Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who developed a theory of cognitive development in children. His theory states that children progress through four distinct stages as they interact with their environment - sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. At each stage, children develop new cognitive abilities that allow them to understand and learn about the world. Piaget believed that learning occurs through active experimentation and adaptation, as children construct knowledge through assimilating new experiences into existing understandings or accommodating by changing their understandings. His theory emphasizes that children are active learners and proposes educational approaches should match children's developmental levels.

1. Jean Piaget’s
Cognitive Development Theory

2. Intro
Stage 1
Stage 4
Stage 2
Who is Piaget?
Cognitive Development
Key Concepts of cognitive development
Stages of cognitive development
Educational Implications
Stage 3

3. Who is Jean Piaget?
 Swiss Psychologist, worked for several decades on understanding children’s
cognitive development
 Most widely known theory of cognitive development.
 Was intrigued by kids’ thoughts & behavior, & worked to understand their
cognitive development
 Place Of Birth: Switzerland
 Date of Birth: August 9th
, 1896
 First Appearance: at the age of 11, he wrote a short notice on an albino
sparrow – this is considered as the start of a brilliant scientific career.
 Earned his doctorate in natural sciences at 21 from the University of Neuchatel
then undertook post-doctoral training in Zurich, and Paris
 Began to study psychology, applying intelligence tests to school children
 The theorist we recognize today only emerged ,when he moved to Geneva,
as director of research at the Rousseau Institute, in 1922.

4.  Development of mental abilities and capabilities which helps an
individual to adjust his behavior to the changing environmental
conditions
 Is the usual of continuous interaction between the organism and
the environment
 Piaget defined himself as a “genetic epistemologist”, interested in the
process of the qualitative development of knowledge.
 He considered cognitive structures development as a differentiation
of biological regulations.
Cognitive development

5.  There are a total of four phases in Piaget's research that he had done
on his own three children and carefully observing and interpreting his
children's cognitive development.
 Piaget believed learning occurs by an active construction of meaning,
rather than by receiving it passively.
 He states," when we, as learners, encounter an experience or situation
that conflicts with our current way of thinking, a state of imbalance is
created”
 We must alter our thinking to restore equilibrium or balance

6. Four Key Concepts of Piaget’s Theory
1. Schemas
2. Assimilation
3. Accommodation
4. Equilibration
 Cognitive development is a complex process comprising three main
concepts affecting the development process: assimilation,
accommodation and equilibration.
 All three are associated with the formation of schemata and their
modification in order to attain a balanced sense of understanding of
the external world.

7. Schema or Mental map
Cognitive structure = schema (pl. schemata/schemes).
schema = your understanding/knowledge of X
 A structured cluster of concepts; it can be used to represent objects,
scenarios or sequences of events or relations.
 A structure that would enable an organism to be aware of and act
upon one’s environment
 A mental framework about something that is created as children
interact with their physical and social environments.
 Schemas provide contexts for interpreting new knowledge
 Helps children fill in conceptual gaps and anticipate how new
knowledge can be applied

8.  Critically important building block of conceptual development
 Constantly in the process of being modified or changed
 Modified by on-going experiences
 A generalized idea, usually based on experience or prior
knowledge.
For Example Infants have…
• ……schema for grasping
• ……schema for sucking
Structure self-organizes separate schemata into a higher order schema of action
(grasp rattle then suck).
+ =

9.  Schemata are constantly being revised and elaborated
upon each time the child encounters new experiences.
 In doing these children create their own unique
understanding of the world, interpret their own
experiences and knowledge, and subsequently use this
knowledge to solve more complex problems.
 In a neurological sense, the brain/mind is constantly
working to build and rebuild itself as it takes in,
adapts/modifies new information, and enhances
understanding.

10. Assimilation
• Assimilation = where new experience fits with schema.
• An adaptive process through which we interpret new experiences in
terms of existing schemes or cognitive structures.
• The process is somewhat subjective, because we tend to modify
experience or information somewhat to fit in with our pre-existing
beliefs.
Accommodation
• The process of accommodation involves altering one's existing
schema, or ideas, as a result of new information or new experiences.
New schemas may also be developed during this process.
• Obviously, accommodation influences assimilation, and vice versa.

