CHAPTER 2

Cognitive and Language

Development

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Learning Goals
1. Define development and explain the main
processes, periods, and issues in development
as well as links between development and
education.
2. Discuss the development of the brain and
compare the cognitive developmental theories of
Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky.
3. Identify the key features of language, biological
and environmental influences on language, and
the typical growth of a child’s language.

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 Cognitive and Language Development

An Overview of
Child
Development

Exploring What Development

Development Is and Education

Processes Developmental
and Periods Issues

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An Overview of Child Development

Development: The
pattern of
biological,
cognitive, and
socioemotional
changes that
begins at
conception and
continues through
the life span.

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 Developmental Processes
Biological processes and genetic inheritance
 Development of the brain
 Gains in height and weight
 Changes in motor skills
 Puberty’s hormonal changes

Cognitive processes
 Changes in the child’s thinking
 Intelligence
 Language acquisition

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 Developmental Processes

Socioemotional processes
 Changes in the child’s relationships
with other people
 Changes in personality

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Developmental Issues

Nature-Nurture Issue

Continuity-Discontinuity Issue

Early-Later Experience Issue

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Development and Education

 Developmentally appropriate
teaching practices

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Cognitive and Language Development

Cognitive
Development

The Brain Vygotsky’s Theory

Piaget’s Theory

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Brain Growth

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 Myelination

Myelination
increases the
speed at which
information travels
through the
nervous system

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Brain Lateralization
…the specialization of functions in one
hemisphere of the brain or the other.

Verbal Nonverbal
Processing Processing
Spatial perception,
In most individuals, visual recognition,
speech and grammar and emotion
are localized are localized
in the left hemisphere. in the right hemisphere.

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 Piaget’s Theory
Schemes  Actions or mental representations
that organize knowledge
Assimilation  Incorporating new knowledge into
existing schemes
Accommodation  Adjusting existing schemes to fit
new information and experiences
Organization  Grouping isolated behaviors into a
higher-order system
Equilibration  A shift, a resolution of conflict to
reach a balance

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 Piaget’s Four Stages

Cognition unfolds in a
sequence of four stages.
• Each is age-related and
distinctive
• Each stage is
discontinuous from and
more advanced than the
previous

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Piaget’s Four Stages

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Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage

Coordination of sensory experiences

with motor actions
Object permanence involves the
realization that objects continue to exist
over time

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Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
Symbolic Function Substage

Symbolic Thought: ability to represent mentally

an object that is not present.
Limitations:
 Egocentrism: The inability to distinguish between
one’s own perspective and someone else’s perspective.
 Animism: The belief that inanimate objects have
“lifelike” qualities and are capable of action.

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The Three Mountain Tasks

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 Piaget’s Preoperational Stage
Intuitive Thought Substage

Intuitive Thought rather than logical thinking

Centration: focuses on one characteristic to the
exclusion of others

Lack of Conservation
Classification: ability to classify objects according to only
one characteristic at a time

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Conservation of Liquid

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 Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage
Logical reasoning replaces intuitive reasoning,
but only in concrete situations.
Conservation: The idea that some characteristics
of an object stay the same even
though the object might change in
appearance.
Classification: Coordinate several characteristics
rather than focus on a single
property of an object.
Seriation: Order stimuli along some
quantitative dimension.
Transitivity: Combine relations to understand
certain conclusions.
If A>B, and B>C, then A>C.
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Hierarchical Classification

When shown a
family tree of four
generations, the
concrete operational
child can classify
the members
vertically,
horizontally,
and obliquely.

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Piaget’s Formal Operational Stage

Abstract reasoning: think in abstract, idealistic,

and logical ways
Hypothetical-deductive reasoning: ability to
develop hypotheses about ways to solve
problems and systematically reach a conclusion
Adolescent egocentrism: heightened self-
consciousness and a sense of personal
uniqueness

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Piaget’s Theory
Teaching Strategies

Preoperational Manipulate groups of objects

Thinkers Reduce egocentrism
Draw conclusions and explain why

Concrete Encourage children to discover

concepts and principles
Operations
Assign operational tasks

Formal Propose problems and encourage

hypothesis formation
Operations
Suggest alternative approaches to
problems
Develop projects and investigations
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Enter the Debate
Should teachers allow preschool,
kindergarten, and first-grade students to
play for the bulk of their day?
YES NO

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Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism
Theory into Practice

Jennifer, James, and several of their classmates are

playing hide-and-go-seek during indoor recess one
rainy day. Jennifer carefully conceals her entire body
behind Mrs. Johnson’s long smock. In contrast, James
hides only his upper body behind a jacket hanging on a
hook. He giggles, sure that his classmates will never
see him.

Q: Based on the information given above, at which of

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is James most
likely operating? Explain.

