1. 2012/
2012/
& ICT
TEFL
2013
& ICT
TEFL
2013
MA
MA
Piagetian cognitive
development theory
EDU Psycho
Prepared By:
Naima SELLAM Supervised By:
Rahma KAFFA Dr.Youssef Tamer

2. The outline
I _ Introduction
II_ Piaget’s cognitive processes
III_ Cognitive Development Stages
IV_ How to apply Piaget’s theory
in the classroom?
V_ Evaluation of Piaget's Theory
Conclusion

3. II_ How we gain knowledge:
Piaget’s Cognitive Processes
• Schemas: describes both the mental and physical
actions involved an understanding
And knowing the world. Schemas are categories of
knowledge that help us to interpret and understand the
world.
In Piaget’s view, a schema includes both a category of
knowledge and the process of obtaining that
knowledge. As experiences happen, this new
information is used to modify, add or change
previously existing schemas.

4. • Assimilation: The process of taking in new
information into our previously existing schemas is
known as assimilation. This process is subjective
because we tend to modify experience or
information to fit it with our pre-existing beliefs.
• Accommodation: It involves altering or changing
existing schemas or ideas as a result of new
information or new experience. New schemas may
be also be developed during this process.

5. • Equilibration: Piaget believed that all children try to
strike a balance between assimilation and
accommodation, which is achieved through a
mechanism called equilibration. As children progress
through the stages of cognitive development, it’s
important to maintain a balance between applying
previous knowledge –assimilation- and changing
behaviour to account for new knowledge –
accommodation-.
• Equilibration helps us to explain how children are able
to move from one stage of thought into the next.

6. • Cognitive development is a complex
process comprising three main concepts:
Assimilation, accommodation and
equilibration. All three are associated with
the formation and modification of
schemata in order to attain a balanced
sense of understanding of the external
world.

8. Processes Example
Angie who has never seen anything
Schemata fly but birds thinks that all flying
objects are birds.
Assimilation Seeing an airplane flying prompts
the child to call it a bird.
Start
Accommodation Child experiences conflict upon
realizing that the new bird has no
feathers. Concludes it is not a bird
and asks for the proper term or
invents a name. Equilibrium
restored.
Organization Forms hierarchical scheme
consisting of a super ordinate class
(flying objects) and two
Finish subordinate classes (birds and
airplanes).

9. III_ Piaget’s stages of cognitive
development
• According to Piaget, a child’s development
progresses through 4 qualitative stages and
an invariant developmental sequence-
universal pattern of development, which
are:
– The Sensorimotor Stage (Birth to 2 Years)
– The Preoperational Stage (2 to 7 Years)
– The Concrete-Operational Stage (7 to 11 Years)
– The Formal-Operational Stage (11-12 Years and
Beyond)

11. 1- Sensori-Motor Stage
(0-2 years)
• Sensory contact understanding.
• The child explores the world surrounding
them using his/her senses
• During this first stage, children learn
entirely through the movements they make
and the sensations that result.

12. Object permanence………
• Initially the baby cannot understand an
object exists out of sight.
• As the baby reaches around 7/8 months a
child will begin to understand the
object/person still exists when out of sight.

13. 2- Pre-Operational stage
(2-7yrs old)
• The child can understand the use of
symbols and language.
• This is an example of symbolic thinking.
I.E pretend play.
• Language is now understood.

14. Development of……..
• Animism…child understands ‘bad table’,
believes inanimate objects have feelings as
they do.
• Egocentricism…Can only see the world
from their own point of view
• Centration...involves focusing attention
(centring)upon only one feature of a
situation and ignoring others.
• Conservation.

15. CONSERVATION
“the awareness that a quantity remains
the same despite a change in its
appearance”
=

16. Conservation
Tasks

17. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation
Conservation of liquid

18. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation

19. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation

20. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation

21. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation

22. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation

23. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation

24. Pre-operational thinking and
problems of conservation

25. Limits of preoperational stage
•Still very egocentric
–Mountain task

26. 3- Concrete Operational Stage
(7-11 years)
• The children are now able to conserve,
• They understand that although the
appearance has changed the thing itself
does not.
• Think logically about concrete events.

27. 4- Formal Operational Stage
(11- 16 years )
• Most of previous characteristics discussed have
now developed.
• The child shows logical thinking and is able to
work through abstract problems and use logic
without the presence of concrete manipulation.
• E.g. If Kelly is taller than John and John is taller
than Pete who is the tallest? This is an example
of inferential reasoning.

28. How to apply Piaget’s theory in
the classroom?
• In the classroom, the teacher should base
instructional delivery, classroom management
and assessments on schemes the students
already know.
• Children should be given assignments which
are hands on, something that they can
physically do and experiment with. They
should be able to see and touch the project at
hand.

29. • Piaget recommended that teachers should take
an active, mentoring role towards students.
Instead of pushing information at students
while they sit and listen passively, share the
learning experience and encourage students to
be active and engaged.
• Allow students to learn from their mistakes,
Piaget believed that children develop
knowledge about the world through trial and
error.

30. • The teacher should focus on the process as
well as the result. Instead of focusing on
having one right answer, pay attention to the
many different steps it take to reach a finished
product.
• Respect each student’s individual interests
and abilities. Different children reach
developmental stages at different times, rather
than pressuring every child to adapt to one
learning style, the teacher should pay
attention to each child’s developmental stages
and adapt the lesson accordingly.

31. • Piaget encouraged independent, hands-on
learning and opportunities for discovery.
• So, the teacher should plan a variety of
class activities that accommodate different
learning styles, such as visual, kinaesthetic
and auditory.

32. Evaluation of Piaget's Theory

33. Strengths
•Active rather than passive view of the
child.
• Changed the methods of studying
children.
• Inspiration
•Tasks.

34. Weaknesses
• Piaget carried out his studies with a
handful of participants – in the early
studies he generally used his own children
(small / biased sample).
• As several studies have shown Piaget
underestimated the abilities of children
because his tests were sometimes
confusing or difficult to understand

35. • Because Piaget concentrated on the
universal stages of cognitive development
and biological maturation, he failed to
consider the effect that the social
setting and culture may have on cognitive
development (re: Vygotsky).
• Are the stages real? Vygotsky and Bruner
would rather not talk about stages at all,
preferring to see development as
continuous.

37. Refferences
• Psychology for teachers by : David
Fantana
• Piaget’s Cognitive Theory
• Cognitive Development Today Piaget and
hic critics by: Peter Southerland