11. • As reality is assimilated, structures are accommodated.
For example, a young child may have an existing schema for dogs.
Dogs have four legs, so the child may automatically believe that all
animals with four legs are dogs.. When the child learns that cats also
have four legs, she will undergo a process of accommodation in which
her existing schema for dogs will change and she will also develop a
new schema for cats.
Adaptation = assimilation + accommodation

12. Equilibration
• Process of achieving mental stability when cognitive conflict occurs.
• The process of restoration of harmony between the world and the
individual’s view of
the world.
Organization + Adaptation = Equilibrium
Development is triggered by disequilibrium
i.e., The human infant is a self-correcting organism. It doesn’t like being in
disequilibrium.
Development is therefore...
Equilibriu
m
disequilibriu
m
Equilibriu
m
disequilibriu
m

13. Piaget’s
cognitive development
stages
Sensorimotor:
birth -2 years
Preoperational
stage:2-7
years
Concrete
operational: 7-11
years
Formal
operational:
onward 11

14. SENSORIMOTOR STAGE(0 -2years)
 The world is understood through the senses and actions
 The child’s thinking involves seeing, hearing, moving, touching.
 Knowledge is limited because it is based on physical interactions and
experiences.
 Experiminting and learning through trial and error. Such exploration
might include shaking a rattle or putting objects in the mouth.
 As they become more mobile , infants’ ability to develop
cognitively increases.
 Early language development begins during this stage.

15. Understanding Object Permanence and it develops in this
stage
 That is objects continue to exist even when they can't see them.
 Object permanence occurs at 7-9 months. Infants realize that an object exists
after it can no longer be seen.
 From 4-8 months, “out of sight, out of mind”
 By 8-12 months, make the A-not-B error
– Infants will search for an object in the place they last found it (A), rather
than in a new place (B)
 By 1 year, A-not-B error is overcome, but continued trouble with invisible
displacement
 By 18 months, object permanence is mastered
– The infant can mentally represent an invisible action (a toy is being
hidden) and conceive of the object in its final location
– By 24 months, infants can play complex hide-and-seek games

16. Symbolic thinking :use symbols and pictures to represent
objects.
Egocentrism begins strongly and then weakens : Has
difficulty in seeing things from another’s point of view
Animism :belief that everything has some kind of
consciousness or awareness
Understanding transformation :understanding of the
change in structure or state of an object.
Centration Involved in transformation : child only being
able to concentrate on one quality or feature of an object
at a time.
Reversibility :inability of a child being able to follow a
line of reasoning back to its original starting point.
Preoperational Stage – (2-7 years)

17. Preoperational stage is subdivided into two stages:
1. Preconceptual stage(2-4)
Development of the ability to use symbols to represent
objects.
2. Intuitive stage( 4-7)
Using of concept formed from past and present
experiences to form simple relations intuitively. Most
important cognitive development is concept.
(A concept is a way of organizing information into meaningful
generalization.)

18. Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 years)
During this time, children gain a better understanding of mental
operations. The child will begin to think logically about concrete
events, but have difficulty understanding abstract or hypothetical
concepts.
Important processes during this stage are:
Seriation : The ability to sort objects in an order
Classification: Name and identify sets of objects according to
appearance, size or other characteristic, including the idea that one set
of objects can include another
Reversibility: the child understands that numbers or objects can be
changed, then returned to their original state
Conservation: understanding that quantity, length or number of
items is unrelated to the arrangement or appearance of the object or
items
Compensation: where the ability to see that an increase in one
dimension (such as height) is compensated by for a decrease in
another dimension (such as width.)

19. Formal Operational Stage (12-16 years)
•
 Adolescents use symbols related to abstract concepts.
 They can think about multiple variables in systematic ways, can
formulate hypotheses, and think about abstract relationships and
concepts.
 Thought process become quit systematic and reasonably and well
integrated
 Reasoning and logical abilities
 Hypothetical thinking
 Reflective thinking
 Mental manipulation of variables
 Imagination develops
 Ability to judge logically
•
•
•
•

20. Piaget believed that intellectual development was a
lifelong process, but that when formal operational thought
was attained, no new structures were needed. Intellectual
development in adults involves developing more complex
schema through the addition of knowledge.

21. Piaget’s Constructivist Approach
 Activation of children’s schemas is a beginning stage of Constructivist
teaching
 Children of the same age often make similar kinds of mental mistakes
 Knowledge is created by building schemes from experiences
 Individuals construct their understanding, that learning is a
constructive process
 Active learning as opposed to simply absorbing info from a teacher,
book, etc.
 The child is a ‘little scientist’ constructing understandings of the
world largely alone
 All learning is constructed, whether it is something we are taught or
something we learn on our own.
 Whether or not we are taught in a “constructivist” manner, Piaget
believed we are constructing knowledge in all our learning.

