This presentation highlights the cognitive development among children as propounded by psychologist Jean Piaget

2. Jean Piaget
• one of the pioneers in psychological investigation
of children.
• Cognitive development implies how knowledge
is acquired and developed through successive
stages and at various age levels.
• Learning is constructed from connections
between previously learned concepts and new
ideas.

3. Piaget’s Theoretical Notions
Mind
Cognitive
Structure
Schemas are the “units” of knowledge or basic building
block of behaviour.
As the child interacts with the environment, forms
different schemas resulting in the modifications in
cognitive structure.
Cognitive
Functioning
The key to cognitive development is how an individual
adaptats to his physical and social environment.
The task of such adaptation is carried out through the
processes of assimilation accommodation and
equilibration.

4. • Assimilation : matching between the already existing cognitive structures
and the environmental need as they arise.
• Accommodation : one has to learn the new ways of thinking and behaving
by making changes or modifications in one’s existing cognitive structure.
• Equilibration : adjustment mechanism in which the process of assimilation
and accommodation helps the organism to maintain a harmonious
relationship between himself and his environment.

5. Stages of Cognitive Development
• Piaget divided the stages of cognitive development of the child into the
following categories:
• Sensory – motor stage ( 0 to 2 years)
• Pre – operational stage ( 2 to 7 years)
• Pre-conceptual phase
• Intuitive phase.
• Concrete operational stage ( 7 to 11 years)
• Formal operational stage ( 11 years and above)

6. Sensory – motor stage
(0 to 2 years)
• Birth: exhibits a number of uncoordinated reflexes
such as sucking, looking, reaching and grasping.
• Next four months:
uncoordinated reflexes
become coordinated into
simple schemas
• tries to suck anything that
is put into its mouth and
grasps all that is put into
its hand.
• 8 months: begins
to realize object
permanence.

7. Pre-Operational Stage (2 to 7 years)
• period of rudimentary concept formation .
• identify the objects by their names and puts them
into certain classes.
• thinking is transductive.
• thinking is too imaginative and unrealistic
• ego-centric
Pre-conceptual phase (2 to 4 years)
Develops the ability to represent events and objects through symbols.

8. Pre-Operational Stage (2 to 7 years)
• Progresses towards advanced level concepts.
• thinking at this stage is not logical and full of
contradictions.
• cannot understand the concept of reversibility.
• cannot understand the concept of conservation
Intuitive phase (4 to 7 years)

9. Concrete Operational Stage
(7 to 11 years)
• Thinking of the child becomes
more logical and systematic.
• develops the ability to conserve both in terms of quantity
and number of objects
• no longer rigid, irreversible and ego-centric.
• develops the ability of
serialization such as
arranging the concrete
objects from largest to
smallest and vice versa.

10. Formal Operational Stage (12 to 15 years)
• Build multiple hypotheses and a number of
alternate solutions.
• Verify all possible solutions in a systematic and
logical way.
• Generalize and arrive at abstract rules to apply in
specific situations.
Thinks logically and systematically to solve abstract
problems.