Learners & Learning - A case study

 

As a part of the observation made on two children, one 8 years old and the other 4 years old, we have decided to extend the observation on the older child to understand the way she has embraced technology as a part of learning.

The Child A is into a CBSE curriculum and is in her third grade. They have a computer class that spans for one and half hours every week. They have a computer lab session also, that spans over an hour every week. The child is exposed to mobile phones, laptops, tablets and smart TVs, so much so that she can connect to her class online on her own. She is not allowed to access the devices without parental supervision. She might gain access to a desktop very soon. Because of her computer class in school she has gained exposure to applications like Paint 3D, MS word and few applications such.

The first part of observation included a comparative study between two children which included assessing their tasks on a mobile phone, an ipad and a laptop.

A brief about the foundational text taken i.e. Jean Piaget’s stage theory of Cognitive development:

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist known for his influential stage theory of cognitive development. His theory, which has had a profound impact on the field of developmental psychology, outlines the stages through which children progress as they develop their cognitive abilities. Piaget's stage theory is characterized by four key stages, each marked by specific cognitive processes and milestones:

Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 years): During this initial stage, infants and toddlers primarily interact with the world through their senses and motor skills. Key developments in this stage include object permanence, where a child understands that an object continues to exist even when it's out of sight, and the development of basic motor and sensory coordination.

Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 years): In the preoperational stage, children begin to develop language and engage in symbolic thinking. They use symbols and words to represent objects and concepts, enabling them to engage in pretend play. However, their thinking remains egocentric, and they struggle with concepts like conservation, where the quantity of a substance remains the same despite changes in appearance.

Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years): During this stage, children acquire the ability to think logically and understand concrete operations. They can perform mental operations, such as conservation, and understand concepts like reversibility. They become less egocentric and can consider others' perspectives more effectively.

Formal Operational Stage (11 years and onward): In the final stage, individuals develop the capacity for abstract and hypothetical thinking. They can engage in complex problem-solving and think critically about a wide range of topics. This stage is characterized by the ability to reason logically and think in more abstract, theoretical terms.

Piaget's stage theory emphasizes the qualitative shifts in cognitive development that occur as children progress through these stages. He believed that children actively construct their understanding of the world by interacting with their environment, and cognitive development is driven by processes of assimilation (fitting new information into existing mental structures) and accommodation (adapting mental structures to incorporate new information).

Piaget's work has been instrumental in shaping our understanding of child development and has had a profound influence on educational practices. His stage theory highlights the importance of providing age-appropriate learning experiences that align with a child's current cognitive stage. While Piaget's theory has been widely influential, it's essential to note that some aspects of his theory have been revised and refined by later researchers, as there is ongoing debate in the field of developmental psychology.

The child being observed for the extended period is 8 years old, as mentioned above, and falls under the concrete operational stage.

Concrete Operational Stage

Concrete Operational Stage typically occurs from around the age of 7 to 11 years. This stage is characterized by significant cognitive changes and the emergence of more advanced thinking processes. Some key features of Concrete Operational Stage are:

Concrete Thinking: In the Concrete Operational Stage, children develop the ability for concrete thinking. They become capable of operational thought, which means they can manipulate and mentally operate on concrete objects and events. Unlike the Preoperational Stage, where thinking is primarily intuitive and symbolic, concrete operational thinkers rely on concrete, tangible experiences and logical reasoning.

Reversibility: One of the central achievements of this stage is the concept of reversibility. Children can now understand that actions and operations can be reversed. For example, if they pour water from one glass into another, they understand that the amount of water remains the same. In other words, they grasp the concept of conservation. This is in contrast to the earlier Preoperational Stage, where children might believe that the taller glass has more water simply because it appears that way.

Conservation: Conservation is a key feature of concrete operational thought. Children can conserve or understand that certain properties of an object (such as quantity, length, mass, and volume) remain the same even when the appearance changes. For example, they can recognize that if you spread a ball of clay out, the amount of clay remains constant.

Decentering: In the Concrete Operational Stage, children become capable of decentering, which means they can focus on multiple aspects of a problem and consider various dimensions simultaneously. This marks a significant shift from egocentric thinking, where they were primarily focused on their own perspective and could only consider one aspect at a time.

Classification: Concrete operational thinkers develop the ability to classify objects into multiple categories and subcategories based on shared attributes. For example, they can classify animals into categories like mammals, birds, and reptiles and further classify mammals into subsets like cats and dogs.

Seriation: Children in this stage also acquire the skill of seriation, which is the ability to arrange objects in a logical order or sequence. They can order objects based on size, length, weight, or any other relevant dimension. This skill is crucial for tasks like arranging numbers in numerical order or solving puzzles.

Transitive Inference: Concrete operational thinkers can engage in transitive inference, which means they can deduce or infer relationships between objects by comparing them indirectly. For example, if they know that A is taller than B and B is taller than C, they can infer that A is taller than C.

Reversible Thinking: They develop reversible thinking, allowing them to mentally retrace their thought processes and consider alternatives. This enables them to solve problems through logical analysis, as opposed to relying solely on trial-and-error or intuition.

Empirical Reasoning: Children in this stage are capable of empirical reasoning, where they rely on evidence, observation, and logic to draw conclusions. They move beyond purely intuitive reasoning and can apply logical principles to real-world problems.

 

Task provided and observation

As a continuation to the previous observation made, the older child was asked to use the browser she was using and create an email id. Her idea of a browser and its function is very limited. There was a necessity for scaffolding through the process.

The child opened the browser and questioned the search engine – “How to create an email id?”

The result showed numerous links describing how to create an email id. But she was supposed to select what would lead her to the actual website where she was to create an email id.

There were multiple attempts by her where she landed a wrong web page. But she came back to the previous page and repeated the action until she landed the page which was the right one.

The correct webpage was not all enough for her to arrive at, but she had to create an email id. She was not sure as to how to create one. She needed to understand how to search for the buttons on screen and tried clicking on few. The button ‘create an email id’ was the last button she clicked upon which redirected her to the mail registration page.

She then had to enter the details necessary for the email id to be created like the name, age and guardian or parent email id etc.

Little assistance was required as the child was not very sure of all actions but at the helm of the situation, she had to decide what to do.

Outcomes

This exercise helped the child in understanding the how the process was correctible if anything went wrong.

She could develop a sense of seriation of tasks that she performed. She could slightly be reasonable about why there were so many steps.

Empirical reasoning also was surfacing in the child. She could realize the reversibility characteristic of digital technology, using which she could understand the seriation of tasks.

She was in a opinion that it was totally new to her and could not quite establish a connection between what their school taught and the activity conducted in this case.