WHAT IS THE KNOWLEDGE ACQUISITION PROCESS? - ECONOMÍA - 2024

The knowledge acquisition process is the model through which human beings learn and develop their intelligence, that is, they build knowledge. There are various theories that explain the process of acquiring knowledge. In this sense, there is not a single process but there are as many as theories have been presented.

For example, Jean Piaget raises the genetic psychological theory, according to which the process of acquiring knowledge begins in childhood. In this stage, the subject comes into contact with the environment, relates to objects and acquires knowledge. It is an involuntary phase, since the desire to learn comes from the other members of the environment and not from the child.

Likewise, Piaget points out that the acquisition of knowledge is a process of construction and deconstruction. This means that the child acquires simple knowledge and "builds" it through assimilation.

Later, the child will add more knowledge, so his previous ideas must be deconstructed to form new knowledge.

Next, this and other theories of knowledge acquisition will be explained in depth.

Genetic psychological theory

Jean Piaget. Via wikimedia commons.

The genetic psychological theory, by the French Jean Piaget, points out that knowledge is acquired through processes of construction and deconstruction.

Knowledge is built once it has been learned and it is destroyed and rebuilt when new information is added to it. Thus, the construction-deconstruction process is repeated over and over again throughout the life of human beings.

According to Piaget, the development of knowledge occurs through four stages, which he calls cognitive periods. These four periods occur in the following order:

1- Period of reflexes, which is influenced by sensory-motor intelligence. The first stage is from birth to language acquisition (0-2 years of age, more or less).

One of the main examples of this stage is the sucking reflex: when an object is brought close to a baby's lips, it will suck. Another example is that when a child is going to fall, he tries to lessen the damage of the fall by using his hands as protection.

2- Period of habits, marked by the symbolism of the actions and not by a reflection on it. In most cases, actions are carried out thanks to imitation. This stage goes from 2 years to 7 years

For example, the child brushes his teeth because his parents have told him to do such a thing, not because he knows that it is a hygiene measure. That is, the child only imitates.

3- Period of concrete intellectual operations, in which the child begins to analyze the information conscientiously. This stage occurs between 7 and 11 years.

Logic intervenes at this stage and allows the child to move towards an almost adult level of understanding.

In this sense, the child is capable of executing inductive reasoning, in which they draw conclusions from two or more premises. However, deductions are out of your reach in most cases.

For example, you learn to sort, so if you are asked to order the pencils in your pencil case, you will most likely order them according to the shades of the colors.

4- Period of formal intellectual operations, final stage of knowledge acquisition, which occurs between 12 and 20 years. In this period, the young person is able to make both inductions and deductions.

This stage is also known as the stage of abstract intellectual operations, because the human being is capable of reasoning around abstract concepts. Also, metacognition occurs, which is the ability to think about thinking.

As an example, at this stage the child begins to create deductive propositions or hypotheses about death or to combine categories on abstract concepts (love and forgiveness are part of the good).

Theory of knowledge acquisition from printed materials

David ausubel

According to Ausubel, printed materials are one of the best ways to gain knowledge once the voluntary process begins. In other words, when the human being makes the decision to learn (between the ages of 7 and 11), the easiest way is to do so through reading printed texts.

In this theory, Ausebel proposes that learning through written texts is adapted to the particular needs of each student: they are adapted to their level of intelligence and their level of prior knowledge about the subject (because you can choose which book to choose for each level of learning). Similarly, it is coupled to reading speed.

Theory of macrostructure

This theory was raised by Van Dijk and Kinsth and is related to Ausebel's theory, since it states that reading and understanding written texts are knowledge acquisition processes. The theory of macrostructure states that when reading a text, the reader is faced with two levels of understanding: microstructure and macrostructure.

Microstructure refers to the understanding of the individual words and propositions that make up the text. It is about the superficial structure of the speech, since it does not go beyond the form of the words.

For its part, the macrostructure refers to the understanding of the text as a whole. At this level, the reader must understand the meaning of the propositions as a set and not as isolated individual units. That is, you come into contact with the deep structure of the text.

At this point, the reader can discard ideas that are not relevant to their knowledge acquisition process and assimilate those that are. In this sense, there are various techniques that allow acquiring knowledge of macrostructure, among which suppression, generalization and construction stand out.

Deletion consists of discarding ideas that are not relevant to the overall meaning of the text. For its part, generalization is a technique that allows the content of several to be summarized in a single proposition.

Finally, construction is the technique through which part of the information is inferred and meaning is reconstructed. This technique involves advanced understanding of the macrostructure of the text.

Vygotsky's sociocultural theory

Lev Vygotsky. Via wikimedia commons.

This theory developed by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky focuses on the importance of society and the environment in the process of acquiring knowledge of each individual.

Vygotsky was certain that children learn based on their social interaction. This is what allows you to develop the cognitive skills that you will later apply in your day to day life.

This means that as the child is born, the culture of his environment will influence the development of some cognitive skills, while others are never relevant.

Of course, the psychologist also gave his space to how parents, colleagues and the closest environment were an important part of the process of acquisition of knowledge, only that he added the cultural factor as something determining.

References

1. Piaget's theory of cognitive development. Retrieved on August 2, 2017, from en.wikipedia.org
2. The Psychology of Learning and Motivations. Retrieved on August 2, 2017, from books.google.com
3. Cognitive Learning Theories by Ausebel. Retrieved on August 2, 2017, from es.slideshare.net
4. Ausebel's Learning Theories. Retrieved on August 2, 2017, from myenglishpages.com
5. Jean Piaget. Retrieved on August 2, 2017, from simplypsychology.org
6. Cognitive Development Theories. Retrieved on August 2, 2017, from learning-theories.com
7. Piaget's Theory of Learning. Retrieved on August 2, 2017, from journal-archives27.webs.com.