Cherub Ami Ruiz

Developmental Psychology

May 26, 2008

Assignment: Term Paper

Developmental Theoretical Perceptive: As a Guide in Child Development

There are no clear cut solutions as to guide and teach how children as noted in my previous assignments and class discussions. However, in analyzing a child’scognitive development, one must ask this question: Is cognitive development in children dependent on their level of understanding? Is it influenced by the complexity of societal interactions with children? In other words, should cognitive development be left solely to the individual initiative of the child or should adultsprovide supportive guidance and teachings?Personally, I believe that societal and cultural influences impact greatly on the cognitive development of an individual. The resources that provide appropriate and quality education may be scarce or abundant, depending on how society values child education. Furthermore, I do not agree with Piaget that the levels of cognitive development are constant or the same, universally. In addition, I propose that points from both Piaget’s theory on active learning and Vygosky’s scaffolding should be taken together to explain the cognitive development in these children. In active learning, the teaching methods may involve actual experiments, problem solving, field work and other mind-stimulating activities. The tools to be learned are geared to stimulate the child’s interest to enhance learning as a challenge or a mental adventure instead of being routinely and mechanical. I also think that educators should have more to encourage the children other than initiating active learning and providing supervision. These teachershaveacquired higher mental functioning and wisdom, empowering them to be qualified as guide to children to achieve success.Scaffolding may come into play; when the child’s level of understanding is tested by allowing him to perform a given task with no assistance. If the child’s performance is below par, the educator provides maximum assistance or “scaffold” whileperforming the task again with the child to achieve success. As the teaching progresses, the child’s level of cognitive maturity advances and the assistance provided by the educator is gradually tapered down to minimized effort.Finally, the child is assigned to perform the same task independently, expecting that this time, the outcome of the performance is positive.
Piagetian theoretical perspective tends to conform to a predetermined epigenesist’s way of thinking. His theory suggests that children are only able to develop cognitively based on already built schemas at a given level of development. This unidirectional theory implies that the genetic activity which is thepre-existing knowledge (schemas) that the child has, will determined his functional activity and cognitive maturation. Hence, cognitive development depends solely on the child’s schema: that one his own, the child can actively construct his comprehension of the world. According to Piaget, children are like “little scientists”, very active and curious creatures that are constantly in quest of making a sense of their world. In their pursuit of discovering theirsurrounding, they organize their schemas through adaptation to become abstract thinkers. As they grow, Children adapt to their worldby constant accommodation and assimilation. Accommodation is the process of modifyingold schemaswhile assimilation would involve integrating new information into existing structures.To Piaget, a child’s cognitive development is universal and follows the same route of maturity regardless of his cultural and biological background.

In contrast, Vygotskian developmental perceptive align with a probabilistic epigenesist viewpoint.It stresses that cognitive development in children relies mainly on the socio-cultural dynamics of the child’s external environment. Therefore, the child develops cognitively through his social interactions. Vygotsky was an activitist who studied human activities through the use of a mediator (e.g. tools and mental representation or a physical entity). The society or cultural encompasses one’s ability to determine what kind of tools that maybe available to him.He believed that learning leads to development when the child mastered the use of tools he is provided with.He also elaborates that activities may shifts depending based on the dominant goals in ones life and the tools available to access these goals. Tools that are internally orientated such as symbols and mental representation are created to control forgetfulness (memory) of the mind. The rest constitute the external tools designed to master and reconstruct ones physical environment.

Piagetian theoretical perception also leans towards a continuity theorist view.It explains that,old cognitive structures or schemas in children are not discarded with age but rather developed by incorporating or modifying other schemas into it.In other words, the schemas built at an early age of infancy would determine the child’s understandings of his world. He proposed four main cognitive developmental stages that each child must undergo. The first stage, development of sensori-motor schema, develops from birth totwo years old. Within this stage are six sub-stages as follows: a. Reflective Activity Stage (birth – 1month) where early schemas are modified and formed based on reflex deeds such as sucking, looking and grasping; b.Primary Circular Reactions (1- 4months) involves repeating behaviors that resulted in interesting self-centered outcomes; c. Secondary Circular Reactions (4- 8 months) which entails repetition of behaviors that resulted in interesting outcomes in the external environment. During this time, the child begin to search for objects that have been dropped or are partially hidden from his view; d. Coordination of Secondary Schemas (8- 12 months) where the child combine his actions to achieve a goal and search for hidden objects; e. Tertiary Circular Reactions (12- 18 months) where the child experiments with different actions to achieve a specific goal or observe the outcome. He may have the capacity to follow visible displacement of objects; f. Invention of New Means through Mental Combination (18- 24 months) involving mental representation and imitation of certain behaviors. The child is able to deduce the location of hidden objects without visual cues.When the child has satisfied these tasks, he proceeds to the next stage: Pre-operational stage.

