Republic of the Philippines

CEBU TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

MODULE 8: Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

LEARNING OUTCOME:

1. Describe Piaget’s stages and match the learning activities to the learners’ cognitive
stage (CLO1)

INTRODUCTION

The study of cognitive development is dominated by the theories of two key

psychologists-Piaget and Vygotsky. Other theories have been developed but they
usually have foundations based upon these key theories.

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the most influential theorists in the field of
cognitive development. Piaget was a philosopher, biologist, educationalist and
psychologist. He made the decision to study scientifically the way in which children
develop knowledge. In Anonat (2014), Jean Piaget’s account of the processes,
experience, and structures involved in cognition describes how people come to know
about their world. The experienced we have and the schemata we use to construct
knowledge from those experiences change as we grow. Not only does a sixth grader
know about more things than the second grader, the sixth grader knows in a different
way. The sixth grader has developed cognitive capabilities that are not yet in the
repertoire of the second grade.

I. PREPARATION
Jean Piaget’s Cognitive Theory of Development is truly a classic in the field of
educational psychology as discussed by Lucas (2018). In here, we will focus on how
individuals construct knowledge.
Read and analyze the situations below.

1. It’s Christmas and Uncle Bob is giving “Aguinaldo” the children. Three year-old
Karen did not want to receive the one hundred peso bill and instead preferred to
receive four 20 peso bills. Her ten year-old cousins were telling her it’s better to get
the one hundred bills, but they failed to convince her. Why do you think did Karen
prefer the 20-peso bills?
2. Siblings, Tria, 10; Enzo, 8; and Riel, 4 were sorting out their stuffed animals. They
had 7 bears, 3, 2 cows and 1 dolphin. Mommy, a psychology teacher, enters and
says’ “Good thing you’re sorting those. Do you have more, stuffed animals or more
 bears?” Tria and Enzo say, “Stuffed animals.” Riel says, “Bears” Why do you think
Riel answered “Bears?” What does this say about how she thought to answer
the question?
3. While eating on her high chair, seven-month old Liza accidentally dropped her spoon
on the floor. She saw mommy pick it up. Liza again drops her new spoon, and she
does this several times more on purpose. Mommy didn’t like it at all but Liza
appeared to enjoy dropping the spoons the whole time. Why do you think baby
Liza appeared to enjoy dropping the spoons?
-The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles by Corpus, Lucas, Borabo, and
Lucido (2018).

Click this link for your answers

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gJBR8Av_fSF_6I9y4-ISWFCfdBJqUr4M/view?usp=sharing

II. PRESENTATION

Basic Cognitive Concepts

Schema- This refers to the cognitive structures by which individuals intellectually adapt
to and organize their environment. It is an individual’s way to understand or create
meaning about a thing or experience.

Assimilation-This is the process of fitting a new experience into an existing or

previously created cognitive structure or schema.

Accommodation- This is the process of creating a new schema.

Equilibration- This is a state of achieving proper balance between assimilation and

accommodation.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage1. Sensori-motor stage. The first stage that corresponds from birth to
infancy. This is the stage when a child who is initially reflexive in grasping, sucking and
reaching becomes more organized in his movement and activity. The term sensori-
motor focusses on the prominence of the senses and muscle movement through which
the infant comes to learn about himself and the world.

Object permanence. This is the ability of the child to know that an object still
exist even when out of sight. Object of permanence is an important foundation for
later development. The concept that objects have an existence that is separate
from the child and permanent enables the child to conceive of objects and
actions that are not in their immediate environment.

Sensorimotor intelligence. This is an early stage of intelligence. It is

intelligence so action, the infant “thinks” with action.
 Mental invention. This is the capacity to think out an action before representing
it. The infant is capable of “representation”-that is, he has the capacity for
imagining the environment other than as he directly perceives it.

Imitation. This is the capability to copy behaviors begins with behaviors that are
already part of the child’s repertoire.
https://edugage.com/what-is-the-sensorimotor-stage-of-development/

Stage 2. Pre-Operational stage. The preoperational stage covers from about

two to seven years old, roughly corresponding to the preschool years. Intelligence at
this stage is intuitive in nature. At this stage, the child can now make mental
representations and is able to pretend, the child is now ever closer to the use of
symbols.

