Psychology task 4 - work on assignment PDF

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work on assignment...

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NAME

SURNAME

STUDENT NUMBER

EMAIL

CONTACT NUMBER

LECTURER

MODULE

MODULE CODE

DUE DATE

TASK

: PHIWOKUHLE

: MAQUTHU

: 215149149

: [email protected]

: 073 5030 142

: MRS N. MTENGWANE

: PSYCHOLOGY OF LEARNING& T.

: PSY11MO

: 09 FEBUARY 2021

: TASK 4

Question A. a Cognitive development is the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Cognitive development refers to how a person perceives, thinks, and gains understanding of his or her world through the interaction of genetic and learned factors. Among the areas of cognitive development are information processing, intelligence, reasoning, language development, and memory. The cognitive development of children has been studied in a variety of ways. Cognitive development, as envisaged by Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist appears to take the following pattern of development action-based schemes symbolic logical abstract mental structures. The emergence of the stage is invariable, meaning they emerge as described and as such, no stage is skipped in the course of cognitive development. For each stage, there are two important phases, formation and attainment. In the first phase of formation, the schemes are rather unstable and fairly disorganised, in the second phase of attainment, the schemes are well formed, stable and adequately organised. Schemas are continually being modified by two complementary processes that Piaget termed assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation refers to the process of taking in new information by incorporating it into an existing schema. In other words, people assimilate new experiences by relating them to things they already know. On the other hand, accommodation is what happens when the schema itself changes to accommodate new knowledge. According to Piaget, cognitive development involves an ongoing attempt to achieve a balance between assimilation and accommodation that he termed equilibration. At the centre of Piaget's theory is the principle that cognitive development occurs in a series of four distinct, universal stages, each characterized by increasingly sophisticated and abstract levels of thought. These stages always occur in the same order, and each builds on what was learned in the previous stage. During each stage of these stages, there is a unique level of analysis, internal organisation and understanding of environmental information and events. These phases are namely sensorimotor stage, the pre-operational stage, the stage of concrete operations and the formal operations stage. The formal operations stage at this level thinking is not the only abstract but also logical. The reasoning engaged in is not driven necessarily by the presence of concrete objects. In the fourth stage there are five main reasoning propositional reasoning, hypothetic-deductive, proportional, and combinatorial reasoning, and pendulum.

A proposition is a statement that maybe right or wrong and may be based on reality or imagination. What matters is that it can be dealt with logically and objectively. A person at the stage of formal operations is able to solve this problem by examining the variables in a systematic way and discarding those that not applicable. For example two propositional reasoning tests were administered to eighth-grade boys and girls. Each item on one of the tests was used to assess learners’ comprehension of a basic rule for one of four types of propositional logic, whereas each item on the other test was used to measure learners’ abilities to solve who-done-it problems involving two of the four types of propositional logic. The results showed significant differences in learners’ performances according to the types of propositional logic involved in a given item. Surprisingly, however, the interdependence of learners’ performances on the two tests was minimal. The results were discussed in terms of research and theory regarding formal operational thinking. In hypothetico-deductive reasoning, a supposition is made regarding a situation that does not exist in reality, and the person is expected to grope with the problemas if it were for real. Piaget believed that what he referred to as hypothetical-deductive reasoning was essential at this stage of intellectual development. At this point, teens become capable of thinking about abstract and hypothetical ideas. They often ponder what-if type situations and questions and can think about multiple solutions or possible outcomes. While children in the previous stage are very particular in their thoughts, kids in the formal operational stage become increasingly abstract in their thinking. Proportional reasoning is mathematically based and one mathematical relationship is used to arrive at another mathematical relationship. Previous studies have found that children have difficulty solving proportional reasoning problems involving discrete units until 10- to 12-years of age, but can solve parallel problems involving continuous quantities by 6-years of age. The present studies examine where children go wrong in processing proportions that involve discrete quantities. A computerized proportional equivalence choice task was administered to kindergartners through fourth-graders in Study 1, and to first- and third-graders in Study 2. Both studies involved four between-subjects conditions that were formed by pairing continuous and discrete target proportions with continuous and discrete choice alternatives. In Study 1, target and choice alternatives were presented simultaneously and in Study 2 target and choice alternatives were presented sequentially. In both studies, children performed significantly worse when both the target and choice alternatives were represented with discrete quantities than when either or both of the proportions involved continuous quantities. Taken together, these findings indicate that children go astray on proportional reasoning problems involving discrete units only when a numerical match is possible, suggesting that their difficulty is due to an overextension of numerical equivalence concepts to proportional equivalence problems. Combinatorial reasoning requires that all possible solutions to a problem are examined objectively and systematically. In this form of reasoning, certain

