Test: Education & Leadership (Theoretical Perspectives) - Software Development MCQ

Cognitive development refers to the way children learn and process information. It includes improvement in attention, perception, language, thinking, memory, and reasoning.

• According to Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory, our thoughts and reasoning are part of adaptation. Cognitive development follows a definite sequence of stages. Piaget described four major stages of cognitive development.

Important Points

• 'Preoperational period' lasts around 2 to 6 or 7 years of age. In this stage, the child assumes that other people feel, see, and hear exactly the same as the child does.
• It refers to the child's inability to infer the perspective of other people or to see a situation from other's points of view. In this stage, the child faces problems with the irreversibility of thought, the concept of conservation, and struggles with the idea of centration.
• Due to the Centration in thought, the child can focus his attention only on one aspect of the situation at a time and cannot reverse the direction of his thought. 

Thus, it is concluded that one characteristic of pre-operational thought is Centration.

Hint

• Conservation: It refers to the idea that a quantity remains the same despite changes in appearance. If you show a child four marbles in a row, then spread them out, the preoperational child will focus on the spread, and tend to believe that there are now more marbles than before. The concrete operational child, on the other hand, will know that there are still four marbles.
•  Horizontal décalage occurs during the concrete operational stage of cognitive development which is around the ages of 7-11. This concept is most often observed using conservation tasks that we master during this stage.

Constructivism is centered on the idea that human knowledge and learning are actively constructed by the learner, not passively received from the environment. It is created or constructed by the experience of the individuals. 'Lev Vygotsky', a Russian psychologist, has propounded the "Socio-cultural Theory". This theory implies the idea that social interaction plays a crucial role in the development of a learner's ability. 

Vygotsky has proposed the concept of 'Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)' in his theory which refers to the:

• difference between what a learner can do on his/her own and what he/she can do with someone's help.
• distance between the learner's actual development level and his/her level of development under someone's guidance.
• range of task too difficult for the child to do alone, but possible with the help of adults and more skilled peers
• According to Vygotsky, social interaction is the primary cause of all-around development.
• His theory emphasizes that children learn through interaction and collaboration with skilled and knowledgeable people.
• More Knowledgeable Other (MKO) refers to a person with a higher skill level and a better understanding of the concepts than the learners like a teacher.
• Scaffolding refers to a process through which temporary support is imparted to the learners to enhance learning to achieve goals.​

Hence, we can conclude that Vygotsky stated that learners should be taught in 'Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)'.

The Cognitive Development Theory is given by Jean Piaget who is the father of Child Psychology.

Key Points

There are some critiques of Piaget's Theory:

• Several psychologists have attempted to show that Piaget also underestimates the intellectual capabilities of the pre-operational stage. For example, the children-specific experience can influence when they are able to conserve. Crane (2005) indicated that pre-operational children can think rationally about mathematics and scientific task and they are not as egocentric as Piaget implied.
• In this theory, cognitive Development has a specific and definite sequence which is also part of the critique.
• In this theory, no other aspects of development are explained.
• This theory is only based on biological maturity. 

​Hence, Piaget underestimating the capacities of children in the pre-operational stage is a critique of Piaget's theory.

In general, two well-known perspectives provide insight into cognition, learning, and development of children, namely Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, and Lev S. Vygotsky’s Socio-Cultural perspective on children’s learning and development.  Key PointsChildren’s self-talk and development

• Piaget and Vygotsky both have written on children’s self-talk. In fact, there are debates between how Piaget and Vygotsky have looked at this self-talk.
• Piaget calls it egocentric speech and sees it as a feature of the preoperational stage. 
  • Piaget relates private speech to egocentrism among children, and also calls it egocentric speech.
  • In this stage, the children assume that they are the centre of world and everything revolves around them.
  • He says that such speech indicates that the child is unable to see others' points of view. S/he only talks about what s/ he wants to. However, as s/he cognitively and socially develops such speech gradually disappears.
  • The child gradually becomes capable of considering others’ interests while talking and develops an interactive ability.

Hence, we can conclude that according to Piaget, Egocentric is a stage in which a child is the centre of the world and everything revolves around him.

Additional Information

• Vygotsky calls self-talk as private-speech.
  • Vygotsky believed that such self–talk has a positive developmental role to play.
  • It is important in the cognitive development of the child and gradually enables her to regulate herself, monitor herself, plan and solve problems.

Lev Vygotsky is a Russian Psychologist who proposed the theory of Socio-cultural development. In this theory, Vygotsky emphasizes the role of society and culture in the development of the child. According to him, there are three main needs for the development of the child and these are- Social interaction, Culture, and Language.

