As your field experience for this course, you will be selecting three young school-aged children (between ages 4 and 10, please), two of whom are the same age but are functioning at different achievement levels. You do not have to do these activities within a school setting; you can select children at your church, that you work with in volunteer or work settings, or from another source. The activities that you will be conducting with the children are outlined below.
Four Tasks That Assess Children’ Thinking
You will present all of the following tasks (listed below) to the selected children. Your goal is to attempt to determine the cognitive level of each child within the framework of Piaget’s theories. Children should be tested separately, with children not able to see others performing tasks before attempting them him / herself.
In your final paper, include the following sections:
- Introduction, with overview of each of the children tested and description of the environment(s) in which you conducted the testing, including time of day.
- Description of each of the tasks given to each child, including specific questions asked.
- List of materials and resources used for the project.
- For each child, a thorough description of what took place when you conducted the tasks / testing, including verbal responses of each child (as applicable).
- Reflection section, in which you describe what you learned about Piaget’s theories, how they relate to the children you assessed, and why you reached these conclusions. Be sure to bring this section to a logical and clear conclusion.
Task 1: Interpretation of Stories
Read one of Aesop’s fables aloud to the child (reading the same one to each child). At the end of the story, ask the child, “What do you think this story means?” (You may want to record your interviews / tasks, so that you can revisit each child’s response and activity afterward. Otherwise, you will need to take detailed notes.) Include the name of your fable and a copy of the fable with your write up, explaining why you picked this particular fable.
Observe and assess the child’s response level, using this information and information from your text as a guide. Be sure to explain the reasoning for your choice.
Preoperational response: Often at an emotional personal level, and is often based on the child’s affective reaction to the story. The child is apt to mention something that happened in his / her own life. (S)he may not be interested in explaining or justifying answers given to the questions.
Concrete operational response: Often based on the literal content of the story.
Formal operational response: Often goes beyond the literal content of the story and indicates some understanding of the moral (or more generalizable message) of the story.
Task 2: Classification
Give the child the following group of objects and ask him / her to make a group of things that go together. The objects are: picture from a magazine or newspaper, pencil, magic marker, piece of chalk, notebook paper, blank drawing paper, thumb tack, straight pin, masking or Scotch tape, paper bag. All objects should be placed into groups for this task, meaning the child should have no objects left over.
Observe and assess the child’s response level, using this information and information from your text as a guide. Be sure to explain the reasoning for your choice.
Early preoperational: Grouping is based on functional relationship between items: e.g., pencil and paper because you write on the paper with a pencil; thumb tack and picture because you use the tack to put the picture on the wall.
Late preoperational: Grouping is based on perceptual feature: e.g., pencil, pin, and tack because they all have a sharp point; paper and picture because they are the same shape (i.e., have four corners); paper and chalk because they are both white.
Concrete operational: Grouping is based on a common element so that each object is an example of the basis of classification, e.g., things made of paper, things you can write with, and things you can use to put things on a bulletin board.
Task 3: Conservation
Line up two sets of 5-7 identical beads side by side, each in a straight line of the same length, with beads equally spaced. Say that one line of beads belongs to the child and one belongs to you. Ask the child if you both have the same amount. If (s)he answers “yes”, then spread out and lengthen your line of beads, then again asking who has more beads. Finally, return your line to its original position, and then compress your line of beads, keeping them in a straight line but closer together. Ask the child who has more.
Next make two equal balls of clay, giving one to the child and keeping one for yourself. Ask the child if you both have the same amount of clay. If necessary, make adjustments until the child says “yes”. Then make a “pancake” out of your ball and ask who has the most clay now.
Observe and assess the child’s response level, using this information and information from your text as a guide. Be sure to explain the reasoning for your choice.
Preoperational: Responds that one person has more than the other does when changes are made.
Concrete operational: Responds that you both still have the same amount. Able to explain his / her answer by using concepts of identity, reversibility, or compensation as a rationale. (See your text for explanation.)
Task 4: Combination Logic
Give the child five different one-digit numbers written on separate small pieces of paper. Ask the child to make as many different 3-digit numbers as (s)he can.
Observe and assess the child’s response level, using this information and information from your text as a guide. Be sure to explain the reasoning for your choice.
Concrete operational: The child goes about the task in a random or haphazard manner. Formal operational: The child approaches the task in an orderly and systematic way.