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Jean Piaget

Decent Essays

Jean Piaget created a framework of cognitive development in a series of four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. According to Piaget, the outcome of learning depends on what cognitive developmental stage the learner is in. For example, you would not give a calculus problem to a two to seven year old child because they have not yet entered the stage of formal operation, or abstract, logical thinking. A child must be presented with an environment that suits their thought. Piaget’s first stage, sensorimotor, is from birth to the age of two. In this stage, the child comprehends the world by coordinating sensory experiences with physical movements. The focus is put on reflexes instead of cognition due to the fact that in this stage children have not yet began to enter symbolic thought. This is a stage of experimentation and exploration. The parents should allow their child to play with toys that make sounds in order to get them to understand cause-and-effect relationships. One example is playing Peek-a-Boo, …show more content…

The child begins to represent the world with words and images, this reflects an increase in symbolic thinking. There are two reasonings in this stage: syncretic and intuitive. The former being a break in logic and the latter being guessing. This stage is characterized with increased creativity and role play. Parents should encourage playing make-believe characters to express symbolic cognition. Additionally, the child is egocentric in their world view. To discourage this, the parent should get the child to mentally place themselves in someone else’s position. Children in this stage also have a lack of knowledge in conservation. They think that if you pour the same amount of liquid from a small cup to a big cup, the big cup has more. In order to help with this the parent should introduce objects that change shape such as playdoh and

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