Jean Piaget's Theory of Development

Piaget claimed that children were in charge of the construction or the building of their own knowledge and that construction was superior to instruction (Gordon and Browne, 2004). Piaget thought that educators should provide a stimulating environment and have the children explore. Teachers should watch and also interact with the children, but they should let the children find and experience new ideas and knowledge on their own. (Crain, 2005)One of Piaget's major contributions is what is known as the general periods of development. He found four major general periods or stages of child development (Crain, 2005, p. 115): Sensorimotor Intelligence (birth to two years). Babies organize their physical action schemes, such as sucking, grasping, and hitting. Preoperational Thought (two to seven years). Children learn to think but their thinking is illogical and different from that of adults. Concrete Operations (seven to eleven years). Children develop the capacity to think systematically, but only when they can refer to concrete objects and activities. Formal Operations (eleven to adulthood). Young people

In the “Study of the Child: Theories of Development I” (Learning Seed, 1997), according to Vygotsky, the cognitive development in children is in direct relationship, and dependent on interaction with others. (Feldman 2010, pg. 20). Vygotsky believed to truly understand cognitive development; a child’s social and cultural experiences must be considered.

The teacher could place two cups that have the same amount of liquid in the cups but because one of the cups is taller than the other the child is going to think the taller glass has more liquid in it. The third stage is the concrete operational stage which occurs during ages seven to eleven. The term concrete operational means the child can reason only about tangible objects presents. So the child can conserve and think logically but only with practical aids. Thinking becomes less egocentric with increased awareness of external events. The fourth and final stage is the formal operational stage which occurs during ages eleven to fifteen. This stage focuses on hypothetical thinking and scientific reasoning. Piaget believed that only children can learn when they are ‘ready’ to learn. He also believed that development couldn 't be ‘sped up.’ Piaget believed that children learned through the resolution of disequilibrium (self discovery, active participation). He believed that teachers should ‘bend’ to children’s needs, provide an appropriate environment, promote self discovery, exploratory learning, self-motivated learning, and set challenges to existing schemes.

Jean Piaget, was a trained biologist who was employed at the Binet Institute, where his main job was to develop a French version of an intelligence test. Piaget was very interested in the reason why children would give wrong answers to questions which called for some type of logical thinking. It was believed by Piaget that these wrong answers showed some very drastic differences between the way children and adults both thought ( McLeod, 2015), this is where his theory of Cognitive Development came in, Piaget’s work is described as being the origins of thinking or genetic epistemology (McLeod, 2015), Genetics is where one studies the origins of something. Epistemology discusses the categories of thinking, basically, it shows the properties of structural intelligence. Piaget’s Cognitive Development theory branched off into three different branches, the first one being Schema, the Adaption Process that allow transitions from one stage to another, and finally the four Stages of Development

Children's development depends on many factors. Some people believe that children have an innate talent to learn, but others are convinced that kids are able to learn because of getting good tools. So there appears the question if it is a nature or a realisation? We can spot some theories:

Jean Piaget’s 4 stages of Cognitive Development and Erik Erikson’s 8 stages of Psychosocial Development

Today’s child development system, in many ways, has been heavily influenced by the work of Jean Piaget. We can observe the use of his ideas in a wide range of facilities and environments. Infant’s abilities vary incredibly between birth to two years. These differences can be found even in the period of a month. Piaget was intrigued by these differences; therefore, he used his vast knowledge on children to divide development into six stages known as Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage. Throughout his observations he used children that he spent a large amount of time with, his very own children.

The Critique of Piaget's Theories Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) was a constructivist theorist. He saw children as constructing their own world, playing an active part in their own development. Piaget’s insight opened up a new window into the inner working of the mind and as a result he carried out some remarkable studies on children that had a powerful influence on theories of child thought. This essay is going to explain the main features and principles of the Piagetian theory and then provide criticism against this theory. Cognitive development refers to way in which a person’s style of thinking changes with age.

Piaget’s Stage Theory in my eyes was four key stages of development marked by shifts in how they understand the world. To me Piaget’s theories had a major impact on the theory and practice of education.

Jean Piaget is considered to be very influential in the field of developmental psychology. Piaget had many influences in his life which ultimately led him to create the Theory of Cognitive Development. His theory has multiple stages and components. The research done in the early 1900’s is still used today in many schools and homes. People from various cultures use his theory when it comes to child development. Although there are criticisms and alternatives to his theory, it is still largely used today around the world.

Focusing on children’s development and developing a proper classroom and lesson plan well help you to properly prepare and help each student in your center. Throughout this paper we will summarize Piaget’s Stage Theory, identify and describe the developmental characteristics of the age group of 2-4 years old, design and describe the physical layout of facility or classroom that aligns with Piaget’s Stage Theory, and create an activity for each developmental domain.

can put the things they observe in some sort of order the easier it is

Piaget’s stages are divided into four main steps of cognitive development. Stage one

“The principle goal of education in schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done,” (“Jean Piaget…”) a wise man once stated. In this paper we are going to go more in-depth into Jean Piaget’s life and how the work of Jean Piaget greatly influenced the field of early childhood education. This paper will include a brief summary of Jean Piaget’s life, a description of his/her major theories or ideas, and how those ideas impact early education today. One question that was posed and will be touched on during my paper is the question of how Jean Piaget made it easier for children to learn due to the research he conducted and if this information is important for educators to know and understand.

Jean Piaget, a cognitivist, believed children progressed through a series of four key stages of cognitive development. These four major stages, sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational, are marked by shifts in how people understand the world. Although the stages correspond with an approximate age, Piaget’s stages are flexible in that if the child is ready they can reach a stage. Jean Piaget developed the Piagetian cognitive development theory. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development proposes that a child’s intellect, or cognitive ability, progresses through four distinct stages. The emergence of new abilities and ways of processing information characterize each stage. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development suggests that children move through four different stages of mental development. His theory focuses not only on understanding how children acquire knowledge, but also on understanding the nature of intelligence.