Cognitive Development

From birth, babies are constantly learning from the world around them. Stimulating environments are great for their development, as babies learn through observation. A baby’s correct use of a tool could be a direct result from them mimicking what they have seen. And the way babies learn to speak is another way they use mimicry to learn. Aside from this way of learning, babies learn so much by experiencing. Feeling different textures allows them to use recall mechanisms to recognize objects that they have experienced before.

This recall mechanism transforms into what Jean Piaget, an early developmental psychologist, calls the Preoperational Stage. Kids find themselves in this stage between the ages of 2 to 7 years old where they learn that symbols can represent a variety of things. For example, the word “rain” represents what falls from the sky in warmer months like April. Prior to this stage, “rain” would hold no significance to a toddler. This developmental

stage translates into kids’ language development, as well as their imaginative games such as playing pretend. They can now ascribe the role of a “dragon” to their dog, because they understand the concept of representation better.

The Preoperational Stage is what allows us to learn more languages as we age, understand notation in higher levels of math, and understand that a painting with hues of blue and tan was meant to represent a beach. It gives us the ability to read, but it doesn’t aid us in reasoning. Piaget denotes the Formal Operational Stage, which starts around age 12 and continues well into adulthood, as when people learn abstract reasoning and moral reasoning. This stage is what a typical college course on philosophy might ask you to do. Any essay on a standardized test, such as the ACT and SAT, are looking to see that the test taker is capable of analyzing texts through reasoning.

Why does this matter? How we learn in our early stages as a baby, translates into how we learn in our young adult lives. What used to be us copying what we heard and later regurgitating it, is now a similar way to how we learn. In fact, we can break down our studying habits, and characterize ourselves in four distinct ways.

Four Types of Learners:

Visual- These types of learners respond best to visual aids. This can range from color coding to picture diagrams. In fact, visual learners are what most office supplies are geared towards. Some ways studying can be tailored to a visual learner is by creating flashcards, highlighting and annotating, as well as using sticky notes.

Auditory- An auditory learner is someone who absorbs more information by listening to it. Things like reading aloud, listening to podcasts, or even just conversing about new topics are very helpful for retaining knowledge.

Kinesthetic- Learners who are kinesthetic learners study best by doing. They typically enjoy using their hands and creating things.

Reading & Writing- They prefer to use what they read to create compact understandings of what they learned.

Understanding the type of learner we are can aid us in efficiently studying for major tests, and can even guide us into a profession we enjoy.

By Ariana