Lesson Plan

Status:

I.       Individual Development and Identity

A.     Jean Piaget and his theory of cognitive development

1.      Performance Expectation D- apply concepts, methods, and theories about the study of human growth and development, such as physical endowment, learning, motivation, behavior, perception, and personality;

II.    Learning Outcomes

A.     Students Will:

1.      Recall the four stages of Piaget’s theory

2.      Be able to explain the defining characteristics of each stage

3.      Use their knowledge of Piaget’s theory to make educated observations outside of the classroom

4.      Analyze their observations to decide for themselves how accurate Piaget was in framing his theory

III. Evaluation

A.     Quiz on four stages of cognitive development

1.      List the four stages of cognitive development and briefly explain what is occurring in each stage

B.     A report containing the following

1.      Introduction including the following

a)      Thesis statement

b)     Introduction of Piaget and the background of his theory

2.      Formal journal entries of the students field observations

3.      Evaluation of field observations to judge the accuracy of them

a)      What factors might have influenced the results

b)     Were there enough factors to significantly affect the results and make the study invalid

4.      Argument for or against the legitimacy of Piaget’s theory based on observations and research

IV. Curriculum

A.     Psychology

V.    Instruction

A.     Lecture/PowerPoint

1.      Introduce Piaget and his concepts

2.      Show ways that Piaget has had an influence on the lives of people since his idea’s went mainstream

3.      Open discussion on ways to do field observations

4.      After the reports have been turned in open up a group discussion on what has been found

B.     Assigned Readings

1.      Textbook

2.      Journal excerpts talking about Piaget’s influence

3.      Children’s fiction

a)      One story for ages two to seven

b)     One story for ages seven to eleven

C.     Video

1.      Short documentary on Piaget

D.    Lab

1.      Time in the library for research

2.      Time for students to type their reports either in the library or computer lab

VI. Discussion Questions

A.     What would be some obvious applications of Piaget’s theory?

B.     Are there exceptions to Piaget’s theory?

C.     How accurate do you think his ages are for the different stages of development?

D.    Do you see any differences in the two stories that could tie back to what we’ve said about Piaget’s Preoperational Stage and his Concrete operational stage?

E.     How accurate do you think Piaget’s theory is? (Pre-report)