PSYCHOLOGY OF

EDUCATION

Eliane Dalla Coletta

Cognitive development
Learning objectives
At the end of this text, you must present the following learnings:

Identify how brain development correlates with the task.

to educate.
Listar as principais ideias que compõem a teoria cognitiva de Piaget.
Recognize the main aspects of Vygotsky's theory.

Introduction
Cognitive development is a field of investigation in Neuroscience.
hello and psychology, which has as its object of study development
from the child, in a research that integrates mind and brain in search of
validation of neural and cognitive models of psychological functions.
In this chapter, you will study brain development and its
influence in education, how cognitive conditions occur by the he-
biological immunity, shaping the child's potential, such as the processes
of learning and memory shape the brain, the development
of the nervous system, allowing educators to foresee when the
behaviors will appear in the child and detect problems of
learning. Through the cognitive theories of Piaget and Vygotsky,
we will start the study of cognitive development.

Brain development and education

The human brain is extremely complex, and to understand its development
development, we need to understand how it is formed, structured and how
its parts articulate. The brain is made up of approximately one hundred
billions of neurons connected in a complex way, that regulate each one
of brain and bodily functions, such as breathing, eating, running, even the ability
to reason, to fall in love, or to argue — everything goes through brain control.
It is divided into two hemispheres: the left and the right.
2 Cognitive development

the left hemisphere is dominant in 98% of humans, being res-

responsible for logical thinking and communicative competence,
where two specialized areas are located: Broca's area, cortex
responsible for the motor skills of speech; and Wernicke's area, cortex
responsible for verbal comprehension.
the right hemisphere is responsible for symbolic thinking, understanding
of spatial relationships, of pattern recognition and designs, of
music and emotional expression and creativity.

In left-handers, these functions of the hemispheres are reversed. The hemispheres have a
motor cortex that controls and coordinates voluntary motor activity, being that of
the right hemisphere controls the left side of the individual's body, and the motor cortex
the left hemisphere controls the right side (EYSENCK; KEANE, 2017). Table 1
it contains the functional specializations of the two cerebral hemispheres.

The cerebral cortex is divided into four main zones or lobes (Figure 1):
frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital, which have specialized regions related to
to the functions and specific areas of the body. Several structures and areas operate
independently and simultaneously influence behavior, in the
most cases. Let's analyze the main areas: motor, sensory
and of association.
The motor area is located in the frontal lobe and is responsible, essentially,
through voluntary movements, where one can find the representation of each
specific part of the body. Movements that require little precision (of
a knee, hip) are centered in a very small space, while
to the precise and delicate movements (facial expressions and movements of
fingers) are regulated by a significantly larger area in the motor area.
The body movement is executed and controlled by a complex variety
of neurons in the nervous system, which are complexly correlated
and work together.
In the sensory area, there are three specific regions that correspond to:
bodily sensations (touch and pressure in a specific area of the body), localized
no parietal lobe; to vision, located in the occipital lobe; and to sound, located in
temporal lobe. The larger the area within the cortex allocated to a region
 Cognitive development 3

the specific body, the greater the sensitivity. The auditory area is responsible
through the sense of hearing, which may have even represented sound pitches
specific. The visual area provides us with our experience with images, colors,
where specific structures of the eye are related to a certain part of the
cortex, with most of it given to the most sensitive parts of the retina.

Figure 1. Functional specializations of the two cerebral hemispheres

Right hemisphere Left hemisphere

Visuospatial Operations with codes

Non-verbal Verbal

Musical skills "Encoded" musical skills

“diretas”, “espontâneas”

Prosody and intonation Semantic aspects (meanings)

two signs/words and grammatical-
-syntactic (logical and of
meaning between signs/words

Parallel activities that Serial activity, processing

they encompass the 'whole' of the situation element by element, in
ordered temporal sequence

Involved in imaginative activities Involved in analytical activities

Perception and consciousness Perception and awareness
corporal, concrete abstract, symbolic

Grasp and create art Understands and creates the art least
as immediate experience, in conceptual and abstract terms,
non-describable and codifiable using signs and symbols that
mediates the experience

Processes prevail Processes prevail

creative and intuitive logical and rational.

