How a Young How a Young Child ThinksChild Thinks

By: Janet Anthony By: Janet Anthony AndAnd

Becky Wittig Becky Wittig

For Primary Students:For Primary Students:

•Learning must be

EXPERIENCED

Tell me, Tell me, I FORGET

SHOW ME, I REMEMBER

Involve me, I UNDERSTAND

Ancient Chinese proverb often quoted by educators

Developmental Stages of Developmental Stages of LearningLearning

CONCEPT LEVEL (concrete)

Understanding relationships as represented by different concrete materials.

CONNECTING LEVEL(semi-concrete)

Link understanding to traditional symbols.

SYMBOLIC LEVEL (abstraction)

Ability to EXPRESS thinking through handwritten work.

Jean PiagetJean Piaget• Renowned Swiss

biologist and psychologist

• Constructed a highly influential model of child development and learning

• Believed children build mental maps in response to physical experience within his or her environment

Piaget’s Theory of Child Development

• Sensorimotor - (birth to 2 years) Child thinks with their eyes, ears, and hands. Cognitive system is limited to motor reflexes at birth, but the child builds on these reflexes.

• Preoperational - (2 years to 7 years) Child acquires skills in the area of mental imagery and language. He or she is very egocentric. The child cannot yet think abstractly and needs concrete physical situations.

Piaget’s Theory of DevelopmentPiaget’s Theory of Development

● Concrete operational (7 years to 11 years) As physical experience accumulates, the child starts to create logical structures that explain his or her physical experiences.

● Formal operational (11 years and up) Child is capable of thinking logically and abstractly.

ADULTS:

Analyze

“I remember what I read”

“I remember what I heard”

CHILDREN:

Experience

“I remember what I did”

“I remember what I saw”

PRESENTPRESENT1 CONCEPT AT A TIME1 CONCEPT AT A TIME

• The fewer the pieces of new information

• there are to manage

• The easier it is • to learn

PUTTING TOGETHER IS EASIER

than TAKING APART

adding IS EASIER

than subtracting

multiplying IS EASIER

than dividing

Musical connections:Musical connections:

• Appropriate to S L O W things down

at the beginning

REMEMBERINGREMEMBERINGINFORMATIONINFORMATION

THE MORE SEPARATE PIECES THERE ARE

• the greater the chance of dropping• 1 or 2 pieces without realizing it

INFORMATIONAL INFORMATIONAL CHUNKSCHUNKS

that make sense are easier to remember

CONNECTING CONNECTING CHUNKSCHUNKS

•in a meaningful way•is easiest of all…

Separate pieces:Separate pieces:

• THED OGA TEHI SFO OD

Pieces become meaningful Pieces become meaningful chunks :chunks :

• THED OGA TEHI SFO OD

•

ATE FOOD

THE DOG HIS

Connecting Chunks in a Connecting Chunks in a way that makes sense :way that makes sense :

• THED OGA TEHI SFO OD•

ATE FOOD

THE DOG HIS

THE DOG ATE HIS FOOD.