Key PointsVygotsky also proposed three basic needs of students during learning, these are: ZPD (zone of proximal development), Scaffolding, MKO (more knowledgeable others)

• Scaffolding: Scaffolding is the term, given by Vygotsky, in which he proposed that the temporary help given by the teachers, family, friends, etc. to the children in his learning. 
• Thus we can conclude that according to Vygotsky, scaffold children’s thinking is a primary role of the teacher.

Important Points

• ZPD (zone of proximal development):  The difference between the learning of a child by self and the learning of a child with the help of others(society, culture, etc).
• MKO (more knowledgeable others)- Vygotsky defined the “More Knowledgeable Other” (MKO) as anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, particularly in regards to a specific task, concept, or process. MKO could be teachers, parents, tutors, and even peers.

Hint

•  Learning should not be based on memorization. Memorization makes negative impact on student's learning.

Additional Information  According to Vygotsky, there are three main factors that affect the learning of the child and these are- Social interaction, Culture, and Language:

• Social interaction: ​​Children try to interact with people.
  • Example: Peer groups, family members, etc.
• Culture: ​Children adopt the culture by interaction. 
• Language: Children can easily intimate their primary language through interaction or communication.

Piaget’s theory tells us that the child is born with a mental/cognitive structure that develops and attains maximum growth around the age of 14 or 15 years.

Key Points

• Piaget’s theory provides a comprehensive picture of cognitive development from birth to the age of 14 or 15 when cognitive development attains its peak.
• Piaget conceives cognitive development as consisting of a series of stages, each characterized by certain kinds of behaviors, and certain ways of thinking and solving problems.
• All the age-specific stages have been grouped under four broad stages:

Hence, we can conclude that Jean Piaget's theory of child development is based on Cognitive development.

Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, has made a systematic study of cognitive development in his theory that is categorized in four stages. 

• He observed his children and their process of making sense of the world around them and developed a model of how the mind processes new information encountered.

Key Points

Concrete Operational Stage: 

• The 'Concrete Operational Stage' lasts around 7 to 11/12 years of age which refers to the late childhood stage of child development.

• In this stage, children become more logical in concrete things but lack abstract ideas.
• Children can classify objects into groups and subgroups and gain the ability of conservation of numbers, area, and volume.
• Children show attainment of the concept of reversibility, seriation, and transitivity as a cognitive capacity.
• Reversibility is the understanding that a child develops to know that things that have been changed can be returned to their original state.

Hence, it could be concluded that according to Piaget at the concrete operational stage, a child becomes more logical in concrete things, but lacks abstract ideas.

Important Points 

Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development:

Lawrence Kohlberg, an American psychologist, has propounded the 'Theory of Moral Development'. He has made a systematic study of moral development in his theory that is categorised into 3 levels and 6 stages.

Key Points

• Children or individuals who are committed to justice that they might disobey unjust laws is the universal principle and substage of the post-conventional stage of Kohlberg’s moral development. People at this stage develop their own set of rules and laws if they don’t agree with the existing laws or rules. The other three are related to conventional and pre-conventional stages.
• Kohlberg’s theory has an impact on cognitive maturity. Kohlberg stages are briefly explained below:​

Thus from the above-mentioned points, it is clear that children or individuals who are committed to justice that they might disobey unjust laws is true for Post conventional morality stage of Kohlberg.

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist has propounded the 'Theory of Classical Conditioning' which emphasizes that learning as a habit formation is based on the principle of association and substitution. He is known as the father of modern learning theory. Modern learning theory continues to build on Pavlovian conditioning.

Classical Conditioning Theory explains that the process of learning takes place when a response becomes associated with a new stimulus and this process of a response to a new stimulus is known as conditioning.

Important Points

Ivan Pavlov given the following terms discovered during Theory of Classical Conditioning:

The neutral stimulus is the term given to describe the conditioned stimulus before classical conditioning occurs. Let's understand further:

• Neutral Stimulus: Under its occurrence in close time and space with a natural stimulus that gives rise to a natural response, becomes capable of eliciting that natural response, even in absence of the natural stimulus.
• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): The natural stimulus that elicits a natural response. In Pavlov’s experiment, the meat powder was the UCS.
• Unconditioned response (UCR): The natural response elicited to the natural stimulus. In Pavlov’s experiment, the salivation was the UCR.
• Conditioned stimulus (CS): The neutral stimulus that does not naturally elicit the target response, but may do so after being associated with the UCS several times. In Pavlov’s experiment, the sound of the bell was the CS.
• Conditioned response (CR): The target response similar to the UCR that originally occurred to the UCS only, but after conditioning occurred to CS, even in the absence of the UCS. In Pavlov’s experiment, the salivation that occurred in response to the bell was the CR.

