Secondary school students are generally in Piaget's formal operational stage of cognitive development, allowing abstract logical thought and problem solving. Vygotsky emphasized social learning and language as important influences on cognitive development. While theories provide a general picture of development, there is variability among individuals, and theories have limitations and do not consider all aspects of development.

1. Development is affected by many factors, including genetics and the physical and social
environment. All the theorists below proposed theories on development. It is important to
remember that these are generalization and there is variance among individual. No theory itself is
complete or covers every possible aspect, but together they create a more complete picture of how
people develop. As the social, physical, cognitive and emotional development are all
interconnected, when one is delayed it can often impact on others
Piajet – Cognitive Development
Secondary School Students will be at the end of stage 3 and will move into stage four.
Stage Key Developments Learning Influence
Stage 4 –  Abstract, logical thought  Opportunities to extend knowledge
Formal Operational  Form hypotheses  Challenge ideas
(11-12 to adulthood)  Systematic problem solving  Express ideas in different forms
 Understand, appreciate irony, paradox satire,  Engage in discussions or debates on
fantasy hypothetical and theoretical matters
 Can deduce
Stage 3 –  Conservation of quantities  Discuss, share ideas
Concrete operations  Experimentation  Opportunities for problem solving
(7 – 12 years old)  Basic Logic  Find solutions
 Use of disequilibrium to change ideas  Provide concrete resources
 Expanding vocabulary  Challenge ideas
 Explore new areas  Range of knowledge and vocab
 Group work
 Wider knowledge
Limitations:
One major limitation is that cognitive development does not seem to be differentiated after 12 years
of age. It also does not talk about the social factors that influence the theory and how.

2. Vygotski - Social influences on cognitive development
Idea: people learn from their interactions with others. Language, a social tool, can be used to
develop cognitively, even if it is done in private. Children have a genetic propensity to learn, which
is increased when they are given help.
Impact on Learning:
- Assessment needs to take in account what the student can do by himself and what he can
do with help
- Instruction needs to focus on what students need help to do
- Students can learning from each other
- Every person no matter, can develop and improve including those with disabilities
- Build on prior knowledge by integrating it with new material
- Put students in touch with experts that they can learn from (guest speakers,
apprenticeships, internships)
The implication of this approach would be that students could engage in inquiry and collaborative
learning process starting from Year 7. My year 7s were fairly capable of doing this, but my Year 8s
were unable. Thus, showing that this is an ideal-type generalization about the stage that students
should be at. It’s possible that my students were at this, but were merely unmotivated. This means
that students may have the cognitive ability, but do not necessarily produce assessments that
reflect their cognitive ability for some other reason.