Research Paper

Jabagchourian ChAD 170 3

Piagetian Task Assignment

35 pts

Assignment Description

This activity is an opportunity for you to try a Piagetian task described in the course with real children. You can work with children/adolescents of any age as long as the task you administer is age-appropriate based on Piaget’s stages. In this write-up you will explain the theoretical background of the task, describe the child or children who participated (age, gender, special characteristics), the task you selected and how you conducted the task. Finally you will describe any differences you found while administering tasks. You can choose to do this assignment in one of the two ways described below.

Option 1: Task Modification (One child needed – Administer task 2x)

Some researchers suggest that Piaget underestimated children's abilities because his tasks relied, to a large extent, on verbal abilities. In this option you should select and review a Piagetian task discussed in class or described in the textbook. Make note of the procedures, materials, and wording of all questioning Piaget used. Create a procedural modification to the original task that you believe may affect the child's capability of demonstrating that ability. You will administer the task twice, the first time using the original procedures as described in the course, then you will administer the task again using your modification to the same child. In your paper, you will describe your procedural modifications and the rational for the modifications, then discuss the differences you observed when administering the tasks.

Option 2: Child Comparison (Two children required – Administer task once to each child)

Select and review a Piagetian task discussed in class or described in the textbook. Administer the task (using the original procedures) to a child whose age is near the appropriate age range for the task (stage). Then separately, administer the same task to a different child (best if there is an age difference but can be same age). In your paper, you will discuss the differences you observed between children during the tasks.

Paper Format and Writing Guidelines

The instructions on the next page are written in the exact APA format you will be submitting your paper in (minus the double spacing). Your paper will be in the fashion of an empirical research article because it will be a mini study. You will use this format in all 3 papers in this course.

Some helpful hints to a good paper

· Read and takes notes before you write. When writing, do not have the readings next to you, just write using your notes. You still have to cite where the information comes from but you avoid plagiarizing and more importantly, you get a sense that you actually understand the theory rather than copy what other authors wrote.

· CITE Readings (DO NOT CITE LECTURE) Don't know how to cite? Check here: http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/01/writing-in-text-citations-in-apa-style.html

· Look over the grading rubric on the last page of this file before writing.

· Spend at least 5 minutes outlining each section of your paper to be sure you organize your thoughts. NO LONG PARAGRAPHS.

· Be sure there are transitions that connect the ideas in your paragraphs (helps your paper flow).

· Write as if you are writing to someone who does not know Piaget and his theory, define everything.

· Don't go overboard, be selective in what information you include. Select the concepts and details that fit in with what you did. This will help your paper flow and be concise.

· READ your paper before submitting. Edit & Revise.

· Double check that your paper was successfully submitted to Canvas. Click on the preview icon after uploading to be sure it was the right file, and the paper is complete.

On the next page you will see the format of the paper and what you should be writing. You need to include all headings appropriately as seen below.

Title (Provide a unique title that captures what you did)

Begin your introduction of your paper after your title. Your introductory paragraph should (1) introduce the topic of Piaget and his theory, (2) explain the significance of his use of tasks, (3) identify the specific task and cognitive ability/limitation you were testing, and (4) describe the purpose for your paper (tell reader why you writing this?).

The Background section of your paper should begin in a new paragraph after the introductory paragraph. In 1.5 to 2 pages organized in multiple paragraphs, you will describe, in your own words, the theory and important terms that relate to your specific task. Describe the abilities and limitations of the 2 stages that your task tests for. Be sure to define all relevant terms and cite your sources (for this paper the only source you need to cite is the textbook) (Siegler & Alibali, 2005). Your description of the theory should flow, meaning use transitions to connect one key idea to the next. Each paragraph in this section should explain one key idea. DO NOT describe all key ideas of theory in one long paragraph. DO NOT describe the procedures of the task in your background section, instead focus on describing the cognitive ability the task tests for.

End the introduction/background section with a final paragraph that explains your rationale for the modification of this task (if you did option 1) or your expectations of the results based on the comparison among children (if you did option 2).

