Cognitive
Development
Theory
By: Angie Marie E. Ortega, LPT
JEAN PIAGET
Born: August 9, 1896, Switzerland
Died: September 16, 1980 (Age 84)
Parent: Eldest son of Arthur Piaget
and Rebecca Jackson
Education: Received Ph.D. from
University of Neuchatel in 1918
Wife: Married to Valentine Chatenay
in 1923.
He was one of the 20th century’s most
influential researchers in the area
of development psychology.
Piaget’s theory of infant development were
based on his observation of his own three
children.
Cognitive Development
Theory
Cognitive development suggests that intelligence changes as
children grow.
The process by which people’s thinking changes across the life
span.
The acquisition of the ability to think, reason and problem solve.
Piaget studied Cognitive Development by observing children in
particular to examine how their thought processes changed with
age.
Key Concepts
Schema – internal representation of the world.
- our, well, abstract concepts.
- Schemas (or schemata) are units of understanding that can
be hierarchically categorized as well as webbed into complex
relationships with one another.
Assimilation - cognitive process of making new information fit in with
your existing understanding of the world.
Accommodation - old ideas are changed or even replaced based on new
information.
Stages of Cognitive Development Theory
1. Sensorimotor Stage (birth to 2 years old)
The infant knows the world through their movements and sensations
Infants learn that things continue to exist even though they cannot
be seen (object permanence)
2. The Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years old)
Major Characteristics and Developmental Changes:
Children begin to think symbolically and learn to use words and
pictures to represent objects.
Children at this stage tend to be egocentric and struggle to see
things from the perspective of others.
While they are getting better with language and thinking, they still
tend to think about things in very concrete terms.
Animism - This is the belief that inanimate objects (such as toys and
teddy bears) have human feelings and intentions.
Inability to understand Conservation - being able to
conserve means knowing that a quantity doesn't change if it's been
altered (by being stretched, cut, elongated, spread out, shrunk,
poured, etc).
3. Concrete Operational Stage (7 to 11 years old)
Abstract reasoning ability & ability to generalize from the
concrete increases
Understands conservation of matter
Classification - Beyond conservation, Piaget also believed that
children in middle childhood master hierarchical classification; the
ability to simultaneously sort things into general and more specific
groups, using different types of comparisons. Most children develop
hierarchical classification ability between the ages of 7 and 10.
Seriation - involves the ability to put things in order based on
quantity or magnitude.
Transitivity - Being able to understand how objects are related to one
another.
Decentering – The ability to make multiple aspects of a situation into
account.
Reversibility – The child understands that numbers or objects can be
changed, then returned to their original state.
Elimination of Egocentrism – The ability to view things from
another’s perspective.
4. Formal Operational Stage (12 yrs. old and above)
The thought becomes increasingly, flexible and abstract, i.e., can
carry out systematic experiences.
The ability to systematically solve a problem in a logical and
methodological way.
Understand that nothing is absolute, everything is relative.
Develops skills such as logical thought, deductive reasoning as well
as inductive reasoning and systematic planning.
SITUATION:
Teacher A is a newly hired elementary subject
teacher in Winston Academy. She will be handling
Grade 1, Grade 4, and Grade 6 pupils. She’s thinking
of strategies that would incorporate to her lessons
but worried if her strategies would be appropriate to
the age level of her students.
What should Teacher A needs to consider in
constructing her strategies?
Social interaction have a great educational value for Piaget. Positive
social actions, therefore should be encouraged.
Simple to Complex and Project method of teaching.
Co-curricular activities have equal importance as that of curricular
experiences in the cognitive development of the child.
Major goals of education according to Piaget are critical and
creative thinking.
Social interaction have a great educational value for Piaget. Positive
social actions therefore should be encouraged.
CONCLUSION
Teacher A’s activity must have an emphasis on discovery approach
in learning.
Curriculum school provide specific educational experience based on
children’s development level.
Arrange classroom activities that assist and encourage self learning.
Instruction should be geared to the level of the child. As the level of
the child changes at each stage, the level of instruction or
exploratory activities should also change.
Sources
• Mcleod, S. (n.d.). Piaget's stages of cognitive development. Jean Piaget's Theory and Stages of Cognitive
Development | Simply Psychology. Retrieved October 16, 2021, from
https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html.
• Chouraeshkenazi, M. (2018, June 17). Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Theory: Conservation, Classification, & Seriation.
Monique M. Chouraeshkenazi, MSCJ, PhD.
https://www.moniquechouraeshkenazi.com/clinical-forensic-psychology/2018/4/10/jean-piagets-cognitive-theory-
conservation-classification-seriation
• What Are Piaget’s Four Stages of Development? (2020, March 31). Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457
