1. Mika's Idea of Cognitive Development: a combination of different perspectives. I believe it is a process by which learners take an active role in their education and build off of their previous experiences to build a substantial neurological network.
2. Jasmin's Idea of Cognitive Development: Cognitive development is the expansion and improvement of an individual’s brain through learning. This growth occurs both through the individual’s manipulation and experiences of their environment and through their interactions with others.
3. Piaget's Theories
3.1. Children are active and motivated learners
3.1.1. Students want to learn new things and are often attentive to new ideas presented to them.
3.2. Interactions with one's physical and social environments are essential for cognitive development
3.2.1. Children love to play with one another and group work in classrooms help children learn material more than they would learn on their own. The cooperation with a group and also being able to manipulate items that they are learning about helps with the learning process.
4. Piaget & Vygotsky
4.1. Compare
4.1.1. Both acknowledge the importance of the child's interaction with their world. Children cannot be passive in obtaining the knowledge. Instead, they must be engaged regardless if it is in manipulating their environment or in listening to a story. Both theorists also explained how age combined with experience can lead to a student's ability to understand and carry out more complicated thinking.
4.2. Contrast
4.2.1. Piaget's theory had stages in which the development occurred while Vygotsky's seem to be a bit more interwoven. Piaget also focused on the learner as being the developer of their knowledge and Vygotsky focused on the impact that a culture and its members impact the knowledge of the learner.
4.3. 21st Century Learning
4.3.1. With Piaget's theory, a new perspective arose. The theory is called neo-Piagetian theory and it rejects the idea of the stages in cognitive development as a whole. However, they acknowledge the fact that in order for a student to gain mastery in a skilll, they must build up their knowledge and this serves as a type of stage development. With Piaget's theory, learning in today's classrooms often incorporate manipulatives and other hands-on materials to help facilitate learning. For application of Vygotsky's theory in the 21st century, scaffolding is used in instruction. This is the act of presenting new material to students and providing it at different levels that are appropriate for the students. Educators also use the idea of having students explain their thought process to the instructor so that examinations of how the student is understanding ideas is understood correctly
4.3.2. Applications: 1st grade
4.3.2.1. An example for children working actively together could be through centers. This gives children the opportunity to work independently or with other classmates. Centers can also be used with almost every subject, but the main ones are usually math, reading and writing. Centers can be based on the topic that students are learning. If the topic is money different centers could be: pretend cash register where students are exchanging money, one could be counting coins, or there could be one with a problem the students have to figure out as a group using coins. A reading center could be: independent reading where each student is reading the same story but individually, a station where students have to find the characters, setting, problem, etc. of a story, or one could be where the students have to come up with different words. A writing center could be: writing a letter, free writing, or give specific topics to write about (of course nothing lengthy).
4.3.2.2. Reading aloud to students, and asking them questions as you go. Before reading a story you can make a list of what students already know (using prior knowledge), and when finished make another list of what they learned (now adding to what they already knew). Also, when asking what students know about a certain subject it boosts their confidence when the teacher reads and what they know is in the reading. An example I saw in a class today: the teacher taught the students new words, such as running, exercise, spring (not the season), with these new words she added actions to help the students better understand their meanings. Then she read a short story that included each of these words and when the students recognized the words they raised their hand with their pointer finger in the air.
4.3.2.3. For a math lesson, having the students work independently and then having them explain out loud how they did their problem. This could help students understand that no two people think the same. Even though every one has the right answer doesn't mean everyone approached it the same. I feel like this also gives a better understanding for the teacher what different levels students are on, and of something needs more focus.
5. Jennifer's Idea of Cognitive Development: a combination of learning independently, and with the help of one’s social and physical environment. An example of learning independently could be reading a book, and being able to understand what is being read. One’s social and physical environment could be peers, family life, or the school itself.
6. Vygotsky's Theories
6.1. Complex mental processes begin as social activities and gradually evolve into internal mental activities that children can use independently
6.1.1. Students discuss their environment as well as thoughts and ideas with adults. Through the discussions held, students begin to develop an ownership over these ideas (aka internalization). Without the interaction of others to help build that knowledge base, students would not be able to develop them on their own, especially since much knowledge is cultural specific.
6.2. Challenging tasks promote maximum cognitive growth
6.2.1. Students do not learn when they are familiar with a topic. They learn from being exposed to new ideas, especially ones that they should not be able to figure out for themselves. Teachers can use this to their advantage by giving out problems to solve in which the students cannot solve independently, but when in collaboration with others. It is important that the task not be too difficult or learning will not occur. This concept is referred to as the zone of proximal development (ZPD).