Exploring Cognitive Development

This book uses the paradigm of the child as a problem solver to examine various theories of cognitive development.

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• Provides balanced coverage of a broad range of contemporary theories.
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• Focuses on collaborative tasks which are carried out with other children or adults.
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• Asks whether social interaction is the key to improvement in problem solving skills, or whether it is the skills and abilities that the child brings to the task that are paramount.
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• Draws on a wide range of research, including the author’s own research into dyadic problem solving.

Preface vii

1: Introduction 1

Problem Solving 3

Social Explanations for Cognitive Change 6

Change in the Context of Interactive/Collaborative Problem Solving 9

Domain Specific Knowledge 10

Children’s Potential to Change 11

Theories of Mind 13

The Way Forward 14

2: Theoretical Overview 15

Piaget and Vygotsky: Is There Any Common Ground? 17

Peer Interaction: Various Perspectives 23

Implications for Piagetian and Vygotskian Theories 33

Research on Collaboration: Beyond Social Interaction 34

Sociocultural Theory 36

Dynamic Systems 41

Nature of the Problem to be Solved 42

How Else Can Problem Solving be Described and Explained? 43

3: Strategy Use and Learning in Problem Solving 44

Domains 45

Domains as Constraints on Cognitive Development 48

Innateness and Domain-specificity 49

Domains and the Social Environment 52

Strategy Choice 53

Learning New Strategies 66

4: Social Problem Solving 69

Peer Interaction and Problem Solving: A Theoretical Conundrum 70

Peer Interaction in the Classroom 77

Peer Interaction and Adult–Child Interaction 79

Theory of Mind and Problem Solving 80

Self-regulation in Problem Solving 84

Help Seeking in Problem Solving 87

The Role of Talk in Collaborative Problem Solving 89

Conclusion 94

5: What the Child Brings to the Task 96

Readiness to Benefit from Interaction 97

Cognitive Flexibility 97

Friendship and Sociability 106

Motivation to Collaborate 117

6: Summary, Review and implications 120

What and How Revisited 121

Difficulties Yet to Be Surmounted 124

Implications 126

References 129

Author Index 136

Subject Index 138

"This is an exciting and provocative account of children’s intellectual activities. Alison Garton makes a persuasive case that, in order to understand intellectual development, we must study the social context in which it takes place." Professor Peter Bryant, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford

"With up-to-date coverage, excellent descriptions of research and a sociocultural approach to problem solving, this book fills an important niche." Robert S. Siegler, Teresa Heinz Professor of Cognitive Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University

"Well grounded in the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, Alison Garton’s wide-ranging account of children’s problem solving encompasses the latest cognitive developmental and social cognitive theories. As well as having conceptual depth, the book is enjoyable to read." Graeme Halford, Professor of Psychology, University of Queensland

"Alison Garton’s new book is an excellent, highly readable, examination of children as problem solvers. Garton provides a refreshing account of the social aspects of problem solving as she examines not only the effects of collaboration but also the processes whereby children’s learning is enhanced (bringing about cognitive change) and ultimately their longer-term cognitive development. Equally important, she nicely covers what it is that individual children bring to the collaborative experience—their personal characteristics (flexibility, motivation, sociability, friendship with the social partner, etc.) that can have a dramatic impact on the problem-solving experience and consequences. While acknowledging the influence of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories, and highlighting some of the best research based on these theories, Garton persuades us of the importance of going beyond them. This book should find a home on the bookshelves of all who are interested in children’s cognitive development." Dr Jonathan Tudge, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

"A course book with the approach of the child as problem solver both in a social, collaborative sense and in relation to their own intrinsic skills. It explores in particular ways in which collaboration influences the cognitive outcome. It reviews the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky and proposes that a frutiful approach lies in examining characteristics of children that may lead them to benefit from collaboration." Scientific and Medical Network Review, Summer 2005

Alison F. Garton is Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean at Edith Cowan University in Western Australia. She is the author of Learning to be Literate (Blackwell Publishing, Second Edition, 1998) and Social Interaction and the Development of Language and Cognition (1992), and the editor of Systems of Representation in Children (1993).

Exploring Cognitive Development The Child as Problem Solver

'This is an exciting and provocative account of children's intellectual activities. Alison Garton makes a persuasive case that, in order to understand intellectual development, we must study the social context in which it takes place.' Professor Peter Bryant, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford

'Well grounded in the work of Piaget and Vygotsky, Alison Garton's wide-ranging account of children's problem solving encompasses the latest cognitive developmental and social cognitive theories. As well as having conceptual depth, the book is enjoyable to read.' Graeme Halford, Professor of Psychology, University of Queensland

'Alison Garton's new book is an excellent, highly readable examination of children as problem solvers…While acknowledging the influence of Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories, and highlighting some of the best research based on these theories, Garton persuades us of the importance of going beyond them. This book should find a home on the bookshelves of all who are interested in children's cognitive development.' Dr Jonathan Tudge, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

This book uses the paradigm of the child as problem solver to explore various theories of cognitive development. Focusing on collaborative tasks that are undertaken with other children or adults, the author explores a broad range of contemporary theoretical perspectives that could account for children's thinking and learning. In particular, she asks whether social interaction is the key to improvement in problem-solving skills, or whether the skills and abilities that the child brings to the task are paramount. The book draws on several studies, including the author's own research into dyadic problem solving.