Source: Dalgalarrondo (2011, p. 317).

In association areas, thought, language, the me-

memory and speech, commanding the abilities of planning, establishment
of goals, judgment, and impulse control, which are executive functions.
When this area suffers a brain injury, there are significant changes in
4 Cognitive development

personality, as the ability to make moral judgments and command the

emotions, even though they may have logical reasoning and recall information
(FELDMAN, 2015).

Somatosensory area Wolf

Association area parietal
somatosensory
Primary auditory area
Wolf Motor area Wolf
frontal Wernicke area
Association area temporal
Broca's area
auditory
Visual area Wolf
Association area occipital
visual

Figure 1. Cerebral cortex and its main structures.

Source: Feldman (2015, p. 74).

A recent process discovered by scientists is deneuroplasticity.

of the brain. This discovery demonstrated that, after childhood and during the
In adulthood, new brain cells are created, as well as new neurons.
with interconnections that become more complex during adulthood, in a
process called neurogenesis. According to Feldman (2015, p. 77), '[...] a
Every day, thousands of new neurons are created, especially in areas
cerebral associated with learning and memory [...]
According to Santrock (2009, p. 35):

The brains of children experience rapid and diverse growth stimuli.

dyes, noting that the amount of brain material in some areas may
almost doubling in a year's time, followed by a drastic loss of tissue,
as unnecessary cells are eliminated and the brain continues to
reorganize [...] the rapid growth in the frontal lobe, especially in
areas related to attention occur between the ages of three and six [...] the
rapid growth in the temporal lobe (language processing) and in the lobe
parietal (spatial localization occurs from six years of age until puberty.
 Cognitive development 5

According to the same author, when the child reaches adolescence, there is the
development of higher cognitive functions and areas responsible for them
emotions. These transformations occur in different regions of the brain and,
also, with a different speed that explains the attitudes of teenagers
of putting themselves in risky situations. In the amygdala, processing occurs
of information about emotions, and the prefrontal cortex is essential for the
higher cognitive functions. As in the amygdala, processes occur with
a higher speed, having intense activation, the individual (adolescent)
experience strong and intense feelings, without being able to control them
barely, because the region that would inhibit impulsive behaviors — that
they are the higher cognitive functions developed in the prefrontal cortex - is
in development (SANTROCK, 2009).
According to Pinheiro (2007, p. 6):

[...] cognitive preconditions occur through biological inheritance configuring

the potential of the child and with the processes of learning and memory, go
modeling the brain. The competitive processes between neurons, resulting
of progressive and regressive events that overlap and interact, to stop
the structure and the definitive function of the brain [...] the development
behavior is restricted by the maturation of brain cells; this
Thus, the study of the development of the nervous system allows the educator
make predictions about when behaviors will appear in the child.
Thus, knowledge about the normal development of the nervous system is
fundamental to the adoption, by the educator, of pedagogical theories that lead to
count the anatomical brain substrates and the neurophysiological mechanisms
of behavior, for only then will he be able to maximize the capacities
cognitive abilities of your student. Neuropsychology has important contributions
the broader understanding of children's mental activity, also allowing
the detection of behavioral and learning problems that arise
during the child's schooling period.

In the interdisciplinarity of brain sciences and education, an area

the fundamental mediator is cognitive psychology, which researches integration
between mind and brain, in search of validation of neural and cognitive models
the psychological functions. According to Castorina and Carretero (2014, p. 106), "[...]
it is impossible to understand the nature of dyslexia, attention deficit or the
developmental disorders without current neuroscience research [...]
Cognitive perspective, scholars such as Piaget and Vygotsky, among others
others stood out. According to Piaget (1896-1980), human development
it occurs through the physio-motor, intellectual, affective-emotional and
social. According to the author, it is only through these aspects that it is possible to understand
6 Cognitive development

how and why an individual behaves in a certain way, in a certain

situation at a certain moment in your life.

