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Deseray Rangel
March 15, 2021
Child Development 101
Cognitive Theory of Piaget
A theory I believe to most closely align with my philosophy about how I believe children learn

and develop is the cognitive theory by Jean Piaget. As Piaget believes I also believe children's

thinking go through different stages through age. Children have a different thinking process than

adults, before, adults believed all children and all adults thought alike but as we learn that is not

the case. So, let's look at the four stages of cognitive development.

The sensori-motor stage, the sensori- motor stage takes place at the age of birth and two years.

Now this stage is where babies begin to learn how to move around and use their senses. Babies

believe that when you show them an object then hide it that is completely gone and don’t look

for it again until you show them again. That’s why when playing peek-a-boo with a baby they

are so amazed when you hide your face in your hands then pop up again.

The pre-operational stage is from two to seven years old. This is where children begin to pretend

play and use their imagination. In the Student Services Established the psychological school of

behaviorism mentions, “During this stage even though someone has shown them that two balls

of dough exactly the same size and got them to agree that the balls are the same size, when one is

flattened, children will usually tell you that one of them is now bigger. This inability to conserve

is a feature of the preoperational stage.”

Concrete operations stage is from age seven to eleven. At this stage children begin using logical

thinking and being able to do some math type problems. An example of concrete operations in

action by Healthline mentions this, “Show your child four red flowers and two white ones. Then
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ask them, “Are there more red flowers or more flowers?” At 5 years old, your child will probably

say, “More red ones.” But when they reach the concrete operational stage, they’re able to

decenter and focus on two things at once: number and class. Now, they’ll realize that there is a

class and a sub-class and be able to answer, “More flowers.” Your child is using the mechanics

of both classification and decentralization.”

Age twelve and up are in the formal operational stage of Piagets cognitive theory. Now this stage

is all about where these children try to reason more like adults and understand consequences for

their actions. Student Services Established the psychological school of behaviorism mentions,

“This final stage encompasses the rest of our lives. Piaget believed that once we reached twelve,

we were capable of much more abstract thinking and able to solve problems in our ‘heads’.”

Although not all children develop these abilities in the specific time frame, but they do

progress in these four developmental stages by Piaget. These stage mentions ways children

developmentally progress which is very accurate. Every stage through age is how most not all

children think and progress.

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Sources

“Children's Services.” Children's Services- Child Development Theorists,

sielearning.tafensw.edu.au/MCS/CHCFC301A/12048/chcfc301a/lo/12020/index.htm#d27e428.

Khanacademymedicine, director. Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development | Processing the

Environment | MCAT | Khan Academy. YouTube, YouTube, 20 Dec. 2013,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jt3-PIC2nCs&t=55s.

“Early Childhood Development" chapter 4

Healthline. “The Concrete Operational Stage of Cognitive Development.” Healthline, 2020,

www.healthline.com/health/childrens-health/concrete-operational-stage#activities.