Piaget Learning Theory of Cognitive Development

If you’ve spent any time around children, you’ll know they have a pretty interesting way of looking at the world.

Today we can understand and appreciate children’s cognitive development thanks to Piaget learning theory – one of the first theories to map out how children’s cognitive skills develop and change as they grow.

Here’s what you need to know about psychologist Jean Piaget’s learning theory, including examples of Piaget theory in the classroom and applying it to online teaching.

Click the links to skip ahead:

• What is Piaget learning theory?
• A brief history of Piaget learning theory
• 4 stages of Piaget’s learning theory
• Schemas in Piaget’s learning theory
• Why is Piaget’s learning theory important?
• How does Piaget’s learning theory apply to teaching?
• 5 examples of how to use Piaget theory in the classroom
• Applying Piaget’s theory to online learning
• Challenges and criticisms of Piaget’s learning theory

What is Piaget learning theory?

Piaget learning theory is built on the idea that children’s intelligence changes and develops as they get older. This learning theory breaks children’s cognitive development down into 4 key stages:

• Sensorimotor stage: From birth to 2 years, children learn and understand the world through their senses and movements

• Preoperational stage: From 2 to 7 years old, children develop language and begin symbolic play – using objects to represent other objects

• Concrete operational stage: From 7 to 11 years old, logical thought develops, but children struggle with abstract or theoretical thought

• Formal operational stage: From 12 years into adulthood, children become more skilled at abstract thought and deductive reasoning.

Piaget learning theory follows the belief that children take an active role in the learning process, making observations, performing mini experiments, and gathering information as they go to help them learn more about the world around them. 

Children are also in a continuous process of building on their understanding as they grow, adapting their previous ideas to allow for new knowledge when they’re exposed to new experiences and interactions.

While it might seem like a simple enough idea today – Piaget’s learning theory was hugely controversial when it was first published.

A brief history of Piaget learning theory

Piaget learning theory was first developed by Jean Piaget (1896-1980) – a psychologist and epistemologist specializing in child development who gave his name to his research. 

Piaget’s learning theory stemmed from an interest in how children think and it was Piaget’s study of his own children that led to him coming up with the foundational ideas at the heart of the theory. 

In fact, Piaget’s learning theory helped him become one of the most influential researchers in the field of developmental psychology in the 20th century.

But what makes it so special? 

While it’s hard to imagine now, before Piaget developed his learning theory, childhood didn’t really exist. Children were usually thought of as mini-adults and their learning and development was poorly understood. 

Through his work, Piaget concluded that children actually think differently to adults. Rather than them simply being less intelligent, Piaget noticed that younger children’s answers were fundamentally different to older children’s answers in a way that suggested they actually thought completely differently. 

This was a revolutionary and controversial concept at the time.

Piaget continued working on his theory, mapping out 4 distinct stages of cognitive development to describe how children’s intelligence changes over time. Here are each of the stages in more detail.

4 stages of Piaget’s learning theory

Click the links in the table to skip ahead:

1. Sensorimotor stage

The first and earliest stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is the sensorimotor stage – when infants and toddlers learn through sensory experiences and by manipulating objects around them.

At this stage, a child’s learning and understanding of the world happens through their senses, reflexes and motor responses. For example, children learn through moving, touching, looking, listening, and sucking or biting.

A wide range of cognitive abilities develop during this phase, including:

• Object permanence: The understanding that objects continue to exist even if they can’t be seen

• Self-recognition: Realizing that other people and objects are separate from them

• Deferred imitation: Imitating actions that they’ve observed at a later date e.g. pretending to cook after watching their parents make dinner

• Representational play: Using objects, actions and words to represent other objects and actions

During this phase, children live their lives in the present. In the earliest phases, they don’t have a picture of the world stored away in their memory, so if they can’t see something, then in their mind it doesn’t exist. 

The main learning milestone children go through at this stage is learning object permanence – they start to understand that even if something is hidden or gone, it still exists. 

Language also begins to appear at this stage as children learn that words can be used to represent certain objects and feelings. During this phase, play gradually becomes more complex and starts to include pretend and imaginary play.

2. Preoperational stage

From the age of 2 to 7 years, children go through the preoperational stage. The key features of this stage are egocentricity and intuitive thinking – two key concepts in Piaget’s learning theory.

1. Egocentric thinking

The other key characteristic of the preoperational stage is that children are egocentric. That means they assume that other people see and understand the world as they do, so they struggle to see things from other people’s perspectives. 

As the preoperational stage develops, egocentrism gradually reduces in children and they start to welcome other children into their games more.

2. Intuitive thinking

At the start of this stage, a child’s thinking is influenced by the way things appear to them – rather than following logical reasoning. As they learn about the world, they begin to develop reasoning by asking questions. 