Main ideas of Piaget's cognitive theory

In Piaget's theory (1896-1980), from the moment the child seeks
to understand the world, the developing brain creates representations
mental or actions through schemes that form knowledge. The schemes-
more behavioral (physical activities) are the dominant ones in the early years
of life, when the child starts to walk, seeking to know the environment; and
mental schemes (cognitive activities) develop in childhood and thus
subsequently. When reaching adulthood, there is a significant amount
of various schemes that govern cognitive actions. The schemes are
developed through two processes, which Piaget called assimilation
accommodation. When the child understands a new piece of information, this is
added to the previous schemes, leading to assimilation. Now,
when the child adjusts their schemas to adapt to new information
actions and experiences, accommodation occurs. To understand these processes,
when the child understands, for example, the word 'house', she starts to
to call what one sees on the street as houses, that is, she assimilated the meaning of house,
but soon learns that buildings, high-rises, condominiums are not "homes" —
It happens, then, a fine tuning of the category to exclude buildings, building
the condominiums, accommodating the scheme. Through these processes, there is a
development of cognition to a higher level. Whenever the schemes
old ones are adjusted and new schemes are developed, there is organization
the reorganization of new and old schemes, generating a new way of
to think (SANTROCK, 2009).
Learning is approached by Piaget in an intrinsic connection with the
cognitive development. The stage in which the nature of your schemas
is found, in the quantity and way they combine, will determine the
intellectual competence level of a person. In this way, Piaget addresses this
development in four stages, where one of them is always more advanced
than the other; cognition is qualitatively different at one stage, if with-
stopping at another, and consequently, the reasoning of a child at a stage
is different from another. This succession of stages is characterized by the singular
the way in which the schemes (of action and conceptual) are constituted and regulated,
enabling the formation of structures. Each stage establishes a mark.
of balance in the organization of the actions and operations that occur in the subject.
 Cognitive development 7

For equilibrium to occur at a stage, a preparation is necessary.

that takes into consideration three requirements: 1) for all subjects, the order of
the succession of stages must be continuous; 2) the structure of the set (form
of organization) of an internship must be well characterized; 3) the structure of
an internship must integrate into the structures of the next internship (SALVADOR;
MARCHESI.; PALACIOS, 2004).
For the learning process to occur in this conception of stages
proposed by Piaget, it is necessary to identify at what level the child is.
since learning will depend on the structuring activity of the subject and the logic
that commands your acquisitions. For Piaget, development will depend on the
maturation, from experience with people (environment) and from equilibration, because
every behavior will seek to ensure a balance of the relationships between the subject
and the environment, being a self-regulation process (SALVADOR; MARCHESI;
PALACIOS, 2004).

Development stages
Sensorimotor stage - from birth to two years of age. The child
builds an understanding of the world through the coordination of its ex-
sensory experiences (sight and hearing) with their motor actions (reaching,
to touch, to walk). At birth, the baby displays only reflexes in its adaptation
initially to the environment, and at the end, at two years old, already presents sensory patterns
-much more complex engines. As a baby, it does not differentiate itself from
environment, and through the gradual perception that there is a difference or a
the limit between the person and the environment that surrounds them reaches the end of this stage
differentiating itself from the world and is aware that the object continues
to exist (SANTROCK, 2009).

Pre-operational stage — from two to seven years. In this stage, occurrences happen.
two sub-stages. The sub-stage of symbolic function, which occurs between the
two to four years, when the child begins to mentally represent a
an object that is not close to you, expanding your mental world to new
perspectives. In this phase, "pretend play" is common and the
increase in language, demonstrating an increase in symbolic thinking.
Children often make drawings depicting people, houses, cars,
clouds, however quite imaginative and creative, not worrying too much
with reality, as often, the sun is blue, cars are flying, the
animals have diverse colors and their scribbles do not present explicit shapes,
8 Cognitive development

but the child describes them as an object they imagined. The other sub-stage
it is intuitive thinking, which begins around four years old and
extends up to seven years. In this substage, the child has a lot of certainty about their
knowledge, however what is known is not rational thought. There is a limit in
your reasoning ability that prevents you from putting things in their
correct categories. However, it is the stage where children ask many questions.
with many whys — which is your curiosity about understanding the environment that
as surrounds (SANTROCK, 2009).

