Human Growth and Development

Creative Thinking Creativity is shaped by internal factors like curiosity, openness, and risk-taking, as well as self-confidence and a positive self-perception, which help individuals persist through challenges and embrace failure as part of the creative process. Cognitive factors like divergent thinking and elaboration skills are key to creativity. Externally, diverse experiences, stimulating environments, and access to resources also play a role. Supportive social settings, where individuals feel safe to experiment, nurture creative development. Educational approaches that emphasize exploration, open-ended questioning, and collaboration can further enhance creative thinking skills. In conclusion, creativity is not simply an innate talent, but rather a complex interplay of personal characteristics, environmental factors, and educational experiences. B. Development and Learning Cognitive development in children involves the growth of problem-solving and decision-making skills . In preschool (ages 3-5), they rely on trial and error, but as they grow, they begin using more strategic approaches. Learning experiences that promote goal-setting, analysis, and planning help them build problem-solving frameworks. Over time, they learn to sequence steps, anticipate consequences, and adjust plans, preparing them for complex challenges and lifelong learning. Piaget’s Cognitive Development Jean Piaget’s theory is one of the most well-known explanations of how children's thinking develops. He believed that children actively explore and construct their understanding of the world . According to Piaget, cognitive development happens in four distinct stages , each with its own characteristics and ways of thinking.

1.​ Sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years): Infants learn through actions and senses, developing object permanence – the understanding that objects continue to exist even when unseen. 2.​ Preoperational stage (2-7 years): Symbolic thought, language development, and egocentrism (the inability to see things from another's perspective) emerge. 3.​ Concrete operational stage (7-11 years): Children develop logical reasoning skills but are limited to manipulating concrete objects. 4.​ Formal operational stage (11 years and up): The ability to think abstractly, hypothesize, and reason logically about possibilities develops.

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