Piaget's Theory of Development - Essay Example

Piaget Theory of Development Jean Piaget did not start his career studying the mental development of children. He began learning of children and their thinking patterns when conducting research. Based on cognitive principles, he theorized more intellectual development happened when a child, or adult, did not have a frame of reference for the experience. Tying our development to how we handled a new situation was critical in his work. Assimilation of the new experience into our life was the weakest part of cognitive development according to Piaget. His work stated by not being able to adapt our current experiences with anything was the true growth in our intellect. Accommodation of new experiences into our ideas of the world produced significant mental development. When unable to frame the experience based on our current ideas, we must change our ideas in order to accommodate the new experience. Leaps and bounds in cognitive ability happen in this time according to Piaget. Four stages were used as a tool in Piaget's work with children. They are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Each stage is also related to an age period. Sensorimotor is from birth to two years of age, where a child uses sensation and movement to learn about their surrounding world. A world based on objects directly above and around them, and they adapt to new places by what they have learned with touch, sound, and sight. From age two to seven, pre-operational, is where language gets integrated, and questions abound. Now the ideas they had about the world are expanded with further understanding by words being assigned to things, explanations of new items, and movement again to further experiences. Concrete operational is when children can think about what an item or object can be by using their current knowledge. Ideas begin to solidify during this period, happening in the ages seven to eleven. By the time the child is eleven years old, the logical reasoning is a permanent part of their being. In other mental development theories, synapses form quickly in infancy and prune themselves in the adolescent years. Piaget, however, believed in the formal operational stage, we as persons could think hypothetically of experiences and ideas. While his theory is the one I most agree with at this time, there is part of Margaret Donaldson's I think also plays a part in how we learn. That is the social aspect of the child's development. Interaction while learning was key in her theory, and helped in the functioning of a child's intellect. By hearing, seeing, and learning from another, a child learns how to use things, ideas and words in their proper context. I believe we learn a lot from both curiosity and the adults and people around us. Critiquing Piaget's theory when I appreciate and like many things about it is difficult. Jean Piaget, a pioneer in childhood cognitive development showed us being challenged increases our ability for mental growth. Stimulating conversations, actions that push us out of the comfort zones of our ideas, and being uncomfortable for a while can actually be beneficial to us. I find when my life is appearing a bit dull; there is a new experience that leaves me reeling not far behind the doldrums. My learning curve is sometimes straight up and assimilation is no longer an option. I have to adopt new ideas, new thought processes, and formulate new concepts of my world. Vygotsky, another developmental theorist, said children learn by apprenticeship with adults. They learn by watching and repeating by what they see socially. Caretakers guide a child's learning, and promote their intellect by having them do as they do. They present challenges in order for them to learn, and also offer assistance when they falter or are unable to come to an answer. Vygotsky has some parallels with Piaget though varies his approach with a more social aspect. Bruner, on the other hand, a constructive theorist, believed similar to Piaget in that children learned actively and based their new experiences on current ideas. His theory diverted from Piaget's in that child must be willing and able to learn. If they are not, they will not learn. The lessons presented to the child must be able to be easily understood and promotes theorizing of answers. The one fault found with Piaget's theory was its inability or unwillingness to incorporate the other aspects of human development into how the intellect grows. He focuses on the intellect from a cognitive aspect, and does not have any feelings or actions included in this theory. At least from a reading standpoint this is not clear. Jean Piaget's children learn by movement and senses but does not talk about how the children feel about these things. Piaget's theory showed we all are active learners, we learn by experiences. By using senses, motor skills to understand the world, we begin to move in order to make our world, our circle a bit larger. His theory, while incredible for his day, is lacking when it comes to modern day research. He could only observe the children in front of him - one child at a time. Now, with all the child development research with the testing of brain pattern, synapses forming, and age related development, we have more children being studied by more individuals. Information shared from country to country is helping to see children may obtain knowledge or skill prior to Piaget's time frame. They may also learn in other ways depending on the format of research. All of these theorists looked to Piaget to help them find new ways to observe childhood development. Piaget's, as I mention above, is my favorite; however, I would adapt it to include all physical aspects of the human self. Physical abilities, five senses, as well as emotions should be incorporated into research of childhood cognitive development. Emotional development is vital in a well-rounded individual, along with physical and mental development. Incorporating all modes of development at all childhood stages make well-developed children. My theory is that we learn with our entire body and not just our minds. Read More