A brief review

Piaget's theory of cognitive development supports that spatial thinking can be developed. With the understanding of this view, the article provides some advices about how teachers can help p... See More

Piaget's theory of cognitive development supports that spatial thinking can be developed. With the understanding of this view, the article provides some advices about how teachers can help promote the development of cognitive processes, especially spatial-thinking skills, in the elementary classroom. First of all, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1993) recommends that educators can help improve elementary students’ spatial ability by manipulatives. Therefore, educators should provide more hands-on science activity programs or mathematics manipulatives in teaching, which can promote students’ participation and thinking. Based on hands-on science activities, this article suggests that educators should give more open-ended questions, choose appropriate activities and stimulate students’ potential. In my opinion, the sequence of those three advices should be the choice of activities, open-ended questions and stimulate students’ potential. Firstly, educators choose appropriate activities, open-end activities or the activity can be solved by different ways, which can develop students’ spatial thinking. Students can think in different ways and pursue their own way to solve a problem. Secondly, in the teaching process, educators should ask more open-ended questions, which can help students to think their work deeply and engage in the activity. According to this article, “What” and “How” question promotes learners to find answers. “Why” questions should be used with caution, or students may doubt themselves. Finally, I think that developing students’ potential is one of the goals of activities. Questions and activities challenge students and promote their thinking. Though that, students’ spatial-thinking abilities and potential are developed. In conclusion, although this article mix stimulating students’ potential as a method to promote spatial-thinking skills, it still give an application model of Piaget’s theory to help educators to create their own educational mode and environment. As a teacher, we should provide students more opportunities and spaces to think in different ways.