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Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism
Theory into Practice

Mr. Jackson has a sand table in his kindergarten

classroom. He provides his students with many
containers of different sizes and shapes to play with
in the sand. He watches as his students carefully
pour sand from one container to another. One little
girl, Michelle, seems amazed when she pours sand
back and forth between two containers. The sand
always fills up one container and only half-fills the
other, yet the containers are the same height.

Q: Based on the information given above, what skill is

Michelle most likely developing? Explain.

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Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism
Theory into Practice

Mr. Welby teaches high school English. He always

asks his students to find the symbolism in the great
works of literature he assigns. Some students do this
with relative ease. For others it is a real struggle.
Many are only able to parrot back what he has told
them in class.

Q.1: At which of Piaget’s stages are those who

understand the symbolism in literature likely operating?

Q.2: At which of Piaget’s stages are those who cannot

understand the symbolism in literature likely operating?

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Piaget’s Cognitive Constructivism
Theory into Practice

Marsha refuses to go to school one morning because

she is having a “bad hair day” and is certain that
everyone will stare at her all day. Her mother assures
her that she looks just fine. However, Marsha races
back to the bathroom to attempt to fix her “awful
hair.”

Q: What would Elkind say is happening here?

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 Crack the Case
The Book Report

1. Drawing on Piaget’s theory, explain why

Cindy understood the book.
2. Based on Piaget’s theory, explain why Lucy
did not understand the book.
3. What could Mr. Johnson do to help Lucy
understand?

cont’d

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 Crack the Case
The Book Report

4. How could Mr. Johnson have presented

this assignment differently so that Lucy did
not need to rush through a book?
5. At which of Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development is Cindy operating?
6. At which of Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development is Lucy operating?

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Vygotsky’s Theory

Cognitive skills
 Can be understood when they are
developmentally analyzed
 Are mediated by words, language,
and forms of discourse
 Have their origins embedded in a
sociocultural backdrop

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Vygotsky’s Theory

Language and Thought

Develop independently of each
other
Have external or social origins
Scaffolding - Teacher adjusts the
level of support as performance
rises
Zone of Proximal Development

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Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal
Development
Tasks too difficult for child to master
even with assistance

ZPD
Tasks child can master alone
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Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism
Theory into Practice

Peter is having difficulty with his math assignment. His teacher,

Ms. Jacobs helps him work through the first problem step-by-
step. Peter begins to understand the concepts and begins the
other problems. Suzanne also struggles with the assignment.
However, even when Ms. Jacobs works through the first
problem with her, she still cannot grasp how to do the remaining
problems. Meanwhile, Clarice has breezed through the
assignment with no difficulty at all.

Q.1: What would Vygotsky say about the

assignment for Peter?

Q.2: What would Vygotsky say about the

assignment for Suzanne?
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Vygotsky’s Social Constructivism
Theory into Practice

Peter is having difficulty with his math assignment. His teacher,

Ms. Jacobs helps him work through the first problem step-by-
step. Peter begins to understand the concepts and begins the
other problems. Suzanne also struggles with the assignment.
However, even when Ms. Jacobs works through the first
problem with her, she still cannot grasp how to do the remaining
problems. Meanwhile, Clarice has breezed through the
assignment with no difficulty at all.

Q.3: What would Vygotsky say about the

assignment for Clarice?

Q.4: What would Vygotsky call the assistance Ms.

Jacobs gives Peter and Suzanne? Explain.

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 Cognitive and Language
Development

Language
Development

What Is
How Language
Language
Develops
Development?

Biological and
Environmental
Influences

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Language is …
…a form of communication, spoken, written, or
signed, that is based on a system of symbols.
Phonology Sound system of a language

Morphology Units of meaning involved in word

formation

Syntax Rules for combining words into

phrases/sentences

Semantics Meaning of words and sentences

Pragmatics Appropriate use of language in

different contexts

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Biological and Environmental Influences
on Language Development

Children are neither exclusively

biological linguists
nor
social architects of language.

Interactionists emphasize the contribution

of both.

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How Language Develops
Infancy

 Babbling
 One  two words

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How Language Develops
Early Childhood

Phonology Sensitive to sounds, rhymes

Morphology Overgeneralize rules

Syntax Complex rules for ordering words

6-year-old: 8,000- to 14,000-word

Semantics vocabulary
Talk in different ways to different
Pragmatics people

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How Language Develops
Middle & Late Childhood

Alphabetic principle: letter-sound

Phonology correspondence

Morphology Appropriate application of rules

Complex grammar; linguistic

Syntax awareness
12-year-old: 50,000-word
Semantics vocabulary
Culturally appropriate language
Pragmatics use

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 How Language Develops
Adolescence

 Increased sophistication in
use of words
 Greater understanding of
metaphors, satire, and
complex literary works
 Better writers
 Dialect includes jargon and
slang

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Supporting Vocabulary Development
Through Technology

Computers
 Relate the new to the known
 Promote active, in-depth
processing
 Encourage reading
Audio Books
Educational Television

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Piaget vs Vygotsky

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