1. “The principle goal of education is to create
men who are capable of doing new things, not simply
of repeating what other generations have done- men
who are creative, inventive and discoverers.”
- Jean Piaget

2. Jean Piaget
(1896-1980), Swiss
psychologist, best known
for his pioneering work on
the development of
intelligence in children. His
studies have had a major
impact on the fields of
psychology and
education.

3. Stage 1. Stage 2.
Sensory-motor Stage Pre-Operational Stage
Stage 3. Stage 4.
Concrete- Operational Stage Formal Operational Stage
Back

4.  The first stage corresponds from birth to
infancy or at the age of 2 years old.
Object permanence. This is the ability of the
child to know that an object still exists even
when out of sight.

5.  From Birth to 6 weeks.
Three primary reflexes described by Piaget:
sucking of objects in the mouth, following the
moving and interesting objects with the eyes
and closing of the hand when an object makes
contact with the palm (palmar grasp).

6.  This covers from 6 weeks – 4 months
 Primary reaction because the action is
focused on the infant’s body. Circular
reaction because it is a repetition of an
action that initially occurred by chance.
 Ex. Infants might repeat the motion of
passing their hand before their face.

7.  This comprises from 4-8 months
 There are three new abilities occur at this stage:
 Infants will intentionally grasp the air in the
direction of desired object.
 Secondary circular reactions or repetition of an
action involving an external object.
(Ex. Switching the flashlight on and off
repeatedly.) and;
 The differentiation between means and ends.

8.  This includes 8-12 months
 This stage is associated primarily with the
development of logic and the coordination
between means and ends.
 Piaget calls this as “first proper intelligence.”
 Also this stage marks the beginning
of goal orientation, the deliberate planning of
steps to meet an objective/goal.

9.  This covers 12-18 months
 This stage is associated primarily with the
discovery of new means to meet goals.
 Piaget describes the child at this point in time
as the “young scientist” because they
are discoverers of new methods of
meeting challenges.

10.  Ex. When a baby seems to enjoy dropping the
spoon over and over again in many different
ways, a proof of the creation of novel of
variations in events.
 Baby then discovers a pattern that “objects
fall down – not up.”

11.  This covers 18-24 months
 Infants develop the ability to use primitive
symbols and form mental representations.
 This stage is associated primarily with the
true creativity. This marks the passage into
the pre-operational stage.

12.  The preoperational stage covers from about two to
seven years old or the preschool years.
 This stage is highlighted by the following:
*Symbolic Function *Irreversibility
*Egocentrism *Animism
*Centration *Transductive
Reasoning

13.  This covers the ages approximately between 8-11
years old or the elementary school years.
 The concrete operational stage is marked by the
following:
*Decentering *Conservation
*Reversibility *Seriation

14.  This stage covers ages between 12 and 15 years
old where thinking becomes more logical.
 This stage is characterized by the following:
*Hypothetical Reasoning *Deductive Reasoning
*Analogical Reasoning