Intellectual Development
•there is a growth of intellect in childhood
•all children pass through a series of distinct stages •intellect grows through the process of Assimilation Fitting new information into existing schemes. and •Accommodation. Altering existing schemes or creating new ones in response to new information.
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INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
According to Piaget, there is a growth of intellect in childhood.
Then one may think what is intelligence?
Intelligence may be defined as the ability to manipulate abstract concepts effectively.
Jean Piaget believed that all children pass through a series of distinct stages in intellectual development.
In fact, many of his ideas came from the observations of his own children and other children, as they solved various thought problems.
Through the observations, Piaget convinced himself that intellect grows through the process of Assimilation and Accommodation.
As per Piaget’s terms,
Assimilation: means fitting new information into existing schemes. In other words, assimilation means the use of existing mental patterns in new situations.
Accommodation: is an altering of existing schemes or creating new ones in response to new information. In short, existing ideas are modified to fit new requirements. For example, a young child might think that the worth of a currency note of £10 is less than one 20p (coin).
As the child begins to spend money, he or she will be forced to alter ideas about what ‘more’ and ‘less’ means. Thus, new situations are assimilated to existing ideas, and new ideas are created to accommodate new experiences.