Piaget's Theory
Piaget's theory focuses on the cognitive rather than behavioral skills in analyzing the learning process. A Piagetian supports the idea that children develop logical reasoning over an extended period.
The Productive Struggle
The productive struggle is the ability to apply various techniques to solve a mathematical or academic problem. Additionally, the term also entails reflecting on the methods used in an attempt to evaluate the validity of the answers. According to the four stages of the theory, children progressively acquire cognitive structures that enable them to think about issues which are beyond their experience. For instance, the Concrete Operational Stage of Piaget's theory suggests that children between the age of 6 and 12 years develop the ability to incorporate logical reasoning in realistic settings (Ormrod, 2016). Additionally, they understand that their viewpoints and feelings may be different from those of other people and that it is possible to apply incorrect reasoning when solving an academic problem. In this regard, students struggle to achieve the required answers.
The Benefits of Productive Struggle
The benefits of productive struggle to students are the ability to reflect on the applied logic of reasoning and thus being able to evaluate the validity of their answers and the enhancement of the thought process. One strategy for an effective productive struggle is analyzing the thought process employed in determining the solution and understanding the concepts in the question thereby enabling the students or adults to believe that they can solve the problem (Pasquate, 2015).
Application to Other Subjects
The skills acquired in applying productive struggle in solving mathematical problems can be implemented to other subjects (Pasquate, 2015). The Sensorimotor stage in Piaget's theory suggests that the interaction with real-life situations assists in understanding mathematical problems. In this regard, other subjects such as science and languages can be learned by formulating questions that depict real-life scenarios (Ormrod, 2016).
References
Ormrod, J. E. (2016). Human Learning. Upper Saddle River,NJ: Pearson/Merill Prentice Hall.
Pasquate, M. (2015). Productive Struggle In Mathematics. Retrieved from Educational Develeopment Centre: http://interactivestem.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/EDC-RPC-Brief-Productive-Struggle.pdf
