What is Cognitive Development?
Cognitive development is the development of cognition, and cognition is your thoughts and ideas. People who study cognitive development study how the mind works. As children get older, it's easier to know what they think because they are able to tell us. The area that we are still trying to understand more and more is how and what babies think. Some researchers, like Alison Gopnik, are making progress on this difficult process. In the link listed below, Ms. Gopnik shines some light on the way babies think, and the fact that they are very much so capable.
Babies and Thinking: http://www.ted.com/talks/alison_gopnik_what_do_babies_think.html
Theories of Cognitive Development
Many of the theorist studied cognitive development, including Piaget and Vygotsky.
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory- Four stages of development according to Piaget.
1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years)
2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years)
3. Concrete Operations Stage (7-12 years)
4. Formal Operations Stage (12 years and older)
Vygotsky's Cognitive Development Theory- Vygotsky came up with three ways in which ideas can be transfered from teachers (or anyone who is teaching a child) to the child.
1. Zone of Proximal Development- a way of testing the child in order to find out where they are at, in order to better help them learn in the future
2. Scaffolding- similar to scaffolding while building, teaching scaffolding is teaching students a little bit of a time and adding on to a subject little by little until they know the student can "stand for themselves"
3.Private Speech- defined as talking to oneself, often out loud, in order to guide one's own actions (Levine & Munsch 249). This is more common in children, but is a very important aspect of cognitive development because it causes children to talk things through.
Other Important Terms and Concepts of Cognitive Development
Cognitive development is the development of cognition, and cognition is your thoughts and ideas. People who study cognitive development study how the mind works. As children get older, it's easier to know what they think because they are able to tell us. The area that we are still trying to understand more and more is how and what babies think. Some researchers, like Alison Gopnik, are making progress on this difficult process. In the link listed below, Ms. Gopnik shines some light on the way babies think, and the fact that they are very much so capable.
Babies and Thinking: http://www.ted.com/talks/alison_gopnik_what_do_babies_think.html
Theories of Cognitive Development
Many of the theorist studied cognitive development, including Piaget and Vygotsky.
Piaget's Cognitive Development Theory- Four stages of development according to Piaget.
1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years)
2. Preoperational Stage (2-7 years)
3. Concrete Operations Stage (7-12 years)
4. Formal Operations Stage (12 years and older)
Vygotsky's Cognitive Development Theory- Vygotsky came up with three ways in which ideas can be transfered from teachers (or anyone who is teaching a child) to the child.
1. Zone of Proximal Development- a way of testing the child in order to find out where they are at, in order to better help them learn in the future
2. Scaffolding- similar to scaffolding while building, teaching scaffolding is teaching students a little bit of a time and adding on to a subject little by little until they know the student can "stand for themselves"
3.Private Speech- defined as talking to oneself, often out loud, in order to guide one's own actions (Levine & Munsch 249). This is more common in children, but is a very important aspect of cognitive development because it causes children to talk things through.
Other Important Terms and Concepts of Cognitive Development
- Attention and memory both become more advanced as the child ages.
- Problems with attention include disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. To learn more about ADHD, follow this link: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/index.shtml
- executive function- the aspect of brain organization that coordinates attention and memory and controls behavioral responses for the purpose of attaining a certain goal.
- metacognition- the ability to think about and monitor one's own thoughts and cognitive activities (Levine and Munsch 257)