Measuring Cognitive Development

Three powerful diagnostic tasks have been used here to assess the cognitive development of your subject. These tasks are simple to administer, they require common household items, and they are relatively easy to score. IN short, children’s responses indicate if they have acquired the cognitive stage of concrete operations, or if they are still preoperational, or if they are transitional between preoperational and concrete operational stages.

Task 1

Conservation of Discontinuous Quantity

This is the conservation of number task. Number involves counting.

Materials: 16 of an identical item (buttons, beans, pennies, etc.)

Step 1. Ascertain equality of the two rows. Pointing to the rows, “do these two rows have the same number of pennies, or does this row have more or does this row have more.

Step 2. Spread out one row and ask the same question as above in step 1.

Step 3. Condense one of the rows and ask the same questions

Scoring – See class discussion

Task 2

Conservation of Continuous Quantity (Continuous Quantity = Liquid)

Materials: 2 identical clear glasses, each filled to the same level, extra water in an eye dropper of small cup, 1 taller, thinner clear glass, 1 shorter, wider glass or bowl, 6-8small clear cups or glasses

Step 1. Ascertain that the two identical glasses contain the same amount of liquid

“Do both of these glasses have the same amount of water or does one have more than the other?” Once the child agrees they are equivalent proceed to step 2.

Step 2.Tell the child to watch as you pour the water from one of the glasses into the taller empty glass. Ask if the water is the same or if one container has more water. “How do you know?”

Step 3. Now pour the water back into the identical container so that the child again agrees that they are the same and then pour it into the identical 6 or 8 small cups. Repeat the questions regarding the amount of water in either the large single container or the smaller ones. “Are they the same, is there more water in this or these?”

Step 4. Record your results

Step 5. Scoring based upon class demonstration

Class Inclusion

Task 3

Materials:A minimum of 11 members of a set, subdivided into two distinct subsets with different quantity in each subset (14 marbles 8 red and 6 green; 14 seeds 8 lima and 6 pea)

Step1. Make sure students understand what the items are.

Step 2. Compare subclasses “Are there more red marbles or are there more marbles.

Step 3. Scoring based upon class demonstration

Make an over all determination of your subjects cognitive development. Are they Preoperation, are they Concrete, or are they Transitional. As a teacher what are the educational implications for the teacher and the student?