Parents and educators will notice children asking a lot of different questions during this stage to help them understand the world around them. Children will continuously ask “why?’ and “how come?” as they develop intuitive thinking abilities.

Children will also start to understand dual relationships – the idea that something can be an object and a symbol for something else. For example, their toy car is a fun toy to play with – but they begin to realize it’s also a representation of a real working car that they see adults driving.

3. Concrete operational stage

The concrete operational stage is seen as a major turning point in Piaget’s learning theory – this phase is the beginning of children’s ability to think logically. Here are some of the most important features of this phase.

1. Logical thinking

This stage is known as the concrete operational stage because children are still primarily concrete or logical in their thinking at this point, but through this stage they start to develop their ability to think logically. 

Their thinking becomes more organized and follows clear logic, especially when it comes to concrete events or materials. But at this point children still struggle to think in an abstract way or to understand hypothetical concepts. 

2. Inductive logic

Piaget’s learning theory also noted that children in this developmental stage were improving when it came to the use of inductive logic or inductive reasoning. Inductive logic is the ability to think about a specific experience and link it to a general principle.

For example, a sign that a child is developing inductive logic would be if a child notices that every time they eat too much candy they feel sick. They might then reason from that experience that eating too much candy causes them to feel sick.

3. Decentring

During the concrete operational stage, children also learn that other people see the world in a different way to them. This is known as decentering. This plays out as children gradually becoming less egocentric and starting to think about how other people might think or feel in different situations.

Children start to understand that their thoughts are unique to them and it’s not guaranteed that everyone around them will share their thoughts and opinions.

For example, children might begin to appreciate that just because they like doing jigsaw puzzles, it doesn’t necessarily mean that other people will prefer puzzles over painting or building blocks or playing on the trampoline.

4. Conservation

At this stage, children also start to understand the concept of conservation – the idea that even though things change in appearance, some properties remain the same. 

There are 7 key types of characterization that children learn at this stage: 

• Number
• Length
• Liquid
• Mass
• Weight
• Area
• Volume

For example, children can understand that a whole pizza that is cut up into big or small slices is still the same amount of pizza, regardless of the size of the slices – whereas younger children think the pizza with more slices is bigger than the one with fewer slices. 

4. Formal operational stage

The fourth and final stage of Piaget’s learning theory is the formal operational stage lasting from around 12 years old and onwards into adulthood. The key characteristics of this stage is an increase in logic and the move towards understanding abstract ideas and using deductive reasoning.

Here are some of the most important developmental changes during this stage: 

1. Abstract thinking

At this stage, children begin to think in abstract terms. Up until this point, children tended to think about concrete things – based on what they can directly observe and interact with. Abstract thinking is a big step in children’s cognitive development as it’s characterized by the ability to systematically plan for the future. 

Children are increasingly able to use logic to reason out the consequences of each action they take – before they take it. They approach problems in an organized way, thinking about the process before starting rather than using trial-and-error to find solutions.

2. Hypothetical reasoning

Children also begin to think and reason about hypothetical situations. This means they’re able to imagine “what-if” scenarios and think scientifically through certain hypotheses or make predictions.

For adolescents, this hypothetical reasoning gradually becomes more complex – they’re able to cope with multiple hypothetical problems and come up with a range of solutions and possible outcomes to each. 

3. Questioning ethics, morals, religions etc

During the formal operational stage, learners are able to think systematically and reason about what could happen as well as what is real right now. This means they can begin to think about and engage with issues related to politics, ethics, religion and more. 

For example, adolescents can understand and debate key issues like human rights and environmentalism because they are able to think abstractly and hypothetically.

It’s not guaranteed that all learners will reach the formal operational stage – and some might develop some abilities but not others. This depends on a wide range of factors, including their education and their social context.

Schemas in Piaget’s learning theory

As well as understanding the 4 stages at the core of Piaget’s learning theory, you also need to understand the concept of schemas. Here are the basics.

What is a schema?

Piaget defined schema as: “a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning.”

Simply put, schema refers to the basic building blocks of intelligent behavior. They are a way of organizing knowledge. Each schema relates to one aspect of the world – such as objects, actions and abstract or theoretical concepts.

Piaget believed that newborn babies have innate schemas. In infants, Piaget applies the concept of schemas to reflexes – like the grasping reflex. When something touches that palm of a baby’s hand, it grabs onto it. This would be a ‘grasping schema’ in Piaget’s theory.

As children experience new things, this information is used to modify, change, or add to their existing schemas and this process is essential to their development.

There are 3 key parts to the process:

• Assimilation: When a child uses an existing schema to deal with a new situation or thing and absorbs new information into previously existing schemas.

