Cognitive Development IIPowerPoint PresentationPiagetian View of Cognitive DevelopmentEducators should take into consideration developmental stage when developing planning learning activitiesSlide 5Application of Piagetian TheoryInformation Processing View of Cognitive DevelopmentSlide 8Various applications of Information Processing TheoriesChanges in the Adolescent BrainSynapse and Neurotransmitters: Transmitting signals from one neuron to the nextSlide 12Cognitive Cognitive Development IIDevelopment IICognitive Cognitive Development IIDevelopment IITheories of Adolescent Theories of Adolescent CognitionCognitionJean Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental TheoryPiaget developed his theory from observing childrenInterested in the question: How does knowledge grow?Piagetian View of Cognitive Development•Piaget emphasized that an interaction between biological changes, environmental stimulation, and environmental exploration leads to cognitive growth•Emphasized active learning: Children and adolescents are “naïve scientists”• Theorized that cognitive growth occurs in stages (4 stages from infancy-adolescence)Educators should take into consideration developmental stage when developing planning learning activitiesPiagetian View of Cognitive Development•Sensorimotor stage: Birth-2 years (focus on coordinating senses and motor functions, end of stage emergence of symbolic thinking)•Preoperational stage: 2 – 6 years (children can now think symbolically, but stage is characterized by many logical challenges and problems)•Concrete operational stage: 6-11 years (can think logically but only about concrete problems)•Formal operational stage: 11 +–Focus is on abstract ideas and concepts–Propositional logic (a system based on formal principles of logic, can be applied to both concrete and abstract problems)–Sometimes what adolescents are able to do is not what they do in reality! (the competence-performance distinction)Application of Piagetian Theory•Involve adolescents in their learning!–Don’t just tell them how to do something or tell them about something – let them “do” as part of the learning experience!Information Processing View of Cognitive Development•Analogy made between computer information processing and human cognition/cognitive development–How does the way that we process information change to make us more efficient?–What is it about the way that adolescents think, that makes them better problem solvers than children?Information Processing View of Cognitive Development•Adolescents ‘ability to solve problems increases in many ways –Selective attention and divided attention–Working memory and long term memory–Processing speed–Organization–MetacognitionVarious applications of Information Processing Theories•Have been developed as general theories of human development and also for the explanation and prediction of specific behaviors•Examples: Why are some teens aggressive? Why do some teens have learning disabilities?Changes in the Adolescent Brain•Recent technological advances allow for much more knowledge about neurological changes •This recent research shows that much of adolescent behavior has a neurological basis– Increased “synaptic pruning” in cortex: Speeds up information processing•A synapse is where two neurons join so that they can transmit signals to one another•Changes in levels of neurotransmitters can help explain why adolescents are less responsive to rewards (e.g., dopamine)–A neurotransmitter is a chemical that helps send messages from one neuron to other neurons–May help explain adolescent sensation seeking•The brain's reward center, the ventral striatum, also is more active during adolescence than in adulthood•The adolescent brain still is strengthening connections between its reasoning- and emotion-related regions.Synapse and Neurotransmitters: Transmitting signals from one neuron to the nextChanges in the Adolescent Brain•Maturation of prefrontal cortex continues over course of adolescence•Prefrontal cortex is the part of our brain responsible for complex cognitive tasks–Planning–Decision making–Goal setting–Adolescents whose PFC is less mature than their peers are more likely to have conduct