development - piaget cognitive development theory

Question 1

piaget’s explanation of understanding the world

Answer 1

children develop through adaptation and learn through schemas

Question 2

how do schemas work

Answer 2

children fit things into new schemas, and as they experience more, they need to change their schemas and create new ones

Question 3

adaptation

Answer 3

using assimilation and accommodation to make sense of the world

Question 4

schema

Answer 4

plans and patterns formed about what we experience

Question 5

example of schema

Answer 5

classroom schema: board, chairs and tables, desk for teacher etc

Question 6

assimilation

Answer 6

incorporating new experiences into existing schemas

Question 7

example of assimilation

Answer 7

A young child develops a schema for birds flying and, seeing an aeroplane, calls it a bird

Question 8

accommodation

Answer 8

when a schema needs to be changed to deal with a new experience

Question 9

example of accommodation

Answer 9

the child sees that birds are alive so they change their “everything that flies is a bird” schema

Question 10

equilibrium

Answer 10

when a child’s schemas explain all that they experience and work

Question 11

how is intelligence developed according to piaget

Answer 11

intelligence is about building knowledge and skills
it is develop through building schemas via adaptation and through the 4 stages of cognitive development

Question 12

strength of piaget’s theory (x3)

Answer 12

• has practical applications, like in education
• discovery learning draws on this theory and allows children to learn at their own pace by building knowledge through schemas
• research often supports his ideas

Question 13

weaknesses of piaget’s theory (x3)

Answer 13

• did not look at the influence of social interaction and cultural influences
• relied on interviews and observations which may be subjective
• lack of validity due to unrealistic settings