• Accommodation: When a child changes existing schemas to account for new information or develops new schemas to deal with new information.

• Equilibration: Finding a balance between assimilation – applying previous knowledge – and accommodation – changing behavior in light of new knowledge – to reach an equilibrium.

Another way to think about schemas is like index cards – each one is filed in the brain and tells you how to react to incoming information or stimuli. Those index cards can be added to or changed but you don’t throw out the whole filing cabinet in light of new information. You adjust as you go.

Examples of how a schema develops

Children develop schemas that change as they acquire new information. For example, a child can develop a schema of a car. In the beginning, the word ‘car’ refers to the first car they see. Over time, this word comes to include all cars – and at first they might call every moving vehicle that they come across a ‘car’. 

This schema continually grows and changes to fit new experiences. For example, a different type of car can be added to the schema for ‘car’, even though it is a different color or model to the first car they saw. This is assimilation. 

Children also adapt their existing schemas to fit new experiences. So if they see a bus, they might fit it into their schema for ‘car’ until a parent, peer or caregiver explains the difference between buses and cars. This is known as accommodation.

Adults also use schemas. For example, you can apply the concept of schema to buying a new jacket. A schema is a stored pattern of behavior that a person can pull from their memory and apply it to a given situation. So in this example, the schema includes going to the store, looking at the jackets, finding the right size, trying it on, and paying for it. 

Why is Piaget’s learning theory important?

The learning theory developed by Piaget was one of the first theories to suggest that children’s brains develop continually as they age.

Today, Piaget’s learning theory is used in many pre-school and primary programs to help support a child’s developing interests. This includes incorporating hands-on discovery learning and problem solving activities into the curriculum.

While Piaget’s learning theory applies to children specifically, it can also be useful for educators working with learners of all ages – helping to reinforce key education principles like the importance of trial and error and developing theoretical reasoning.

Here’s how Piaget’s learning theory is applied to teaching.

How does Piaget’s learning theory apply to teaching?

Piaget’s learning theory has had a significant influence on education – and it continues to shape how children are taught in classrooms today.

Here are 3 principles that are widely used in teaching thanks to Piaget’s learning theory:

1. Discovery learning 

Discovery learning focuses on the idea that children should be given the freedom to explore and discover new things on their own. Children are given the space to learn about their own interests – rather than having ideas and principles forced on them, and the learning environment now includes courses for non-academic subjects like music, dance and art.

But Piaget also thought that children’s development required reflection and should include activities aimed at making the essential connections that allow them to construct knowledge. This means that educators still have an important role to play in structuring learners’ discoveries and helping them reflect on their experiences.

Some examples of discovery-based learning includes: 

• Reading a book and discussing with peers what they have learnt
• Listening to the news and debating key issues
• Doing an assignment that includes independent research and receiving feedback

These activities all take a structured approach to discovery learning that allow learners to explore new ideas and concepts on their own – but also to reflect with the help of discussion, debate and feedback from peers and educators.

2. Problem-solving

Piaget proposed that children should be taught through problem-solving activities, encouraging children to come up with their own ideas and solutions to problems.

Problem-solving is encouraged in classrooms in a range of different ways, including:

• • Creative play: Play that includes imagination and creating or building something can develop problem-solving abilities in younger children
  • Giving children choices: Making decisions can encourage problem-solving skills, for example letting children choose what color(s) they want to use

• Reading problem-solving stories: Exposing children to stories where the protagonists use problem-solving skills can inspire children and give them a model to work from

• Asking questions: Identifying problems and asking questions can help children learn how to break a problem down into manageable chunks to help them come up with solutions

Teachers now actively encourage children to develop problem-solving abilities – based partly on Piaget’s learning theory.

3. Stage-based teaching

The concept of stage-based teaching also stems from Piaget’s learning theory. Stage-based teaching is built on the belief that individual children learn at their own pace and that children shouldn’t be restricted to a confined grade or lesson structure.

This means stage-based teaching programs are aimed at teaching to children’s needs rather than their age or class. In classrooms, teachers can extend the work of children who learn more quickly and offer more attention to the children who learn slower or struggling with specific skills or tasks. The focus is more on outcomes rather than on competition.

Online learning is ideal for stage-based teaching thanks to the opportunity for educators to create self-paced learning experiences that let learners’ work through content at their own pace, progressing to the next module when they’ve completed an assessment that confirms they have grasped the content. 

5 examples of how to use Piaget theory in the classroom

Understanding Piaget’s learning theory is one thing – but if you want to know how to apply it, check out these tips and examples.

1. Guide your students

Piaget believed that educators play an important role in children’s cognitive development. Teachers and parents can take an active role in helping children to grow by sharing their learning experience. 

