Criszel Joy C.

Hilario- Reporter
Piaget Main Tenet: The Child Activity seeks knowledge
Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development is truly a classic in the field of
education psychology. This theory fueled other researches and theories of
development and learning. Its focus is on how individuals construct knowledge.
 According to Piaget’s they have a 4 Stages of Cognitive Development:
1. Sensori-Motor Stage
2. Pre-Operational Stage
3. Concrete-Operational Stage
4. Formal Operational Stage.
1.Sensori-Motor 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. The term sensori-motor
focuses on the prominence of the senses and muscle movement through
which infant comes to learn about himself and the world. In working with
children in the sensori-motor stage, teacher should aim to provide a rich and
stimulating environment with appropriate objects to play with.

 Object permanence. This is the ability of the child to know that an object
still exists even when out of sight. This ability is attained in the sensory
motor stage.
2. Pre-Operational Stage. The preoperational stage covers from about two to seven
years old ,roughly corresponding to the preschool years. Intelligence at this stage is
intuitive in nature. At this stage, the child can now make mental representations and is
able to pretend, the child is now ever closer to the use of symbol. This stage is highlighted
by the following: SYMBOLIC FUNCTION, EGOCENTRISM, CENTRATION,
IRREVERSIBILITY, TRANSDUCTIVE REASONING

 Symbolic Function. This is the ability to represent objects and events. A symbol
is a thing that represents something else. A drawing, a written word, or a spoken
word comes to be understood as representing a real object like a real MRT train.
Symbolic function gradually develops in the period between 2 to 7 years.
  Egocentrism. This is the tendency of the child to only see his point of view and to
assume that everyone also has his same point of view. The child cannot take the
perspective of others.
 Centration- This refers to the tendency of the child to only focus on one aspect of
a thing or event and exclude other aspects.
Example: When a child is presented with two identical glasses with the
same amount of water, the child will say they have the same amount of water.

 Irreversibility- Pre-operational children still have the inability to reverse their

thinking. They can understand that 2+3 is 5,but cannot understand that 5-3 is 2

 Animism- this is the tendency of children to attribute when like traits or

characteristics to inanimate objects. When at night, the child is asked where the
sun is, she will reply, “Mr. Sun is asleep”.

 Transductive reasoning- This refers to the pre-operational child’s type of

reasoning that is neither inductive nor deductive. Reasoning appears to be from
particular to particular i.e., if A causes B, then B causes A.

o Example: since her mommy comes home everyday around six o’clock in
the evening, when asked why it is already night the child will say, ”because
my mom is already home”.
o
3. Concrete-Operational Stage- This stage is characterized by the ability of the child to
think logically but only terms of concrete objects. This covers approximately the between
8-11 years or the elementary school years. The concrete operational stage marked by
the following: Decentering, Reversibility, Conservation, Seriation.
 Decentering- This refers to the ability of the child to perceive the different features
of objects and situations. No longer is the child focused or limited to one aspect or
dimension. This allows the child to be more logical when dealing with concrete
objects and situations.

 Reversibility- During the stage of concrete operations, the child can now follow
that certain operations can be done in reverse.

o Example: They can already comprehend the commutative property of

addition, and that subtraction is reserve of addition. They can also
understand that a ball of clay shaped into a dinosaur can again be rolled
back into a ball of clay.
  Conversation: this is the ability to know that certain properties of objects like
number, mass, volume, or area do not change even if there is a change
appearance.

 Seriation: This refers to the ability to order or arrange things in a series based on
one dimension such as weight volume or size.

4.Formal Operational Stage- In the final stage of formal operation covering ages
between 12 and 15 years, thinking becomes more logical. They can now solve abstract
problems and can hypothesize. This stage is characterized by the following:
HYPOTHETICAL REASONING, ANALOGICAL REASONING, DEDUCTIVE
REASONING.
 Hypothetical Reasoning- This is the ability to come up with different hypothesis
about a problem and gather and weigh data in order to make a final decision or
judgment. This can be done in the absence of concrete objects. The individuals
can now deal with “ What if” questions.

 Analogical Reasoning- This is the ability to perceive the relationship in one
instance and then use that relationship to narrow down possible answers in
another similar situation or problem.

 Deductive Reasoning- This is the ability to think logically by applying a general
rule to a particular instance or situation.

o Example: All countries near the north pole have cold temperatures.
Greenland is near the North pole. Therefore Greenland has cold
temperature.

Piaget’s findings and comprehensive theory, we can drive the following

principles:
 1. Children will provide different explanations of reality at different stages of
cognitive development.

 2. Cognitive development is facilitated by providing activities or situation that

engage learners and acquire adaptation.

 3. Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level of motor
or mental operations for a child of given age; avoid asking students to perform
tasks that are beyond their current cognitive capabilities.

 4. Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges
Implications of piaget’s Cognitive Development to Teaching and learning
 Children can only learn certain thing based on the stage of cognitive
development.
 A focus on the process of children’s thinking, not just its product
 Recognition of the crucial role of children’s self initiated, active envolvement in
learning activities
 A deemphasis on practices aimed at making children adult like in their thinking
 Acceptance of individual differences in development progress
 Early education should provide the foundation for the later learning because if we
fail to capitalize on this period it may lead to difficulties.
 All development is hierarchical, that is, we must all go through the same stages
in the same sequence.
 Early learning is slower than later learning
 Younger children are much likelt to be dependent upon direct contact with
phenomenon in their attempt at reasoning than the adults.
 Thought and intelligence are rooted in the actions of the sensory motor period.