The Preoperational child two to seven years old and can perform semiotic functions. With semiotic functions, the child is able to use symbols to represent ideas. The child may be able to mimic people’s reactions with distinct precision. The preoperational thinker, however, maybe misled by his perceptions of what is actually happening. This encourages egocentrism and the child is unable to separate hisobservationsfrom other people’s views.At this stage, the child lacks the mental capacity of reversibility. Hence, the child cannot overturn activities or perform simple conversion.

Mentally, upon completion of the second stage, the child moves on to the third: Concrete Operational Stage 7-11 year’s kids. In this period, the child is able to understand the concept of conservation; the child understands that despite physical transformation of objects to another form, some attribute remained the same: volume, number length or mass. The child can also comprehend the concept compensation in which two dimensions can replace each other. It involves the capacity of reversibility in one’s thinking and establishing relationships between objects. Furthermore, he can tell time, space, morals, family values, numbers, and class and quantity concepts.

The final stage is called the Formal Operational Stage (11years and older). At this stage, Piaget believes that the child’s thinking is both logical and abstract. The child can systematically deduce, evaluate and generate possible solutions to a given problem. According to Piaget, knowing the cognitive developmental stage of the child helps to know what challenges could be presented to them.

In addition, active learning provides deeper and more lasting understanding than learning mechanically by memorization (chew and pour). Therefore, Piaget urges educators to provide children with hands-on learning experiences to enhance their comprehension of subjects such as mathematics and science.

Vygotsky suggested that the zone of proximal should be adopted in teaching and learning to monitor the progress of the learner.

Vygotsky theory also differs from Piaget’s theory as it sides with a discontinuity theorist perception. This is evidenced in his view thathuman beings change their activities in accordance to their dominant or leadinggoals. Therefore, the tools used to execute one goal will not necessarily be needed for the other. He proposed that there are two main mental function needed to be develop cognition. The first, the Lower or Elementary Functions, are performing directly, unconsciously and involuntarily. These functions include reactive attention, associative memory and sensory-motor thoughts. These activities are regulated by the external environment and one has no control over. The second is the Higher Mental Functions which activities are preformed with focused attention, deliberate memory and symbolic thought. These higher functions are self-regulated and within ones control.

According to Piagetian developmental perceptive, there is no relationship between instruction (teaching-and-learning) and development. He explained that, the educator has a higher stage of cognitive development than the child; therefore, instructions from him would confuse the child and delay or obstructs his development. Piaget advises that the best thing for an educator to do is to provide supervision while allowing the children to initiate active learning on their own. The educator can also encourage children to socialize more with their peers; Piaget believed that peers with the same level of cognitive development can enhance faster development in themselves while they challenge (development of cognitive conflict) one another. In Piaget’s book, cognitive development is an individual affair and cannot be taught. The child alone can initiate self-learning unconsciously in his own time and pace.

On the other hand, Vygotsky emphasized that, the essential relationship between instruction and development. His view stressed the importance of society in developing the cognition of the child.

Together, these two theorists have presented viable points of view to promote the ultimate development of the mental capacity of the children. Takingthe best of both worlds

3)Case study I: Protagonist in Push

Precious Johnson was a teenager, born in Harlem. She lived in a shelter home with her mother, a dependant on welfare. She was surrounded by drug dealers, addicts and alcoholics. Her parents were child molesters and abusers. Her parents were not married but have an off and on relationship. She was molested physically, sexually, emotionally and psychologically by both of her biological parents. This resulted in her having two kids by her father. She had issues learning at conventional formal school. She cannot keep up with conventional education. She felt like a fish out of water both at school and at home. She resulted to bullying and acting out in class.

The role of education (teaching and learning)

At the onset, at the conventional or traditional educational set-up, ps 146, education played it a negative role in Precious’s cognitive development. There was no positive adult guidance in her case.. She developed inferiority complex and felt incompetent at that school. Her parents were such losers and full of hostility that she begun to internalize these negative behaviorsalso.

Later at teach one each one, learning became personally meaningful to precious. Miss Rain and her class put a positive spin in precious’s cognitive development. Precious learned the essence of learning and goal setting and became a totally different person. Shegradually took control of her life and situation and made the best out of it

Case Study II:Antonio Ruiz

Antonio Ruiz was born in the Bronx. High school drop- out, poor reading and writing skills but he is an excellent chef. Emotionally insecure and does not believe in unconditional love. He adores his mother but despise his dad. He keeps to himself a lot but can be very open.

The role of education (teaching and learning)

Education to him was domesticating and pointless. It felt like a waste of time because no matter how hard he tried, it seemed as if he was the only one who was not grasping teaching materials. He hated mathematics and writing. He turned to cooking because it made more sense to him. Cooking captured his interest and he could always tell when he had done something wrong. He can dissemble any electrical appliances and then assemble them back. He enjoyed the challenges such activities brings. He was not learning through just hearing or reading but was also learning through direct practices or hands on. He is a loner because he had learnt from experience as a protective shield or survival technique. In Antonio’s case, education must be through active learning and the material being taught must be practical and mentally stimulating.