Jean Piaget was a swiss psychologist; well known for his pioneering work in child development. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called “genetic epistemology”. He was interested in not only in the nature of though, but in how it develops and understanding how genetics impact this process. Piaget studied the intellectual development of his own three children and created a theory that described the stages that children pass through development of intelligence and formal though processes. He suggested that children sort the knowledge they acquire through their experiences and interactions into groupings known as schemas.
Piaget’s four stages of cognitive development are as follows;
The Sensorimotor Stage: The first stage of development lasts from birth to approximately age two. At this point in development, children know the world primarily through their senses and motor movements.
The Preoperational Stage: The second stage of development lasts from the ages of two to seven and is characterized by the development of language and the emergence of symbolic play.
The Concrete Operational Stage: The third stage of cognitive development lasts from the ages of seven to approximately age 11. At this point, logical thought emerges but children still struggle with abstract and theoretical thinking.
The Formal Operation Stage: in the fourth and final stage of cognitive development lasting from age 12 and into adulthood, Children become much more adept and abstract thought and deductive reasoning.
There are many activities one can implement into the classroom and home. Cognitive learning pushes children to work through different problems on their own. The goal is to help children think and apply problem-solving ideas and skills. If a child has time to think about the answer , then they are not using cognitive theory.
Children's Growth and Development 