Piagetian Tasks

I decided to perform the piagetian tasks on my 7 year old cousin Troy. My younger sister was also there when I had him perform the tasks. She is 8 years old and the difference between them was astounding. I had never realized how big of a difference one year can make, especially in the first few years of life. I really enjoyed performing these piagetian tasks. I really do think that Jean Piaget has some really great theories and stages for cognitive development.
1. The first thing I did was fill two glasses with water. I used the same style of glass with the same amount of water. Then I got a different type of glass and set it to the side. I set the two glasses out in front of him and I asked. "Do you think there is the same amount of water each glass?" He said yes and then I asked him "Are you sure?" He nodded his head yes. Then I took one of the glasses and poured it into the 3rd glass I had out. I then asked him "Does one glass have more or less water, or is it still the same amount?" He pointed to the "different" glass and said that one has less water in it. I then tried to get him to rethink his answer by asking " Are you sure this glass has less water, you dont think its the same amount of water?" He told me of course it is a different amount of water. Look at it amber!! Meanwhile my sister was laughing saying of course its still the same troy. She didnt put any more water in or take any out, all she did was switch the cups. :)
2. I wanted to use playdoh for this task but I didn't have any so...... I got creative. I decided I would take two mini candy bars and open them and then I would smash one and ask him if it still had the same amount of candy. So took two snickers candy bars and put them out on the table. I asked Troy "Are these candy bars the same size with the same amount of candy?" He said yes. Then I took my hand and smashed one of the candy bars. (which by the way had both kids laughing) Then I asked him "How about now? Do both candy bars have the same amount of candy?" His response was the same as the last time. He said the smashed candy bar had less candy. I asked him "Are you sure?" He said yes. My sister said it is still the same. She even told Troy she would eat the smashed candy bar and he could eat the other one, because she still would get the same amount of candy. :) He still wasnt convinced.
3. The last task I performed with Troy was with marbles. I used green and yellow marbles. I had 8 green marbles and 5 yellow marbles. I told Troy to count the marbles. He did not have to use one to one correspondence. Which is great!! He told me there were 8 green marbles and 5 yellow marbles. Then I spaced out the line of yellow marbles farther apart than the green and asked him "Which color of marbles do I have more of?" He said green without even thinking about it. Then I asked the question "Do I have more marbles or green marbles?" Troy took his time in answering this question. After about 30 seconds he told me there were more marbles than green marbles. I found it interesting that of the 3 tasks he could perform only this one with ease. My sister Lexi said "You're right Troy you're right!"
One note I want to add is how hard it is to ask the questions without implementing the answer. This was a great assignment to better understand Piaget's stages of cognitive development.

LEARNING LOG 10-6-08

What? We started off class talking about the human brain and neurons. Neurons are brain cells. Neurons have many different parts. Each neuron has a cell boy and axon (which can be coated with myelin) and dendrites. The gap between neurons where information is transmitted is called the synapse. After discussing neurons we were introduced to Jean Piaget. I learned that he was a cognitive constructivist. He believed that children learn through experience, so he thought that teaching should be done with a hands on approach. We also discussed the process of equilibration. How you must use either accomodation or assimilation to reach equilibration. Another theorist we were introduced to was Vygotsky. He was a social construtivist who largely based his theories off studying his own children. He believed children gained knowledge through social interactions and that group work was the greatest teaching tool. He also said children learn to become like adults through play. Vygotsky also came up with ZPD (zone of proximal development. A child is in ZPD when things are not to easy or to hard, and tasks can be performed with assistance. We also discussed Linguistic Development. Heredity is a factor of a childs ability to learn language. Noam presented the idea of a most people being born with a language acquistion device which enables them to learn linguistically. There are crucial times in a childs life where language should be learned (even second languages).
So What? Learning about Piagets different stages made me think about how important it is as teachers that we know what stage(s) our students are in so that we can best suite their needs. I really think that teaching should be more individualized. When we discussed Vygotsky's ZPD and did the worksheet activity deciding whether or not the child was performing in their ZPD, I thought about how it is critical we set up our classrooms so that kids can perform in their ZPD. This can be done by making groups for certain subjects at skill level. Scaffolding must take place in order for this to work. I also realized how crucial it is that language skills are developed at a young age. Children learn so fast and absorb so much more in the younger years. We as teachers just need to constantly be exposing them to language.
Now What? I will use a combination of Piaget and Vygotsky in my classroom. I think that the better I understand these theorists, the better I will be able to customize my classroom to fit my own theories. I will use groups in my classroom that allow students to function in ZPD. I also will provide many hands on learning activities to engage and teach my students. I think that by following the advice of both theorists leads to using the multiple intelligences as well. I want to to talk more with children at an adult level so they will get the language exposure necessary to develop linguistically. I know view playtime as not only fun, but work for the child. It can be used to teach so much socially and that is great.