Concrete operational stage - this stage extends from seven to eleven

years of age. Now, concrete operational thought involves the use of
operations. There is a substitution of intuitive reasoning by logical reasoning
in concrete situations. There is the ability to classify concrete objects,
where the child can coordinate various characteristics and classify them into
different categories or subcategories. There is the capability to make an ope-
series feeding (seriation), in addition to the phenomenon of transitivity, which involves
the ability to reason about something or combine relationships in a way
logic (SANTROCK, 2009).

Formal-logical stage - from 11 to 15 years of age, the thought emerges.

abstract and idealistic. Adolescents can go beyond reasoning based on
concrete experiences, being able to idealize and imagine possibilities,
how, also, to think logically. Piaget believes that adolescents
they are hypothetical-deductive evaluators, as they can test a series of hypothe-
theses with questions and tests with the rigor of a scientist (SANTROCK, 2009).
According to Papalia and Feldman (2013, p. 66):

[...] some contemporary psychologists question their distinct stages,

presenting evidence that cognitive development is more gradual
and continues [...] research with adults indicates that Piaget's focus on logic
Formal as the peak of cognitive development is too narrow. Not
explain the emergence of mature skills such as problem solving
practical, wisdom, and the ability to deal with ambiguous situations.

According to Santrock (2009, p. 47):

[...] some developmental psychologists believe that we should not dis-

Piaget's theory needs a considerable revision.
In Piaget's review, the neo-Piagetians emphasize how the child processes
information through attention, memory, and strategies. They believe
 Cognitive development 9

especially that a more accurate view of the child's thinking requires

more knowledge of strategies, at what speed and how automatically
how children process information, what is the cognitive task involved and the
division of cognitive problems into smaller and more precise steps.

It is undeniable the contribution of Piaget to Education and Psychology.

Educational. He was one of the first to structure a development theory.
cognitive development of the child, involving important processes, such as the
schemas, assimilation and accommodation, organization and equilibrium. A
the theory of information processing is currently the area that stands out
in the study of cognitive development.

Main aspects of Vygotsky's theory

Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (1896-1934) introduces the social perspective.
in the study of human nature, contributing significantly to research
of Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, as it focuses on the development
human development with the social and cultural processes of development
cognitive. In his studies, Vygotsky considered that the fundamental for
understanding of behavior is its dialectical relationship with the environment, where
there occurs the influence of nature on human conduct, as well as the individuals
duos that transform it and create their own conditions for development.
As referred to by Santrock (2009, p. 47):

The belief in the importance of social influences, especially from Vygotsky,

In education, regarding the cognitive development of the child, it is embedded
in your concept of the zone of proximal development. Zone of development-
Proximal mentoring (ZDP) is the term created to describe a series of tasks.
which are very difficult for the child to master alone, but that can
to be learned with the guidance and assistance of adults or older children
skilled. The lowest level of ZDP is the level of skill achieved
for children working independently and the highest limit is the level
of additional responsibility that the child can accept with assistance
from a skilled instructor. The ZDP captures the cognitive skills of the child
that are in the process of maturing and can only be completed with the
assistance from a more skilled person[..] teaching in the ZDP involves being
aware of where the students are in their development process
and take advantage of your readiness. It is also about teaching to promote
developmental readiness and not just waiting for students to be
prepared.
10 Cognitive development

As main characteristics of this Zone of Proximal Development

(ZDP), described by Vygotsky, we can consider that it is not about something
specific to a person. It is established simultaneously by the level of design-
child development and the teaching methods used in development
of a certain activity, that is, they are the teaching-learning processes
that create the ZDP. Therefore, it is a dynamic zone, where, at each stage of the
In the teaching-learning process, there is a specific interactive construction.
from this moment, enabling progress and future evolution. The student
the child, in this relationship, also plays a dynamic role, being able to
to appropriate the situations proposed by the teachers, achieving levels
beyond expectations, which demonstrates the importance of your understandings
(SALVADOR; MARCHESI; PALACIOS, 2004).
In Vygotsky's theory, two concepts related to the ZPD stand out, which are the
scaffolding dialogue. Scaffolding is a concept that deals with assistance
given by adults or a more advanced peer to the child to change the level of
performance. Assistance with direct or indirect guidance for development.
the child's anxiety will gradually decrease as they are able to reach limits
higher - it is an adjustment in the amount of guidance to fit
the child's current performance. An example of scaffolding is asking questions
investigative activities that lead children to develop thinking skills
more sophisticated, such as: “Give me an example of this”, “What’s next
task?
it is through him with adults or a more skilled assistant that the
child reaches new concepts, moving from the spontaneous, disorganized
and non-systematic to systematic, logical, and rational concepts. The utili-
the use of dialogue as a resource for scaffolding demonstrates the importance
language in the development of the child. Initially, the child uses
the language to communicate with others and, when they manage to do it
the transition to self-talk, between the ages of three and seven, they are
using language to self-regulate your behavior, which is called
of private speech. An example of this is when a child is playing
alone and keeps talking to the objects or to your game: "now I will make
like this
for a background and she acts without verbalizing what she is doing or what she should
to do, demonstrates that it has internalized its private (egocentric) discourse, which shapes
your thoughts, demonstrating how language and thought
they develop separately and then come together (SANTROCK, 2009).
According to Papalia and Feldman (2013, p. 66):
 Cognitive development 11

