Educational Psychology

1. Educational Psychology:
Theory and Practice
Chapter 2
Cognitive, Language and Literacy
Development

2. Organizing Questions
• What are the Vygostkian and Piagetian theories of human
development?
• What are the ways you can set up your classroom to
promote literacy development in young children?
• What are the stages of language and literacy development
during the elementary and middle school years?

3. Development
How
People Grow, Adapt and
Change in their
LIFETIMES.
Through
Personality, Socio-
emotional, Cognitive and
Language Development.

4. Aspects of Development
 One of the first requirements of effective
teaching is to understand how students think
and how they view the world
 Effective teaching strategies must take into
account students’ ages and stages of
development.

5. Effective Teachers
Match Instruction to the Needs of their Children.
Must Take into Account the Ages and Stages of Development.

6. Issues of Development
• Nature-Nurture Controversy
• Continuous and Discontinuous Theories:
Continuous Theory of Development.
Discontinuous Theory of Development.

7. Issues of Development
Continuous: assume that development occurs in a smooth
progression as skills develop and experiences are provided
by parents and environment
- - emphasizes on the importance of environment
Discontinuous: focuses on inborn factors rather than
environmental influences to explain change over time
- environmental conditions may have some influences on the
pace of development but the sequence of development
steps is eventually fixed

8. Jean Piaget
Born: 9 August 1896
Neuchatel, Switzerland
Died: 16 September 1980
(aged 84)
Geneva, Switzerland
Fields: Developmental
Psychology, Epistemology
Known for: Constructivism
Genetic epistemology
Theory of cognitive
development,
Object permanence,
Egocentrism
https://youtu.be/IhcgYgx7aAA

9. Piaget’s View of Cognitive
Development
• Schemes
• Adaptation
− Assimilation
− Accommodation
• Equilibration
• Contructivism

10. Piaget’s View of Cognitive
Development
Schemes: mental patterns that guide behaviour
Assimilation: understand new experience in terms of existing schemes
Accommodation: modify existing schemes to fit new situations
Equilibration: the process of restoring balance between present
understanding and new experiences
o how children shift from one stage of thought to the next
o the shift occurs as children experience cognitive conflict =
disequilibrium in trying to understand the world
o eventually they resolve the conflict and reach a balance = equilibrium
of thought
Constructivism: view of cognitive development that emphasizes the
active role of learners in building their own understanding of reality

11. Piaget’s Stages of Development
Copyright © 2009 Allyn & Bacon
Some People Can’t Focus
S, P, C,F
Sensorimotor
Preoperational
Concrete
Formal

12. Piaget’s Stages of Development
• Sensorimotor Stage
(Birth to Age 2)
− Reflexes
− Trial and Error
− Planned Problem
Solving
− Object Permanence
− Goal Directed
Behavior

13. Piaget’s Stages of Development
• Preoperational Stage
(Ages 2 to 7)
− Conservation
− Centration
− Reversibility
− Focus on States
− Egocentric

14. Piaget’s Stages of Development
Object Permanence: the fact that an object exists even
if it is out of sight (cannot be seen)
Conservation: the concept that certain properties of an
object (e.g. weight) maintain the same regardless of
changes in other properties (e.g. length)
Centration: paying attention to only one aspect of an
object or situation  explains the error of
conservation
- focus on state not the processes
Egocentric: believing that everyone views the world as
you do

15. Piaget’s Stages of Development
• Concrete
Operational Stage
(Ages 7 to 11)
− Inferred Reality
− Seriation
− Transitivity
− Decentered
Thought
− Class Inclusion

16. Piaget’s Stages of Development
Inferred Reality: see things in context of other meanings (infer = to form
an opinion / guess)
Seriation: arrange things in a logical progression, able to order/classify
objects according to some criteria (e.g. smallest to largest)
Transitivity: ability to infer a relationship between two objects on the
basis of their respective relationship with a third object
Question: Ali is taller than Cheng and Cheng is taller
than Ramu. Is Ramu taller or shorter than Ali?
Decentered /Objective Thought: allow children to see that others can
have different perceptions than they do
Class Inclusion: think simultaneously about a whole class of object and
about relationships among its subordinate classes
- Whole class (children)
- Subordinate class (boys / girls)

