rsonal uniquenes,. It inml" .. the desire to be notieN, vi.ible. and "on mge." Consider twelv~-}".ar- old Tracy, .,.,.ho "'Y'. "Oh my gosh! I can'l belie .... it. H.lp! I can't nand it!" Her mother .. \;s. 'What is tbe matter?" Tncy responds, "Everyone in here i< loolcing" me,' The mother queries, "Wh)~ " Tracy "'ys. "Thi. one h.ir won't May in pl.ce; as she rushes to the re" room to pi",,,, it .,.,.itb hainpray. Pe" eived uniquene .. o1sc is <"Videnl in sixt .. n-y~.r-oJd Margaret', feeling< aft., her boyfriend h'" broken up wilh her. She t. u.. h.r mother. "You h" .. no ide. how I fed. You have never experienced this kind of pain."

Egocenlrism is a nonna! adol=cnt occurrence, more common in the middle sd>ool than in high Khool )"CaIS. However, for ""m. individu..ls, adolescent egocentrism can oontribut. 10 recldes, behavior. including suicidal thought.. drug use, and failure to uS<' contraceptive< during <au.! intercourse. Egocentricity leads !Orne adolescents to think that th'1' are invulner~ble.

Cognit"" ~nt "

WNw.mhhe.com/~nted u2e

Teaching ~~~~::~-------------For Work~~ Operational Thinkers

l. RMliu ,Iul, many iUJolacn.f' are twl fuU-fledg,d fortlUll opera/ional fhinkers . Although Pi'gtllxlie\"ed forma! operotion.l thought emerge, between de" en and fifteen year. of ag., many $Iudtnu in this ag. range actu.tlly are ronaett open_ lionil thinker> or are just "'ginning to u~ forma! operational thought. Thus. m.ny of the telChing .tntegi .. di"UMe<! earlier regarding the edu~ation of con · cre'e operational thinkers .till apply to many young Molescenu. A curriculum that is too formal. and 100 .bsl .... ct wiU go 0'''''- their heads.

2. Propo,' a probkm and inviu ,mdem, to frmn hypcrhes<s awuf how ro ",Ive ir, For a.tmpk, a te.cher might oay, "Imagine that a girllus no friends_ \'l'hat ,hould she do?"

3, Presenf a problem and sugg"l several ""'Yf il mjghl b. approached. Th.n ask ques­tio", th.t stimulate iludents to e""lual< the approaches. For example, describe .. ""ra! "''')'$ to in'-e$tigate a robbery and ",k studenu 10 ,,·.IUOle whid> i< ~t.

4. ~lta a panicular probkm !hal i, familiar /(J Ih. cJa... and <uk qumion, ,<laud to if. For example, the teacber .. ks, "\Vlut factors mould be con.idered if we are going to be able '0 g<l the =nomy back on ,,...,k'"

5. Ask #udt-n" to di,.;w'lhei,prio,cond,,-,ion.l. For aampk, m, "\\!hat $1<1" did you go through in $Olving thi< problem' -

6. De>dop projw. and jnvmigmion. for 'Iud~"" UJ ""try ouf. Periodically cl them how they are going . bout colle<:ting and interpreting the data,

7. En{oumgt ,,,,d.,,,, to ",m. him>"hic~1 Durlin .. wh." you <Uk 'hem 10 wril' papns. !l.iah 'ure they undem.nd how to org.nize their writing in terms of genera! and specific points. The ab$luctnw of formal opera,ional thinking also me,ns that teacbers with studenu at thi< Ie\-el can encourage th"" to use mtlaphoIS.

