Jean Piaget was a Swiss biologist and psychologist (1896-1980) well known for his pedagogical studies. His theory of cognitive development, laid great importance to the education of children. He discovered that children think and reason differently at different periods in their lives.

The  central component of Piaget's developmental theory of learning and thinking is that both involve the participation of the learner. Piaget asserted that for children to know and construct knowledge of the world, they must act on objects in the environment in order to build mental models of the way the world works.   

For Piaget, the physical environment is important and the adult role is to make sure that environment is rich and stimulating, then to occasionally ask questions that challenge children's thinking about the environment.

He devoted his life to closely observing and recording the intellectual abilities of infants, children and adolescents. According to him, it is through play that children construct a sense of order and meaning out of their environment.

Jean Piaget identified four stages in which children develop cognitively.

Piaget suggested that movement from one stage to the next occurred when the child reached an appropriate level of maturation and was exposed to relevant types of experiences.

Without experience, children were assumed incapable of reaching their highest cognitive ability.  Piaget developed an interest in the intellectual development of children.

Based upon his observations, he concluded that children were not less intelligent than adults, they simply think differently.

Albert Einstein called Piaget’s discovery "so simple only a genius could have thought of it." Piaget’s four stages are known as the sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stages.

Sensorimotor Period

The Sensorimotor Stage is the first of the four stages of cognitive development.

During the sensorimotor stage, an infant’s knowledge of the world is limited to their sensory perceptions and motor activities.

Children utilize skills and abilities they were born with, such as looking, sucking, grasping, and listening, to learn more about the environment.

Between about the ages of 2 and 4, the child is able to formulate designs of objects that are not present.

During this time, children begin to move towards understanding the world through mental operations rather than purely through actions.

Preoperational Stage   

The preoperational stage occurs between ages two and six. Language development is one of the hallmarks of this period.  Piaget noted that children in this stage do not yet understand concrete logic.

They cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people.

During the preoperational stage, children also become increasingly adept at using symbols, as evidenced by the increase in playing and pretending.

Role playing also becomes important during the preoperational stage. Children often play the roles of "mommy," "daddy," "doctor," and many others.

Concrete Operational Stage

The concrete operational stage begins around age seven and continues until approximately age eleven.

Children in the concrete operational stage have a better understanding of time and space.  During this time, children gain a better understanding of mental operations.

Children begin thinking logically about concrete events, but have difficulty understanding abstract concepts.  

Formal Operational Stage

The formal operational stage begins at approximately age twelve and continues into adulthood.

This stage produces a new kind of thinking that is abstract, formal, and logical. Thinking is no longer tied to events that can be observed.  In earlier stages, children used trial-and-error to solve problems.

During the formal operational stage, the ability to solve a problem in a logical and methodical way emerges.

Children at the formal operational stage of cognitive development are often able to quickly plan an organized approach to solving a problem.

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