PSY312 PSY312 Week 2Week 2

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Week 2 outlineWeek 2 outline

Vygotsky: a bit of backgroundHis sociological theorySome articles discussing itPiaget’s theory

Lev VygoyskyLev Vygoysky

Lev Vygotsky 1896-1934Lev Vygotsky 1896-1934

Started out as a lawyer with no psychology training, and was interested in the psychology of art

Lived during a time of great political tension, and so his ideas were kept locked up

Lev Vygotsky 1896-1934Lev Vygotsky 1896-1934

Main concern: environment and people in the child’s life.

“Sociocultural” perspective, little emphasis on “hidden” processes

Vygotsky believed it was impossible to study development in a vacuum.

Assumptions about HumansAssumptions about Humans

Distinguished between LMFs and HMFs

LMFs serve as a basis for HMFsExample of the intentional reach

4 Levels of Development in Child’s 4 Levels of Development in Child’s EnvironmentEnvironment

1. Ontogenetic level• Individual’s development over the lifespan

2. Microgenetic level *• Small changes in specific abilities over time

3. Phylogenetic level• Changes at species level may affect what we do today

4. Sociohistorical level• Generational differences in context, eg advent of computers

Main focus is on level 2

Definitions relevant to VygotskyDefinitions relevant to Vygotsky

Tools of Intellectual Adaptation– What our culture offers us as a means to learning

Collaborative Dialogues– Dialogues between novices and experts where the expert

models the activity and transmits verbal instructions Zone of Proximal Development

– When a task is too complex for a child to master alone, but can be accomplished with guidance and encouragement from a more skillful partner

Definitions, ContinuedDefinitions, Continued

Scaffolding or Mediation– When an expert, who is instructing a novice, responds

contingently to a novice’s behaviour in a learning situation

Guided Participation– Introduced by Rogoff– Refers to when children’s modes of thinking are shaped

when participating with an adult in culturally relevant activities

More Definitions…More Definitions…

Context-Independent learning– Learning that has no immediate relevance to the present context,

i.e. learning that occurs in educational institutions– Context-DEPENDENT learning makes us active members of

society

Cooperative Learning– Situations where teachers arrange for their students to work

together– Works for 3 reasons:

More motivating Explaining own ideas can make them more explicit, understood Groups generate more ideas than individuals

The Collaborative ClassroomThe Collaborative Classroom

This method of teaching is spreading to entire schools, and not just certain parts of the day

4 features:– Teachers and students have shared knowledge.– They have shared authority– The teachers act as mediators– Heterogeneous groups of students

Collaborative classroom continuedCollaborative classroom continued

Teacher facilitates discussions between students Classroom is arranged in a way to promote

discussion Older, more experienced students model for the

younger students Student acts as goal-setter, assignment designer,

and assesses themselves and their own work.

Potential Problems or ChallengesPotential Problems or Challenges

Classroom control– Can be very loud

Curriculum planningIndividual differences in students,

environment may not be nurturing for everyone– High achievers, low achievers, shy people

Research ExamplesResearch Examples

Freeman & Somerindyke (2002) examined whether having computers in a preschool classroom is helpful

20 children participated in a daycare where computers were part of the curriculum

5 children emerged as computer “experts”, and were sought out by other less experienced classmates

Vygotsky-type peer-mediated learning took place – more knowledgeable students fostering the learning of the less-

knowledgeable students

Example # 2Example # 2

Aram & Levin (2002) examined parental scaffolding in reading and writing

Believed that mother-mediated joint writing would help predict literacy achievement in kindergartners, even more than reading storybooks

Analyzed videotape of mothers and children writing together, and mother got a score for degree to which she helped

Better attention to the child’s ZPD was associated with better literacy

Writing Situation #1Writing Situation #1

The following mother was working within her child’s ZPD:– “Mother encouraged or helped the child to retrieve and

phonological unit and link it with a letter name, for example: Mother points out the /p/ sound in apple, and asks for another word that starts with that sound, and what the letter is. Then she asks how it is written, and encourages the child to write it.”