8. Recognize fhaf adoleoctnl< are more likely 10 u .. farmal opaarional thinking in rho ~,ttlS in w~i<;h Ihey ha ... the moSf txpen;,e and txpaience. For example, • slUdtn' who love< Engli.h and teads and writes .lot might use formol o!,<,rational thinking in th.t area. Howe""r. the .. me student might not like math and might.how

Pi'S<1 .. >hown hm with hi.! f:uni.ly. pi>grt'. a"ful oburvatiorus of hi, thr« child"n_ Lucien ... , t...uren~ lIld Jocqu<lin.......:ontribut«i to th, d""lopm,nt ofh" cognitiv. theory.

ronc"te opentionil thinking in that are ..

Evel .latin&: PieCef. theory What were Piaget's t:1.Oin contribution.1 H .. hi' theory withstood the tes\ of time?

eonfributi"", Piagtl is • giant in the field of d,,-elopmenta! psyd>ology. We owe to him the present field of children', cognitiv. development. We owe 10 him along list of masterful concepts of enduring power and fu\:ination, including tht con­cepts of a$Similotion, KCOmmod.tion, object permanence, egocentrism, <on,en'.­tion, and hypothetical-deductive ".soning. Along with Wil~= Jam« and John Dewey, we also owe to him the currem vision of children .. actiYe, constructiye thinhrs.

Pi'gtl also was , genius when it came to observing children. His ,.rtful ob .. r­vatio", showed us invemive ways to disco,.." how d>ildren act on and adapt to their world (Vidal, 2(00). Pi'got ,bowed UJ some important things to look for in cognitive development •• uch '" the shift from preop!'utiona! to conertle op!'ra­tional thinking, He al$O showed 11< how children need to make their expe"'nc~s lit their schemas (rognitive fr.",eWQrk.) yet simultaneously adapt their "hem", to

rxperittlC<' . Piaget i1so "....,i1.d how cognitive growth i. liJ<e!y 10 occu, if the con­text i< structured to allow gradual movem.nt '0 the next higher le",,1. And we owe to him the current belief that concepts do not tmtrgt 011 of a sudden, full-blown.

~ut instead emerge through I series of partial accomplish_ <11<111$ thatle~ to incrtasingly cnmprehen.n-e undemand­ing (Hoith 8< Ronson, 1'198).

V i/ids.... Piagds theory h1$ not gone unchallenged. Questions h.a, .. h<en raiJed .bout thou llreas: "timates of children', competence ot different developm.nti! levrl5, .uges; the training of children to reoson .t highe.le .... ls; and cultu .. and education.

• Esrimal<l of child",n's Comptl~"C", Some cognilive abili· ti .. =erge ear~er than Piaget thought. For umlplt, OS

just not«l, Klme aspect. of object ~ ... <t emerg. earmr thon M belie\'ed E" ... twQ-~~.-oldi are non­egocentric in KIm. contens. Wh.n th")' rei!iu thol another perKIn will not >eo an object, they in ..... tigat. whether the pe.son is blindfolded o. looking in a dif­fermt direction. Conservation of nwnh<r has bttn okmonm~ted OS early ... aselh.«, although Piager did nOI think il emergtd until ""en. Young children are not ... uniformly ·pre-~ this and "pre-~ that (precausa!, preoperalioni!) OS Piag.t thought.

Oth .. cogniti"" abiliti .. can .merg. latn than Piager thought. Many adol=n" ,tm think in con,w. operational "OJ" or are JUS! beginning to moster formi! opeutions. E ...... many ;tdults art not formal opera­tioni! thinl:tr$. In sum, recent theowiaJ r"isions highlight more cogniti, .. compt1.nci .. of infants and

Mill .. Magnet MiddkS<hoo1 Bibb County, G<orgio

young children and more cogniti"" .hortcomiogs of .dolescents and adults (Bail­largeon, 2004, Keating, 2004; Meltzoff. 2(04).

• Slag<>. Piagd concei'-N of .tag .. .. unitary otructur .. of thought. Thll$, hi. theory >$Sumes d~lopmental S)'Ichrony-tha1 il, .... rious ... peas of Isuge should emerge It the same tim •. How" ... , Klme concrete Operltiort.al con"'1'l$ do not appear in synchrony. Fo. aarnple, children do nOt l.am to consen .. at the same tim. as th")' learn to crrus,clusify. Thus, most contemporary de\ .. lopmenta~," "S'" that chil­dren', cogniti"" development is not as .tagelike IS Piagerthought (Garton, 2004; Siegler & Alibil.i, 2005).

