COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IS A PROCESS THAT OCCURS DUE TO CHILDREN'S BIOLOGICAL MATURATION AND INTERACTION WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. PROVIDING A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR CHILDREN TO EXPLORE AND DISCOVER THE WORLD USING THIER SENSORY AND MOTOR (MOVEMENT) ABILITIES HELPS PROMOTE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT.

Piaget states that children go through stages in cognitive development. He developed a method of investigating this known as the 'clinical method'. Children were presented individually with a range of tasks using various materials designed to probe the level of logic underlying their thought. From his experiments, he proposed four stages of cognitive development which reflect the increasing sophistication of children's thought as they developed:

Stage 1: Sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2) Stage 2: Preoperational stage (age 2 to age7) Stage 3: Concrete operational stage (age 7 to 11) Stage 4: Formal operational stage (above age 11 till adolescence and adulthood)

Each child goes through the stages in the same order, and child development is determined by the child’s biological maturation and interaction with the environment.

Stage 1: Sensorimotor stage (birth to age 2)

This is a period of rapid cognitive growth where children use their senses and actions to explore, discover, learn, and grow. It begins with basic reflexes and advances through a series of “stages” to complex sensory and motor skills and early symbolic thought. Physical development (mobility) allows the child to begin developing new intellectual abilities.

The main development during the sensorimotor stage is the understanding that objects exist and events occur in the world independently of one’s actions. This development is called "the object concept", or "object permanence". Piaget suggests that the attainment of object permanence usually signals the transition to the next stage of development.

Stage 2: Preoperational stage (age 2 to age 7)

At this stage, children learn to use symbols and representational thinking, such as language.

At the start of the preoperational period, children can neither use concrete logic nor take another person's perspective. They demonstrate egocentricism, where they believe that their thoughts are shared by others. During this stage, from ages 2 to 3, there is another explosion of learning and thinking. Children can respond to simple directions, group objects by category, imitate more complex actions and show an increasingly vivid imagination.

These activities can help develop children’s cognitive skills to process their encounters: i) Allowing children to explore the cause and effects of their actions on the environment. ii) Giving time and safe boundaries for them to discover different things in the environments. iii) Letting children compare and sort things. iv) Talking to them about the new things encountered.

The limits of what children can do in the sensorimotor stage have been proven in countless experiments since Piaget first documented them. However, recent research has also identified strengths and abilities not previously noted. For example, researchers have found that babies can show surprise at unexpected events, such as looking longer at a screen that seems to fall through an object it hides.

Longer-looking time in these situations indicates that babies have some expectation that objects continue to exist when hidden by a screen, and therefore have some ability to form abstract representations from birth, contrary to what Piaget initially documented.

While there is debate about what forms these representations take and the extent to which children can utilise them, researchers now believe that babies build off the foundations of learning that they are born with. In addition, they continue to learn about the world through observation, in addition to sensorimotor actions.

This suggests that allowing children to explore and discover their environments can begin in infancy.

Vygotsky discovered that interactions with responsive adults are an integral part of cognitive development.

Interacting and talking with children as they explore is beneficial for their cognitive development. Through his research, Vygotsky suggested that a child's performance differs depending on whether they are solving a problem alone or if another child or adult is assisting them. He refers to this difference as the "zone of proximal development".

If a child is learning to complete a task, and a more competent person can provide assistance- for example, with verbal prompting - then the child can move into a new zone of development and problem-solving. Vygotsky refers to this movement through assistance as "scaffolding" which helps bridge the gap between the child's current cognitive abilities and their full potential.

Vygotsky states that it is through this play that children gain confidence in their language skills and start regulating their thought processes.

Studies have shown that mothers can scaffold or support their young children’s development through explicit verbal direction, and verbal and nonverbal behaviours that sustain children’s focus on things of interest.

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6. Dunham, P. J., & Dunham, F. (1995). Optimal social structures and adaptive infant development. In Moore, C. & Dunham, P. J. (Eds.), Joint attention: Its origins and role in development (pp. 159–188). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

7. Landry, S. H., Garner, P. W., Swank, P. R., & Baldwin, C. D. (1996). Effects of maternal scaffolding during joint toy play with preterm and full-term infants. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 42(2), 177–199.

Hence, caregivers who provide uninterrupted free-play time and talk to children about what they are engaged in can help promote exploration, discovery, and cognitive skills. Read more at CD-EXP-C03 on the impact of play on cognitive development.