17. Piaget’s Stages of Development
• Formal Operational
Stage (Age 11 to
Adult)
− Hypothetical
Situations
− Systematic Reasoning
− Monitored Reasoning
− Symbolic Thinking

18. Piaget’s Stages of Development
Formal Operational Stage - hypothetical situations,
systematic/monitored reasoning, symbolic
thinking
At this stage individuals think in more abstract,
idealistic, and logical ways
 Formal operational thinker can solve problem
when it is verbally presented
 Adolescents can develop hypotheses (ideas based
on known facts but have not yet proven) about
ways to solve problem and systematically reach a
conclusion

19. Criticisms and Revisions of Piaget’s
Theory
• Tasks Can Be Taught Earlier
• Exceptions to Egocentricity
• Earlier Mastery of Object Permanence
• Development Depends on Task
• Development Influenced by Experience

20. Criticisms and Revisions of Piaget’s
Theory
 One important Piagetian principle is that
development precedes learning
 developmental stages were fixed and
concept as conservation cannot be taught

21. Implications of Piaget Theory on Teaching
• Developmentally
Appropriate Education.
• Importance of Process.
• Active Learning.
• Self-Initiated Learning.
• Individual Learning Needs.
• Deemphasize Attempts to
Make Children Adult like in
Their Thinking.

22. Neo-Piagetian Views on Development
1) Type of Tasks Affects
Children’s Success w/ them.
2) Culture Impacts on
Development.
3) Cognitive Development is
viewed in terms of
specific types of
tasks instead of overall
stages.
4) Advanced stages exist:
a) Problem Finding
b) Dialectical
Thinking
Modify Piaget’s
Theory

23. Lev Vygotsky
Born: 17 November 1896
Orsha, Russian Empire
Died: 11 June 11 1934
(aged 37)
Moscow, USSR
Nationality: Russian
Field: Psychology
https://youtu.be/TA9GYqXzIhc

24. Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive
Development
• Key Ideas:
− Historical and Cultural
Contexts.
− Sign Systems.
− Cultural Tools.

25. Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive
Development
Historical and Cultural Contexts
 Child’s social and cultural environments foster cognitive
growth
 Adults interact with children, they share the language
(spoken, written), art, music, mathematical symbols
 Informal conversations are mechanism through which
adult pass along culturally relevant ways of interpreting
situations
Sign systems: symbols that cultures create to help people
think, communicate, and solve problems  speech,
writing, numbers

26. Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive
Development
• How Development Occurs
• Learning Precedes Development:
− Acquisition of Signs with Help of More Experienced
Others.
− Internalization of Signs.
− Autonomous Problem Solving (Self-regulation).

27. Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive
Development
Piaget : development precedes learning
Vygotsky : learning precedes development
Internalization: process through which learner gradually
incorporates socially based activities into his/her internal
cognitive processes (e.g. progression from self-talk to
inner speech)
Self-regulation: ability to think and solve problems without
the help of others (autonomous problem solving)

28. Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive
Development
• Private Speech
• Zone of Proximal
Development
• Scaffolding

29. Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive
Development
Private speech: children’s self-talk, which guides
their thinking and action; eventually internalised
as silent inner speech
 self-talk: process of talking to oneself as a way of
guiding oneself through a task
 inner speech: process of talking to and guiding
oneself mentally rather than aloud

30. Vygotsky’s View of Cognitive
Development
 For Piaget, private speech is egocentric/
immature
 For Vygotsky, private speech is an important
tool of thought during the early childhood
years
Vygotsky proposed children incorporate
speech of others and use it to help them solve
problem

31. Zone of Proximal Development
Zone of Proximal Development
Zone of Proximal
Development—Teacher
scaffolds learning and the
learner develops new
knowledge using
developmentally appropriate
learning tasks.
ZPD
Teacher and student—
interaction where the
teacher evaluates and
plans instruction.
Teacher learns what
the student needs—
sets goals.

32. Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory
Upper Limit
Level of additional responsibility child can accept with
assistance of an able instructor
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
Range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master
alone but that can be learned with guidance/ assistance of
adults or more skilled children
Lower Limit
Level of problem solving reached on these tasks by child
working alone or without assistance

33. Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory-Scaffolding
Learning New Skill
• Teacher provides a
high level of
support.
• Modeling + Practice
+ Feedback
Time Passes
• Teacher
gradually
releases the
learner.
• Learner
knows
MORE.
Extended Time
• Independent learner.
Like building a house—as the
learner becomes stronger we
remove support/scaffolds.

34. Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory
Scaffolding
 Closely linked to the idea of ZPD
 A technique that involves changing of level of support for
learning
 A teacher or more-advanced peer adjusts the amount of
guidance to fit the student’s current performance
Example: When a student is learning a new task, the skilled
person may use direct instruction. As the student’s
competence increases, less guidance is given
 Scaffolding is often used to help students attain the upper
limits of ZPD

35. Applications of Vygotsky’s Theory
Provide Cooperative Learning:
• Activities Among Students with Different Ability
Levels.

36. Piagetian Ideas:
Four discrete stages
Cognitive development is
limited by stages
Young children are
schematic
Motivation to maintain
cognitive equilibrium
Development occurs when
assimilation is not possible
(adaptation)
Vygotsky's ideas:
Continuous development
(no stages)
Zone of proximal
development
Socially transmitted
knowledge (cooperative
learning and Scaffolding)
Private speech helps
internalize knowledge
Both were
constructivists
Both believed that social
forces set the limits of
development
Comparing Piaget and Vygotsky’s
Theories

37. Language Development
Acquisition of Language
• Similar Sequence of
Development for Children

38. Oral Language
Age of Child Language Characteristics
Age One • One Word Utterances
Second Year of Life • Two Word Sentences
Pre- School Years • Vocabulary Increases
• Understands Rules of
Spoken Language
Starting School • Know Grammatical Rules
of Language
• 1000 Vocabulary Words

39. Oral Language
Learn Rules for
Words and
Sentence Construction
Language Learning
and
Experimentation
Importance of
Parent Talk to Children

40. Reading
. The Level of Emergent
Literacy depends on the
Exposure of Language in
the Home
Importance of Pictures
On the Page—support
Meaning on the Page
Young Children Can
Develop Phonemic
Awareness with Instruction

41. Reading
Emergent Literacy: preschoolers’ knowledge and skills related to
reading has shown that children may enter school with great deal of
knowledge about reading and this knowledge contributes to success in
formal reading instruction
Concepts of print
 print is arranged from left to right
 books are read from front to back
 “read” book by interpreting pictures on each page
 recognise logo
Phonemic Awareness: hear specific sounds within words, improve
children’s word reading, reading comprehension, help children to spell
Learning Phonics: learn read and write  how to connect words

42. Writing
Follows Developmental
Sequence
Scribbles Spread
Randomly Across the
Page
1. Invented Spellings
2. Letter Names Rather
than Letter Sounds
3. Short Vowel Sounds
Left Out

43. Promoting Literacy Development in
Young Children
Reading to
Children
Print Rich
Environment
Variety of
Writing
Materials
Model Love
of Reading
and Writing
Responding
to Children’s
Questions

44. Promoting Literacy Development During Elementary and
Secondary Years
Occurs at
Rapid Rate
Focus on:
Comprehension,
Vocabulary and
Study Skills
Factors that
Influence
Development:
1)Motivation
2)Interest
3)Culture
4)Peer
Pressure
Variety of
Writing
Materials
Model Love of
Reading and
Writing
Responding
to Children’s
Questions
about
language

45. 1. Motivation
2. Encourage Variety of Reading
Materials
3. Teach Words that are—frequently
used and are broadly useful
4. Utilize Vocabulary
5. Cooperative/Collaborative
Learning
Vocabulary Instruction

46. The Intentional Teacher
1. Understands and Applies Child Development
Theories.
2. Uses On-Going Assessment and Evaluation.
3. Modifies Instruction as Needed.
4. Has Realistic Expectations.
5. Plans Extensively.
6. Utilizes a Variety of Instruction Strategies and
Materials.
7. Reflects.

48. Reflection
Write Two Details for Each Topic Based on the
Chapter
Piaget
1. ____
2. ____
Vygotsky
1. ____
2. ____
Literacy Development
1. ____
2. ____
Intentional Teacher
1. ____
2. ____

49. End of Chapter 2