combinations are held constant while one element is varied. If this does not lead to a solution, another element is examined while others are held constant. If this does not lead to a solution, it may be necessary to examine more than one element at a time until all the possible combinations have been exhausted. This reasoning is exploring some elementary ideas of combinatorics and how they support children's development of beginning probability ideas and problem-solving skills. Consideration is then given to various types of combinatorial problems and the relevant difficulties they present children. A review of studies that have addressed children's combinatorial reasoning is presented in the second half of the chapter. The chapter concludes by looking at ways in which we might increase children's access to powerful ideas in combinatorics. Schoolchildren’s understanding of a simple pendulum as a means of investigating the development of the control of variables scheme and the ceteris paribus principle central to scientific experimentation. The time-consuming nature of the individual interview technique used by Inhelder has led to the development of a whole range of group test techniques aimed attesting the empirical validity and increasing the practical utility of Piaget’s work. The Rasch measurement techniques utilized in this study reveal that the Piagetian Reasoning Task III. Pendulum and the méthode clinique interview reveal the same underlying ability. Of particular interest to classroom teachers is the evidence that some individuals produced rather disparate performances across the two testing situations. The implications of the commonalities and individual differences in performance for interpreting children’s scientific understanding are discussed. Question A. b The Piaget`s theory focus on development and learning theories. Development focus on the leaner`s capabilities and the learning focuses on the realization of such capabilities and the education within the theory is motivation. The cognitive theory, the behaviour reflects the emergence of various psychological structures, organized units or patterns of thinking that influence on how children interpret the information. The cognitive developmental theories explain the change in reasoning level of a child acquiring new ways of understanding their world. Piaget's theory of implication assumes that all children go through the same sequence of development, but they do so at different rates. Teachers must make a special effort to provide classroom activities for individuals and small groups, rather than for the total class group. Assessment should be based on individual progress, rather than on the normal standards of same age peers. Individuals construct their own knowledge during the course of the interaction with the environment. An important implication of Piaget's theory is adaptation of instruction to the learner's developmental level. The content of instruction needs to be consistent with the developmental level of the learner. The teacher's role is to facilitate learning by providing a variety of experiences. Teacher should obviously provide opportunities for learners to explore and experience, by doing so is encouraging learner’s new understandings. Piaget

emphasizes the Opportunities that allow learners of different cognitive levels to work together and encourage less mature students to advance to create understanding. The further implication for instruction is the use of concrete hands on experiences to help learners learn additional suggestions. Piaget also emphasizes that teachers should allow opportunities to classify and group information to facilitate assimilating new information with previous knowledge. Present problems that require logical understanding. Schemas the building block if knowledge. The schema is actually the different sensory motor map that the learner constructs about their world on their knowledge development. Gradually as learner develops the ability to represent the outer world in the internal images and thoughts.at this point the operations which are logical thoughts become possible for a learner to perform. A child schemas are constructed through the process of assimilation and accommodation. A schemas describes both the mental and physical actions involved in understanding and knowing. Schemas are categories of knowledge that help learners to interpret and understand the world. In Piaget's view; a schema includes both a category of knowledge and the process of obtaining that knowledge. As experiences happen, this new information is used to modify, add to, or change previously existing information or schemas. Adaptation process that enable transition from one stage to another. The adaptation process is the inborn tendency to adjust more attuned to conditions imposed by the environment. Piaget sees the learner as the actively engaged in an ongoing process of adaptation or transformation. Learners adapt by continually organizing and re organizing the information and experiences they get in their everyday life. The process creates the better fit between the worlds as the learner experiences it and the new information and the way he/she understand it. Learners are constantly challenged by the with the new information from their environment around them from infancy onwards, learners construct more complex cognitive structures of their world in their mind to organize, understand and adapt to it. Equilibrium is when the learner move towards more complex or effective way of organizing and dealing with the world .Equilibrium according to Piaget is regarded as the engine that drives the development of a learner. It is actually the cognitive structures that accommodate the familiar information instead of the new knowledge, we say the learner equilibrates. In the equilibrium the assimilation and accommodation interact continuously and accommodation opens up possibility of assimilation and vice versa in an ever expanding cycle. The changes or expansions in learners mind have to be organized and kept in order and dynamic balance across the learner’s cognitive structures. The cognitive conflicts occur when the learner is confronted with the information which he/she cannot deal with it in terms of the current cognitive structures. Piaget argues that learning takes place as a result of active engagement on the part of the learner. It is important, therefore for teachers to see that learners take an active role by participating in whatever is being taught and learned. Piaget’s theory acknowledges individual differences in cognitive development. It is important for teachers to arrange individual activities to suit leaners’ intellectual development. Piaget’s theory shows clearly that a child’s understanding is restricted by the stage that he or she has reached and teachers ought to take this into account as they teach children at different levels of intellectual development.

