In Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, Robert Slavin presents two basic types of theories of cognitive development in children. A continuous theory of development is a theory which assumes that development occurs in one unbroken process over the course of a childs life. A second type of theory is a discontinuous theory of development, in which certain inborn factors determine development of a child over time (Slavin, 2012, p. 30). According to Piagets discontinuous theory of development, a childs cognitive abilities are fundamentally different from one stage to the next (Slavin, 2012). One weakness in a discontinuous theory of development is that it limits the perspective on particular children. According to Piagets theory, if we assess that a child is in a particular stage of development, we assume that the child will have a host of other features appropriate of their stage. For example, through a conservation task, we may assess a child as preoperational. We may assume, then, that the child is egocentric in their thinking as well. However, studies have shown that children can be trained to be successful in egocentrism tasks despite showing some features of the preoperational stage (Slavin, 2012, p. 39). In fact, studies show that children can be trained to be successful in many of the very same tasks that Piaget was using demonstrate the childrens development. Piaget admitted that children can show skills in multiple stages at a time, but still maintained that children are generally tied to one distinct stage at a time (Slavin, 2012). Margaret Donaldson reviewed much of Piagets research and concluded that many of the tasks used by Piaget did not accurately assess childrens abilities because they were asked in ways which were not appropriate for a childs way of thinking (Donaldson, 1982). It is therefore not surprising that children can display an ability to think in ways outside of their Piagetian stage if they are trained or asked differently. Lindenbaum 2
In applying Piagets techniques to the world of education, the inevitable result of stage- based perspectives in education is a self-fulfilling prophecy similar to that of the famous Rosenthal experiment. In that experiment, teachers taught students who were predicted to be bloomers were in fact the most successful students, presumably because teachers teach students who they think will succeed different than they teach others. Unless students are grouped by Piagetian stages, teachers will certainly have children who are in different stages in the same class. According to Piaget, these students should be taught in very different ways, due to their differing cognitive abilities. Due to Piagets system, teachers may fall into the same trap as the teachers in Rosenthals experiment they may teach children differently under certain assumptions and give certain students an unfair advantage. Despite these issues, it is impossible to ignore the accomplishments of Piagets research in the world of psychology and education. Firstly, Piaget was very much an innovator in his approach to the thought of a child. The characteristics of Piagetian stages apply to many children surprisingly well the argument I have been positing is simply that the stages are not necessarily as formal or as unique as he describes. Secondly, Piagets methods in interviewing children are of incredible value for teachers as well as psychologists. In his interviews, Piaget asked questions which had been posed by children themselves, always interpreted their responses as valid, and taught children to view issues from varying perspectives by presenting counterproofs (Elkind, 1972). David Elkind explains that this basic approach to childrens thinking as different and valid allows the childs thought to be on a level playing field with the adult. Rather than being told that his answer is either right or wrong, a child is always encouraged to express himself further (Elkind, 1972). Furthermore, offering varying perspectives to a child allows him/her to Lindenbaum 3
think through ideas fully without being concerned with what is correct. Elkind calls this discovery learning in the truest sense. (Elkind, 1972) Many modern viewpoints on education encourage teachers to allow students to encounter information by themselves, so they can truly own their learning. Through his interviews with children, Piaget displayed these concepts years before they became popular in the world of progressive education. In its applications to education, Piagets theory of development may have been a bit too aggressive -- his attachment to stages does not make it easy for a teacher to approach every student as an individual. However, it is impossible to deny Piagets brilliance as a researcher and developmental psychologist. As current educators, we are forever indebted to the path he paved in his approach to unearthing what exists in the mind of a child.
Lindenbaum 4
Works Cited Donaldson, M. (1982). Conservation: What is the question? British Journal of Psychology, (73), 199-207. Elkind, D. (1972). What Does Piaget Say to the Teacher?. Today's Education, 72. Slavin, R. E. (2012). Educational psychology: Theory and practice (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.