Jean Piaget developed a theory of cognitive development through observing children's responses to tasks he designed. He identified four stages of development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Each stage is characterized by developing abilities like object permanence, language use, logical thinking, and hypothetical reasoning. Piaget's theory emphasizes how knowledge develops through assimilating new experiences into existing understandings and accommodating understandings to new experiences.

1. JEAN PIAGET’S
COGNITIVE THEORY OF
DEVELOPMENT

2. INTRODUCTION
Jean Piaget, a Swiss researcher and writer,
developed a theory of cognitive development. For
sixty years, he conducted the research on how
human beings develop intellectually. His research
method involved observing a small number of
individuals as they responded to cognitive tasks
that he designed. These tasks were later known
as “Piagetian Tasks.”

3. INTRODUCTION
Piaget called his general theoretical framework
“genetic epistemology” because he was interested
on how knowledge develops in human organisms.
He was initially into biology and he also had a
background in philosophy. Knowledge from both
these disciplines influenced his theories and
research of child development. Out of his
researches, Piaget came up with the four stages
of cognitive development.

4. INTRODUCTION
Piaget examined the implication of his theory
not only to aspects of cognition but also to
intelligence and moral development. His theory
has been applied widely to teaching and
curriculum design especially in the preschool
and elementary curricula.

5. BASIC COGNITIVE
CONCEPTS

6. BASIC COGNITIVE CONCEPTS
1. Schema. Piaget used the term “schema” to
refer to the cognitive structures by which
individuals intellectually adapt to and organize
their environment. It is an individual’s way to
understand or create meaning about a thing or
experience.

7. SCHEMA
If a child sees a dog for the first time, he
creates his own schema of what a dog is. It
has four legs and a tail; it barks; it’s furry. The
child then puts this description of a dog in his
mind.

8. BASIC COGNITIVE CONCEPTS
2. Assimilation. This refers to the process of
fitting a new experience into an existing or
previously created cognitive structure or
schema.

9. ASSIMILATION
If the child sees another dog, this time a
smaller one, he would make sense of what he
is seeing by adding this new information into
his schema of a dog.

10. BASIC COGNITIVE CONCEPTS
3. Accommodation. This refers to the process
of creating a new schema.

11. ACCOMMODATION
If the same child sees another animal that looks a
little bit like a dog but somehow different, he
might try to fit it into his schema of dog. With the
guardian’s further descriptions, the child will now
create a new schema, that of another kind of
animal with four legs. He now adds a new schema
of another animal into his mind.

12. BASIC COGNITIVE CONCEPTS
4. Equilibration. This refers to achieving proper
balance between assimilation and
accommodation. When our experiences do not
match our schemata (plural of schema) or
cognitive structures, we experience cognitive
disequilibrium. This means there is a discrepancy
between what is perceived and what is
understood. We then exert effort through
assimilation and accommodation to establish
equilibrium once more.

13. PIAGET’S STAGES OF
COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT

14. THE STAGES OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT
There are four (4) stages of cognitive
development: the sensorimotor stage (from birth
to infancy), the pre-operational/intuitive stage
(from two to seven years of age), the concrete
operational stage (from eight to eleven years of
age), and the formal operational stage (from
twelve to fifteen years of age).

15. Four Stages
of Cognitive
Developme
nt
1
2
4
3

16. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
The first stage corresponds from birth to
infancy. This is the stage when a child who is
initially reflexive in grasping, sucking, and
reaching becomes more organized in his
movement and activity. Children think as a
result of coordination of sensory input
(thinking) and motor responses (muscle
movements).

17. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE
Intelligence is non-verbal or non-symbolic
because the child has not developed language
yet. Under this stage is the development of object
permanence. This is the ability of a child to know
that an object exist even when out of sight.
Infants lack object permanence; they cannot
mentally represent or think about objects that
they are not directly interacting with.BAC
K

18. PRE-OPERATIONAL/INTUITIVE STAGE
The pre-operational stage covers from about two
to seven years old, roughly corresponding to the
preschool years. Intelligence during this stage is
intuitive in nature. This is where thinkers can
symbolize or mentally represent (pretend) their
world. This is the period dominated by a rapid
development of language.

19. PRE-OPERATIONAL/INTUITIVE STAGE
This stage is highlighted by the following:
•Symbolic Function. This is the ability to
represent objects and events through
“symbols.”
•Egocentrism. This is the inability of a child to
consider another’s viewpoint.

20. PRE-OPERATIONAL/INTUITIVE STAGE
•Centration. This refers to the tendency of the
child to only focus on one aspect of a thing or
event and exclude other aspects.
•Irreversibility. Children at this stage have the
inability to reverse their thinking.

21. PRE-OPERATIONAL/INTUITIVE STAGE
•Animism. This is the tendency of children to
attribute human like traits or characteristics to
inanimate objects.
•Transductive Reasoning. This refers to the type
of reasoning that is neither inductive nor
deductive. Reasoning appears to be from
particular to particular. BAC
K

22. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
The concrete operational stage covers
approximately the ages between eight to eleven
years or the elementary school years. This stage
is characterized by the ability of the child to think
logically wherein mathematical operations
develop. Children may have difficulty dealing with
hypothetical problems because thinking can only
be applied to concrete objects or events.

23. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
The concrete operational stage is marked by
the following:
•Decentering. This refers to the ability of the
child to perceive the different features of
objects and situations. The child is no longer
focused or limited to one aspect.

24. CONCRETE OPERATIONAL STAGE
•Reversibility. The child can now follow that
certain operations can be done in reverse.
•Conservation. This is the ability to know that
certain properties of objects do not change even
if there is a change in appearance.
•Seriation. This refers to the ability to order or
arrange things in series based on one dimension
or aspect. BAC
K

25. FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
In the final stage of formal operations covering
ages between twelve to fifteen years, thinking
becomes more logical. Children can handle
hypothetical and abstract problems. Scientific
reasoning is possible. Formal operations may
involve the development of logical and
systematic thinking.

26. FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
This stage is characterized by the following:
•Hypothetical Reasoning. This is the ability to
come up with different hypothesis about a
problem and to gather and weigh data in
order to make a final decision or judgment.
This can be done in the absence of concrete
objects.

27. FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
•Analogical Reasoning. This is the ability to
perceive relationship in one instance and then
use that relationship to narrow down possible
answers in another similar situation or problem.
Through reflective thought and even in the
absence of concrete objects, an individual can
now understand relationships and do analogical
reasoning.

28. FORMAL OPERATIONAL STAGE
•Deductive Reasoning. This is the ability to
think logically by applying a general rule to a
particular instance or situation.

29. PRINCIPLES OF
PIAGET’S THEORY OF
COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENT

30. PRINCIPLES
•Children will provide different explanations of
reality at different stage of cognitive
development.
•Cognitive development is facilitated by
providing activities or situations that engage
learners and require adaptation.

31. PRINCIPLES
•Learning materials and activities should involve
the appropriate level of motor or mental
operations for a child of give age; avoid asking
students to performs tasks that are beyond their
cognitive capabilities.
•Use teaching methods which actively involve
students and present challenges.