Jean Piaget Cognitive Theory of Learning Stages of Development

Stages  Sensorimotor  Preoperational  Concrete Operational  Formal Operational

Sensorimotor  0 -2 years of age  Blanket and ball study  Object permanence

Preoperational  2-7 years  Children are directed inward  Learn from concrete evidence (have to see it)  Only see world from their point of view  Cannot think in abstract terms

Preoperational Make-believe play  Learn through imaginative play  Imitate real life situations  Also, explore areas of fright

Preoperational Use of symbols  Learn that objects and words can be symbols  Stop sign means stop  The letter A represents the sound “aye”  Their name can be a bunch of letters  Words are letters with sound

Preoperational Egocentric viewpoint  Think of world in terms of their own thoughts and feelings  Everything around them is for them  Everyone else feels like them  Animism: inanimate objects can have human feelings (toys, stuffed animals)

Preoperational Limited Focus  Decisions are made from their perceptions  If there are two glasses of water and one is tall and thin it must have more water in it than the short fat one  If they come to know a particular item in a particular color or shape it must always be that shape/color

Concrete Operational  Conservation  Begins to use logic  Begins to see others points of view

Formal Operations  Manipulate ideas in head  Abstract thinking  Can imagine outcomes of actions

Equilibrium  Learning by experience  Assimilation  Equilibrium  New situation  Disequilibrium  Accommodation