- T ""nin8 of childrtn Ie "<U(J~ d! d high .. kwl. Some children who are at one cogniti,.., ""ge (suob as preoperational) can be trained to reason at a high ... cognlti'" suS" (such •• concrete operational). This poses I problem for Piaget He argued that such tuining is only .uperficial Ind ineffecti,.." unless th~ child is ar I matuutioni! trln­.ition poinr h<!Ween the ,tiS" (Gelman &; Opfer, 2004, Gelman &; \\rilliams, 1'196).

• Cwllw .. ~nd tduCDr;<m. Culture and «lucation eurt strong« influenc .. on child .. n', development th.n Piaget believed (Gelman 8< B'ennermon, 1m. Greenfield, 2000). The ag. at which chilctn,n acquire coru.ervltion skilli is .. lated to the ment to which their culture provides rd,,""t practiee (Cole, 1999). An QUI$tl.nding teadler and educator in the logic of mlth Ind >cienee can ptomote con, .. t. and formal opeutioni!thought.

Stm, Klme d,,-elopmental psychologists be~",,, we should not throw out Piaget Iltogeth« (Smith. 2(04), These neo- Pi.gtt;"'n l.rgue that Piager got..,me things right but that his theory n..ods consider.ble ' ..... ion. In their ,nision of Pager , more empha­ill is si' .. n to how children P'OCC$l inform.tion through attention, memory,:and ,trale­sics (ea.., 2000). Th~ especi.lly h<li~ that. mOre accurate vi.ion of obildren's thinlcing requires more knowledge of strategies. how fast and hO'oOo' automatically children proce .. information. the particul .. cognitive t ... k invoh-N, and the division of cognitive problems intO ""an .. , mor~ prtei~ .t<ps.

..

l>\apI ..... l • .....-

e","" ...... '" Pi-rot

" n .. pM $uch criticisms, Pi.gtl', rhfflry "a wry import.nt one, and ... we a1re.dy

ha, .. oeen. information about hi •• t~ .. of devc!opment can M appliw to ,<"hing chil ­dren. He ... ar. SOme mOre ide .. for applying Pi.get's theory to child .. n', ed>K.tion.

Teaching Strategies For Applying Piaget's Theory to Children's Education

1. T~ke ~ "",.mUCh.;.! "ppr~h. In • wlUtructivi'l "rin, fuge! emphuiud that chil­dren leun beil when they are active and seek solutio". for them.dye •. Piag~ opposed teaching methods that uut child"n:os pass;". I«eptaclcs. The Muca­tional implication of Piaget', view is that in alIsul:>jtcts students l.arn best by making ~i~ rtlltaing On them, and w.cu .. ing them, ruh.,- fum blindly imitating the , .. ch.r or doing things by rote.

2. f<l<i!if<lf< ",rh.,. dum directltaming. Eifea;, .. "",hers design .iruation. that allow studtnu to l,"n by doing. These oinutions promote studenU' thinlting and dis· covery. Teache .. ti.! .... , watch, and question .tudents to help them gain btUtt undemmding. Ask rekvmt question. to "imulate their thinking and ask them to aplain th.i. an.we ....

3. eolllUkr the child's knowledge and kwI <if thinking. Students do not rome to cw.. with empty huds. They have many ide ... bout the ph~ical and natuu] world. They haw concepts or 'pace, time, quomity, and causality. Th ... id ... diff .. from the idea. or ,dult .. Teach.,., need to inlttpre1 whot. ,tudem is saying and .e.pond in a mode of diocourse that is not too ror from th.,tudem·, level.

