Soledad Alcala

Professor Bruce Stam

CFS 176
Tues-Thurs 8:25 am

Pre-Operation Interaction
The child I am using is named Arlette, she is 5 years and 3 months old. I did a few examples of
the Pre-Operation tests and these are Arlettes results.
Play-Doh
I start with a ball of play-doh in my hand. I show Arlette the ball and explain to her that I am
splitting the ball in half. I roll both halves into balls and I ask her, is this ball bigger, or is the
other one bigger, or are they the same size? She confidently says they are the same size. I
congratulate her and say alright were going to try something else. Then I grab one ball and
squashed it for it to have a flat dimension. I then ask her, is this ball bigger, or is the other one
bigger, or are they the same size. She explains they used to be the same but now they are not
because one is smaller.
Pennies
I have 16 pennies in my hand. I scatter all the pennies on the table and tell her we are going to do
another game. I place the pennies in two rows with 8 pennies in each row. I then ask her does
this row have more, does this row have more, or are they the same? She then says theyre the
same. I tell her okay Im going to try something else. I extend one row of pennies outwards both
sides and the other row stays the same. I then ask her does this row have more, does this row
have more, or are they the same? she says the row with the extended pennies has more because
its longer.
Glass of Water
I had two identical glasses of water that were both filled up to the same height. I ask her Do
they both have the same amount of water, or does one have more? She smiles and replies
Theyre the same. I then pour one glass of water into a shorter cup with a larger diameter and
ask the same question Do they both have the same amount of water, or does one have more?
She responds saying that the shorter glass has more water. I ask her why she thinks so and she
says because its taller than the other one!

Theoretical Analysis:

My child did have the centration thinking because with the water she was only focused on the
height water, rather than the dimensions of the glass. With the pennies she was focused on one
row being larger than the other, rather than realizing that the pennies only extended outwards.
With the play-doh she was focused on the dimensions of the play-doh, rather than one being
squished in front of her.
My child was also only focused on the beginning and end look of the objects, the static
endpoints. She didnt necessarily think about the transition the object went through. I believe
children in the pre-operational stages do this because they dont want to think about the
transition, but only what it currently looks like. Theyre not yet sure how to make connections
with the transitions and current displays.
My child did not have the reversibility of thought in any objects I used. Anytime I asked if the
objects had the same amount after rearranging its size she said that one was either smaller or
bigger.

Conclusion:
Piaget created this theory for us to understand in which stage our children are in. For parents or
guardians to understand the way the child is thinking and how they should approach them
considering their abilities. We study these because they are a big part of our life. Piaget believed
that these dynamic mental operations were necessary for true logical thought. Its forming the
logic of math that has to deal with our entire world. The implications for teachers and parents are
for them to teach their children the correct curriculum in the right age. Rushing children to learn
more advanced subjects can complicate the learning process. I do agree with Piagets theory
because it seems to be accurate with the child I used and I believe that we all go through brain
developmental stages that we should all embrace in order to thoroughly be aware of ones actions,
and why the actions come about.