Vygotsky's theory has important implications for education and for

cognitive testing. Tests that focus on the potential for learning of
children constitute a valuable alternative to standardized intelligence tests
agency that evaluates what she has already learned; and many children can benefit
of the type of specialized guidance prescribed by Vygotsky, such as the ZPD and
the scaffolding. Moreover, Vygotsky's ideas have been implemented with
success in preschool children's curricula and are showing promise
to promote the development of self-regulation, which will affect the future
school achievements.

We had the opportunity to study two important contributions to

education and for Educational Psychology. Piaget, with his contribution
to cognitive development, being the basis for subsequent advances in it
area, very much due to the advances in Neuroscience and Neuropsychology.
Vygotsky, with his process of self-regulation, which is still used today.
in preschool curricula. Summarizing these two major theories, the following,
In Table 2, a summary is presented.

Table 2. Comparison of the Theories of Vygotsky and Piaget

Topic Vygotsky Piaget

Sociocultural context Great emphasis Little emphasis

Constructivism Socioconstructivism Cognitive-constructivist

Internships No internship Great emphasis on

proposed stages (sensory-
-motor, pre-operational,
concrete operational
logical-formal

Key processes Zone of Schemas, assimilation,

development accommodation
proximal, language operations, conservation,
dialogue classification
from culture hypothetical-deductive

Role of language A very important role Language exerts

important; the language a small piece of paper;
plays a role the language is
powerful in construction essentially
of thought directed by
cognition

(Continues)
12 Cognitive development

(Continuation)

Table 2. Comparison of the Theories of Vygotsky and Piaget

Topic Vygotsky Piaget

Vision in education Education exercises the Merely education

central role, helping improves the skills
the child learning the cognitive that already
tools of culture arose in the children

Implications of teaching The teacher is a You also see the teacher.

facilitator and advisor, as a facilitator and
not a guide; mentor, not one
establishes many navigator; supports
opportunities for the the child for what
child learn with the explore your world and
professor and with colleagues acquire knowledge
more skilled

Source: Santrock (2009, p. 53).

CASTORINA, J. A.; CARRETERO, M. Cognitive development and education. Porto Alegre:

I think, 2014. (The Beginnings of Knowledge, vol. 1).

WAVING, P. Evolution of the brain: nervous system, psychology, and psychopathology

under the evolutionary perspective. Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2011.
EYSENCK, M. W.; KEANE, M. T. Manual of cognitive psychology. 7th ed. Porto Alegre:
Artmed, 2017.
FELDMAN, R. S. Introduction to Psychology. 10th ed. Porto Alegre: AMGH, 2015.

PAPALIA, D. E.; FELDMAN, R. D. Human Development. 12th ed. Porto Alegre: AMGH,
2013.
PINHEIRO, M. Fundamentals of neuropsychology: the brain development of
child. Life and Health, Trinity, vol. 1, no. 1, 2007.
SALVADOR, C. C.; MARCHESI, Á.; PALACIOS, J. (Eds.). Psychological Development and
education. 2nd ed. Porto Alegre: Artmed, 2004. (Psychology of School Education, v. 2).
SANTROCK, J. W. Educational Psychology. 3rd ed. Porto Alegre: AMGH, 2009.