You learned about the stages of cognitive development that Piaget suggested that children pass through as they develop their mental abilities. For this assignment, review the characteristics of each of those stages of development (preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational) and the important cognitive abilities that develop during each stage. Then, take a trip to a toy store (Walmart, Kmart, Target, ToyRUs, etc.) to examine the different toys.
Scenario: You’ve been hired to work in an after school program – congratulations! There are three age groups of children: Group 1 (ages 5-8), Group 2 (ages 9-12), and Group 3 (ages 13-15). Each group has 7-9 children. Your first task is to build a Toy Box of four (4) toys that will stimulate the development of cognitive skills in the children in your group. So, choose ONE group that you want to work with and complete this field observation with that ONE group in mind. Remember, age alone won’t determine the cognitive stage of the children because they develop at different rates. Remember, your focus is on cognitive development…so do not focus on if the child will learn content from the toy (math, reading, spelling, etc.) or if the child would have fun playing with the toy. Instead, focus on the cognitive skills that playing with each toy would stimulate and develop.
For your report on this activity, respond to each of the questions below. Put your answers in bold beneath each question. Refer to the Stages of Reflection document if you are unclear about what to write or the way to reflect for each question. Be sure to use the concepts and academic language from the lesson in your responses. Academic language that is appropriate for this activity includes: preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational, pretend play, schema, conservation, seriation, classification, egocentrism, hypothetical thinking, problem solving. Save the document as a Word document, then submit it through the Dropbox.
1) Describe the setting in which you completed this observation. Include where, when, and how many minutes you observed. (Take your time…remember, you need a total of 10 hours of observation for the course).
2) Describe the cognitive characteristics that you expect to find among the children in your chosen group.
3) Describe the four toys that you selected for your toy box.
4) Analyze the toys for their effectiveness at stimulating cognitive development for the children in your group. Discuss specific cognitive skills that will be developed by each toy, and how that toy will help to develop that/those skills