Organized Chaos: Understanding Schemas and Cognitive Development

You may not be very organized when it comes to your home or office, but did you know that you are organized in your brain? Schemas ‘describe patterns of thinking and behavior that people use to interpret the world’ (Cherry 2023).

The term was introduced by Jean Piaget and worked in conjunction with his theory of cognitive development (Cherry 2023). Schemas are basically little file folders in our brains when we are developing and beyond that we store information and beliefs in. When we learn new information, that’s where assimilation and accommodation come into play.

Assimilation is the process where new information is incorporated into schemas that already exist. For example, a child may have a Schema for dogs, and learn that they bark and that is added to the dog Schema. Accommodation is when you learn new information and have new experiences. An example of this would be learning that not all animals that have 4 legs are dogs, like a horse. That accommodation is made and may change the schema or create a new one.

Accommodation and Assimilation by Kyra DeLoach

In my position as a Residence Hall Manager, I thought ‘okay how does this affect me?’ I think that this is critical to know in regards to my students. All of my students come from different backgrounds and have different views on the world, the people around them, and more. When students in the residence hall act a certain way, it can be jarring if it is different from others. It is important to know that they have these preconceived ideas and schemas, and are assimilating and accommodating them in the new environment of college.

I would see this as a strength and a weakness of cognitivism. On one hand, knowing that learners form these Schemas differently can help me empathize with them and adjust how I give them information. As a weakness, that’s over 100 different perspectives and schemas I have to adapt to and try to accommodate.

Overall, I think the idea of schemas makes me feel much more organized in my brain even when everything else is in shambles. It makes me feel more empathy for my students when I try to think about how they are forming connections. I would encourage everyone to look at how schemas and cognitive development affects them in their practice.

References

Cherry, K. (2023, March 12). The role of a schema in psychology. verywell mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-a-schema-2795873

Cherry, K. (2022, October 29). The importance of assimilation in adaptation. verywell mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-assimilation-2794821

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