DAYANA BINTI NAYAN

PSYCHOLOGY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT : PIAGET VS VYGOTSKY

WEEK 5 HOMEWORK

ASPECT General overview

PIAGET Children are largely in control of their own cognitive development.

VYGOTSKY The adults in a society foster childrens cognitive development in an intentional and somewhat systematic manner. *often referred to as sociocultural perspective because he emphasized on the importance of society and culture in promoting cognitive growth. Children learn culturally relevant ways to interpret situations from adult. Children of different cultural background will acquire different knowledge, skills and ways of thinking thus will possess diversity in cognitive development. Every culture passes cognitive tools (e.g: writing system, language) to children that greatly enhance their thinking abilities. Thought and language are separate functions for infants and young toddlers but become increasingly interdependent.

Basic assumptions

*sometimes referred to as constructivism because he proposed that children construct their own beliefs and understanding from their experiences. Children are active and motivated learners. Children construct knowledge from their experiences. Children learn through assimilation and accommodation. Active experimentation with physical world and social interaction are crucial for cognitive growth. Equilibration promotes the development of more complex levels of thought and knowledge (see Appendix B). Major neurological changes take place when children are about 2 years old, 6
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Complex mental processes begin as

DAYANA BINTI NAYAN

PSYCHOLOGY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

WEEK 5 HOMEWORK

or 7 years old and around puberty.

social activities. As children develop, they gradually internalize process they use in social contexts and begin to use them independently (internalization) Children can perform more challenging tasks when they have the assistance of someone more competent than they are. Challenging task promote maximum cognitive growth : Zone of proximal development (ZPD) Play allows children to stretch themselves cognitively. On such occasions, children may be talking to themselves rather than to others (known as self talk/private speech).

3 Interesting points Children age 2 until 6 or 7 (preoperational stage) exhibit egocentrism- inability to view situations from another persons perspective. Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development (see Appendix A) Provide hands-on experiences with physical objects/realia Ask students to explain their reasoning/challenge illogical explanations Relate abstract ideas to concrete objects and observable events.

4 Applying theory in teaching

Provide scaffolding for children to perform challenging tasks and gradually withdraw the support as they become more proficient. Do group works Give young children time to practice adult roles and behaviors through play.

DAYANA BINTI NAYAN

PSYCHOLOGY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

WEEK 5 HOMEWORK

Appendix A Piagets Stages of Cognitive Development

SENSERIMOTOR STAGE (birth until about 2 years old)

Schemes are based primarily on behaviors and perceptions, the child is focused on the here and now.

PREOPERATIONAL STAGE (2 until about 6 or 7 years old) Schemes are now represent objects beyond a childs immediate view, but the child does not yet reason in logical ways.

CONCRETE OPERATIONS STAGE (6 or 7 until about 11 or 12 years old) Adultlike logic appears but is limited to reasoning about concrete reality.

FORMAL OPERATIONS STAGE (11 or 12 through adulthood)

Logical reasoning processes are applied to abstract ideas as well as concrete objects.

*Scheme Organized group of similar actions or thoughts that are used repeatedly in response to the environment.
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DAYANA BINTI NAYAN

PSYCHOLOGY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

WEEK 5 HOMEWORK

APPENDIX B

EQUILIBRIUM

EQUILIBRATION

DISEQUILIBRIUM

EQUILIBRIUM

Children comfortable respond to new events using existing schemes.

Children encounter situations for which their current knowledge are inadequate.

Children replace, reorganizing or better integrating their schemes (through accommodation) to understand previously puzzling events.