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Development:

Cognitive Development: Piaget

  • How do children think differently than adults?
  • How is each change a revolution of mind?
  • Emphasize concrete operations stage as example of stages.
  • Schemas, assimilate, accomodate, equilibriate - how are they similar and different?

Gender Identity Development;

  • How is it related to cognitive development?
  • compare cognitive development theory, social learning theory, gender schema
  • Examples of skills, abilities, and ways of being that have been associated with gender.
  • How is it more than pink and blue?
  • What's the difference between a person's mind or a store being very schematic and not schematic?

Sample Questions

1. Choose a book or game and describe which skills it requires at each of Piaget's stages of cognitive development (all may not apply , two stages minimum). You can include both the skills required to understand the game (e.g. to play Chutes and Ladders, you need to be able to count) and skills required to do well (e.g. in checkers, the basic moves are simple, but the strategy involves complex planning). Include issues related to the social aspect as well (e.g. waiting your turn). see this web address for examples of book analyses (partial analyses) http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/tlink/development/projects_new/project3_kidbook_examples.html

2. As it relates to development of gender identity, describe one example of how people think about gender or act based on gender or how gender comes up in a conversation that shows the difference between gender schema theory and either social learning theory or cognitive development. You'll probably need to show 2 versions of the example, one that supports gender schema and one that is cognitive development or social learning.

Compare and contrast:
Make up a schema for a person and take a piece of information (say, a new toy). Show how your mind looks different if you assimilate the toy or accomodate to it.

Give examples of funny things children say or do that show they are at the stage they are. That is, that they don't understand the more complicated schemas of later developmental stages.

2. Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? According to Piaget's stages, at the early part of which stage will children find this funny? (Alternate: choose one game children play, describe how it's played and what Development Ch. 8 Piaget, GST 4. John divides all things into "flat things with pictures" (baseball cards, Pokemon cards) and "figurines" (dolls, army men, Yoda statue), because you can make up stories with figurines; "flat things with pictures" are good for looking at or sticking on the front of a notebook. Now his friend comes up and asks him to trade Pokemon cards. His dad, who thinks about things in terms of how much money they are worth, hopes he won't give away valuable ones for crap. Is his dad hoping John will assimilate or accommodate? Give an example of how his dad would alter his schema. Explain

5. Describe the gender schemas for two people. Based on the descriptions, which is more gender schematic? Apply the general ideas about schemas (what are the functions of schemas?). Also, apply the nature of gender schemas that we talked about in class or are discussed in the gender schema theory section of the text.

2. As it relates to development of gender identity, describe one example of how people think about gender or act based on gender or how gender comes up in a conversation that shows the diffrence between gender schema theory and either social learning theory or cognitive development. You'll probably need to show 2 versions of the example, one that supports gender schema and one that is cognitive development or social learning.

2a. Choose a book or game and describe which skills it requires at each of Piaget's stages of cognitive development (all may not apply , two stages minimum). You can include both the skills required to understand the game (e.g. to play Chutes and Ladders, you need to be able to count) and skills required to do well (e.g. in checkers, the basic moves are simple, but the strategy involves complex planning). Include issues related to the social aspect as well (e.g. waiting your turn). see this web address for examples of book analyses (partial analyses) http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/tlink/development/projects_new/project3_kidbook_examples.html

2b. As it relates to development of gender identity, describe one difference between gender schema theory and either social learning theory or cognitive development.

4. Give an example of how gender schema theory shows the effect on children's thinking beyond identifying boys and girls, pink and blue, to a wider range of developmental effects (skills, abilities, etc.).

5. Match the type of category with the level of Piaget's stage it is most likely to be found at.
___ blue things and red things
___ mass, amount, friendly, trustworthy
___ socialist practices and capitalist practices
___ toys and food
a. sensori-motor (0-2 yrs)
b. pre-operational (2-6 yrs)
c. concrete operational (6-12 yrs)
d. formal operational (12-on)