Candidate Methodology for Analyzing Meaning Making

This paper aims at presenting a candidate methodology for studying psychological processes involved in meaning making. The analysis of meaning making processes poses methodological challenges. Grize’s proposes a neo-Piagetian theory, Natural Logic, which can be used as a methodology approaching the making and the interpretation of meaning, approaching discourse as a complex process interrelating cognitive, social and cultural dimensions. The making of new meaning is nevertheless approached through language use, yet both as a creative process in choosing and assembling words together, and as an interpretative process of reasoning in listening to or reading discursive material. This paper presents some main features of a new methodology for studying meaning making and interpretation processes in psychology, and a quick introduction to its practice based on a short example of analysis. The objective is to contribute to detailed analysis of meaning making, as we find it in complex cognitive activities such as interviewing, presenting or listening to a political discourse, debating, or teaching.

The spontaneous theoreticians: How evaluators build and revise their knowledge of programs through experience

What exactly do evaluators learn about programs through experience and how? We chose a constructivist framework to investigate the structure of evaluators’ program-related knowledge, namely the form, content, and origins of their expressed theories. In this context, we complemented a Piagetian theory of learning with new developments offered by “probabilistic” (or “Bayesian”) models of learning. We conducted “explicitation” interviews with nine experienced practitioners, some specializing in the education or agri-environment sectors and some generalists. After examining the form and content of their program-related knowledge, we examine its development through experience but also through contact with researchers and readings. In conclusion, we discuss our study’s strengths and limitations, as well as the implications of our results for evaluation training and teaching.

Post-Piagetian Perspectives of Cognitive Development

Piaget’s constructivism theory influenced deeply the study of cognitive development in the last century. Despite the progressive loss of influence of this theory, some contemporary perspectives have recently extended some of his ideas, enriching the way cognitive development is understood. These contributions face two important questions that remained problematic in Piaget’s theory: how to integrate dynamic aspects and variability of development and how to understand the role of the body and the signs in cognition. Thanks to information processing theory, functional and executive components of cognition have been progressively integrated into Piaget’s theory. Two main perspectives have contributed to doing so. The first one, defended by Pascual-Leone and Case, among other authors, has been called “neo-Piagetian theory.” It offers a more dynamic way to understand cognitive development and present particular solutions to explain the Piagetian stages. The second one, the theory of dynamic systems, has contributed to explaining variability in cognitive development, a central aspect underestimated by Piaget, who was more interested in universal aspects of cognition. Thanks to the perspective of embodied cognition, the main role of action and body has been taken into account to understand the characteristics of cognition. From this perspective, a nuclear idea of Piaget’s constructivism, the importance of action in cognition, has been investigated in a more accurate way. Finally, considering the poor contribution of signs in Piaget’s theory, some authors inspired in Vygotskyan theory have emphasized the role of semiotic systems and social aspects in cognitive development. The research generated by all these theoretical perspectives has had important consequences in education.

A Study on Students' Cognitive Development in Answering English Task

This study focuses on students’ cognitive development in answering English tasks based on Piagetian theory. The design of this study is descriptive quantitative with a pilot study to ensure that the tasks are reliable and valid. The subject of this study were 26 students at the third grade of MIN 3 Pekanbaru. While the object of this study is the students’ cognitive development. Data collection techniques used in this study are tests and documentation. Data analysis techniques used are editing, coding and tabulating. After conducting the study, the authors found conclusions on the students’ cognitive development at the third grade of MIN 3 Pekanbaruare in various levels, namely seriation (57.69%), transitivity (43.59%), composition (65.38%), decentering ( 50.00%), reversibility (52.56%), elimination (61.54%) and egocentrim elimination (24.36%). After calculation, the average of students’ cognitive development is in the medicore level (50.73%), whereas their agesare in the middle of the concrete operation stage, that is between 8 and 9 years old.

Cultura e desenvolvimento: reavaliando o problema do pêndulo

A teoria piagetiana sobre o pensamento operatório-formal apresenta uma série de problemas metodológicos e perguntas teóricas não respondidas, que precisam ser analisados, para que se possa atingir uma melhor compreensão acerca do pensamento adolescente e adulto. Isso significa que ainda existe uma necessidade de estudos mais compreensivos e de experimentos mais objetivos para se determinar os reais componentes do pensamento operatório-formal e detectar o papel de variáveis como classe social, cultura, sexo, QI, educação e treinamento no desenvolvimento desse tipo de raciocínio. Tendo como base um procedimento quantitativo para a avaliação do pensamento operatório-formal a partir da tarefa piagetiana do pêndulo, no presente trabalho foram investigados: 1) um sistema mais detalhado para a avaliação de uma tarefa operatório-formal e 2) o desempenho de sujeitos com diversas faixas etárias (10 a 14 anos e adultos) e diferentes tipos de experiências socioculturais e educacionais (pedreiros e universitários de Ciências Humanas e Exatas). Os resultados obtidos mostraram ser o novo sistema de avaliação quantitativa do pensamento operatório-formal um procedimento mais eficaz do que o tradicional piagetiano, no que diz respeito à diferenciação do pensamento de indivíduos de diversas idades ou experiências socioculturais. Também foram observadas nuanças do efeito da experiência sociocultural sobre o desempenho na tarefa do pêndulo, o qual mostrou-se seletivo quanto ao componente do pensamento formal a ser modificado. Palavras-chave: Piaget; problema do pêndulo; operações formais; cultura. Abstract The Piagetian theory about formal reasoning presents a series of methodological problems and unanswered theoretical questions that must be analysed in order to attain a better understanding about the thinking of adolescents and adults. This means that there is still a need for studies with greater comprehensiveness and objectiveness for one to determine the actual components of formal reasoning and detect the role of variables such as social class, sex, IQ, education and training in the development of this kind of reasoning. Based on a quantitative procedure for the evaluation of formal thinking from the Piagetian task of the pendulum, the present work investigated: 1) a more detailed system for the evaluation of tasks involving formal operations and 2) the performance of subjects of several ages (from 10 to 14 years-old and adults) and different kinds of social, cultural and educational experiences (masons and university students in the fields of exact and human sciences). The results obtained showed that the new system for the quantitative evaluation of formal reasoning has a greater degree of efficacy with regards to the differentiation between the thought processes of individuals of different age groups or social-cultural experiences than the traditional Piagetian procedure. Also, observations were made as to the subtle effect of social-cultural experiences on the individual's performance on the pendulum task, an effect that presented itself as being selective to the formal component to be modified. Keywords: Piaget; pendulum problem; formal operations; culture.