Cognitive Learning Theories
by Kate Reed
1. Applications in education based on Vygotsky's sociocultural theory
1.1. Learning is a collaborative activity
1.2. ZPD serves as a guide for curriculum delivery and lesson planning
1.3. Learning should occur in a meaningful context
2. Four distinct, hierarchical stages of development
2.1. Piaget theorized that these stages determine what a child can cognitively accomplish, depending on which stage the child is currently in:
2.2. Sensorimotor stage: represents trial and error with physical objects and symbolic thought
2.3. Preoperational stage: represents expansion of language, pretend play, and some intuitive thought
2.4. Concrete Operational stage: represents understanding perspectives of others, conservation, and class inclusion
2.5. Formal Operational stage: represents proportional reasoning of ratios, idealism, logical thinking of hypothetical ideas
3. Children are naturally curious
4. Constructivist
5. Assimilation and Accommodation
6. Constructivist
7. Lev Vygotsky
7.1. Clinical applications: Social construction of meaning
8. Jean Piaget
8.1. Clinical applications of Piaget's cognitive development:
9. Constructivism
10. Sociocultural Theory
10.1. Adults translate to children the meaning of their environment through cognitive tools
10.2. Language
10.2.1. Children's thoughts become language
10.2.1.1. Private speech (self-talk) gradually becomes inner talk, which then mimics our thoughts.
10.3. Higher-order thought processes begin as social interactions
10.4. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
10.4.1. ZPD is the upper limit of what a child is capable of learning. ZPD allows children to perform tasks with an adult, that would be improbable on their own.
10.4.1.1. Scaffolding and guided participation