4. U .. ongoong ....... ment. lndividuolly constructed m.anings cannot be measu.ed by SlOnda,dized tests. Math and language portrolio» (whkh conlain worl: in progress as "'en as finished products), individual conferences in which srudents discUS$ their thinldng , u ot'Si ... and written and ve.bal explanatio ... by $luoknt. of their reasoning can be u .. d to ... -aluate Pr<>grffi.

5. PromOf< tho ""dent's inuJltauaJ htallh. When Piaget came to l(C!u,.. in the Uni'ed Slates. he was:ul:ed, ·Wh.t can J do to get my child to a higher cognitive .uge >oone.l" He was .. ked !hi> question SO ofim he,.. compared with oth .. counuies thaI he called it the American question. Fo. Pioget. child.en',learning should occur n.tunDy. Children should nol be pushed and pressur<d inlO achiffing tOO much too e.rly in .heir dtv<':lopmrnl, before they Ole ma:ur4tionally .eady. Some parent, .pend long hours ~. day holding up large flash cord$ with words on them to imp'o'" their Nby'. voc:abulary.ln the Piagetian view. this i< nOl the best woy for infants to learn. It place> toO much emphuiJ on .peeding up intellectual develop­ment, invol>-.. pousive le.ming, and will not work.

6. Turn tho dawwm onfO ~ .. !Ting of exploration and discovtry. What do actual cl ... • tOOm. look liI:e wh.n th~ leoche .. adopt Piaget'. vi ........ ! Several first· and second­grad~ math dusroo .... provide ""m. good eumples (Kamii, 1985, 1989). The t~che .. emph .. ize 5Iude-ou' own exploration and dUroyery. The dustOOTtU:lte 165 structut.d than what we think. of os. typical cl .... oom. Workbool:i and pre· determined ... ignments a .. not u .. d. Rather, thetuchm obse"'~ the "uokn'" in'~"'U and natural porticip~tion in activities to det~rmine what the cour .. or learning will be. Fm example, a math 1'",,0 might be coostl1.1Ckd around countin~ the day's lunch money or dividing .upp~es among ,tudents. Ofien gam .. are prominently wed in 1M dus,oorn to .timul~te m.th~rn.tical thinking. For .:urn· pie, a '"CT.ion of dominoes teaches childr.n about .... en -numbt:r.d combinations. A variation On ti~·t"'·toe invoh-es replacing Xs Ind 0. with numbe ... Teache .. encourage peer interaction during the k""ru and games be<:au" "udeo'" different vino.-pointl can contribute to .dvan= in thinlcing.

Piagel'. U not the only thoory of <hildron', cogIliti"" de"dopmrnt Anoth .... th.t has ,tc6"rd incr • ...d .ttention in =nt ru'" was prppoSt<i by W Vygauky,

Vygotsky's Theory like: Piaget, the Ru .. ian Lev Vygotsky (18%-1934) also b.:li.ved that <hijdron ac\;"'dy construct thei, knowledge. \)'gol$ky was born in Russia in th ... me year as Piagt1 w .. born, but h. dird mud! younger than Piagt1 did, at tho .g. of thirtr·$O\~n. Both Piaget', and Vygotsley', id.as remained vinuaUy unknown to American !Chola" for manyyeor s, b.:ing introduced to American ""dienc<$ through English trarulotio!l5 in the 1%0<. In the last $0\· .. 01 dtcad<$,Amrtican psychologists and educators h., ... hown increased in· t ... 01 in Vygouky'. (1962) views.

Vytotsky"J Assumption$ Thr.e claim. capture the hean ofVygot5ky'. view (Tap­pan, 1998): (I) The child's cogniti"" skill. em b.: understood only whm thory are de­vdopmentally analyud and interprned; (2) cognitive ,Itills arc mrdi.trd by words, language, and fonm of discou!"$<", which st1"Vt .. psychologiciltool. for facilitating and traruforming m.nlalaaivity; and (3) cognitive WIls ha"" their origitu in soci.IJ rolotions and are embedded in •• odocultural backdrop.

