Piaget Theories Piaget, a Swiss psychologist who died in 1980, developed a theory of how children learn Piaget found that children's intelligence develops in patterns He identified 4 periods of development

4 Periods of Development The Sensorimotor Period The Preoperational Period The Concrete Operational Period The Formal Operational Period

Sensorimoter Period Birth – Age 2 Egocentric (thinking only about ones self) 10 months – Object Permanence  Things still exist even though they cannot be seen

Pre-operational Period Two – Seven years old Think about things in terms of their own activities or what they perceive at the moment Pretending and using imagination  Imaginary friend

Concrete Operation Period Seven – Eleven Years Can think logically, but still learn from direct experiences Comprehend that operation can be reversed

Formal Operation Period Eleven to Adulthood Abstract Thinking Symbolic thinking – words and numbers represent ideas

Applying Piaget Ideas Math Concept of Three Symbolic Thinking: The teacher gives verbal direction: says “she has threepencils – take away two pencils” Concrete Thinking: Hold up three pencils to represent the concept of three

Piaget Assignment Read chapter 10 (pages ) In writing, summarize Piagets Theory: Name the 4 periods and identify the ages each Explain what type of learning is going on at this stage Give an example that illustrate of the learning that takes place during this stage