Jean Piaget, Genetic Epistemology
"The principle goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done."
Genetic epistemology, which includes Piaget's theory of cognitive development, describes human knowledge acquisition and the stages cognitive development that determine thought processes and function. Through these specific knowledge processes and stages, humans are able to grow intellectually and learn.
Key Terms
Cognition - The process of acquiring knowledge and understanding.
Schemes - Organized patterns of thought that allow someone to group the information that they are receiving with their existing knowledge.
Adaptation - The process of matching conception of reality and real life experiences. This is how someone incorporates new knowledge into their existing or past knowledge.
Assimilation - Fitting new information into an existing scheme.
Accommodation - Revising an existing scheme to incorporate new information.
Constructing Knowledge - The belief that learning is not just a transference of information but an active creation of knowledge.
Theory of Cognitive Development - The stages that every human goes through in their ability to acquire knowledge and process new information.
Stages of Cognitive Development:
Schemes - Organized patterns of thought that allow someone to group the information that they are receiving with their existing knowledge.
Adaptation - The process of matching conception of reality and real life experiences. This is how someone incorporates new knowledge into their existing or past knowledge.
Assimilation - Fitting new information into an existing scheme.
Accommodation - Revising an existing scheme to incorporate new information.
Constructing Knowledge - The belief that learning is not just a transference of information but an active creation of knowledge.
Theory of Cognitive Development - The stages that every human goes through in their ability to acquire knowledge and process new information.
Stages of Cognitive Development:
Genetic Epistemology in Action
This video focuses on different characteristics that determine knowledge acquisition and cognitive development at each of Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. This video explicitly shows how students think at different stages in their development and works well to show how that changes as they move through the stages. You can see this in every day life in something as simple as a mother playing peek-a-boo with their child. The child is in the Sensorimotor stage and isn't able to understand object permanence. That is why this game is so enjoyable for a small child but is not enjoyable for an older child. This is because the older child understands that you are not gone because your face is hidden.
Lesson Planning in the Classroom
Lesson planning in the classroom would need to understand which stage the student is at in their cognitive development. Once that stage is determined it can positively impact how a student will acquire knowledge and the stage that they may be growing into during their time in your classroom. Some techniques that would be very effective for students in the elementary grades would include:
Unit Plans - Using a unit plan would allow students to incorporate new information into their current schemes in the most effective way. If students are studying them same topic in multiple subjects it helps students to understand how the material fits together and would be very effective in understanding the material and retaining new information.
Inquiry Learning - This would allow students to use effective knowledge construction. An example of interactive learning could include allowing students to explore and discover a topic based on the questions that they pose. This will allow students to be continuously engaged as well as allow them to effectively manipulate the knowledge that they are receiving.
This theory is used in contemporary education in many facets. It is used in developmentally appropriate curriculum because it is crucial that students are learning material that they are able to comprehend and effectively understand. It is also applied when activating prior knowledge because it allow students to connect the new material to the material that has already been learned therefore activating their schemes. Differentiation is also a proponent because students at different cognitive levels are often placed together. If a student has more advanced reasoning skills they may be given more work in conjunction with those skills and the students still working on those reasoning skills can continue to foster them. The constructivist learning theory is an excellent example of how this theory can be applied to education today. Genetic Epistemology focuses on how children gain knowledge and education is always looking for ways to help students to learn the material in the classroom and this theory is therefore constantly being applied.
Unit Plans - Using a unit plan would allow students to incorporate new information into their current schemes in the most effective way. If students are studying them same topic in multiple subjects it helps students to understand how the material fits together and would be very effective in understanding the material and retaining new information.
Inquiry Learning - This would allow students to use effective knowledge construction. An example of interactive learning could include allowing students to explore and discover a topic based on the questions that they pose. This will allow students to be continuously engaged as well as allow them to effectively manipulate the knowledge that they are receiving.