Question B The encoding, consolidation, and retrieval of events and facts form the basis for acquiring new skills and knowledge. Prior knowledge can enhance those memory processes considerably and thus foster knowledge acquisition. But prior knowledge can also hinder knowledge acquisition, in particular when the to‐be‐learned information is inconsistent with the presuppositions of the learner. Therefore, taking students' prior knowledge into account and knowing about the way it affects memory processes is important for optimization of students' learning. Recent behavioral and neuroimaging experiments have shed new light on the neural mechanisms through which prior knowledge affects memory. However, relatively little is known about developmental differences in the ability to make efficient use of one's knowledge base for memory purposes. It is reviewed and integrate recent empirical evidence from developmental psychology and cognitive neuroscience about the effects of prior knowledge on memory processes. In particular, this may entail an extended shift from processing in the medial temporal lobes of the brain toward processing in the neocortex. Such findings have implications for students as developing individuals. Therefore, we highlight recent insights from cognitive neuroscience that call for further investigation in educational settings, discussing to what extent these novel insights may inform teaching in the classroom. A powerful way of improving one's memory for material is to be tested on that material. Tests enhance later retention more than additional study of the material, even when tests are given without feedback. This surprising phenomenon is called the testing effect, and although it has been studied by cognitive psychologists sporadically over the years, today there is a renewed effort to learn why testing is effective and to apply testing in educational settings. In this article, we selectively review laboratory studies that reveal the power of testing in improving retention and then turn to studies that demonstrate the basic effects in educational settings. We also consider the related concepts of dynamic testing and formative assessment as other means of using tests to improve learning. We consider some negative consequences of testing that may occur in certain circumstances, though these negative effects are often small and do not cancel out the large positive effects of testing. Frequent testing in the classroom may boost educational achievement at all levels of education. Teachers should assist in improving their learners’ memories by using a variety of methods such as note- taking, recall during learning, periodic review, and overlearning. Note- taking is useful exercise in that it teachers learners how to discriminate between what is important and what is not. It is also necessitates their paying attention to what is going on in the classroom. Notes are handy for revision since they constitute a short version of material that might be in a text and would require more time to go through. Recall during learning involves reciting to oneself as one learns, and results in quite a high retention rate. The reasons why this approach is more effective in facilitating retention is that, first self- recitation forces leaners to select what they would like to

remember and second leaners reproduce information in the form in which they are likely to be asked to produce it during tests or examinations. Periodic review periodic review is similar to self- recitation, except that it is based on the long term rather than the short term. This is likely to make retention far more effective than cramming a week or so before an examination. Overlearning is another way of improving memory. A task may be described as overlearned if further learning of the task does not improve mastery thereof, or the retention required. If people want to remember what they learn, it is vital that they overlearn it beyond the point of mere recall. There are methods to avoid forgetting, forgetting can be explained in terms of disuse, distortion, repression and interference. To avoid forgetting as a result of disuse, it is essential to use information frequently. The information should be learned well and should subsequently be the subject of frequent discussion and review.

Reference Mwamwenda T. S. (2004) Educational psychology third edition. South Africa University of Kwazulu- Natal. Bredekamp, S. & Copple, C. (1997). Developmentally appropriate practice, revised edition. Washington, D.C. National Association for the Education of Young Children. Inhelder, B. & Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence: An essay on the growth of formal operational structures. New York Basic Books. Piaget, J. (2001). The psychology of intelligence. Oxford, UK Routledge....