Educational Significance of Cognitive Development

Educational Significance of Cognitive Development – The educational significance of piaget‘s cognitive development in modern education is immense. The purpose of modern education is to develop the ability to think independently in students, so that they can solve their own problems by reasoning. Piaget’s theory is helping to make effective this ideal of education. The educational significance of the theory of cognitive development of piaget is discussed in the following way in terms of each of its stages.

1) The educational significance of the sensory-motor stage –

Child’s sensory-motor function works as main base of what a child learns at childhood. So in childhood children should be given toys or objects of different shapes, sizes and colors. In this way, on the one hand, children will have the opportunity to use their limbs, and on the other hand, they will have knowledge about the size, shape and color of the toys or objects, beside these they will able to know, the objects are hard or soft, stable or mobile. In order to develop children’s cognition according to their abilities, they need to be given the opportunity to interact with various objects around them.

For example – They will touch the object, put it in the mouth, remove it, pull it close, hold it, throw it, throw it from above, etc. In this way the child will learn through various sensory-motor actions. When a round object is pushed, it rolls, and when a hard and heavy object is fallen from above, it makes a special sound. Thus the child’s schema or knowledge develops.

2) The Educational Significance of Pre-Operational Stage –

At the pre-Operational Stage children can understand the existence of the outer world in addition to their own world. So the teacher should always be diligent so that the students at this stage can use different objects in a proper way and focus on making the students direct experience as much as possible. At this stage children use language as a medium for expressing their thoughts and ideas. So teachers and parents will create an environment for children during this time where children will have the opportunity to talk to adults.

3) The educational significance of concrete operational stage –

At the stage of concrete operation boys and girls react with tangible environments. At this stage they cannot react with abstract environments or abstract thoughts. Their knowledge develops through assimilation and collaboration as a result of interacting with the tangible environment. So at this stage students need to be more and more involved with the tangible environment or tangible content so that their knowledge or wisdom develops. Besides, they need to be involved with various small tasks which they can do. This will lead to real activism among them. As a result, on the one hand, their knowledge will develop, on the other hand, the depth of their attention will increase, their memory will be more efficient and they will gradually rise to the stage of logical activity.

4) The educational significance of formal operational stage –

The stage of formal operation in education is particularly significant. At this stage students argue in terms of possibilities. At this stage, the teacher will pay special attention to the students at the time of teaching whether the students are able to distinguish between the real and the possibilities. The teacher will help the students to develop their thinking ability by asking thoughtful questions during this time.

So, the theory of cognitive development of Piaget is specially significant in modern education. Education plans for all children or students should be made keeping in mind the features of each stage of this cognitive development. For this, all teachers need to know about the nature of cognitive development of children or human beings.

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