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There was a two day workshop titled "Understanding cognitive development of children" on May 13-14, 2004 at Chennai. The workshop introduced the theory of cognitive development put forth by Jean Piaget, Swiss philosopher and psychologist and provided a theoretical framework for children's processes of learning and creating knowledge. It was lead by educationist, L. S. Saraswati, who has worked with teachers and educators for over 25 years, enabling them to comprehend Jean Piaget's theories through their own experiences with children. The activities during the workshop helped teachers place their experiences with children in the framework of cognitive development put forth by Piaget. Please find information about the workshop enclosed below.
"Understanding cognitive development of children"
Background:
"I am a constructivist. I think that knowledge is a matter of constant, new construction, by its interaction with reality, and that it is not pre-formed. There is a continuous creativity" - Jean Piaget a Swiss psychologist and philosopher born in 1896 who, through studies of his own three children tried to better understand how children acquire knowledge. He spent much of his professional life listening to children and watching children. After thousands of interactions with young people often barely old enough to talk, Piaget began to suspect that behind their cute and seemingly illogical utterances were thought processes that had their own kind of order and their own special logic.
"Children have a real understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach them something too quickly, we keep them from reinventing it themselves" - He believed that the fundamental basis of learning, was discovery. To understand is to discover, or reconstruct by rediscovery, and such conditions must be compiled with, if in the future individuals are to be formed who are capable of production and creativity and not simply repetition.
Piaget portrayed the child as a lone scientist, creating his or her own sense of the world through her varied experiences, interpreting and building on the previous stage of understanding. Understanding children's understanding must guide teaching practice and evaluation. This workshop is an attempt to provide opportunity for those working with children to understand how children acquire knowledge, mental skills and the stages in which these occur."I am a constructivist. I think that knowledge is a matter of constant, new construction, by its interaction with reality, and that it is not pre-formed. There is a continuous creativity" - Jean Piaget a Swiss psychologist and philosopher born in 1896 who, through studies of his own three children tried to better understand how children acquire knowledge. He spent much of his professional life listening to children and watching children. After thousands of interactions with young people often barely old enough to talk, Piaget began to suspect that behind their cute and seemingly illogical utterances were thought processes that had their own kind of order and their own special logic. "Children have a real understanding only of that which they invent themselves, and each time that we try to teach them something too quickly, we keep them from reinventing it themselves" - He believed that the fundamental basis of learning, was discovery. To understand is to discover, or reconstruct by rediscovery, and such conditions must be compiled with, if in the future individuals are to be formed who are capable of production and creativity and not simply repetition Piaget portrayed the child as a lone scientist, creating his or her own sense of the world through her varied experiences, interpreting and building on the previous stage of understanding. Understanding children's understanding must guide teaching practice and evaluation. This workshop is an attempt to provide opportunity for those working with children to understand how children acquire knowledge, mental skills and the stages in which these occur.
What?
The workshop was based on activities that would bring out each person's experiences with children and related that to Piaget's theory of cognitive development. The workshop covered the following aspects of cognitive development of children
- Components of thinking i.e. what are the various mental skills
- Stages of development in thinking, i.e. stages of cognitive development
- Assimilation and accommodation of experiences and knowledge
- Framework of representations - various forms of expression
- Stages of representation
- Stages of moral development
When: May 13-14, 2004, 9:30 am to 5pm
For whom: For those working with children - teachers and educators
Language: Mainly English. Can accommodate Tamil.
Registration fee: Rs 200 per participant. This included food at the venue.
Workshop report