Piaget and Child Developmental Theory in the Classroom
Piaget is well known for constructing a noteworthy model of child development and learning. His theory is based on cognitive structures or schemes for understanding and responding to physical experiences within the individual's environment (Gannon 2000). He asserts that a child's mental structure increases in complexity and sophistication in development, going from a few innate reflexes at birth to complex mental activities in adulthood (Funderstanding 2004). In discussing his developmental theory and centering it to our target age group: junior high and high school students; we find that during ages eleven through fifteen, the child goes through formal operations where their cognitive structures are very similar to those of an adult which include conceptual reasoning (Funderstanding 2004). The focus of this paper is to apply Piaget's theory to instructional planning and delivery, classroom set-up and management and assessment in a classroom.
Instructional Planning and Delivery
We as teachers can establish their curriculum according to Piaget's developmental model that enhances student's logical and conceptual growth. This can be done in a couple of steps. First of all, a teacher must develop their instruction and then structure their lesson plan based on how student's think and learn. We must elaborate on the critical role that experiences play a vital role in student learning and should take into consideration that fundamental concepts such as the permanence of objects, play in creating cognitive structures (Funderstanding 2004).