Cognitive

Development
Basic
Cognitive
Concepts
 Schema Piaget used the term “schema” to refer to the cognitive structures by
which individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their environment.
It is an individual’s way to understand or create meaning
about a thing or experience

This is the process of fitting a new experience into an

Assimilation existing or previously created cognitive structure or
schema
This is the process of creating a new schema. If the sane child
now sees another animal that looks a little bit like a dog and
Accommodation say, “Look mommy, what a funny-looking dog. Its bark is funny too!” Then the
mommy explains, “That’s not a funny-looking dog. That’s a goat!” With mommy’s
further descriptions, the child will now create a new schema, that of a goat. He now
adds a new file in his filing cabinet
 Piaget believed that people have the natural need to
understand how the world works and to find order,
Equilibration
structure, and predictability in their life

Equilibration is achieving a proper balance

between assimilation and accommodation. When
our experiences do not match schemata (plural of
schema) or cognitive structures, we experience
cognitive disequilibrium.
The first stage corresponds from
birth to infancy.
• This is the stage when a child who is initially reflexive
in grasping, sucking, and reaching becomes more
organized in his movement and activity.
 Egocentrism. This is the
tendency of the child to only
see his point of view and to
assume that everyone also has
the same point of view
Stage 2. Pre-Operational Stage
Animism. This is the
tendency of children to
attribute human-like traits or
characteristics to inanimate
objects
Symbolic Function. This is the
ability to represent objects and
events
Centration. This refers to the
tendency of the child to only
focus on one aspect of a thing or
event and exclude other aspects.
Irreversibility. Pre-operational children still have
the inability to reserve their thinking. They can
understand that 2 + 3 is 5, but cannot understand
that 5-3 is 2.
 This stage is characterized by the ability of the child to
Stage 3. Concrete Operational Stage
think logically but only in terms of concrete objects

Decentering. This refers to the ability of the child to

perceive the different features of objects and situations
Seriation. This refers
Reversibility. During the stage of concrete operations,
to the ability to order
or arrange things in a the child can now follow that certain operations can
series based on one be done in reverse
dimension such as
weight, volume, or
size.

Conservation. This is the ability to know that certain properties of

objects like number, mass, volume, or area do not change even if
there is a change in appearance
Stage 4. Formal Operational Stage.
Deductive Reasoning.
This is the ability to
think logically by
applying a general rule
to a particular instance
of a situation.
Hypothetical Reasoning. This is the ability to
come up with different hypotheses about a
problem and to gather and weigh data in
order to make a final decision or judgment.
This can be done in the absence of concrete
objects. The individuals can now deal with
“What if” questions.
Analogical reasoning. This is the ability to
perceive the relationship in one instance
and then use that relationship to narrow
down possible answers inanother similar
situations or problems
 From Piaget’s findings and comprehensive theory, we can derive the following
principles:

Children will provide different explanations of reality at different stages of cognitive

development.

Cognitive development is facilitated by provided activities or situations that engage

learners and require adaption (i.e., assimilation and accommodation).

Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level of motor or
mental operations for a child of given age; avoid asking students to perform tasks
that are beyond their current cognitive capabilities.

Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges.