By: Sheila Blocher Krista Bowen Leah Doughman Piaget’s Perspective By: Sheila Blocher Krista Bowen Leah Doughman

Cognitive-Stage Theory Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a Swiss theoretician who applied his broad knowledge of biology, philosophy, and psychology to observations of children. Piaget developed his cognitive learning theory to explain how children think. Piaget believed that the core of intelligent behavior was an inborn ability to adapt to the environment. 11/8/2018

Cognitive-Stage Theory Piaget believed that cognitive growth occurs due to adaptation, a two-step process of assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the process of taking in new information about the world. Accommodation is the process of changing one’s ideas to include the new information. 11/8/2018

Cognitive-Stage Theory Piaget believed that development occurs in stages and that each stage builds the foundation for the next stage. According to Piaget, all people go through the same stages in the same order but at different times. Therefore, the ages for each stage are approximate. There are four stages in Piaget’s theory. 11/8/2018

Sensorimotor Stage This is the first stage of development according to Piaget. It lasts from birth to around age two. In this stage, infants construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical motor actions. 11/8/2018

Sensorimotor Stage Babies change from responding primarily through reflexes to becoming goal-oriented toddlers. One important concept developed during this stage is object permanence (the realization that objects and people continue to exist even when out of sight). 11/8/2018

Preoperational Stage This is the second stage of development. The preoperational stage is from the age of two to seven years. The most important development at this time is language. Children develop an internal representation of the world that allows them to describe people, events, and feelings. 11/8/2018

Characteristics of the Preoperational Stage The child is quite egocentric during this stage. The egocentric behavior improves as the child moves toward the concrete stage. The child begins to use verbal representation. An example is: My sister is your daughter. During this stage, the child also begins to grasp symbolism. An example may be a refrigerator box can be a pirate ship. Child struggles with laws of conservation. For example, a child may say there is more orange juice in a tall skinny glass than a short fat glass. 11/8/2018

Study Involving Preoperational Concepts Researchers Jennifer Cooper and Roberts Schlesser researched the achievement gap in mathematics in African American and Caucasian kindergarten and first grade students. African American students scored significantly lower than Caucasian students on subtests of math fluency and applied problems. Students in the transitional stage scored lower than students in the preoperational and concrete stage. Teachers should spend more time teaching concepts such as conservation and classification instead of rote memorization. 11/8/2018

Concrete Operational Stage This is the third stage of development according to Piaget. It occurs between the ages of seven and eleven. The individual can reason logically about concrete events and classify objects into sets. 11/8/2018

Concrete Operational Stage During this stage the child begins to develop the ability to think abstractly. The child is also able to make rational judgments, which in the past they would need to manipulate things physically to understand. During this stage the child is able to ask questions and explain things back to someone. (Piaget’s Cognitive Stages) 11/8/2018

Concrete Operational Stage During this stage, children are in transition in regards to moral reasoning. They are showing features that they are in the moral reasoning stage (ages 7 to 10). Around the age of 10, children begin to progress into the autonomous morality stage. In this stage, children become aware that rules and law are created by people. They also begin to consider intentions as well as consequences. 11/8/2018

Formal Operational Stage This is the final stage of development according to Piaget. It occurs between the ages of 11 and 15. Individuals move beyond concrete experiences and are able to think more abstractly. 11/8/2018

Formal Operational Stage Individuals in this stage think more logically. When solving problems, they form and test hypotheses. Individuals begin to compare things to the ideal. They can see infinite possibilities. 11/8/2018

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