Hence, we can conclude that Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was the father of Modern Learning Theory.

Additional Information

B. F. Skinner, an American psychologist, propounded the "Theory of Operant Conditioning" which is also known as "Theory of Reinforcement" and "Instrumental Conditioning  Theory".

• This theory refers to the learning process where learning takes place through rewarding a certain behaviour or withholding reward for undesirable behaviour.
• Skinner emphasizes that a person or animal tends to ‘repeat’ behaviour which has been ‘rewarded’ (positively reinforced), or tends to ‘stop’ which has been ‘punished’ (negatively reinforced).

Key Points

Reinforcement:

• Much of human learning could be explained with the help of the operant conditioning method. The role of reinforcement is very crucial in operant conditioning. It can be positive or negative. 
• For example, parents and other authorities attempt to discourage aggressive behaviours by punishing them and reward for good behaviours.

Let us understand these two types of reinforcement.

• Positive Reinforcement: 
  • ​A behaviour that is associated with a positive consequence or desirable outcome in the past will increase the chances of the behaviour to occur again. This is called positive reinforcement.
  • For example, Irfan, a new manager in a company, began praising workers for submitting their reports on time. In a couple of weeks, this reinforcement by praise greatly increased on-time reports.
• Negative reinforcement: 
  • Learning can also take place if an undesirable consequence is avoided because of an action taken. This is called negative reinforcement. It can be used for children with Special Needs.
  • For example, if a student does not prepare for exams and gets fail marks (painful) and understands that by preparing for the next exam he can avoid getting fail marks, then we can say he is negatively reinforced to study.

Hence, it could be concluded that ​​“Concept of reinforcement” is an important element of Operant conditioning theory of learning.

Cognitive development means how children think, explore and figure things out. It is the development of knowledge, skills, problem-solving, and dispositions, which help children to think about and understand the world around them.

Key Points In Piaget’s theory, the sensorimotor stage is first, which spans from "birth to language learning" is defined as the period when infants “think” using their senses and motor actions.

• As every new parent will attest, infants continually touch, manipulate, look, listen to, and even bite and chew objects.
• According to Piaget, these actions allow them to learn about the world and are crucial to their early cognitive development.
• The concept of Object Permanence is attained during the first stage of Piaget's theory which is the 'Sensorimotor Stage'. 
• Object permanence is knowing that an object still exists, even if it is hidden.
• During this period, children experience everything through their senses and develop the understanding that < />objects continue to exist even when they can't be seen, heard, and touched.

Thus, it is concluded that According to Piaget, children will learn the concept of object permanence during Sensory motor stage.

NOTE: 

Refer to the image to know the characteristics of other stages of Piaget's Theory:

Classical conditioning is a learning paradigm from the behavioral point of view propounded by Ivan Pavlov.

Key Points

• Classical conditioning is referred to as learning by association.
• In classical conditioning, a neutral stimulus, by virtue of its occurrence in close time and space with a natural stimulus that gives rise to a natural response, becomes capable of eliciting that natural response, even in absence of the natural stimulus.
• It is applicable only for reflexive and spontaneous responses, and not for voluntary responses.​

Hence, the Classical conditioning theory propounded by Ivan Pavlov explains learning by association.

Hint

• Reinforcement refers to any reward given to strengthen a behavior. It is associated with operant conditioning.
• Imitation is observing and repeating the observed behavior. It is an element of social learning theory.
• Insight is an element of Gestalt theories.

Additional Information Pavlov identified four essential elements of the learning process:

• Unconditioned stimulus (UCS): The natural stimulus that elicits a natural response. In Pavlov’s experiment, the meat powder was the UCS.
• Unconditioned response (UCR): The natural response elicited to the natural stimulus. In Pavlov’s experiment, the salivation was the UCR.
• Conditioned stimulus (CS): The neutral stimulus that does not naturally elicit the target response, but may do so after being associated with the UCS a number of times. In Pavlov’s experiment, the light or the sound of the bell was the CS.
• Conditioned response (CR): The target response is similar to the UCR that originally occurred to the UCS only, but after conditioning occurred to CS, even in absence of the UCS. In Pavlov’s experiment, the salivation that occurred in response to the light or bell was the CR.

Pavlov is a Russian psychologist, is also known as "Father of Conditional Reflection".

Key Points

• During his studies, he noticed that dogs, on whom he was doing his experiments, started secreting saliva as soon as they saw the empty plate in which food was served.
• These unusual responses intrigued Pavlov, and he wondered what accounted for what he called the dogs’ “psychic secretions”. Saliva secretion is a reflexive response to food or something in the mouth.

Important Points 

Pavlov designed an experiment to understand this process in detail:

• Pavlov was studying the gastric secretion of the dogs by placing meat powder in their mouth and measuring the saliva.
• A bell was sounded and immediately thereafter food (meat powder) was served to the dog. The dog was allowed to eat it.
• For the next few days, every time the meat powder was presented, it was preceded by the sound of a bell
• After several such trials, a test trial was introduced in which everything was the same as the previous trials except that no food followed the sounding of the bell.
• The dog still salivated to the sound of the bell, expecting presentation of the meat powder as the sound of the bell had come to be connected with it.
• This association between the bell and food resulted in the acquisition of a new response by the dog, i.e. salivation to the sound of the bell. This has been termed as conditioning.
• All dogs salivate when they are presented with food. Food is thus an Unconditioned Stimulus (US) and salivation which follows it, and Unconditioned Response (UR).
• After conditioning, salivation started to occur in the presence of the sound of the bell. The bell becomes a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and saliva secretion a Conditioned Response (CR). This kind of conditioning is called classical conditioning.

Hence, we conclude that Ivan Pavlov in his experiment called the dog’s anticipatory salivation as psychic secretion.

Piaget explained that children progress through four stages and in the same order. The Four Stages of Cognitive Development are as follows:-

1. The Sensorimotor Stage (0 to 2yrs)
2. The Preoperational Stage (2 to 7)
3. The Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 12)
4. The Formal Operational Stage (12 to adulthood)

Key Points The concrete operational stage is the third stage in Piaget's theory of Cognitive Development.

• In this stage, Children gain the abilities of conservation of number, area, volume, and orientation.
• Children can conserve numbers (age 6), mass (age 7), and weight (age 9). Conservation is the understanding that something stays the same in quantity even when its appearance changes.
• Reversibility, seriation, transitivity also developed in this stage.
• Seriation refers to the ability to understand that even if objects are placed at distant positions, their number remains the same.
• The ability to conserve is one of the major accomplishments of the concrete operational stage.
• Conservation is the understanding that a child develops to know that a thing remains the same even if it changes in shape or appearance.

Additional Information

• Hypothetic - Deductive Reasoning ⇒ Formal Operational Stage
• Secondary Circular Reactions ⇒ Sensorimotor Stage
• Animistic Thinking ⇒ Pre-Operational Stage

Hence, it becomes clear that the ability of 'Seriation' is the characteristic of the Concrete Operational Stage.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development focuses on the child's thoughts, perception, and acquisition of knowledge at each stage. Piaget basically focused on two processes assimilation and accommodation.

Key Points

• Assimilation is a process in which with the help of experiences an individual assimilates or fits new thoughts and information into an existing old thought or idea.
• It is a process of integrating external elements into definite structures through experience. It is a process with the help of which an individual adapts new information. It leads to the fitting of new information into pre-existing cognitive schemas.
• It gradually occurs when an individual faces new or unfamiliar information and then the individual refers to previously learned information in order to make sense of it.
• For example- Raman who now ‘knows’ the animal-type called dog, sees a cat for the first time. He sees that the animal has a tail, is furry, and has four legs – just like his scheme to understand dog. He now calls the cat a dog. What has Raman done? He has used an existing scheme/knowledge of dog to make sense of a new animal he sees. Despite the fact that cat does not look exactly the same as the dog he understands the cat as a dog. This fitting of new experience into an already existing scheme is called Assimilation.

Thus, it is concluded that the process of fitting new information into old ideas is known as assimilation. 

Additional Information

•  Accommodation is totally the opposite of assimilation. In the process of accommodation, an individual takes new information in one’s environment and alters the pre-existing schemas in order to fit in the new information.
• Operative Intelligence: It involves all actions, overt or covert, undertaken in order to follow, recover, or anticipate the transformations of the objects or persons of interest.
• Figurative Intelligence:  It is the more or less static aspect of intelligence, involving all means of representation used to retain in mind the states that is, it involves perception, imitation, mental imagery, drawing, and language.

In Receptive or Passive learning, the direction of learning is from written or spoken form to meaning.
Key Points There are some essential points related to the respective learning given below.