Symbolic Function. This is the ability to represent objects and events. It is a

process whereby children learn to create their own symbols and to use existing
symbol systems to represent and operate on the environment.

Egocentrism. This is the tendency of the child to only see his point of view and
to assume that everyone also has his same point of view.

Irreversibility. This refers to a person’s inability to mentally reverse actions.

Animism. This is the tendency of children to attribute human like traits or

characteristics to inanimate objects.

Transductive reasoning. This refers to the pre-operational child’s type of

reasoning that is neither inductive nor deductive.
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-lifespandevelopment/chapter/piagets-
preoperational-stage-of-cognitive-development/

Stage 3. Concrete-Operational Stage. This is the first stage of operational or

logical thought, in which schemata allow students to realize that there is stability in the
physical world and that reasoning about the physical world can proceed logically.
Because the logical schemata are still new at this stage, students can best see them
when considering objects and events that are concrete. Many educators refer to the
concrete operation stage as the “hands on” period of cognitive development. Although
the child can reason, his or her ability to reason is limited to tangible objects and direct
experiences.

Decentering. This refers to the ability of the child to perceive the different
features of objects and situations.

Reversibility. Is the ability to mentally reverse events, the child can now follow
that certain operations can be done in reverse.
 Conservation. This is the ability to know that certain properties of objects like
number, mass, volume, or area do not change even if there is a change in
appearance.

Seriation. This refers to the ability to order or arrange things in a series based on
one dimension such as weight, volume, or size.
https://www.verywellmind.com/piagets-stages-of-cognitive-development-2795457

Stage 4. Formal Operational Stage. This is the final stage in Piaget’s theory-begins
roughly around eleven or twelve years of age and continues into and throughout
adulthood. Abstract reasoning is the hallmark of the formal operation stage.

Hypothetical Reasoning. This is the ability to come up with different hypothesis

about a problem and to gather and weigh data in order to make a final decision
or judgement. This can be done in the absence of concrete objects. The
individuals can now deal with “What if” question.

Analogical Reasoning. This is the ability to perceive the relationship in one

instance and then use that relationship to narrow down possible answers in
another similar situation or problem. The individual in the formal operations stage
can make an analogy.

Deductive Reasoning. This is the ability to think logically by applying a general

rule to a particular instance or situation.

Summary of Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Stages Approximate Age Nature of Schemata
Sensorimotor 0-2 Sensations and motor actions
Illogical operations, symbolic representations,
Preoperations 2-7
egocentric, self-centered
Concrete Logical, reversible operations, decentered
7-11
operations object-bound
Formal 11-adult Abstract-not bound to concrete objects
Source From Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development by B.J.Wadsworth, 1979, New York:
Longman,/Copyright by Longman Publishing Group.Cited by Cown,R.R. and Roop,Peter.”Educational
Psychology and Classroom Practice: A Partnership.1992 by Allyn & Bacon, Massachussets.*It is
important to remember that the stages are cumulative. The adaptive characteristics of earlier stages are
present in later ones.
From Piaget’s findings and comprehensive theory, we can derive the following
principles:

1. Children will provide different explanations of reality at different stages of cognitive

development.
2. Cognitive development is facilitated by providing activities or situations that engage
learners and require adaptation (i.e. assimilation and accommodation)
3. Learning materials and activities should involve the appropriate level of motor or
mental operations for a child of given age; avoid asking students to perform tasks
that are beyond their current cognitive capabilities.
4. Use teaching methods that actively involve students and present challenges.
-Corpus,B.et.al.(2018),The Child and - Learners and Learning Principles, Lorimar
Publishing Inc. 2018
-Anonat,R (2014),Child and Adolescent Development-Updated and Revised
Edition,Books Atbp. Publishing Corp
-Educational Implications of Piaget’s Theory and Activities for Stages of Development
(piaget.weebly.com/educational-implications—activities.html)

III. PRACTICE. Test your Understanding

A. True or False
__________1. In the sensorimotor stage, the infant gains knowledge through physical
experience with the environment.
__________2. There are 5 stages in Piaget’s Theory.
__________3. As a person interacts with the environment, his intelligence develops.
__________4. Equilibration is the first stage of development.
__________5. Attention and concentration improves with age.

