Theory of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget

1. Cognitive
Developm
ent
JFS

2. Swiss Psychologist , worked
for
- Several decades on
understanding
children’s cognitive development
- Most widely known for his
theory of Cognitive Development
- Published his first paper at
the early age of 10
- Earned his Doctorate in
Natural Science at the age of 21
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

3. What is Cognitive
Development ?
Cognitive development is the
changing process of thought,
learning and perception as a child
develops from infancy to adulthood.
As cognition develops, children build
on prior experiences, using these to
help them make sense of the world
around them.

6. Constructivism
- KNOWLEDGE IS BUILT BY THE LEARNER
Constructivism is a new approach in education
that claims humans are better able to
understand the information they have
constructed by themselves.
Learning is a social advancement that involves
language, real world situations, and interaction
and collaboration among learners. The learners
are considered to be central in the learning
process. Learning is affected by our prejudices,
experiences, the time in which we live, and both
physical and mental maturity.

7. Piagetian
ClassroomCONSTRUCTIVISM had a large influence on
American schools. Piaget believes that a
constructivist classroom must provide a variety
of activities to challenge students to accept
individual differences, increase their readiness
to learn, discover new ideas, and construct their
own knowledge.
In an elementary Piagetian classroom,
concrete learning experiences, such as
drawing, drama, model building and field trips
that involve hands-on opportunities to see,
hear, touch, taste, and smell are essential.
These early activities and the use of tangible
manipulatives and visual aids serve as
building blocks for more sophisticated tasks,
such as reading comprehension.

8. Schema
Piaget and Learning
WE WANT TO UNDERSTAND THINGS
Piaget (1952) defined a schema as 'a cohesive,
repeatable action sequence possessing
component actions that are tightly
interconnected and governed by a core
meaning.
Piaget came up with the idea that we build
our schema, or background knowledge,
based on our experiences.

9. 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. 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.

10. Equilibrium
According to Piaget, equilibrium occurs when a
person's background knowledge allows him or
her to deal with most new information through
something called assimilation, applying what you
already know to new situations.
Disequilibri
umDisequilibrium, then, refers to our inability to fit
new information into our schema. When you
come across information or experiences that do
not fit into your current knowledge base, this is
where disequilibrium begins. Disequilibrium occurs
when we encounter new situations or information
that do not fit into current background knowledge

11. Assimilation
Which is using an existing schema
to deal with a new object or
situation.Accommodation
This happens when the existing
schema (knowledge) does not work,
and needs to be changed to deal with
a new object or situation.

12. EQUILIBRIUM
( NEW IDEAS OR EXPERIENCE )
DISEQUILIBRIUM
( DISCORD, CHAOS, QUESTIONS,
DISCREPANCY, DISSONANCE, CONFUSION )
ASSIMILATION ACCOMMODATION
NEW EQUILIBRIUM

14. STAGE 1: THE SENSORIMOTOR STAGE ( FROM
BIRTH TO 2 YRS. )
During the early stages, infants are only
aware of what is immediately in front of
them. They focus on what they see, what
they are doing, and physical interactions
with their immediate environment.
Because they don't yet know how things
react, they're constantly experimenting
with activities such as shaking or throwing
things, putting things in their mouths, and
learning about the world through trial and
error.

15. New babies are not quite sure
what happens to objects when
they leave their sight.
This is when you play peek a
boo with them you keep
disappearing and reappearing
That would lead babies to
wonder this …

17. During there first year infants will learn
an important concept—object
permanence. Everything has a life of its
own even if its out of sight.
It means that a child understands that people
exist even though they are no longer in sight.
At this stage, the child starts to adapt to the
world even without the use of images but only
through direct activity. His behavior is more
flexible and is better integrated with his socio-
physical environment. The child is capable of
searching far hidden or missing objects at this
stage.

18. Stage 2: Pre-operational Stage (
about 2-7 years )
At this stage, kids learn
through pretend play but still
struggle with logic and taking the
point of view of other people.
They also often struggle with
understanding the ideal of
constancy.

21. Egocentrism
According to Piaget, egocentrism of the young
child leads them to believe that everyone thinks
as they do, and that the whole world shares
their feelings and desires. This sense of oneness
with the world leads to the child's assumptions
of magic omnipotence. Not only is the world
created for them, they can control it. This leads
to the child believing that nature is alive, and
controllable. This is a concept of egocentrism
known as ”animism”, the most characteristic of
egocentric thought.

