JEAN PIAGET

theory of cognitive development

Gliezel L. Cabaltican

“Knowledge is the ability to modify, transform, and operate on an object, or idea, such that it is understood by the operator through the process of transformation.”

Jean Piaget (1896-1980)

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is about the nature and development of human intelligence.

Biological maturatio

n

Environmental

experiences

Cognitive Developm

ent

There are three basic components to Piaget’s cognitive theory

• Schemas (building blocks of knowledge)

• Adaptation processes that enable the transition from one stage to another (equilibrium, assimilation, accommodation).

• Stages of development• Sensorimotor• Preoperational• Concrete operational• Formal operational

Intelligence

OPERATIVE

FIGURATIVE

Representation and

manipulation of

transformational aspects of

reality

Representation of the static

aspects of reality

Nature of intelligence

Schema assimilation and accommodation

Piaget viewed intellectual growth as a process of adaptation (adjustment) to the world. This happens through:

Assimilation

Using an existing schema to deal with a new object/situation

Accommodation

When the existing

schema does not work, and needs to be changed to

deal with new object/situation

Equilibration

New Situation

Disequilibrium

An illustration of schema, assimilation, and accommodation.

(e.g. teaching children geometric figures)

According to Piaget, assimilation and accommodation require an active learner, not a passive one, because problem-solving skills cannot be taught, they must be discovered.

Teachers should facilitate learning and encourage the following within the classroom:

• Focus on the process of learning, rather than the end product of it.

• Using active methods that require rediscovering or reconstructing “truths”.

• Using collaborative, as well as individual activities.

• Devising situations that present useful problems, and create disequilibrium in the child.

• Evaluate the level of the child’s development, so suitable tasks can be set.

Stages of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor stage

This stage extends from birth to the acquisition of language.

In this stage, infants progressively construct knowledge and understanding of the world by coordinating experiences (such as vision and hearing) with physical interactions with objects (such as grasping, sucking, and stepping).

reflexive Instinctual action at birth

beginning of symbolic thought

Simple Reflexes (birth to 6 weeks)

Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviours.

• Sucking of objects in mouth

• Following moving or interesting objects with the eyes.

• Closing of the hand when an object makes contact with the palm (palmar grasp).

First habits and primary circular reactions phase (6 weeks to 4 months)

Coordination of sensation and two types of schema: habits (reflex) and primary circular reactions (reproduction of an event that initially occurred by chance).

At this phase, passive reactions, caused by classical or operant conditioning, can begin.

Secondary circular reactions phase (4 to 8 months)Development of habits. Infants become more object-oriented, moving beyond self-preoccupation; repeat actions that bring interesting or pleasurable results. (vision and prehension)

Intentional grasping for a desired object.

Repetition of an act involving external objects.

Differentiation between means and ends.

Coordination of secondary circular reaction stages (8 to 12 months)

Coordination of vision and touch – hand-eye coordination; coordination of schemas and intentionality.

Development of logic

First proper intelligence

Goal orientation

Tertiary circular reactions, novelty, and curiousity (12 to 18 months)

Infants become intrigued by the many properties of objects and by the many things they can make happen to objects; they experiment with new behaviour.

Discovery of new means to meet goals.

Internalization of schemas (18 to 24 months)Infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental representations.

Beginning of insight, or true creativity.

By the end of the sensorimotor period, the child sees objects as both separate from the self, and permanent.

Pre-operational stageThis stage starts when the child begins to learn to speak at age two and lasts up until the age of seven.

Symbolic function substage

Intuitive thought substage

Symbolic play

Egocentrism

Cannot understand concrete

logic

Symbolic function substage

Precausal thinking

- Animism- Artificialism- Transductive

reasoning

Intuitive thought

substage

- Centration- Conservation- Irreversibility- Class

inclusion- Transitive

inference

Centration and conservation

Irreversibility

Transitive inference

Concrete operational stageThis stage occurs between the ages of seven to eleven years, and is characterized by the appropriate use of logic.

• Ability to distinguish between their own thoughts and the thoughts of others.

• Increased classification skills.

• Ability to think logically about objects and events.

• Ability to fluently perform mathematical problems in both addition and subtraction.

Classification

This is the ability to name and identify sets of objects according to appearance, size or other characteristic, including the idea that one set of objects can include another.

Conservation

This is understanding that, although an object’s appearance changes, it still stays the same in quantity.

Decentering

The child now takes into account multiple aspects of a problem to solve it.

Reversibility

The child now understands that numbers or objects can be changed and then returned to their original state.

Seriation

The ability to sort objects in order according to size, shape, or any other characteristic.

Transitivity

Transitivity refers to the ability to mentally sort objects and recognize relationships among various things in a serial order.

Formal operational stage

This stage is from adolescence to adulthood, roughly ages 11 to approximately 15-20.

INTELLIGENCE

Abstract concepts

Hypothetical

reasoning

Deductive reasoning

Metacognition

Problem-solving

Moral educationPiaget believed in two basic principles relating to moral education:

• Children develop moral ideas in stages

• Children create their conceptions of the world

Piaget’s theory differs from others in several ways:• It is concerned with children, rather than all

learners.

• It focuses on development, rather than learning per se, so it does not address learning of information or specific behaviors.

Practical applications• Teachers can use Piaget’s theory when discussing

whether the syllabus subjects are suitable for the level of students or not.

• Teachers can adopt appropriate academic expectations with regard to children’s cognitive developmental abilities.

“Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society… but for me and no one else, education means making creators… You have to make inventors, innovators – not conformists.” (Bringuier, 1980, p.132)