F¢r Vygotsl<y, taking a dN.lopm.ntal appr<)l.ch meanl understanding the <hild', cogniti>'C functioning by exomining it> origins and tran,formatioM from earlirt to later fomu_ Thus,. particular menIal act .uch .. using inner.p«<h (0« p. 52) cannot be viewed accutately in i<olotion hut .hould be ,,-o1uated as a st.p in. gradual dewlop­mental process.

Vygot5ky'. >tcOnd claim, that to understand coguiti, .. functioning it i. necessary to onmine the toot. that media\( and shape it, led him to b.:lievc that longo.ge i. the most imporlont of the>t tools (Robbitu, lOOI). Vygotsky ~rgoed th.t in arly childhood, lan­guage begins to be wed as • tool that help> the child plan activiti<$ ond solve problem'-

Vygotsk/s third claim was that cognitive .kill. originate in "",io1 .. lations.nd cu!_ tut<. Vygotsky pertrl)'rd th~ child', development .. insep.rabl~ from soci.IJ ond cultural activities (HoUond & others., 200 l; Rowe & Weruch, 2004). H~ believed that the d" .. I­opmem of memory, oll...,lion, and roasoning involve-s learning to use ,h. inventions of society, ,uch as language, ..... th.m.ticil '}'ltem., and m~mory ,trlt.gies. In on. culture this could comist of leoming to count ".ith the help of a computer; in another it could conli$\ of counting on on.', fingers or m ing b •• d •.

Vygouky'. theory has .timulated considerable intere>t in tM vkw that kn",,1edge is situalM ond collaborative (Roqoff, 2003; Tudge &; Scrirmher, 2003). That is, knowledge i. dilaibu,ed among people and en,ironm~nt>, which induM objtcts, artifacts, tool$, book.>, and tho ",mmuniti .. in which people live.1bis suggesa that knowing can best b.: ad,'.nced through interaction with otheT! in cooperati"e ac!iviti ...

Within the>t bl$ic daim., Vygotsky lrticulated unique ond influential ideas aboul the relation between le.ming and de\"lopmenl. Th.se id ...... peciilly rofi~t his view that cognit"" functioning has soci.IJ origins.. One of1l)-gotsk/. unique ideas".as hi. con­cept of the zone of proximo! de\ .. lopm(nt.

Th. Zone of Proxima l Development Zon e of proximal d"" lopment (ZPD) is Vygotsky'. torm for the range of taW that arc too difficult for children to ..... ter alone but th.t em be le.med "'ith guidance .nd assistance from adults or more-skilled chU ­dren. Thu" the lower limit of the ZPD i. the 1 ..... 1 of problem wiving reach.d by the cltild working independ.ntly. Th~ upper limit i. the l.vel of additional rrspomibiliry the child can accepl with the assistance of an .bl~ instructor (see figuro 2.12 on page 52), Vygotsky'l empha,is on the ZPD undeTscore! hilbelief in tho impeTlance of -IO<i.al in­fluences, <$pecialIy ilUlruction, on children', cog.niti'" development (H ...... , 2001 ).

Vygotsky (198;) gave this exompl~ of how to .. sess a <hi!d'. ZPD: Suppose that, by an intelligence lest, the menul age of two children is detumined 10 be ... ghl years. With V)'gOtoky in mind, we can', stop there. To go on, ""e ..a 10 delermine ho". each of the",

