I need a peer reviewed response to this paper. Basically, the instructor wants a one page response. I must cite and use reference.

For this discussion, I chose to look at Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development. His theory is defined as, "Piaget's (1936) theory of cognitive development explains how a child constructs a mental model of the world. He disagreed with the idea that intelligence was a fixed trait, and regarded cognitive development as a process which occurs due to biological maturation and interaction with the environment" (SimplyPsychology.org). In my opinion, this definition exemplifies the idea that life experiences shape the way a child is able to learn new material that is presented to him or her. This can be noticed when researchers take a sample from a poor community and compare it to an affluent community. The children in an affluent community are more likely to be exposed to better home life and more resources. In return, they have the tools necessary to succeed in a world full of obstacles and hardship.

In an article Written by Ghazi and Ullah, writers for the Gomal University Journal Research, they looked at studying academic achievement when it came to rural and urban classes. The study concluded, " Urban school students falling in Paget's concrete operational stage (7-11 years) have better performance regarding the ability of Chemistry, Biology, and Physics in general science than the rural students. It shows clearly that socio-cultural environment (rural vs. urban) have an impact on Piaget' s concrete operational stage students in learning general science"(p. 8). This proves my initial point that the way that students are raised and the environment that they are placed in gives them an advantage when it comes to learning new material. With that said, we need to try and expose these less privileged schools to better learning environments. In a way, it is not fair that these students can learn at a higher rate and better understand information because they are raised in better family situations.

When it comes to the research of this study, the sample size was about 200 hundred students. This is a pretty strong sample size given the age group of the students that were studied (7-11). One of the weaknesses in this study would be that the researchers have to define the limitations of what it means to be rural versus urban. There can be many biases when trying to put students into these specific groups. One of the major strengths of this study was that is proved that the more affluent a community is, the more likely the students of that community will be successful. A suggestion that I would consider for future research would be to conduct a study similar to this using a sample of a very poor community versus a very rich community.

In conclusion, research studies such as this help the Psychological community produce strong evidence of how students are able to learn when they are exposed to certain stimuli throughout their lives. This will allow for school districts to formulate better plans to give students the best resources to ensure that they are learning to the best of their ability. The youth is the future of the world. Therefore, it is essential that we give them everything they need to ensure a better future for our society.