23. Solipsism-
Philosophy The theory that the self is the only
thing that can be known and verified.
The view that the self is the only reality.
Ego –
• The self, especially as distinct from the world and other
selves.
• In psychoanalysis, the division of the psyche that is cons
cious,
most immediately controls thought and behavior, and is
most in touch with external reality.
• An exaggerated sense of self-importance; conceit.
• Appropriate pride in oneself; self-esteem.

24. Stage3: The Concrete Operational Stage (
about 7- 11 years )
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.

26. Piaget’s Conservation Task

28. Stage 4: The Formal Operational Stage ( above
11 years onwards)
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.

29. Question:
If an individual is in the
Formal Operational
Stage does it mean that
he or she is thinking
critically??

30. A conversation with a child in the
Concrete Operational Stage ( 7 – 11 years
)Adult: If you hit a glass with a hammer
the glass will break.
Child: I knew that.
Adult: And this one says, Don hits a
glass with a hammer.
Child: I knew that too.
Adult: So what happens to the glass?
Child: It broke.
Adult: Why did it break?
Child: Because the hammer is hard.

31. Second conversation with a child in the
Concrete Operational Stage ( 7 – 11 years
)
Adult: If you hit a glass with a feather
the glass will break.
Child: NO.
Adult: And this one says , Don hits the
glass with a feather.
Adult: So what happens to the glass?
Child: Nothing happened.
Adult: Why didn’t anything happen?
Child: Because the feather is soft.

32. A conversation with a teen in the Formal
Operational Stage
( 12 - 15 years )
Adult: If you hit a glass with a feather
the glass will break.
Teen: Okay??..
Adult: Don hit the glass with a feather,
what happens to the glass?
Teen: It broke..
Adult: And why did it break?
Teen: Because there’s a fact that it’s hit
with the feather… so it broke..

33. The final stage of Piaget's
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

34. Question:
If an individual is in the
Formal Operational
Stage does it mean that
he or she is thinking
critically??

35. According to studies 90% of professionals
tested got the questions wrong.
However, many pre-school children got many of
the questions right
This is due to a child’s tendency to answer
questions with common sense rather than
overthinking.
Andersen consulting claims that this disproves
the theory that most professionals have the
brains of a four- year old.

36. How do you put a giraffe
into a refrigerator?

37. ANSWER: You open the
refrigerator , put the giraffe
and close the door.
This question test you
whether you tend to do
simple thing in an
overcomplicated way.

38. How do you put an elephant inside
a fridge?

39. ANSWER: Open the fridge
take the out the giraffe, put
the elephant and close the
door.
This question test your ability
to think about the
repurcussion of your actions.

40. Noah has to build an ark .
This time he is told to
collect every single animal
on earth, not just two of
each . Every animal boards
the ark , except one .
Which animal does not
board the ark?

41. ANSWER: The elephant ;
as it is still inside the
fridge.
This question test your
memory.

42. There is a river you must
cross. However, the river is
inhabited by crocodiles.
How do you cross the river
without being killed by the
crocs?

43. ANSWER: You simply swim
across. There is no danger
as the crocodiles are inside
Noah’s ark.

44. If a plane crashes on
the boarder of US
and Canada , where
would the survivors
be buried?

45. Neither. Why would
the survivors be
buried they
survived.

46. Mrs. Smith’s Bungalow is
decorated entirely in
pink. The carpet is pink,
the ceiling is pink even the
lampshades are pink.
What color are the stairs?

47. ANSWER: She lives in a
Bungalow there are no
stairs.

48. Imagine you are driving
a bus. You drive to bus
stop T , where 4 people
get on. You then arrive
at bus stop O, where 2
people get off. Finally,
you reached bus stop
M, where everyone gets
off.

49. ANSWER: His or Her
name is whatever your
name is . I asked you to
imagine that you were
the driver.
What is the name of the
bus driver?

50. Imagine an abandoned
aquarium within an
abandoned house. In the
aquarium were 3 big
fishes and 3 small fishes.
After 4 days 1 big fish and
2 small fishes died. How
many remain in the
aquarium?

51. ANSWER: All of them-
Nobody will have removed
the dead fish from the
aquarium , for it was
abandoned so they would
remain there.

52. Imagine that you have been
kidnapped. Your only way out of
escaping is the 3 rooms in front
of you.
Room 1: Consist of a fiery
inferno.
Room 2: Is full of assassins with
loaded guns.
Room 3: Is full of hungry lions
who have not eaten for 3 months
Which room is the safest way
out?

53. ANSWER: Room 3 ,
because the lions
will have starved
to death if they
had not eaten for 3
months.

54. Which is heavier a
ton of pure gold or a
ton of feathers?

55. ANSWER: Neither.
Both weight a ton.

58. Children have real understanding only of
that which they invent themselves.
-Jean Piaget