Imagine you have been hired to give science-based advice for a public school board.

Think about the theories of cognitive development you learned about in Week 5 – Piaget’s contributions, and the three modern perspectives (Vygotsky’s sociocultural perspective, information-processing theories, and core-knowledge theories). Based on what you’ve learned, discuss some strategies and activities that could be implemented in elementary school classrooms to support children’s learning.

What kinds of recommendations would you make for elementary school teachers? What sorts of activities would you expect to see in classrooms that have implemented your ideas? These can be new policies and activities you’ve come up with on your own, or they can even be ones you’ve witnessed in your own/others’ schooling.

You do not have to discuss all of the perspectives, but you should identify which perspective you are drawing from when you make your recommendations. Remember, these perspectives are complementary – not competing – views of cognitive development.