Brain teasers can be used as a tool in this instance. Offering problems that necessitate analytical or logical thinking.Outlines and hierarchies are good examples and allow kids to build new ideas from previous knowledge. Providing chances to classify or group information.Using real-life examples to paint complex ideas, like word problems in math.Providing children with visual aids and other props, like models, to illustrate different ideas and concepts.Focus on the process of learning versus the end result. Providing chances for trial and error.Piaget’s philosophy can be incorporated into any education program. It’s through these experiences that children may gain understandings of different concepts in a hands-on way.įor young children entering preschool and kindergarten, Piaget’s theories align more with play-based school programs, or environments where kids are offered opportunities for trial and error, and interaction with the real world. Teachers and parents can help by providing children with different experiences or ways to explore and experiment with their environments. So, how exactly can Piaget’s stages be applied to education? At the root, it’s about recognizing the stage a child is currently in and catering to that developmental level. How to apply Piaget’s stages to learning and development Then, as children get older, it’s about broadening the experiences and applying them to new, even hypothetical, situations. Being exposed to a variety of learning-by-doing experiences from a young age may help build up those internal index cards. This can be achieved by giving children plenty of exposure to the outside world. Parents and teachers can help build a child’s various schemas to promote learning and development throughout the stages. Instead, it moved in leaps and bounds according to experiences. Piaget didn’t believe that development progressed steadily. Equilibration is the driving force that moves all development forward.Accommodation is changing approaches when an existing schema doesn’t work in a particular situation.Assimilation is using an existing schema and applying it to a new situation or object.Whenever the person is tasked with getting milk, this particular “script” or schema is recalled from memory. The person remembers how to go through the aisles, find the milk, select the preferred kind, and then pay at the register. In this event, the schema is a mentally stored pattern of behavior that can be applied to this situation. Each one informs the individual on how to react to new information or situations.įor example, picture a person visiting the grocery store to buy milk. You may think of schemas as different index cards inside the brain. Schema is a term he used to represent the building blocks of knowledge. There are a variety of terms Piaget used in his theory to explain cognitive development and how it’s achieved at different stages. Schema, assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration But he also believed that once a person reaches the formal operational stage, it’s more about building upon knowledge, not changing how it’s acquired or understood. Piaget believed that people of all ages developed intellectually. Not only that, but older kids and adults can also think about multiple variables and come up with hypotheses based on previous knowledge. A milestone of this period is using symbols to understand abstract concepts. Formal operationalĬhildren 11 years old and older fall into Piaget’s formal operational stage. This is called operational thought, and it allows kids to solve problems without physically encountering things in the real world.
The main goal at this stage is for a child to start working things out inside their head. It falls between the ages of 7 to 11 years old and is marked by more logical and methodical manipulation of symbols. Concrete operationalĬhildren are much less egocentric in the concrete operational stage. Symbolic thought is a type of thinking where a word or object is used to represent something other than itself. The main achievement of this stage is being able to attach meaning to objects with language. Children at this age are egocentric, which means they have difficulty thinking outside of their own viewpoints. The preoperational stage can be seen in children ages 2 through 7.
The main goal at this stage is establishing an understanding of object permanence - in other words, knowing that an object still exists even if you can’t see it or it’s hidden. All things learned are based on experiences, or trial and error. Characteristics include motor activity without use of symbols. The sensorimotor stage covers children ages birth to 18–24 months old.