Article critic onJean Piaget’s theoryCritic Writing is anessential part of writing process using a range of writing skills. Curriculumis the planned and guided learning experiences and intended outcomes,formulated through a systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experiences,under the auspicious of the school, for the learners’ continuous and willfulgrowth in personal and social competency (Tanner and Tanner, 1975) If one haveto become a good curriculum developer, it is very important to learn theoriesand have critics on it; so that eventually it will have great effect whiledeveloping a curriculum. The article critics that we have chosen is JeanPiaget’s theory on cognitive Development. Underlying AssumptionsPiaget had believed that thedevelopment of a child occurs through a continuous transformation of thoughtprocesses. A developmental stage consists of different months or years whencertain development takes place.
Even though children are generally grouped bysequential age, their development levels would differ significantly, as well asthe rate at which individual children pass through each stage. He grounded hisinvestigations in the individual child’s manipulation and interaction withobjects in his or her particular environment.According to Berk (1997), Piagetbelieved that children develop steadily and gradually throughout the varyingstages, the experiences in one stage form the foundations for movement to thenext. He describes logical thinking and reasoning about complex situations asthe highest form of cognitive development. Every human pass through each stagebefore starting the next one; no one skips any stage. This implies that, older childrenand even adults, who have not passed through later stages process informationin ways that are characteristic of young children at the same developmentalstage (Eggen & Kauchak, 2000). Stages of Cognitive DevelopmentPiaget has identified four primarystages of development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, andformal operational.
Sensorimotor Stage(Infancy)In this stage, an infant’s mentaland cognitive attributes develop from birth until the appearance of language.It is characterized by the progressive acquisition of object permanence inwhich the child becomes able to find objects after they have been misplaced,even if the objects have been taken out of its normal place. For example,Piaget’s experiments at this stage include hiding an object under a pillow tosee if the baby finds the object. The infants are able to organize andcoordinate sensations with physical movements using five senses. Preoperational Stage (Toddler andEarly Childhood)The features of this stage includean increase in language ability (with over-generalizations), symbolic thought,egocentric perspective, and limited logic. In this stage, children shouldengage with problem-solving tasks that include available materials such asblocks, sand, and water.
The verbalization of the child, as well as his/heractions on the materials, gives a basis that permits the elders to infer themechanisms of the child’s thought processes. Concrete OperationsStage(Elementary and early adolescence)This stage is characterized byremarkable cognitive growth, when children’s development of language andacquisition of basic skills accelerate dramatically. Children at this stageutilize their senses in order to know; they can now consider two orthree dimensions simultaneously instead of successively. It is made up ofoperations, mental actions that are reversible. The child shows conservationand classification skills. Formal Operations Stage(Adolescence and adulthood )The child at this stage is capableof forming hypotheses and deducing possible consequences, allowing him or herto construct his/her own concepts.
Furthermore, the child typically begins todevelop abstract thought patterns where reasoning is performed using puresymbols without the necessity of observant data. Similarities anddissimilarities; Almostall the psychologists believed in general that people pass through stages in aspecific order, with each stage building on capacities developed in the previousstage. It is also agreed that stages are related to age. Development isirregular, with qualitatively different capacities emerging in each stage.Piaget was more interested inunderstanding children’s thinking than in guiding teachers. He did express somegeneral ideas about educational philosophy, however he believed that the maingoal of education should be to help children learn how to learn, and thateducation should “form not furnish” the minds of students (Piaget, 1969, p.
70). Like Piaget, Vygotsky believedthat the main goal of education was the development of higher mental functions,not simply filling students’ memories with facts. So Vygotsky probably wouldoppose educational curricula that are an inch deep and a mile wide or seem like”trivial pursuit.
” EricErikson also agreed that early childhood and adolescence are significant stagesfor individuals, where they grow physically to attain some form ofindependence. Cognitive development also takes place with language beingunderstood in the early years while abstract thinking occurs at adolescence.Social development and emotional expressions also accompany people indevelopment while security and safety at younger ages leads to a better outlookon the surroundings(Rathus,507).