Writing Situation #2Writing Situation #2

The following mother was working below her child’s ZPD:

“Mother wrote down all the letters of the word for the child. Example: the boy sat in his mother’s lap holding a pencil. She held his hand, murmured the word to herself, and wrote the word by leading his hand. The child looked at the written word and looked at his mother.”

QuestionsQuestions

Which situation may have been more helpful to the child, and why?

Would this ALWAYS be the case?

Research Study #3Research Study #3

Levin et al. (1997) looked at potentially harmful effects of maternal mediation in homework.

Examined longitudinally the effects of maternal help with homework on academic achievement, how the mother felt about the help she gave, and changes in the amount of help received between grade 1 and grade 3

Results show possible negative consequences of maternal involvement

Levin et al (1997) continued…Levin et al (1997) continued…

Mothers helping with homework had no effect at all on academic achievement.

Mothers helped less over time, and felt like they weren’t really being helpful

Mothers felt responsible when the child showed no improvement, and felt tense after a session where they tried to help but couldn’t (child also felt tense!)

Children with learning disabilities elicited the most help, but these mothers felt the least helpful, and the most tense

Over-Scaffolding is not beneficial!

Vygotsky VS. PiagetVygotsky VS. Piaget

Believed cognitive development varies across cultures

Cognitive growth stems from social interaction, guided learning in the ZPD

Social processes become individual-psychological processes

Adults are especially important as agents of change

Jean PiagetJean Piaget

General List of Piaget’s Beliefs and General List of Piaget’s Beliefs and DefinitionsDefinitions

Coined term “Genetic Epistemology”, which refers to advent of knowledge

Believed in stage-like, discontinuous development Processing is domain-general Child is intrinsically Active Specific achievements needed to move through stages Stages are universal, no cultural variation Order of stages is fixed Development is characterized by changes in “Structures”

Piaget ContinuedPiaget Continued

Development is self-mediated, NOT adult-mediated

Hierarchization 2 Functional Invariants: Organization = inborn tendency to combine and

integrate available schemes (or structures) into coherent systems or bodies of knowledge

Adaptation = inborn tendency to adjust to the demands of the environment – Comprised of Assimilation and Accommodation

Example of Functional InvariantsExample of Functional Invariants

Have an idea about birds in general– Can fly, Have feathers, Some sing

Have idea about specific birds– Canaries can sing, Pigeons and seagulls are disgusting, Robins

have red breasts, and all swans are white

Event not in agreement with current structures; Disequilibrium results– See a black swan

How to resolve?– Could ignore it if not ready to change– Could assimilate it into structure by calling it another name

entirely– Could accommodate structures to include black swans

PIAGET’S STAGESPIAGET’S STAGES

Stage Definition

Sensorimotor (0-2 years) Infants are relying on behavioural schemes as a means of exploring and understanding the environment.

Preoperational

(2-7 years)

children are thinking at a symbolic level, but are not yet able to use cognitive operations

Concrete Operations

(7-11 years)

children acquire cognitive operations, can use them, and they think more logically about real

objects and experiences

Formal Operations

(11-12 + years)

individual beings to think more rationally and systematically about abstract concepts and hypothetical events

The Sensorimotor Phase (0-2)The Sensorimotor Phase (0-2)

Substage 1: basic reflexes (0-1 Months)– All focussed on basic reflexes

Substage 2: Primary Circular reactions (1-4 months)– All coordination of movements in own limbs

Substage 3: Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months)– Effect of own movements on external environment

Substage 4: Coordination of Secondary circular reactions (8-12 months)– Goal-directed behaviour

Substage 5: Tertiary Circular reactions (12-18 months)– Trail and error, still limited to actions on objects

Substage 6: Mental Combinations (18-24 months)– Covert problem-solving, use of symbols

