Question

A. Piaget was undoubtedly influential in the field of cognitive development. However, new research examining cognitive development has suggested finings that are not consistent with Piaget’s theory. Use such findings to describe three weaknesses of Piaget’s theory. Include specific examples.

B. Describe a cognitive apprenticeship, and identify at least five features that effective cognitive apprenticeships are likely to have. Use a concrete example to illustrate your discussion.

C. Identify an instructional objective that might be achieved through an authentic activity. Then, in one or two paragraphs, describe the nature of the authentic activity.

D. Describe five different things that teachers can do to facilitate students’ transfer of what is learned in the classroom to real-world situations and problems.

Answer 1

Drawbacks of Piaget's theory of cognitive development

1. A major criticism stems from the very nature of a stage theory. The stages may be inaccurate or just plain wrong.

Weiten (1992) points out that Piaget may have underestimated the development of young children. He cites Bower, (1982) and Harris, (1983) who have conducted research that found that some children develop object-permanence earlier than Piaget thought. Others point out that preoperational children may be less egocentric than Piaget believed. Flavell et al. (1982 cited in Weiten, 1992) showed that even a three year old child is aware that an adult looking at a card from the opposite side of the child will be seeing a different view. Furthermore, individual differences may mean that children of similar ages may vary widely across the stages. In fact some children may never achieve the level of formal operations. If children can show a mixture of different stages in their cognitive make-up, what is the point in attempting to differentiate between different stages at all?

2. Piaget's action-oriented approach.

Piaget believes that physical manipulation of external objects is essential for normal cognitive development. Theorists have argued that children born without the physical capability of outward action (consider, for example, paralysed children born without the ability to move either arms or legs) are still capable of normal cognitive development. Also, the physical nature of Piaget's theory fails to explain how children understand abstract words that don't necessarily relate to an immediately physical object.

3. Piaget for his inattention to culturally specific influences on cognitive development.

The children Piaget studied grew up in Geneva, a Western culture where children attend school and are trained in certain forms of thinking. Yet Piaget largely ignored this influence and attributed each child's intellectual growth to the individual's cognitive reaction to the environment. Later studies have shown that Piaget's formal operational period and even the concrete operational period are heavily dependent on formal Western schooling.

Cognitive Apprenticeship

Cognitive apprenticeship is a theory that emphasizes the importance of the process in which a master of a skill teaches that skill to an apprentice. The cognitive apprenticeship model of teaching grew out of situated theories of learning.

Generally, cognitive apprenticeship models of teaching involve a series of six teaching procedures. Students first observe an expert (usually the teacher) model the desired performance in an environment similar to the ones in which the performance is to occur. Second, coaching (hints, feedback, modeling, reminders, etc.) is provided. Next, conceptual scaffolding is provided with the student performing as much of the task as possible, although this external support is gradually faded as the student gains proficiency. Fourth, students are asked to articulate their knowledge and understanding of the task, followed by a request for them to reflect upon their understanding and reasoning. Sixth, students are encouraged to explore new ways in which the knowledge o r skill can be used. Cognitive apprenticeship programs have been developed in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematical problem solving.

Main features of cognitive apprenticeship -

• Modeling
• Coaching
• Scaffolding
• Articulation
• Reflection
• Exploration