Piaget's Theory of Learning and Cognitive Development

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Hi,
Children are always children! Children have their own natural ways of learning different skills. It is almost impossible to force your children to learn different skills and techniques when they are too young. In fact, they cannot simply reason and comprehend like you. The reasons are obvious. The development of brain and its functions are rudimentary when your children are very young. It is so true even when your child is about five years old. Toddlers aged two to four years start learning the basics of thinking and cognition by reacting to the scenarios, objects and patterns around them.

Toddlers develop most rudimentary skills of thinking and cognition by using their sensory and motor organs. Perceptions, feelings and exploration will help your children relate their learning with the immediate surroundings. Hence, understanding the basics of cognition and thinking in your children is a topic of immense interest. Jean Piaget was a pioneer thinker and scholar who believed that children are lone scientists, creating their sense and meaning of the world around them. His educational theory forms a revolutionary part of child brain development and it helps parents and teachers to know how they can develop their children's or student's mind.

In some ways, it might look like understanding Piaget's theory is very difficult. However, it is not so difficult to understand the basic theory of cognition development and education. What you need to do is to read and understand the basics, so that you can start applying the principles one by one at your children's one learning pace. In fact, you may never wish to force your children to develop their learning process. Rather, the paced learning approach makes the whole learning process easier and simpler. Have a nice day!

Thought for today:
"Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction." - Annie Sullivan

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Piaget's Theory of Learning and Cognitive Development - Part I
Piaget is a legendary scholar who explained in great detail about how children use their brain to develop thinking and cognition. Though it looks very complex to us, it is rather very easy to learn and understand the basic theory of Paget. Piaget's theory makes lot of sense to those parents and children who want their children or students to be intelligent and smart.

Q1: Our daughter tested 99 percentile in both Verbal and Perceptual reasoning, however working memory was at 21%. The psychologist that performed the test stated that this was not an indication of her IQ yet our school is questioning her capabilities due to the working memory score. Is working memory speed any indication that she cannot handle a faster paced or more challenging class?

A: In general, working memory is our ability to store and manipulate information for a short span of time. It is commonly measured by dual-tasks - tasks where individuals have to remember an item while simultaneously processing another piece of information. For individual differences in the performance of working memory, this is quite closely related to a range of academic skills for instance reading, spelling, comprehension, and mathematics .... Continue to read Dr. Sandhu's answer on WISC IV - Low Working Memory Score here.

Q2: My daughter has had an IQ test at 5 and came out in the 96th percentile she then had an IQ TEST at 8.5 yrs and her IQ had fallen to the 84 percentile. She has been diagnosed with dyslexia and auditory processing disorder. Is it possible to have such a huge variance in the IQ TEST results?

A: At a glance, it does appear to be a rather significant drop but as one notes the circumstances, for instance, 3.5 year gap, her learning difficulties which may be more pronounced, and her condition when the test was administered indeed justify the results.

Processing speed generally refers to the varying speed with which individuals are able to perform cognitive activities such as the recognition of simple stimuli... Continue to read Dr. Sandhu's answer on Discrepancy in IQ scores here.

Q3: I have an 8-year old son who is a dyslexic and according to the evaluation report, he has an IQ of 138. I have been sending him for remedial classes and he is also receiving help in his English but yet he fails his English tests. I was told and informed by quite a few parents to get help from expert who is able to identify his gifted area and perhaps send him for the courses that he has more interest in it and excel better....

A: It is such a shame that he is struggling even with high IQ scores. Generally speaking, dyslexia affects fluent word recognition and recall, spelling and word decoding, and secondarily, vocabulary and reading comprehension. Therefore, it is no surprise that he is having difficulties in language... Continue to read Dr. Sandhu's answer on Gifted and Dyslexic here.

Thinking Goes to School: Piaget's Theory in Practice
By Hans G. Furth and Harry Wachs

This book makes an excellent reading for those interested in learning more than the basic techniques of vision therapy. Some prior knowledge in psychology and the visual system is helpful, but anyone can learn from and enjoy this book. This book is older than most, but I felt that the ideas suggested and theories discussed were relevant to today's therapy.

You can adapt certain suggestions to suit today's equipment that is more modern. This book proposes to show how children can be prepared to develop their full potential as 'thinking' human beings. The activities or 'games' described provide a general foundation that should help the child to deal successfully with specific academic subjects.

The Learning Theory of Piaget and Inhelder
By Jeanette McCarthy Gallagher and D. Kim Reid

The first compilation of research and concepts from genetic epistemology that directly addresses issues related to learning, The Learning Theory of Piaget and Inhelder emphasizes Piaget's biological model and the importance of regulatory mechanisms, rather than stage theory.

Consequently, the impact of feedback from observables in modifying the actions of a person engaged in an activity -- an idea not directly related to traditional learning theory -- is a key concept in this book. Furthermore, this text uniquely addresses Barbel Inhelder's important contributions to the Genevan School, particularly with respect to her empirical investigations of teaching-learning interactions and student strategizing.

Does High IQ Spell Success?
ABC News Oct 14, 2009

A typical 1-and-a-half-year-old might wake up his or her parents in the middle of the night asking for a drink of water or needing to be comforted after a bad dream. But Oscar Wrigley had more pressing things on his mind.

Two Eggs a Day Can Raise Child's IQ
Tempo Interactive Oct 6, 2009

Eating two eggs a day can help raise a child's IQ. Eggs can also make up for iodine deficiency, which is a problem experienced by many children living in mountainous areas. Nutritionist from Gadjah Mada University's Medical Faculty in Yogyakarta, Toto Sudargo, presented the result of his research to journalists yesterday.

Music enhances brain's ability to recognize sounds
Thai India Oct 25, 2009

Listening to music can significantly enhance human brain's ability to distinguish between various sounds, say researchers. While analyzing brain's electrical and magnetic signals, lead researcher Laurel Trainor, from McMaster University in West Hamilton, Ontario found that those with some training showed larger brain responses on a number of sound recognition tests given to the children.

A way to deal with frozen feelings
TOI Oct 27, 2009

Every child experiences all that happens around him with total awareness. In the first seven years, the child's brain is like a sponge, taking in all sensory inputs and building his idea of his surroundings. As long as the environment is safe, the child learns with incredible speed. However, when the environment is scary or stressful, the child unlearns past learning just as rapidly.

Playtime can build a child's penmanship
The Caller Oct 25, 2009

Many children struggle with their handwriting at ages 4, 5 or 6. This may not sound like a big deal but handwriting can signal a child's developmental progress, experts say. More kids are struggling with their handwriting now as opposed to 15 or 20 years ago.

Have you asked a question today?
Deccan Herald Oct 27, 2009

Consider the questions that most adults ask children: What is your name? Which class are you studying in? What do you want to be when you grow up? The answers are usually not important, because we ask these questions more to build a rapport with the child than to learn about her. What should one do if the answers are important?

Is Your Child Showing Signs of Stress?
News Blaze Oct 25, 2009

Does your student suffer from fear, nervousness or generalized anxiety? Today, more and more children are exhibiting considerable signs of stress, particularly with respect to education.

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