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children willatt.mpt to solve problems munt for oldtf chi!" dren. W. '$SLsI each child by demonstrating. a.lting luding que.tions, Ind introducing the initiil elements of the solu ­lion. With this help or oollaboration with the .duh, one of th..., children solves problelrn at the leY.! of. tw~lv •• ) .. ar_ old child and the other $01\'0$ problems at th.l .... el of a nin~­~r...,ld child. Thi. diff~ .. nce between the drildren's mental ages and the lev,,[ of p",forman.;e thoy "hiev. in collabora ­tion with iUI adult defines the zone of proximal development Thus, the ZPD in""!>",,, the child', cognitive d:iUs that 'r< in the process of maturing ond his or her performance 1" .. 1 with the ... i,tance of a more-sltilJ.W person (Panors);.,., 1999). Vygouky (1978) ... lIed the.., the "bud,· or "flowersH of d", .. l· opmon!. to di.tinguish them from the "fruit." of d" .. lop ­ment, which the child alread.,. can Icwmplish independently. An application ofVygot,ky'. concept of the zone of protimal development is the one·on-one tutoring provided by New Zeal;lnd teach",. in the Rtading Rewvery program. Tutoring begins with familiar work, gradually introducing unf.mili., aspect.< of reading otrategi .. , iUld then p .... ing increa>ing control of the activity to the child (Cl.y &: a.~den, 1990).

VygOlsky'. zo,,< of proIimol dovelopm<nt h ... a 10"", Untit and on

upper limit. Tcla in the ZPD or, tOO difficult for the ,hild to pelform alone. fur «qui" ... im.nee from an adult or a ",o«-M'" child. AI children Up<rirnc< tho , .. ,\>21 .... truction or demorutrotion, thq organm the info""ahon in th,i, .ruling m.n'oJ ,UUClum,'" !My can ..... ntu.ally porfo'm the skill Or taU a1o,,<.

SCilffoldlnll Closely linkd to the idea of zone of proximal development .. the concept of ocaffolding, a techniqu .. of changing thel""d of support. Over the course of a teaching session, a mo, .. ·skiUed person (teacher or more·.dvanced peer of the child) adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the student'. current performance levtl. \\!hen the !;uk the lIu·

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dent .. learning is new, the more·skiUed person might use direct instruction. As the student's competence incruses,le$.$ guidilIlce is giyen.

Dialogue i. an important 1001 of scaffolding in the rone of proxim. l d.yelopm.nt (John-St.iner &: Maho, I ')%~ Tappan, 1998), Vygotsl<y viewed children .. having rich but unsystematic, disorg""iud, and spontaneous conctpts. Th ... m<et with the <killed help .. '1 mOre s)'Stema~ic, logical, and rational concept., As a re.uh of the meeting and dialogue ~t\o,'een the child and the .killed helper, the child'. concept.< ~me more ')'$' \emati<;, logical, and rational. We will have much more to say &oout >co/folding and other social int".ctive upect. of learning in chapter 10, fiSocial Constructivist Approach,,:

LanlluilIlle and Thouct.t vY!lot>ky (1 %2) ~~ewd that young children U$e language nol only for social communication but .1>0 to plan, guide, and morutor their ~h.vior in a self-regulatory faIDion. The use of langu.ge for ,,,If'regulation is ca.lled inner speech or priva\< 'peech. For Pi.get, printe 'peech w ... egocentric .nd immature, but for V)'!!otsky it " .... an important tool of thought during the ~arly childhood year' .

V)'!!Otsky believed th.tlanguage ond thought initially d""lop independently of each other and then merge. He said that aU mental function. haw external or ooci.tI origin •. Children mu.t use language to communi"te with others before they can focu, in",ard on their OWn thoughts. Children :ilio must communi,"\< e:<\<maUy and use language for a long period of time ~fo .. the transition from external to internal 'p"ech tous place. This tramition period ocrur. J:>et.,. .. en the og .. of three and seven and in""!>",,, talking to oneself. After a while, the self·talk ~m .... cond n.turtte children and they can act "ithout verbalizing. When this occurs, children haw internalized their egocentric $poech in the form of inner sP""ch, which become, their thoughts_ VY!lotsky ~lie.,..d that chil_ dren ",ho use a lot of private speech ore mo .. socially compet.m th.n those ",ho don·t. He argued that pri",t. 'p"ech "p" .. nt.< &0 e .. ly transition in becoming more sociall) comrnunicati.,.. (Shamier & Tzurid, 2(04).

