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Piaget 's Theory Of Cognitive Development

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Piaget and Classroom Assessment
Introduction
The Cognitive Learning Theory came into the forefront of educational psychology predominately in the 1950s. At the end of the era of behaviorism, many theorists questioned whether or not behaviorism fully explained learning. Sure, there was an understanding of observable behaviors, but what about what was going on in the mind? Theorists such as Tolman, Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner all helped to pioneer a movement away from behaviorism to a cognitive approach (Yilmaz, 2011).
Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development Although Tolman may be considered the forefather of the Cognitive Revolution, many consider Jean Piaget to be this theory’s most notable figure. Like Tolman, Piaget believed that learning was more than just a response to stimuli, but rather an active process, in which the brain adapts, seeks information, stores it, and makes connections. (Yilmaz, 2011) In short, the Cognitive Learning Theory focuses on the way we think, how we come to understanding, and what we know (Learning Theories). Piaget spent many years researching the way children learn. Notably, he examined children in their natural environment instead of a lab. He assessed that knowledge comes in the form of schemas, which is basically everything we already know (Cognitive Development, 2015). Later, he claimed that our schemas work hand in hand with two processes called Assimilation, which is when the learner takes on knew information and it connects it

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