Piaget
A Model Theory for the
Past
Present
or Future?
Piaget’s Initial Proposal:
Children construct their own knowledge in
response to their experiences.
• Children learn many things on their own
without the intervention of older children or
adults.
• Children are intrinsically motivated to learn
and do not need rewards from adults to
motivate learning.
The Natural
(Epistemological)
Stages of
Development
Development is not equal
to learning
Is learning just about growing from one stage into another?
Mmm.. Red
house are my
favorite to chew
Birth to
2 years
Sensory motor
Criticism #1 : Babies are capable of
more than sensory experiences
Could a one-year old learn to play the game?
I get all the
red houses
Preoperational
Criticism # 2:
2 to 7
years
Piaget may be wrong with his age norms
Criticism # 3 It’s not nice to describe children as
being egocentric, or as a subject that acts on an
object
You buy as many
can and sell othe
money. Then wh
is sold, we figure
the most money
Concrete Operational
7 to
12
years
w do
learn
wheel
l?
Formal
Operational
Now that I kno
wheel and deal
make millions…
Criticism #
put too mu
emphasis o
competenc
and not eno
Learning about the world is not the same as
development. Children learn from experiences.
Simply, they construct meaning
I wonder what I’ll
find when I open tha
cupboard?
Criticism #5 Piaget neglected the
importance of social factors in learning
Time to
compare
I wonder if my
mom’s friend has
the same food in her
cupboards?
By increasing exposure to different
environments, the child discovers more
ways to behave in a developmentally age
appropriate manner.
My mom has enough
room in her cupboard to
hold her friend’s and
ours. I’ll start moving it
Learning how to
apply
conservation
All the new neighbors
likely need food. I
wonder if I could sell
some of ours, have
enough to eat, and still
make a profit??
Wheeling
and dealing
again
The world
where the child
develops
creates his
schema. As he
is introduced to
new
experiences, his
schema may
change or grow
bigger.
Think of a schema as a balloon
Adding new
information
to the schema
that matches
other aspects
will enlarge
the schema.
This is
assimilation.
T o accept the new
item into the
schema or to
change the schema
is known as
Accommodation.
Encountering a new balloon shape and style
prompts the child to stop and re-evaluate the
schema. This process is called equilibration.
Criticism #7
These theories describe
but do not explain how a
child learns.Give the guy credit; he was the
first scientist to even attempt
to describe learning. Plus, he
felt you could not explain
learning until you knew what
was happening.
How do you explain how a child
learns? Piaget asked the child.
Mr. Piaget, are you
going to ask me
again what I just did?
Criticism #8 Piaget’s theory is
paradoxical because it assesses thinking
through language.
How does a child learn
language?
Piaget theorized that it is
part of the developmental
and maturation process
while learning to process
experiences.
So what happens
when I grow up? Do
I stop learning?
Criticism #9 Piaget’s theory ignores
postadolescence development.
First, I felt the
formal operation
stage could range
from age 15-20.
Second, I made the
stage context
development less
epistemic.
Finally, I decided
development is a
never-ending
process and open
You are right, child. In
my later research, I
made some additions
and adjustments. I
altered my schema.
Honestly, I believe it’s
because I wrote and
published so much that it
was lost, especially since I
arrived at this late in my
career.
Why is this
rarely
mentioned?
?
Actually, all I want to
know is whether I can
convince mom and dad
that I can learn better if
I get a computer.
Researchers today believe that
working on a PC is an exceptional way
to help you learn according to my
theories. By trying out new
applications, and that includes games,
you have the need for equilibration as
you encounter new schemas.
In fact, I’d encourage you to
try out the games. I’ve found
that games can help refine
your development. Even off
the computer, you can learn
through games.
To develop sensorimotor:
Play peek-a-boo
To develop the imagination and
recognize the use of symbolism,
try out role-play games.
To understand and interpret rules
properly means being ready for
team and field sports.
How about playing
Dungeons and Dragons?
That uses lots of
imagination.
The role-playing in the game will
help you to develop beyond
egocentrism. Now, I can’t tell
you the right or wrong ,thing to
do in the game, but the social
interaction should lead you to
respect and cooperate with
Concrete Operations Stage
• Conservation concept - changing the
appearance or arrangement of objects
does not change their key properties.
• Highly abstract thinking and reasoning
about hypothetical situations still
remains very difficult.
Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage
• Substage 1 (birth to 1 month)
• Substage 2 (1 to 4 months)
• Substage 3 (4 to 8 months)
• Substage 4 (8 to 12 months)
• Substage 5 (12 to 18 months)
– Actively and avidly exploring the possible uses
to which objects can be put: Banging a spoon or
cup on high chair to make different sounds, get
attention.
Preoperational Stage
• Symbolic representations - the use of
one
object to stand for another.
• Egocentrism: Looking at the world only
from one’s own point of view.
• Centration: Focusing on one dimension of
objects or events and on static states rather
than transformations.
Formal Operations Stage
• Ability to think abstractly
and reason hypothetically.
• Ability to reason systematically about
all different outcomes.
• Ability to engage in scientific thinking.