Introduction
An understanding of the world should grow in complexity progressively to promote normal child development and the abilities required to solve problems as students. The planned community center will promote cognitive skills in three age groups: infants, those in the early childhood stage, and adolescent visitors. Using Piaget’s developmental theory and its core concepts, this paper seeks to propose three age-appropriate activities for the specified populations.
Activity for Infant Room: Game with Cups
A game with cups will be utilized in the infant room. In it, the caregiver takes a small toy and hides it under a plastic cup in front of the child. The caregiver then asks the infant where the toy is, helps the infant to lift the cup, and reveals that the toy is still there. The theoretical concept supporting this activity is object permanence (OP). OP is featured in Piaget’s developmental theory as one of the key takeaways for infants to develop in the sensorimotor stage (Misssmith891, 2011; Mossler, 2014). OP refers to knowing that objects exist even when they cannot be perceived with the help of vision. It is a crucial cognitive skill peculiar to developing real objects’ images in one’s mind (An et al., 2022). As the game involves interaction with adults, it may add to infants’ understanding of such emotions as delight and surprise (Films Media Group, 1996). The proposed activity enhances cognitive development (CD) in infants by promoting OP and helping them explore how objects disappear and reappear, thus solidifying their understanding of reality’s fixed nature.
Activity for Early Childhood Room: Game with Colored Sand
In this activity, the caregiver shows children one tall and one wide transparent cup filled with the same amount of colored sand and then asks them if both cups contain an identical amount of sand. Children reply negatively, and the caregiver takes another tall cup, helps the children to fill it with sand from a wide cup, and reveals that sand reaches the same level in both cups. The game is supported by the concept of conservation from Piaget’s theory or an understanding that objects can change their physical appearance without losing their properties (Mossler, 2014). This concept’s development starts in children aged seven, making the task applicable to older members of the early childhood group (Mossler, 2014; Walczak, 2019). The activity can enhance CD in those aged seven and older by letting children experience the conservation of volume. It also assists them in understanding that reality can be tested and explored experimentally.
Activity for Adolescent Room: Clue/Hedbanz
For the adolescent room, Clue and Hedbanz, both of which are games for groups, can be used to teach deductive reasoning (DR). In Clue, up to six players explore the game board and collect clues to solve a mysterious murder case, which requires thinking strategically prior to each move (Hansen & Hansen, 2019). In Hedbanz, players attach cards with the names of objects to their headbands and ask others yes/no questions to guess what is written on their cards (Watkins et al., 2021). The concept of DR supports these activities; DR is understood as the learner’s capacity to consider multiple and diverse variables/factors leading to various outcomes (Mossler, 2014). As per Piaget’s theory, DR develops in adolescents aged twelve and older and signifies their ability to make accurate inferences and predictions (Mossler, 2014). Both proposed games can improve CD in adolescents by teaching them to make decisions and inferences while keeping numerous variables and facts in mind.
Conclusion
On a final note, the aforementioned activities can build cognitive abilities in the three age cohorts. The interventions instrumentalize the concepts of OP, conservation, and DR, encouraging children to comprehend the stability of physical space and objects’ properties and learn to make adequate conclusions from sets of data. These skills will support and deepen community center visitors’ comprehension of the world, enabling them to succeed in life and academic settings.
References
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Hansen, D. M., & Hansen, K. D. (2019). Clues about bluffing in Clue: Is conventional wisdom wise?IEEE Transactions on Games, 13(3), 310-314. Web.
Misssmith891. (2011). Piaget’s stages of development [Video]. YouTube. Web.
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