PIAGET THEORY

Piaget (1896-1980)
-born in 1896 in Neuchatel in Switzaerland.
-a Professor of medieval literature at the University of Neuchatel.
-developd interest in biology and the natural world.
-1929-1968,Jean Piaget accepted the post of Director of the International Bureau of Education
-was a biologist who studied molluses but moved into the study of the development of children's understanding,through observing them and talking and listening to them while they worked on exercises he set.
-died in 1980.

Piaget Theory identifies 4 development stages & the processes by which children progress through them :

1. Sensorimotor stage
2. Preoperational stage
3. Concrete operations
4. Formal operation

• SENSORYMOTOR STAGE (birth 2 years old)

-the child,through physical interaction with his or her environment,builds a set of concept about reality and how it works
-a child does not know that physical objects remain in existence even when out of sight

• PREOPERATIONAL STAGE (ages 2-7)

-the child is not yet able to conceptualize abstracly and need concrete physical situations

• CONCRETE OPERATIONS (ages 7-11)

-as physical experience accumulates, the child starts to conceptualize, creating logical structures that explain his/her physical experiences
-abstract problemsolving is possible at this stage
-example : arithmetic equations can be solved with numbers

• FORMAL OPERATIONS (beginning at age 11-15)

-the child's cognitive structures are like those of an adult and include conceptual reasoning