22.  Piaget’s theory can be used as a tool in the early childhood classroom.
 You have to make inventors, innovators-not conformists"
 Piaget did not think it was possible to hurry along or skip stages
through education
 Try to teach to the stages in an attempt to accelerate development
 Emphasis on the learner as an individual who actively explores the
environment to
 construct their own meaning.
 The intellectual development of children moves from the concrete to
the abstract.
 Understanding is built up step by step through active involvement.
 knowledge must be assimilated in an active process by a learner with
matured mental capacity
 Learning occurs as a result of experience, both physical and logical then
prepare these experiences

23. Educational implication of Piaget theory
Pre- operational stage
o Use concrete props and visual things whereas possible.
o Don’t except the students to be consistent in their ability to see the
world from someone’s else point of view
o Be sensitive to the possibilities that students may have diff meaning
for the same word.
o Give children hands own experience.
o Provide wide range of experiences in order to build foundation for
concept learning.

24. Educational implication of Piaget theory
Concrete operational child:
o Use concrete props and visuals things especially where dealing with
sophisticated materials.
o Continue to give students a chance to manipulate and test objects.
o Make sure readings are brief and well organized
o Use familiar examples to explain more complex ideas
o Give opportunities to classify and group objects and ideas on
increasingly complex levels.
o Present problems that require concrete thinking.
o Good teacher pupil interaction.

25. Educational implication of Piaget theory
Formal operational stage
o Continue to use concrete operational teaching, strategies and
materials.
o Give students opportunity to explore many hypothetical questions
o Ask them write paper, then exchange these papers with the opposing
side and debate topical social issues.
o Ask student to write their personal vision.
o Give students opportunity to solve problems and reason scientifically.
o Set up group discussion in which students design experiments to
answer
questions.
o Whenever possible teach broad concepts, not just facts, using materials
and ideas relevant to the students lives.

26. According to Piaget………
What can children learn?
 Children can learn only what they are
‘ready’ to learn.
 New information must be able to be
assimilated or accommodate
 Information should be match with
cognitive structure
 Development cannot be ‘speeded up’
How do they learn?
 Through the resolution of
disequilibrium
 Via self-discovery (via adaptation)
 Via ‘active’ participation
How should we teach children?
 ‘Bend’ to children’s needs
 Provide appropriate learning
environment.
 Promote self-discovery
 Guide/encourage exploratory
learning, But ‘tune’ guidance to
appropriate
 developmental stage
 Encourage self-motivated learning
 Set ‘challenges’ to existing schemes

27. Strengths of Piaget’s theory
 Active rather than passive view of the child.
 Revealed important invariants in cognitive development.
 Piaget’s theory is wide-ranging and influential.
 Revealed important invariants in cognitive development.
 Piaget showed us that infants are active in their own development
 Piaget showed us that infants and children think differently at each
stage of development
 Piaget’s sequence of the direction of cognitive development was
basically correct, even though cultural factors may influence the rate
of
cognitive growth

28. Criticism to Piaget
 The children may wanted to please the experimenter therefore
changing their behaviour.
 Piaget ignored the effect of the social setting upon the child. The way
adults use language and gestures.
 He believes development is a universal process but his initial sample
sizes were inadequate, particularly his theory of infant development is
based on his three children.
 Piaget also probably introduced confounding variables and social
desirability into his observations. May be his children conditioned to
respond in a desirable manner.
 The sample was also very homogenous, all had a similar genetic
heritage and environment.

29. Schem
a
Assimilati
on
Accommodati
on
Equilibriu
m
Adaptation
Small
scientist
Invento
r
Activ
e
Constructing the
meaning
Assimilate or
accommodate
Resolution of
disequilibrium
Promote self-
discovery
Hurry or skip stages is
impossible
Teaching can accelerate
development
contexts for interpreting new
knowledge
building block of conceptual
development
Constantly modified or
changed
Altering one's existing
schema New experience doesn’t
fit with schema
assimilation + accommodation
learne
r
learnin
g
mental
stability
new experience fits with
schema
concepts
Applie
d

30. Thank You! 