infant education
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W5L2CognitiveDevelopment_2021.pptxCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT II
ECHE2180 | Penny Van Bergen
Lecture Outline
What is cognitive development?
Theoretical approaches
Piaget’s stage theory
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory
Information processing theories
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Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
A contemporary of Piaget’s
Focus: how culture, history and and society shape cognition
Belief: cognitive development occurs in social interaction with others
The Sociocultural Theory
Mental representations have ‘sociocultural origins’
Immersed in social and cultural context
Determines skills/information a learner should know
Developmental mechanisms:
Social interaction
Cultural tools (physical and psychological)
(… although inherited traits may play role)
Scaffolding
Adults scaffold child devt
Guide and support skills
Allow learner to practice
Learners come to internalise these skills
The Zone of Proximal Development
CURRENT LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT
POTENTIAL LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT
IF FACILITATED BY CAPABLE ADULT
Scaffolding within the ZPD best for internalisation:
Zone of Proximal Development
It is really important that we focus on the learning zone – don’t overwhelm students by pushing them further than they can go – even with help
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Example: Parent-child Reminiscing
Reminiscing is remarkably common in families
Requires memory and conversation skills
Must structure memories as narrative stories
Must adhere to topics deemed important
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(e.g. Bauer & Fivush, 2010; Fivush et al., 2006; Harley & Reese, 1999; Nelson, 1993; Wenner et al., 2008)
Parent structures memory narrative and encourages child’s contribution
Child practices skills at level higher than they are capable of alone
Memory skills are internalised over time (Vygotsky, 1978; Rogoff, 1990)
Reminiscing Techniques
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Highly elaborative
Detail, structure and form
Open-ended questions
Child-centred focus
Less elaborative
Repetitions of own input
Close-ended questions (?)
Adult-centred focus
High-Elaborative Scaffolding (Van Bergen et al., 2009)
Mother: … and you and Daddy put the Christmas tree up together, and then you put on decorations! What decorations decorations did you put on?
Child: Um… the Christmas balls!
Mother: That’s right! Daddy bought Christmas balls and stars to hang on the tree. What colours were they?
Child: Red and gold.
Mother: Red and gold. Pretty red balls, and gold stars.
Child: And there was the paper circles too.
High-elaborative vs. low-elaborative style
Stable across siblings
Stable across memory events
Varies across tasks (e.g. reminiscing vs. book reading)
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Less Elaborative Scaffolding (Van Bergen et al., 2009)
Mother: I’m going to ask you about your preschool Christmas concert. Was that good?
Child: Yeah
Mother: What happened there?
Child: Dad came
Mother: Yes, but what happened?
Child: I don’t know
High-elaborative vs. low-elaborative style
Stable across siblings
Stable across memory events
Varies across tasks (e.g. reminiscing vs. book reading)
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Influence on Child Memory (Reese, 2009)
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From age 2-3: mother elaborations child shared memory
From age 4-5: mother elaborations child independent memory
Thought and Language
Do you need language for thought?
Vygotsky says yes!
Debated within philosophy
Notion of private speech
Children often narrate their activities aloud
Over time, this becomes internal
Notion of language as a social tool
Language as a symbol by which we communicate with children
Adult phrasing – evidence of the ZPD – evidence we have impact on acquiring skills
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Vygotsky: Classroom Implications
Challenge learners to go beyond current ability
Provide scaffolding: guide learners, divide tasks up, gradually withdraw guidance
Have learners engage in ‘authentic activities’
Use groupwork and reciprocal teaching; establish a community of learners
(McDevitt & Ormrod, 2007)
Classroom Implications cont.
Lecture Outline
What is cognitive development?
Theoretical approaches
Piaget’s stage theory
Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory
Information processing theories
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Information Processing Assumptions
Information is actively processed in memory
Memory systems are functionally separate
Processing capacity is limited
Processing may be effortful or automatic
(Bjorklund, 2000; Bruning et al., 1999)
The Modal Model…
WORKING
MEMORY
LONG
TERM
MEMORY
ENCODING
RETRIEVAL
SENSORY
MEMORY
ATTENTION
Many information processing models proposed
The modal model = the common elements
The Modal Model (we come back to this when looking at memory!)
| MEMORY | FUNCTION | LIMITATIONS |
| SENSORY MEMORY | Registers sensory information | Duration of ½ sec (visual) Duration of 3 sec (auditory) |
| WORKING MEMORY | Organises information Rehearses information Discards information | - Capacity of 7 ± 2 - Duration of 20-30 sec |
| LONG TERM MEMORY | Stores information | - None known |
Automatic and Effortful Processing
Effortful processing = deliberate focus of attention
Also called controlled processing
e.g. “Citamotua emoceb nac gnissecorp luftroffe”
Automatic processing = no intentional effort
Occurs without awareness or choice
e.g. “Effortful processing can become automatic”
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Key tenant of information processing theory: processing can be effortful/controlled, or automatic
Effortful or Automatic?
Automatic processing advantageous
Does not interfere with other processing
Much processing already automatic
e.g. remembering you saw your friend at preschool
e.g. the meaning of speech
Practice leads from effortful to automatic!
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The Modal Model, the Computer, and the Brain
Limitations of the Modal Model
Suggests all processing is sequential
Over-reliance on the computer metaphor
Computer hardware is predictable and tidy
‘Neural wetware’ is noisy and unstable
Doesn’t represent the brain’s immense complexity
BUT, if taken as an abstract representation
of cognitive activity, then highly useful
What Develops Over Time?
Processing speed and efficiency
Memory capacity
Ability to guide attention
Use of memory strategies
Metacognitive control
General knowledge
Automatic processing
Conceptual understanding
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Classroom Implications
Information processing capacity is limited
Must be careful not to overload students
Information processing becomes more automatic with practice
Must allow time for automaticity to occur
(This doesn’t mean rote learning – just lots of engagement!)
More to come in our memory lecture!
Genetics, evolutionary psych…
More prominent as associated technology advances
Includes computational modelling of cognition
Educational implications
Information!!!!
e.g. on learning disabilities
e.g. on role of puberty
Look for brain-environment accounts
Environment constrains genetic expression
Bidirectional influences on cognition
What about neuroscience?
Environment constrains gene expression, brain development, and vice versa
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