A PowerPoint presentation discussing Jean Piaget and Cognitivism.

1. Piaget and Cognitivism
Joel Charbonneau
EDUC 2130.01
Learning Theorist Project
11/29/2012

2. Jean Piaget (1896-1980) – Early Life
 Born on August 9, 1896, in Neuchatel, Switzerland
 Wrote a short paper on an albino sparrow at age 11
—“generally considered as the start of a brilliant scientific
career” (Smith, 2000)
 Developed an interest in mollusks and “became a well-known
malacologist by finishing school” (Smith, 2000)
 Obtained Ph.D. from University of Neuchatel in natural
sciences

3. Piaget – Professional Career
 Professor of Psychology (or related)
 University of Neuchatel
 University of Geneva
 University of Lausanne
 Sorbonne, Paris
 Director
 International Bureau of Education
 Institute of Educational Sciences
 International Centre for Genetic Epistemology
 President
 Swiss Commission UNESCO
 Swiss Society of Psychology
 French Language Association of Scientific Psychology
 International Union of Scientific Psychology
 Honorary Doctorates from 31 universities worldwide
 Twelve international prizes
 Author of “over sixty books and several hundred articles” (Smith,
2000)

5. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive
Development
 “To Piaget, cognitive development was a progressive
reorganization of mental processes as a result of biological
maturation and environmental experience” (McLeod, 2009).
 Three Elements
 Schemas – “building blocks of knowledge”
 Process of Adaptation
 Stages of Development (McLeod, 2009)

6. Schemas
 “Piaget called the schema the basic building block of
intelligent behavior” (McLeod, 2009).
 Children build schemas to explain the world around them and
attain a state of cognitive balance called equilibrium
(McLeod, 2009).
 Following slide demonstrates a child developing a schema
for a dog. Animation created by Daurice Grossniklaus and
Bob Rodes (03/2002). Animation can be viewed at
http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html if it fails to load.

8. Stages of Adaptation
 Assimilation – “using an existing schema to deal with a new
object or situation”
 Accommodation – “existing schema does not work, and
needs to be changed to deal with a new object or situation”
 Equilibration - moving from disequilibrium to equilibrium
 Disequilibrium – “new information cannot be fitted into existing
schemas”
 Equilibrium – “schemas can deal with most new information”
(McLeod, 2009)

10. Stages of Development
 Sensorimotor (0-2 years) – Object Permanence
 Preoperational (2-7 years) – Egocentrism
 Concrete Operational (7-11 years) – Conservation
 Formal Operational (11+ years) – Abstract Reasoning

11. Teaching Implications
 Piaget’s theory promoted the idea of the discovery learning,
or learn by doing, approach.
 Teachers should strive for the following:
 “Focus on the process of learning, rather than the end product of
it;
 Using active methods that require rediscovering or reconstructing
"truths“;
 Using collaborative, as well as individual activities (so children
can learn from each other);
 Devising situations that present useful problems, and create
disequilibrium in the child; and,
 Evaluate the level of the child's development, so suitable tasks
can be set” (McLeod, 2009).

12. Criticisms
 The age ranges of the stages have been questioned, as
have the existence of the stages at all.
 Piaget examines only the biological aspect with no
consideration for the socio-cultural aspects of development.
 “The concept of schema is incompatible with the theories of
Bruner and Vygotsky,” and behaviorism (McLeod, 2009).

13. References
 McLeod, S. A. (2009). Jean Piaget | Cognitive Theory.
Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
 Smith, L. (2000). A brief biography of Jean Piaget. Retrieved
from http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html