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1. Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development
By
Dr. G.M.SUNAGAR
M.A.(Pol.Sci.),M.A.(Eco.),M.Ed., M.Phil., PGDCA., PGDHE.,K-SET., NET., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Vijayanagar College of Education and P.G. Centre of studies in Education,
Vidyanagar, Hubballi.

2. JEAN PIAGET'S BACKGROUND
Jean Piaget was born in Switzerland in 1896. He published his first scientific
paper at the tender age of 10 – a 100-word description of an albino sparrow in a
naturalist magazine.
Between the ages of 15 and 19 he published numerous papers and was even
offered a job as a curator at a museum, although he had to decline the offer since
he still had two years of high school to complete.
While he developed an interest early on in how people come to know the world
around them, he didn't receive any formal training in psychology until after he had
completed his doctoral degree at the University of Neuchatel. After receiving his
Ph.D. degree at age 22 in natural history, Piaget formally began a career that would
have a profound impact on both psychology and education.
Albert Einstein called Piaget's discovery "so simple only a genius could have
thought of it.“
Piaget's stage theory describes the cognitive development of children. Cognitive
development involves changes in cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget's view,
early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later
progresses to changes in mental operations.

3. Key Points
Jean Piaget developed his cognitive-developmental theory based on the idea that
children actively construct knowledge as they explore and manipulate the world
around them.
The four stages of Piaget's theory of cognitive development correspond with the age
of the child; they include the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and
formal operational stages.
The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to age 2 and is characterized by the idea
that infants "think" by manipulating the world around them.
The preoperational stage occurs from age 2 to age 7 and is characterized by the idea
that children use symbols to represent their discoveries.
The concrete operational stage occurs from age 7 to age 11 and is characterized by
the idea that children's reasoning becomes focused and logical.
The formal operational stage occurs from age 11 to adulthood and is characterized by
the idea that children develop the ability to think in abstract ways.

4. PIAGET'S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

5. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to age 2.
It is characterized by the idea that infants "think" by manipulating the world around them.
This is done by using all five senses: seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling.
During this stage, infants and toddlers acquire knowledge through sensory experiences and
manipulating objects.
It was his observations of his daughter and nephew that heavily influenced his conception of
this stage.
At this point in development, a child's intelligence consists of their basic motor and sensory
explorations of the world.
Piaget believed that developing object permanence or object constancy, the understanding
that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, was an important element at this
point of development.
 By learning that objects are separate and distinct entities and that they have an existence of
their own outside of individual perception, children are then able to begin to attach names and
words to objects.

6. PREOPERATIONAL STAGE
The preoperational stage occurs from age 2 to age 7.
 During this stage, children can use symbols to represent words, images, and
ideas, which is why children in this stage engage in pretend play.
 At this stage, kids learn through pretend play (ACTING) but still struggle with
logic and taking the point of view of other people.
 They also often struggle with understanding the ideal of constancy.
For example, a researcher might take a lump of clay, divide it into two equal
pieces, and then give a child the option of choosing two pieces of clay to play
with. One piece of clay is rolled into a compact ball while the other is smashed
into a flat pancake shape. Since the flat shape looks larger, the preoperational
child will likely choose that piece even though the two pieces are exactly the same
size.

7. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
The concrete operational stage occurs from age 7 to age 11.
Kids at this point of development begin to think more logically, but their
thinking can also be very rigid.
They tend to struggle with abstract and hypothetical concepts. At this
point, children also become less egocentric and begin to think about how
other people might think and feel.
Kids in the concrete operational stage also begin to understand that
their thoughts are unique to them and that not everyone else necessarily
shares their thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

8. FORMAL OPERATIONAL
 The formal operational stage occurs from age 11 to adulthood.
 The final stage of Piaget's theory involves an increase in logic, the ability to use
deductive reasoning, and an understanding of abstract ideas.
 At this point, people become capable of seeing multiple potential solutions to
problems and think more scientifically about the world around them.
 It seems that once we reach adulthood, our problem-solving abilities change: as
we attempt to solve problems, we tend to think more deeply about many areas
of our lives, such as relationships, work, and politics.
 Because of this, post formal thinkers are able to draw on past experiences to help
them solve new problems. Problem-solving strategies using post formal thought
vary depending on the situation.

9. FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
Schemas - A schema describes both the mental and physical actions involved in
understanding and knowing. Schemas are categories of knowledge that help us to
interpret and understand the world.
In Piaget's view, a schema includes both a category of knowledge and the process
of obtaining that knowledge. As experiences happen, this new information is used
to modify, add to, or change previously existing schemas.
For example, a child may have a schema about a type of animal, such as a dog. If
the child's sole experience has been with small dogs, a child might believe that all
dogs are small, furry, and have four legs. Suppose then that the child encounters an
enormous dog. The child will take in this new information, modifying the
previously existing schema to include these new observations.
Assimilation – (Swikarisu) The process of taking in new information into our
already existing schemas is known as assimilation. The process is somewhat
subjective because we tend to modify experiences and information slightly to fit in
with our pre-existing beliefs. In the example above, seeing a dog and labelling it
"dog" is a case of assimilating the animal into the child's dog schema.

10. Accommodation – (Samyojane )Another part of adaptation involves
changing or altering our existing schemas in light of new information, a
process known as accommodation. Accommodation involves modifying
existing schemas, or ideas, as a result of new information or new
experiences. New schemas may also be developed during this process.
Equilibration – (Karagata) Piaget believed that all children try to strike a
balance between assimilation and accommodation, which is achieved
through a mechanism Piaget called equilibration. As children progress
through the stages of cognitive development, it is important to maintain
a balance between applying previous knowledge (assimilation) and
changing behavior to account for new knowledge (accommodation).
Equilibration helps explain how children can move from one stage of
thought into the next.

11. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
1. A focus on the process of children's thinking, not just its products. Instead of
simply checking for a correct answer, teachers should emphasize the student's
understanding and process they used to get the answer.
2. Recognition of the crucial role of children's self-initiated, active involvement
in learning activities. In a Piagetian classroom, children are encourage to
discover themselves through spontaneous interaction with the environment,
rather than the presentation of ready-made knowledge.
3. A de-emphasis on practices aimed at making children adult like in their
thinking.This refers to what Piaget referred to as the "American question"
which is "How can we speed up development?". His belief is that trying to
speed up and accelerate children's process through the stages could be worse
than no teaching at all.
4. Acceptance of individual differences in developmental progress. Piaget's
theory asserts that children go through all the same developmental stages,
however they do so at different rates. Because of this, teachers must make
special effort to arrange classroom activities for individuals and groups of
children rather than for the whole class group.

12. Some general suggestions include:
~ The use of concrete props and visual aids, such as models and/or time
lines
~ Facilitate learning by using familiar examples to explain complex
ideas, such as a story problem in math
~ Give students the opportunities to classify & group information, use
outlines & hierarchies to facilitate assimilation of new information with
previously learned knowledge.
~Present problems that require logical analytical thinking, "brain
teasers" are a great way to incorporate this

13. How can information on the Stages of Cognitive Development apply to teaching?
Sensorimotor Period: Activities for Infants and Toddlers
Provide a rich stimulating environment
Preoperational Period: Activities for Toddlers and Early Childhood
Hands on activities should also be facilitated at this time.

14. Concrete Operations: Activities for Middle Childhood
Give children the chance to manipulate objects and test out ideas
Do simple experiments, with participation of the students
Formal Operations: Activities for Adolescents
Children in this stage should be encouraged to
work in groups in school to explain and discuss
hypothetical topics.
Have the discuss on social issues in groups and
brainstorm.