## Key Ideas > [!abstract] Core Concepts > > - **Theoretical stages based on observation**: Four cognitive development stages describing patterns of behaviour, not rigid age-based limitations > - **Schema concept contribution**: Developed understanding of how information is organised in structured brain networks > - **Largely discredited by modern research**: Cognitive Load Theory shows prior knowledge, not age, determines performance ## Definition **Jean Piaget**: Swiss psychologist whose theory of childhood cognitive development contributed to understanding how children learn and grow, though largely superseded by evidence-based approaches. ## Connected To [[Lev Vygotsky]] | [[Schema]] | [[Constructivism]] | [[Cognitive Load Theory]] | [[Correlation does not equal causation]] --- Jean Piaget developed a theory of childhood cognitive development based on observation of consistent behavioural patterns in children. He classified these patterns into four stages, creating a framework that influenced educational practice for decades. Piaget also developed the concept of [[Schema]], suggesting that information is organised in the brain in structured ways. The theory describes four stages of cognitive development. - In the sensorimotor stage (0-2 years), infants learn about the world through their senses and actions, developing object permanence, the understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of sight. - The preoperational stage (2-7 years) involves children beginning to use language and think symbolically. - In the concrete operational stage (7-11 years), children's thinking becomes more logical and organised, though still grounded in concrete experience. - The formal operational stage (12 years and beyond) involves adolescents developing abstract thinking and the ability to solve hypothetical and abstract reasoning problems. Piaget's work was theoretical, based on observation where consistent patterns of behaviour were described and classified into stages. This approach led to treating the stages as _[[Correlation does not equal causation|explanations]]_ for children's behaviour: a classic example of confusing [[Correlation Does Not Equal Causation|correlation with causation]]. The stages were presented as descriptors of developmental progression, but were often interpreted as causal mechanisms determining what children could learn at given ages. This interpretation creates problematic teaching implications. When educators believe a student cannot think abstractly because they have not reached the appropriate age, they overlook that the student may lack prerequisite skills; something addressable through instruction. Treating developmental limitations as fixed rather than addressable undermines effective teaching. Similarly, the stages can be misinterpreted to conclude that high school students no longer require concrete manipulatives and representations, which is demonstrably false. See [[Concrete Pictorial Abstract]]. Piaget's work, whilst influential historically, has been largely discredited by subsequent research (Geary, 2007; Sweller et al., 2019). [[Cognitive Load Theory]] demonstrates that prior knowledge based on social experience and instruction, not age, determines performance. What Piaget attributed to developmental stages represents differences in domain-specific knowledge and schema development (Chi et al., 1981). ## References Bartlett, F. C. (1932). *Remembering: A study in experimental and social psychology*. Cambridge University Press. Chi, M. T. H., Feltovich, P. J., & Glaser, R. (1981). Categorization and representation of physics problems by experts and novices. *Cognitive Science*, 5(2), 121-152. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15516709cog0502_2 Geary, D. C. (2007). Educating the evolved mind: Conceptual foundations for an evolutionary educational psychology. In J. S. Carlson & J. R. Levin (Eds.), *Educating the evolved mind: Conceptual foundations for an evolutionary educational psychology* (pp. 1-99). Information Age Publishing. Piaget, J. (1952). *The origins of intelligence in children*. International Universities Press. Piaget, J. (1964). Part I: Cognitive development in children: Piaget development and learning. *Journal of Research in Science Teaching*, 2(3), 176-186. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660020306 Piaget, J. (1977). *The development of thought: Equilibration of cognitive structures*. Viking Press. Sweller, J., van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Paas, F. (2019). Cognitive architecture and instructional design: 20 years later. *Educational Psychology Review*, 31(2), 261-292. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09465-5