Assessment Post 2: Piaget

Piaget one of the most influential educational theorists because of his four stages of cognitive development.
Stage 1: Sensorimotor Stage (birth- 2years): Uses senses and body movement to develop e.g. Hearing and touching. This is where the greatest change occurs.

Stage 2: Preoperational Stage (2years- 7years): The child only understands things that have a physical presence and are egocentric. Language becomes vital to their learning.

Stage 3: Concrete Operations Stage (7years- 12years): Begins to think abstractly and make rational judgments. Think logically about present objects.

Stage 4: Formal Operations Stage (12years-adulthood): Capable of hypothetical and deductive reasoning.
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/piaget.htm
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/piaget.html
Krause et. al., (2006). Educational Psychology: for learning and teaching. (2nd Ed), South Melbourne, Thomson Learning Australia.

Every person passes through these stages in chronological order. Although the age of these stages varies, this is because each person cognitively develops at different times and paces.


Piaget’s stages of cognitive development are valuable in all our teaching. It is most important to be aware that students learn at different rates. When student’s come into our class they many not all be operating in the formal or even concrete operations stage. Not all of our students will be at the same level in our class and therefore we must accommodate for this. From personal experience I remember feeling left behind after a teacher has explained a concept and thinking everyone else but me understands. After this experience students usually lose confidence in the subject. Therefore as a teacher, I will try to keep everyone on the same level and not let any fall behind.

http://web.ebscohost.com.ipacez.nd.edu.au/ehost/pdf?vid=5&hid=111&sid=de9246cb-e723-4462-8ba2-e01dab6bfff9%40sessionmgr104