This theory is used in contemporary education in many facets. It is used in developmentally appropriate curriculum because it is crucial that students are learning material that they are able to comprehend and effectively understand. It is also applied when activating prior knowledge because it allow students to connect the new material to the material that has already been learned therefore activating their schemes. Differentiation is also a proponent because students at different cognitive levels are often placed together. If a student has more advanced reasoning skills they may be given more work in conjunction with those skills and the students still working on those reasoning skills can continue to foster them. The constructivist learning theory is an excellent example of how this theory can be applied to education today. Genetic Epistemology focuses on how children gain knowledge and education is always looking for ways to help students to learn the material in the classroom and this theory is therefore constantly being applied.
History
Jean Piaget - Developmental Psychology
1896-1980
Piaget was influenced in many ways to study genetic epistemology. He became interested in psychology due to a neurotic mother and became interested in epistemology through his godfather. This shaped what he chose to study in his early life. He moved to Geneva in 1921 to work in the field of child psychology. He meant to only work there for a short time before returning to work with mental patients, but he met his wife and chose to stay in this particular subsection of the field with her. He began looking at the lack of structure when it came to how children acquired knowledge and used Gestalt psychology to guide his work. As Piaget's children were born he began to study their development constantly and used this information to guide his research. He began studying how children can manipulate objects instead of just how they reacted to them. These factors help to drive his research on how children learn and his theories grew from this foundation. His main focus for all of his theories is how humans acquire knowledge and he focuses specifically on children and their development.
1896-1980
Piaget was influenced in many ways to study genetic epistemology. He became interested in psychology due to a neurotic mother and became interested in epistemology through his godfather. This shaped what he chose to study in his early life. He moved to Geneva in 1921 to work in the field of child psychology. He meant to only work there for a short time before returning to work with mental patients, but he met his wife and chose to stay in this particular subsection of the field with her. He began looking at the lack of structure when it came to how children acquired knowledge and used Gestalt psychology to guide his work. As Piaget's children were born he began to study their development constantly and used this information to guide his research. He began studying how children can manipulate objects instead of just how they reacted to them. These factors help to drive his research on how children learn and his theories grew from this foundation. His main focus for all of his theories is how humans acquire knowledge and he focuses specifically on children and their development.
Research
This is article, written by Katherine Powell and Cody Karina, supports how Genetic Epistemology can be effectively used in the classroom. It highlights how the constructivist learning theory is supported by genetic epistemology and also looks at how to create lessons that effectively use how students cognitively acquire knowledge.
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Links
More details on Genetic Epistemology
https://sites.google.com/site/informationfornewteachers/cognitive-development
Teacher's Sharing Network - Jean Piaget and Educational Psychology
http://teachersharingnetwork.blogspot.com/2015/03/essay-piaget-and-educational-psychology.html
Detailed description of the Theory of Cognitive Development
http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/piaget.html
Additional information on Piaget for educators
http://www.funderstanding.com/educators/piaget/
Comparing and using Vygotsky and Piaget's Theories for educators
https://sites.google.com/site/informationfornewteachers/cognitive-development
https://sites.google.com/site/informationfornewteachers/cognitive-development
Teacher's Sharing Network - Jean Piaget and Educational Psychology
http://teachersharingnetwork.blogspot.com/2015/03/essay-piaget-and-educational-psychology.html
Detailed description of the Theory of Cognitive Development
http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/piaget.html
Additional information on Piaget for educators
http://www.funderstanding.com/educators/piaget/
Comparing and using Vygotsky and Piaget's Theories for educators
https://sites.google.com/site/informationfornewteachers/cognitive-development
References
Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013). Ed psych. Belmont: Wadsworth.
Presnell, Faith. (1999). Jean Piaget. Muskingum.edu. http://muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/piaget.htm
Quote - http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jean_piaget.html
Picture - http://mtmmrl.pbworks.com/w/page/25818078/Piaget, funderstanding.com
Presnell, Faith. (1999). Jean Piaget. Muskingum.edu. http://muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/piaget.htm
Quote - http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/j/jean_piaget.html
Picture - http://mtmmrl.pbworks.com/w/page/25818078/Piaget, funderstanding.com