Understanding students cognitive ability

Understanding students cognitive ability

Cognitive development of children occurs in four distinct stages, with each stage building upon the last and characterized by higher levels of sophistication and thought. Before now, it was believed that babies were without cognition until they were old enough to develop language.
four cognitive stages

1. Sensorimotor Stage: Birth through about 2 years. During this stage, children learn about the world through their senses and the manipulation of objects.

2. Preoperational Stage: Ages 2 through 7. During this stage, children develop memory and imagination. They are also able to understand things symbolically, and to understand the ideas of past and future.

3. Concrete Operational Stage: Ages 7 through 11. During this stage, children become more aware of external events, as well as feelings other than their own. They become less egocentric, and begin to understand that not everyone shares their thoughts, beliefs, or feelings.

4. Formal Operational Stage: Ages 11 and older. During this stage, children are able to use logic to solve problems, view the world around them, and plan for the future.

Based on my observations,
Ages 2 through 5: Children develop attention skills, short-term memory, and long-term memory

Ages 5 through 7: Children develop better control over attention, memory, and problem-solving skills, and are able to use their cognitive abilities to attain goals or solve problems. Logic & reasoning also develops further as children are able to make connections between ideas. Auditory processing, a skill that is foundational for reading, is also developing during this time frame.

Cognitive skills are the skills the brain uses to think, learn, read, remember, pay attention, and solve problems. They are also the skills that are measured to determine IQ.