Sensorimotor, con’dSensorimotor, con’d

Piaget believed that imitation was a key development during this period

Infants could not imitate until they were 8-12 months old specific things were happening at each of the 6 substages

with relation to imitation

Development of ImitationDevelopment of Imitation

Substage Level of ImitationReflex Activity (0-1 month) Reflexive imitation of motor

responses

Primary circular reactions (1-4 months)

Repeating own actions for own sake; someone may mimic

Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months)

Same as above; maybe realizing action has a consequence

Coordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12 months)

Gradual imitation of novel responses

Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)

Systematic imitation of novel responses; some deferred

Mental combinations (18-24 months)

Total deferred imitation

Development of Object PermanenceDevelopment of Object Permanence

Substage Level of Object Permanence

Reflex Activity (0-1 month) Infant can track a moving object, but ignores disappearance

Primary circular reactions (1-4 months)

Infant looks where object disappeared, but loses interest

Secondary circular reactions (4-8 months)

Infant will search for partly, but not fully, concealed object,

Coordination of secondary circular reactions (8-12 months)

Searches for objects where they got them before: A-not-B error

Tertiary circular reactions (12-18 months)

Search for objects that were displaced in front of them

Mental combinations (18-24 months)

Search for objects surreptitiously displaced

Preoperations (age 2-7)Preoperations (age 2-7)

Operations: General cognitive schemes that describe how children act on the world

Occurs in two substages– Preconceptual thought (2-4 years)– Intuitive thought (4-7 years)

Preconceptual ThoughtPreconceptual Thought

In this stage, use symbolism to let one object represent another– Role of language

Pretend play was crucial to Piaget They can follow someone else’s pretend idea Plan and prepare games Play allows context for language, problem

solving, promotes social development Foster emotional development by allow them to

resolve conflicts

Preconceptual thoughtPreconceptual thought

Preconceptual deficits include animism and egocentrism (inability to take perspective of another)

Also unable to make appearance/reality distinction

Difference between preconceptual and intuitive minimal, operations still not used, but egocentrism and animism are decreased, but child still relies on centered intuition to interpret the world

Preoperations con’d: Intuitive thoughtPreoperations con’d: Intuitive thought

Intuitive thought most characterized by failure of conservation– Mass VS liquid VS number VS volume

Child dwells in a perceptual world, where they are easily misled, called centration

Water-Level task deficits

Water Level TaskWater Level Task

Draw where the line would be if the glasses were half full of water

Answer by Preoperational ChildAnswer by Preoperational Child

They are misled by the tilt of the glass!!

Preoperations con’dPreoperations con’d

Intuitive thought most characterized by failure of conservation– number VS mass VS volume

Child dwells in a perceptual world, where they are easily misled, called centration

Water-Level task deficitsClassification, whole/part relations, class

inclusion deficits are another series of problems

Class Inclusion ProblemClass Inclusion Problem

Are there more blue dots or more round dots?

What would a preoperational child say?

Concrete Operations (age 7-12)Concrete Operations (age 7-12)

Children are no longer intuitive perceivers; they now show decentration, and look at all aspects of a display to solve problems (can solve conservation tasks; water-level task)

Can use operations (conservation, classification) Show mental seriation through relational logic (mentally

putting things in order) Show transitivity However, cannot yet think hypothetically, or in abstract

ways Fail second version of water-level task

Formal Operations Water Level TaskFormal Operations Water Level Task

If I turn the glass upright, where will the water be?

Formal Operations (age 12 +)Formal Operations (age 12 +)

Children now think hypothetically, and in the abstract– Third eye example

Test your formal operations!!Test your formal operations!!(Shaffer, 1973)(Shaffer, 1973)

Complete the following assignment:

– Suppose that you were given a third eye, and that you could choose to place this eye anywhere on your body. Draw me a picture to show me where you would place this extra eye, and then tell me why you would put it there.