Method

Participant(s)

Briefly describe the child/children you have chosen for this activity (include age, home language, school/preschool/day care experience – be concise). Include any information that may help explain the child's performance later on.

Materials (optional)

Briefly describe any materials you needed to create in order to administer the task(s) if needed. You do not need to describe ordinary objects like cups, playdo, strips of paper. If you created a 3 mountain model, it is probably best to describe it here. Modified tasks that you used unique objects should be described here.

Procedure

Briefly describe the setting in which you administered the task(s). Also describe the procedure for the task(s) and/or the modification you have developed. Describe the questions or probes you used.

Results and Discussion

In this section (organized in multiple paragraphs) you will describe (1) what the child/children did and how they performed. Pay close attention to describing their behaviors and what they say during the task including hesitations, changing their mind, and eye gazes as these are very telling behaviors to help you understand their thinking. (2) As you describe the results, interpret the results by relating your observations back to the theoretical ideas and terms you described in your background section (Cite again as you make connections to the theory). For example, you may say Billy stretched his arms out big while looking at transformed set of coins, then put his arms really close together when looking at the original line of coins showing that he was centering on the length (Siegler & Alibali, 2005).

(3) Make your comparison. Option 1 explain why there was a difference or why there was no difference in observations across tasks. Option 2 explain what differences there were among the children or why there wasn’t any differences. Your explanations should again relate back to ideas of the theory and should be cited.

(4) Explain if your results correspond with Piaget’s description or if they conflicted with what he would predict. Be sure to explain why especially if your results conflicted with his.

(5) End with a reflection – explain what you gained from this experience. Your explanation should be detailed and specific. What you gained should be beyond just, "I learned about Piaget's theory."

References

List references in APA style

**Include 1 picture of you administering the task or the task setup. Insert picture at end of your paper.

Piagetian Task Rubric

35 points total

_______ (5 points) Introductory Paragraph - 1 paragraph

· Introduced Piaget/theory, topic and purpose of paper (3pts)

· Described Piagetian task and ability you chose (1pt)

· Each sentence/idea flows in a logical way to the next sentence. (1pt)

_______ (15 points) Background/Literature Review on the Task - 1 ½ - 2 pages

This section is graded as a whole since there are many different ways to include the bullet points below. You will be graded on how well you do the following.

· Described the theoretical concepts embedded in the original task

· Described the stages and abilities relevant to the task

· Defines all relevant terms and gives examples to illustrate them

· Explained how task distinguishes children into different stages

· Uses transitions to connect ideas of the theory to show how the theory has a coherent organization.

· Explained rationale for modifications made (option 1) - what criticism do you have of the original task as done by Piaget and what you did to improve upon the task -or- (option 2) Explained why task was appropriate to compare the two children selected and what was initially expected

_______ (3 points) Method Section - 2 to 3 paragraphs

· Clearly described relevant information about participant(s) (age, language, schooling experience, any relevant information that may explain child's performance) 1 paragraph

· Clearly described setting and procedure for task(s) 1 paragraph

· Demonstrates through writing that the task was done correctly

_______ (12 points) Results & Discussion Section (1.5 pages)

· Gave clear description of how child/children performed for each task included revealing responses, questions, and explanations. (2pts)

· Accurately described what child's performance suggested about his/her cognitive abilities – connecting to theoretical terms. (4pts)

· Made a comparison across attempts/children and explained that comparison. (2 pts)

· Described how findings compare to Piaget’s descriptions/findings (2 pts)

· Student reflected on what they learned from assignment (2 pts)

· Attach picture at end of reference page

_______ Deductions

· Late turn in (see syllabus for late assignment policy)

· APA style Headings and Citations (up to -2 pts)

· Grammatical and spelling errors (up to -2pts)

_______ (35 points) Total

REMEMBER to include a picture of you administering the task at the end of your paper and upload your assignment to Canvas no later than the turn in date and time.

Double Check That the Upload Was Successful by Checking the File on Canvas!!! Incorrect files that are then corrected after the deadline will be considered late and incur the late penalty.