• In receptive learning, we derive knowledge of words through encountering them in text and speech.
• Receptive learning is associated with learning a  language through reading and listening.
• Reading and listening involve receiving information and so they are called receptive learning.
• In receptive learning, the concept is given by someone and received by the child.
• These skills are sometimes known as passive learning.
• Receptive skills can be contrasted with the productive or active skills of speaking and writing.
• The most common approach to receptive skills in the TEFL classroom is to ask students to read.

 Hence we can say that the concept given by someone and received by a child such type of learning takes place in Receptive learning in Modern Cognitive Theory.

Additional Information

• Receptive language is the understanding of the information provided in a variety.
• Receptive language is important to communicate successfully.
• The aim of teaching receptive to help the learner to understand spoke

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian psychologist has propounded the 'Theory of Classical Conditioning' which emphasizes that learning as a habit formation is based on the principle of association and substitution.

Key Points

• Dog was involved in Pavlov’s experiment of classical conditioning. During his experiment, Pavlov noticed that dog started secreting saliva as soon as the dog saw the empty plate in which food was served. Saliva secretion is a reflexive response to food or something in the mouth.  

Let's have a look at Pavlov’s experiment:

• Pavlov was studying the gastric secretion of the dogs by placing meat powder in their mouth and measuring the saliva.
• A bell was sounded and immediately thereafter food (meat powder) was served to the dog. The dog was allowed to eat it.
• For the next few days, every time the meat powder was presented, it was preceded by the sound of a bell
• After a number of such trials, a test trial was introduced in which everything was the same as the previous trials except that no food followed the sounding of the bell.
• The dog still salivated to the sound of the bell, expecting the presentation of the meat powder as the sound of the bell had come to be connected with it.
• This association between the bell and food resulted in the acquisition of a new response by the dog, i.e. salivation to the sound of the bell. This has been termed as conditioning.
• All dogs salivate when they are presented with food. Food is thus an Unconditioned Stimulus (US) and salivation, which follows it, is an Unconditioned Response (UR).
• After conditioning, salivation started to occur in the presence of the sound of the bell. The bell becomes a Conditioned Stimulus (CS) and saliva secretion a Conditioned Response (CR). This kind of conditioning is called classical conditioning.

Hence, it could be concluded that Dog was involved in Pavlov’s experiment of classical conditioning. 

NOTE: Pigeon and rabbit were involved in Skinner’s experiment of operant conditioning.

Language, which is considered as the most awesome of universal human achievements, develops with extraordinary speed in early childhood.​ Language development refers to the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them for the understanding of the others. Language development concerns itself with the length and the patterns of sentence structure, grammatical construction, and syntax.

Key Points

• B.F Skinner believed that children learn language through operant conditioning. Language is learned through imitation and reinforcement.
• Reinforcement is something that enhances the strength of the response and prompts repetitions of the behavior that preceded reinforcement.
• Children receive “rewards” for using language in a functional manner. Skinner also tells that children learn language through imitation of others and prompting.
• According to Skinner, the child learns language by imitating their parents or the persons around them. Children strengthen their responses by the repetitions, corrections, and other reactions that adults provide, thus language is practice-based.

Thus, it is concluded that according to B.F. Skinner's language development in children takes place as an outcome of imitation and reinforcement.

'Lev Vygotsky', a Soviet psychologist, has propounded the "Socio-cultural Theory". This theory implies the idea that social interaction plays a crucial role in the development of a learner's cognitive ability. 

• His theory emphasizes that children learn through interaction and collaboration with skilled and knowledgeable people.

Key Points

Vygotsky's view on Language:

• Lev Vygotsky emphasized that the acquisition of speech is the major activity in cognitive development.
• He believed by acquiring language, the child modifies its higher mental functions.
• Vygotsky stresses the impact of language on cognitive development. According to him, children speak to themselves for self-guidance.

Important Points 

In his "Socio-cultural Theory", Vygotsky also proposed the three stages of language that a child progresses while developing cognitively. These stages are:

Hence, it could be concluded that in the views of Lev Vygotsky, language facilitates cognitive development.

Albert Bandura, an American psychologist has propounded  "observational learning/Social Learning Theory" in which he advocated that:

• cognitive and problem-solving skills can be learned by watching and imitating others.
• new behaviours and experiences are acquired by observing others in the immediate environment.

Key Points

The observational learning theory of 'Albert Bandura' emphasizes that the process of social learning consists of four steps (respectively) including:

Hence, it could be concluded that the sequences of Bandura's observational learning are Attention process → retention → production → motivation.