Piaget's Theory on Cognitive Development and how it relates to Early Childhood Education
According to Piaget, cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2013) . Children construct an understanding of the world around them, then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2013) . His theory is based around seven principles:
1. Children are active motivated learners
2. Children organize what they learn from their experiences
3. Children adapt to their environment through assimilation and accommodation
4. Interaction with the physical environment is critical for cognitive development
5. Interaction with others is critical
6.The process of equilibration promotes increasingly complex forms of thought
Equilibrium-state of being able to address new events using existing themes.
7. Children think in qualitatively distinct ways at different age levels.
(McDevitt & Ormrod, 2013)
According to Piaget, cognitive development is a progressive reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological maturation and environmental experience (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2013) . Children construct an understanding of the world around them, then experience discrepancies between what they already know and what they discover in their environment (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2013) . His theory is based around seven principles:
1. Children are active motivated learners
2. Children organize what they learn from their experiences
3. Children adapt to their environment through assimilation and accommodation
4. Interaction with the physical environment is critical for cognitive development
5. Interaction with others is critical
6.The process of equilibration promotes increasingly complex forms of thought
Equilibrium-state of being able to address new events using existing themes.
7. Children think in qualitatively distinct ways at different age levels.
(McDevitt & Ormrod, 2013)
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This video provides an example of Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Children's primary source of learning is through the development of schemes, assimilation, and accommodation. |
Aside from Piaget's seven principles, he focused his cognitive development theory around age appropriate stages. There are four stages, but only 2 are relevant to early childhood. The sensorimotor stage begins from birth to about age 2. While these are not the primary ECE years, they are still a very critical component of development. The preoperational stage begins about about age 2 and goes through 6. Below are the two stages associated with early education and an example of object permanence which is associated with the sensorimotor stage.
As children begin to explore and understand the world around them, their cognitive and language development begin to explode. Having children active and involved in some sort of ECE program during these stages is critical to their development. Social interaction at this time is more important than ever in regards to their cognitive development. Through social interaction children gain increased language skills and the ability to minimize their egocentric tendencies that are very high during the preoperational stage. Experiencing these stages according to Piaget will help children move to the next stages of development. While all children are different and development in their own way, play encouraged in early childhood education is crucial to growth and development. Care from parents, grandparents, and other family members is great, but nothing can substitute for the learning through social interaction that is acquired through some form of ECE. ECE programs provide opportunities for children to be kinesthetic learners through experimentation with physical objects, visual learners through observation of other children, and auditory learners through simply listening to those around them. Programs also allow for children to explore through problem-solving and asking questions. While these things can be accomplished at home, a school environment presents the ability to be more challenging and sophisticated and can provide more diverse methods for facilitating learning. The Primrose School provides an excellent look into and early childhood education classroom. There are several examples of student centered instruction with some guidance from teachers that helps to facilitate the students learning.