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Vygotsky', view chaUenged Piaget', ide~s on language and thought. Vygotsky said 1tlanguage, even in its earli .. t form" i, .ocially b>S<'d, wh.,..,., Piaset empha,iud u.ng children's es<xentric and non><xi.l 'peech. For Vygot<ky. when young child"n

ik to th=><h~ they are using language to govern their behavior and guide the~" whereas Pi.get believed that such ..Jf-ulk reflects immaturity. Researche" h" .. found ,upport for Vygotsky', '·i ..... of the positi, .. role of privale.p«<:h in children', d~ .. lop_ men! (Win,ler, Diu, & Montero, 1997).

Theory

I. Vs. rh_ ""n. of proxi"",1 d<vdopm<m. re.ching .hould btgin toward the zone, upper limit, ,,1>ere the .tuden! i< able to <tach the goal only through close collabo­ration with lh. imtructor. With adequate continuing instruction and practke, the , tudent organius and ma,len the behavioral oequences required to perform the target .kill . .... the in'truction conlinue., the performance tr~e" from the teocher to the student. The te. cher gu dually reduce. the explanatiOn>, hinl', and demonstralion, until the ,tudent i. able to perform the .kill alone. Once the goal is achie>'ed, it can become the foundation for the devtlopme:nt of .. new ZPD,

2. VI' ,caffolding.look for opportunitiO$ to use IClffbldiog when .tudents neM help with .. If-initiatN learning activitb (Elid, .. r, 1996). Abo uSe ocaffolding to help ,rudent. mo, .. W a higher level of ,kiU and kno ... itdge. Offer jWI eDough ." is­lanooe. You might ask, 'What can ! do to help you?" Or simply observe th. ,tudent', intention. and 'llempts, .moOlhly providing .upporl when neMed. When the student hesitates, offer encouu gement. Encouuge the .tudent to practice th, ,kill. You may watch and appreciate lhe ,tudent'. practice Or offer .upport when the ,tudent forgol1 what 10 do,

3. U~ mort-,ki/I,d pur> as f<ach ..... Remember that it i, not jillt adults thaI Vygotsky btlie"ed are important in helping students le~rn import;ml Mtill •. Students also benefit from the .upport and guidance of more -okill .. d students. We "ill say mOre ~bout the role of pten in t,.ching iD chapter 10, "Social Constructivist Approach .. ; including pet,.. as tuWrs.

4. En,o~rag, ,o(laborariv~ (",,,,ing and rtwp'iu IMt learning involva a ,omrnuniry of learn ..... Both children and adult. eogage in learning .aivitie, in a collaborative Wiy. P.,.,.., teachers, p~reots,1J1d other adults work wgether in a commuDity of learne,.. ralh .. than the child learning as an isolated individoal (Rogoff, TurbDi" & Banl<l1, 2001).

5. Ccnsodc- tht cultural (Qntut ofleaming. An imponam funaion of education i< to guide children in learning the 0011. lhat are important in the culture in which they live.

6. Manitor ani ertC<l~roge childrtn', I<$t of pri"",. spt«h, Be iware of the developmen, tal change from txternally talking to oneself when ",Iring a problem during the pre!dtool yan to privately talking to on ... lf in the early elementary "hoo! )".'" I~ the elementary "hool years, encourage Itudents to internalize ;md self-regulate their talk W them .. lv ...

7. M''''' the ZPD, nOIIQ. Lih Piaget, Vygotsky did nol believe th.t formal, ,t;mdard, ized t .. ts are the belt wa)' to .ss ... children', le.rning or their readinO$' to learn . Rather, Vygotsky argued that aSSO$$m.nt should focus On determining the .lUdent's lOne of proximal d,,·e!opment. The OO11td helper present< the child ,,~th la!k.. of varying difficulty to determine the be.t l~"I .t which to begin in'truction. The ZPD is a measure oflear~ing potential. IQ, also • measure of learning poleD-tial. em phasize' lhat intelligtnce is • property of the child. By contr .. t, ZPD

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emphuites th~t le""cing i.s inlerp<:no:uL It i.s in.pprop:iate tG say th.t the child ·has' a ZPD in the ume sense that the child might "h" .. ' aniQ.

