Piaget+Presentation

=Jean Piaget= 1896-1980 Switzerland Director of the International Bureau of Education

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 * Constructivist**: "The theory is considered "constructivist", meaning that, unlike nativist theories (which describe cognitive development as the unfolding of innate knowledge and abilities) or empiricist theories (which describe cognitive development as the gradual acquisition of knowledge through experience), it asserts that we construct our cognitive abilities through self-motivated action in the world."

Four Stages of Intellectual Development
The four development stages are described in Piaget's theory as:
 * Sensorimotor stage: Age 0-2. Children learn from the five sense
 * Preoperational stage: Ages 2-7. Magical thinking dominates over logical. Child starts to move away from egocentric point of view.
 * Concrete operational stage: Ages 7-12. Logical thinking takes hold but remains concrete and not abstract
 * Formal operational stage: Ages 12+ Children develop abstract thinking skills and improve logical reasoning skills.

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The Development Process

 * Child performs an action and observes the effects.
 * The child begins to differentiate by repeating tasks.
 * The child is able to identify properties of objects by the actions he/she applies to them.
 * Through repetition the child obtains new knowledge about objects and how to interact with them, developing cognitive thought.
 * The cycle continues, repeats, and builds complexity as the child becomes capable of increasingly complicated thought and actions.



Piaget Theories have been applied to:

 * Developmental psychology
 * Education and Morality
 * Historical studies of thought and cognition
 * Evolution
 * Philosophy
 * Primatology
 * Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Classroom Application

 * Piaget’s work influenced the transformation of American and European education in the late 20th century.
 * His work remains highly influential in early childhood and elementary education.
 * Determined that children developed best in a classroom with interaction.
 * Children’s moral judgments based on their own observations of the world.

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