B. Multiple Choice
1. The process of taking in new information and adding it to what the child already
knows is called _______.
a. accommodation b. assimilation c. schemata d. all of these
2. Problem solving and ____ are developed during the fourth stage, formal
operational.
a. questioning b. listening c. thinking d. reasoning
3. Piaget’s theory of development focuses on predictable ___ stages.
a. consecutive b. followed c. cognitive d. none of these
4. _____ are mental representations or concepts.
a. schemas b. theory c. scenes d. adaptation
5. During the preoperational stage, children are very ______.
a. independent b. egocentric c. loud d. self-centered
6. According to Piaget, a child acts like sort of scientist
a. solitary b. onlooker c. parallel d. associative
7. Cindy understands her world primarily by grasping and sucking easily available
objects. Cindy is clearly in Piaget’s ____ stage.
a. preoperational b. sensorimotor c. concrete operational d. formal operational
8. An infant who have developed object permanence
 a. Is attached to specific objects such as a blanket.
b. Knows that an object as a rattle exist even if is not in view.
c. Will see all objects ass being the same.
d. Cries when wanted object is taken away.
9. Molly overheard her dad telling her mom he got “creamed” by his friend in a tennis
match. This confused Molly, causing her to experience a conflict or ______
because she could not imagine her father turning into a creamy liquid.
a. assimilation b. accommodation c. disorganization d. disequilibrium
10. The process of incorporating new information into existing knowledge is known as
_____ whereas the process of adjusting our schemas to fit new information and
events is known as _____.
a. organization, assimilation c. schema, accommodation
b. accommodation, assimilation d. assimilation, accommodation

C. In your own words discuss how can Piaget’s theory be used in the classroom?
Click this link for your answers

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fAmy1ncXII1v7jC7V8Y4NAOEmAEw5TpU/view?usp=sharing
IV. PERFORMANCE
This activity focusses on a story involving the interaction of family members.
Choose a story you want to use for this activity. It can be from a story you have read or
a movie or “telenovela” that you watched or plan to watch. Use the matric below to
relate the character to Piaget’s stages of cognitive development.

______________________________________
Title of the Story/ Movie

Brief summary of the story:

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Character Piagetian Connection

Description
Father What is his stage of cognitive development?
Examples: Cite instances why you say he I in this
stage(what he thought of, how he thought, his reactions
and attitudes)

Mother What is her stage of cognitive development?

Examples: Cite instances why you say he I in this
stage(what he thought of, how he thought, his reactions
and attitudes)
Children 1 What is his /her stage of cognitive development?
Examples: Cite instances why you say he I in this
stage(what he thought of, how he thought, his
reactions and attitudes)

Children 2 What is his /her stage of cognitive development?

Examples: Cite instances why you say he I in this
stage(what he thought of, how he thought, his reactions
and attitudes)

Other Characters What is his /her stage of cognitive development?

Examples: Cite instances why you say he I in
this stage(what he thought of, how he thought, his
reactions and attitudes)

Adapted from Corpus,B.et.al.(2018),The Child and - Learners and Learning Principles, Lorimar
Publishing Inc. 2018

Click this link for your answers

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YRm2I8wbvFRsyIPt10r66sqMbkfc5JSw/view?usp=sharing
V. ASSIGNMENT
A. Read a research that is related to Piaget’s theory. Fill out the matrix given below.

Problem: Research Methodology:

Source:

Findings: Conclusions:

1. How are the findings of this research useful to teachers?

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. From the module of Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development, I learned that
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
-Adapted from Corpus,B.et.al.(2018),The Child and - Learners and Learning Principles,
Lorimar Publishing Inc. 2018

Click this link for your answers

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-2qbTWh74JEWpLNwKWt-OZ4hDWMZLkw8/view?usp=sharing