We have disctwed a number of ide ... aboul both Pilget'. and Vn0tsky', theories .nd how the theories <;lI\ be .ppliod tG the education of children. To ~oI.U.ite how you might apply their theori .. to your own cl .... ··oom, complete Sdf·A.ssessme:lt 2.1.

Eniulitine lind Comp;lrinl Vyeouky', lind Pilleet'. Th.ories A""ueneu of Vy-gotsk;'. theory- come Later than fo, Pi~et'. theory, to Vygotsl<"/' theof}' h., not yet been e-"llhuted is thoroughly. HOWt"Ver, it.madyhu wn embraced by many teachers and successfully applied 10 education (Doolittle, 1997). Vy-gouky'. vi.,..,' of the impor­lance of sociocultural influences on children', development fiu with the current belief th.t it is impon&nt to ..,'ahate the contextu.1J factors in learning. Howevu, criticism. of his theory Wo ha, .. =..-ged. For example, some critics say he ove,...mphuiul the .ole ofbnguage in thinking.

We already ha, .. "'<Dtioned KV«a! comparisoM ofVygotsky'. and Piaget'l theories, .uch u V)"8ouky'. e",phasi.s on the importance of inner $p«d! in devt!op=nt and P;aget'l view that .uch speech is immatur •. We Wo said tulier that both Vygouky'. anc Piaget'. theories ore constructivist., emphasizing that chiIdrm actively construct knowl­edge and undernanding u th.r thon being pl<.Ii~ fKtptacl ...

Although both theori .. .,.. conmuctivist, Vygouky'a is • IOciaI. corutructivi,I approlch, which =ptwiul the $<XW contexU ofl.aming .. .,d that knGWledge is mil.· tuoUy built and corutructed. Pilget's theory d<>es not h,," this .trong social emph ... is (Hogan 8c TooV', 1999). Moving from Piaget 10 Vygot.lky, the roncoptuil shift is from the individwtl to c.oUabontion, IOci.al interaction, and sociocultural activity (Rogoff, 1~8). Fo' Piaget., child= COnstruct kn"",1edge by transforming, org.>.~iz;ing, md reorganizing prMou, knowledge. For Vy-gotsky, children construct \:;r:.".1edg. through $<XW interac·

tion with omen. The implications of Piaget'l theory provide .upport for t.aching strat­egies that encou .. ge chi.ldrt-n to explore th.ir "",rld and discover knowledge. The main implication ofVygouky'. theory for teaching;' that "' .. mould es\:I.bfuh many opportu · lities for .ruciml$ to learn with the teacher md more·skilled poem. L~ both Pi.aget" and Vygotsky', theQri.s, !ticher! serve u facilitators iIJId guides rather thaD directors and molders oflumiog. Figure 2.l3 c.omplnS Vygouky'. iIJId Pilget'. theori ...

In OUI co, .. ng' of cognitive development, we have focused On the V;CWl of tWO giants in the field.: Puget and VygOI$\:y. However, informotion processing a1>o hu emerged u an important peupectivc in undetltandi."g o;hildrtn', cognitive devt\op:o<nl It emph .. iuI how information enters the mind, how it is stored md tran.formed, and how it i. r.rr;e--ro to perform memal activiti", such ..s proble",- ",Iv'.ng...,d re..or.i<>.g. II abo foOll" o~ how auoolmticaliy and quickly children process information. B .... use information p,O«$$ing will be: = .. rd =.",ively in cil.opltrs S and g, "' .. ha, .. only mentioned it briefly her •.