THEORY INTO PRACTICE – EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

PART 1: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

1. Name and describe the overall cognitive developmental level of your class. Use the LCAS class data
set information.

From Class A, the overall cognitive developmental level is low concrete operational with

13 students. There are also 8 students with high concrete operational, 2 students with low formal,

and 2 students not measured. The overall cognitive developmental level, low concrete

operational, means that students are able to think logically when using concrete materials. They

are able to understand the viewpoints of others which makes them work better in groups. These

students benefit from watching and participating in groups but can become frustrated when

paired with those of a higher ability. On the higher end of the line, high concrete operational

students want to be talked to and not talked at. When working with these students, we should

allow them to explain themselves and ask them why they believe what they said. These students

are higher up on the scale, so they can rebuild their knowledge through logic. The low formal

operational students are a step higher than the high concrete operational students. These students

think more abstractly, systematically, and hypothetically. Lastly, the not measured students do

not identify with any of these cognitive developmental levels.

2. Using the individual student descriptive information in your data set, identify any students who are
not in the cognitive developmental category you identified in #1 (we will refer to these students as
“outliers”). Use the space below to describe the characteristics of the outliers in your class list. If
everyone is the same, then please state that – blank answer spaces will be incorrect.

The two outliers in this class are the not measured students and the low formal

operational students. The two students who were not measured could have opted out to be tested

or were identified with none of the cognitive developmental levels. The 2 low formal operational

students as described in #1, are able to expand their thinking in a way that is abstract. These

students think about certain situations from a different perspective.

 THEORY INTO PRACTICE – EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
PART 1: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

3. Using the Table below, describe what can be expected cognitively from the students with the
predominant cognitive developmental level. Then describe how that information about these students
should impact your classroom practice in the areas of instruction, assessment, and classroom
management. (As you begin typing in the spaces below the indicators, they will expand to accept your
content.)

Predominant What insight does Piaget’s theory give Implications from Piaget’s theory about
Cognitive you about most of this class classroom practice (instruction,
Developmental assessment, management, etc.)
Level in the Class
Low Concrete These third-grade students are at From this information, students in the

around the level that they should be third grade will complete many

at considering that the concrete hands-on activities during instruction

stage occurs between the ages of 7 to help them with their process of

and 11. They should also be able to understanding and making

perform seriation, classification, observations. During reading time,

and conservation. Students at the students can use the concept of

lower level of concrete will perform seriation to place sentences in order

ordering objects in size, grouping, to properly form a story. During

or conserve numbers/mass at a science, students can create 3D

harder or slower rate. They may not models of the planets to place them in

be able to fully understand some of the correct order. Social studies

these concepts. lessons should also include timelines.

When assessing students in the low

concrete operational stage, the

teacher can include Venn diagrams

on tests to allow students to compare

one idea to another which helps them

 THEORY INTO PRACTICE – EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
PART 1: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

to make connections and think

logically about both ideas. To create

an effective classroom management

space, teachers should call on

students and allow them to explain

their reasoning behind their answer.

If the answer is out of place, teachers

can point out the errors which allows

students to think about the new

knowledge being presented as well as

reconstructing knowledge. Providing

this feedback will enhance student-

teacher relationships and create a

positive learning environment. In

general, teachers can provide low

concrete operational students with

brain teasers or riddles to improve

their developmental stage.

4. Using the Table below, describe what can be expected cognitively from the outlier students based
upon their Piagetian cognitive developmental level(s). Then describe how that information about these
students should impact your classroom practice in the areas of instruction, assessment, and classroom
management. (As you begin typing in the spaces below the indicators, they will expand to accept your
content.)
 THEORY INTO PRACTICE – EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
PART 1: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

Outlier Cognitive What insight does Piaget’s theory give Implications from Piaget’s theory about
Developmental you about the outliers in this class? classroom practice (instruction,
Level(s) in the (Be sure to represent all the different assessment, management, etc.)
Class developmental levels in your responses)
Not Measured Piaget’s theory does show that For instruction, teachers can observe

students can be classified as one of the students who are not measured to

the developmental stages which figure out where their ability is at.

include sensorimotor, They can give those who are not

preoperational, concrete, or formal. measured objects to order based on

Students do have different amounts volume and math problems on

of experience and capabilities, so combinations like how many ice

being not measured could be a sign cream flavors can be paired with a

that the students do not have waffle cone and a sprinkle cone. To

sufficient amount of assess not measured students,

information/experience to be teachers can recommend that the

assigned to a developmental stage. student take a cognitive development

test, like an IQ test, to identify if

there are learning disabilities or brain

injuries. Another way to assess a not

measured student is to go through the

stages. Teachers can place a block

behind an object an see if the student

can reach it, this is part of the

sensorimotor stage. Next, give the

students a scene to reenact with

 THEORY INTO PRACTICE – EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
PART 1: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

different role characters, this is part

of the preoperational stage. Then,

teachers can place two pencils of the

same length in front of the student.

Ask the student if they are the same

length, and then move one pencil

away from the other one to create the

illusion that one pencil is longer than

the other one, this is the concrete

stage. Lastly, if students can solve

fractions, or percentages, then they

are in the formal operational stage.

Some students may also be

considered not measured because

they opted out or that there was a lack

of responses in the student’s survey.

Throughout class, teachers should be

managing the not measured students

to ensure that they are making

progress.

Low Formal Piaget’s theory suggests that the For instruction, teachers should be

two students who are in the low teaching these students wide-ranged

formal stage in the class are above concepts and not just the facts in a
THEORY INTO PRACTICE – EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
PART 1: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

some of their classmates textbook. There should also be more

developmentally. These students complex diagrams and charts

have a goal directed behavior available to these students. During a

(sensorimotor), have a dominated writing assignment, teachers can

perception (preoperational), can allow these types of students to write

think logically (concrete), and can about what they would do in a

somewhat solve abstract problems zombie apocalypse to get the

(low formal). These low formal imaginative aspect involved. When

students are able to take sentences assessing students, teachers should

with more meaning and deconstruct include an essay question to allow

it to understand what the sentence them to expand and provide more

really means. They also have more than one answer. When managing a

of an understanding and reasoning class with students who are low

behind why certain situations may formal, teachers should encourage

occur. students to explain their reasoning.

To manage the class, teachers can

place students who are low formal in

groups with others who are not to

create more in-depth conversations.

The other students in the group would

benefit because they are getting

introduced to thinking more

abstractly and hypothetically. The

THEORY INTO PRACTICE – EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM
PART 1: COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY

low formal students in the process are

adding to their knowledge to become

high formal students.