ResultsResults

Younger children (most put eye on forehead)– Jim (9 ½ ) I would like an eye beside my two other eyes so that if

one of them went out, I could still see with two– Tanya (9 ½ ) I want a third eye so I can see you better.

Older children– Ken (11 ½ ) (draws eye at end of tuft of hair) I could revolve the

eye to look in all directions!– John (11 ½ ) (draws eye in palm of hand) I could see around

corners, and I could see what cookie I would get from the cookie jar.

Older children’s answers were more creative, and they had more fun; Younger children didn’t want to pretend, thought it was silly!

Formal Operations (age 12 +)Formal Operations (age 12 +)

Children now think hypothetically, and in the abstract– Third eye example

Can use hypothetico-deductive reasoning; that is generate hypotheses and test them in a systematic fashion

Piaget believed that this was the final stage, and that no development occurred after this

We know he was wrong about some things…how wrong?

Challenges to PiagetChallenges to Piaget

Very small sample sizes of observation– Usually observations of his own children

Grossly underestimated capabilities of infants and young children– Baillargeon’s work with very young infants– Hala & Chandler’s study of children’s deception of

another Overestimated abilities of concrete operations

children, and of all adults (formal operations)– Some high school students, and even adults have

trouble with second Water Level problem– Knowledge base is important

Challenges to Piaget’s theoryChallenges to Piaget’s theory

Did not distinguish competence from performance

Is development really stage-like?Does Piaget explain cognitive

development?Too little attention to social and cultural

influences

Quick Quiz: Say what stage is Quick Quiz: Say what stage is represented in each of the following:represented in each of the following:

“You killed him” Ben sobs as his mother destroys a clay pigeon while trap shooting.

Sarah flattens her hand on her playdough, making it into a pancake, and says “look! Now I have more!”

Judy blissfully contemplates how nice it would be if there were no racial prejudice

After seeing his brother throw a ball behind the sofa, Sammy looks for it in his toybox

John successfully arranges his seashells in order from largest to smallest

Neo-Nativist theoriesNeo-Nativist theories

Believe that we are born equipped to interpret the world

Used idea that children everywhere develop similarly and at the same rate

BaillargeonWynnWe are symbolic from birth, which is a very

different idea from Piaget!

““Theory” TheoriesTheory” Theories

Actually believed a lot of Piaget’s ideas about schemes and constructing knowledge

Believed we are born able to make sense of certain things, with some innate knowledge about objects and speech sounds

But we still need to construct reality by testing the theories we have about it.

Important ContributionsImportant Contributions

Founded the discipline of cognitive development Innovative ideas about child being active Actually tried to explain how development worked His descriptions of broad sequences of

developmental trends were probably right His ideas have had major implications on how we

think about social and emotional development and offered practical implications for educators

He asked important questions and drew a lot of research along with new theories

Piaget and EducationPiaget and Education

Tailor education to children’s readiness to learn– Build on existing schemes

Be sensitive to individual differences– Encourage individual or small groups work

Promote discovery-based education– No lecturing, use crafts, puzzles and games

Vygotsky VS. PiagetVygotsky VS. Piaget

Believed cognitive development varies across cultures

Cognitive growth stems from social interaction, guided learning in the ZPD

Social processes become individual-psychological processes

Adults are especially important as agents of change

Cognitive development is universal across cultures

Cognitive development stems from independent explorations where children construct own knowledge

Individual processes become social processes (eg imitation)

Peers are important agents of change

Quick Quiz!!Quick Quiz!!

Who said “Children develop in spite of adults, not because of them”?

Who thought infants would derive much enjoyment playing alone with a mobile in their crib?

Are parents always qualified to scaffold their children’s learning? Are all instances of scaffolding beneficial?

Who would have agreed the most with the following statement: “Don’t tell me, show me”?

Who’s theory is better? Trick Question!!

Questions to think aboutQuestions to think about

What do Vygotsky and Piaget have in common re education?

What is the main difference?If you had to pick a cognitive phenomenon,

like language or memory, how would each say it develops?