Educators can work on taking learners seriously, respecting their opinions and ideas. Let children learn by formulating their own suggestions and theories – rather than dictating what they should think or do.

For example, teachers can show learners an age-appropriate news article and ask questions about what they think and feel about the subject matter, encouraging children to develop their critical thinking abilities.

2. Encourage social learning 

Social learning is also a key part of Piaget’s learning theory – the idea that children can learn from their peers. During the second preoperational stage, from 2 to 7 years old, children start to welcome other children into their games. 

Educators can encourage healthy development by finding group activities to encourage more cooperation. For example, teachers can use activities like Show and Tell to help children learn how to listen thoughtfully to their peers. The children can take it in turns to do a short presentation to the rest of the class and their peers can then ask questions.

3. Allow for mistakes 

Trial and error is an important part of cognitive development in children. Though it can sometimes be frustrating and requires high levels of patience, mistakes are a sign that a child is actively interacting with the world and trying out new theories and ideas.

Teachers can choose activities that actively encourage trial and error or mistakes, like playing with building blocks to try and build the tallest tower or structure. This will include a lot of falling bricks – but it also helps learners to understand a range of different concepts like balance, space, and stability, as well as self-esteem, self-reliance, and cooperation with others.

4. Focus on the process 

Piaget’s learning theory puts emphasis on the process of children’s development – and to help learners develop, educators should try to focus on the process as well as the results.

There are many different ways to achieve the same result and educators who can appreciate and support children’s different learning journeys can help to support healthy cognitive development.

For example, teachers set children the task of drawing an imaginary creature. Teachers can guide students but encourage them to come up with their own ideas and take inspiration from different sources, paying attention to the process and the journey each child takes to create their imaginary creatures.

5. Respect individuality

While appreciating Piaget’s learning theory, it’s important to remember that children reach different development stages at different times. You can expect to notice learners achieving objectives at their own pace – and educators need to respect the range of individual learning styles and abilities in their classes.

Applying Piaget’s theory to online learning

Piaget’s learning theory has been used extensively in educational philosophy to shape curriculum design and teaching practices – including online learning.

Understanding learners’ developmental stages in online learning 

The beauty of online learning is that it can be self-guided, giving learners the chance to learn at their own pace and follow an individualized learning path.

To design an effective learning experience for online learners, try to take into account the developmental stages of different learners. For example, during the sensorimotor stage, infants learn through their senses and movement. Online learning activities for children at this stage need to be designed to stimulate their senses and encourage discovery-based learning through interactive activities and games.

This is where education technology like animations, games and videos can be really useful tools to engage children and help their cognitive development.

Designing online learning activities that align with Piaget’s theory

Piaget’s learning theory follows the concept that learners build knowledge through their experiences and interactions with the world around them – including other people.

If you’re designing online learning experiences, you can take this concept into account to create activities that encourage learners to interact with the content and each other to help their development.

Here are some ideas for online learning activities that align with Piaget’s learning theory:

1. Use interesting visuals

According to Piaget’s theory, children’s understanding of how the world works changes over time. To aid their understanding, design online learning experiences that have clear visual aids to explain complex concepts and hold your learners’ attention for longer. 

For example, animations, diagrams, charts and infographics can all be used to break down abstract concepts and help learners’ understand difficult ideas. Try using tools like Canva to create interesting and beautiful visuals for your content.

2. Encourage social learning

As learning is shaped by interactions with material and other people, educators can enhance the online learning experience by providing opportunities for collaboration with other learners. 

If you can encourage social learning – and build a strong learning community – you can enhance learners’ knowledge retention, understanding, and enjoyment.

Here are some examples of social learning:

• Discussion forums
• Online Q&A
• Group projects
• Live group discussions
• Collaborative workshops
• Online community space
• Peer reviews

Encouraging learners to chat, collaborate, and cooperate to help them understand the learning content is a really effective way to enhance the learning experience. 

If you’re using Thinkific to design your online learning experiences, take advantage of Thinkific Communities – with built-in community building tools to help you create a dedicated members space for learners to make meaningful, valuable connections with their peers.

3. Make activities hands-on

Hands-on activities also give learners a chance to test and apply their knowledge, while making learning more fun. You can design online learning experiences that include simulations, competitions and interactive games to encourage learners to explore and experiment.

Tools like Kahoot! can be used to create fun quizzes and games, while also getting learners to collaborate. Individuals can work together in groups to answer questions and compete to snag a place on your community leaderboard – and it’s all done online!

Challenges and criticisms of Piaget’s learning theory

There’s no doubt that Piaget’s learning theory has been hugely influential in the field of cognitive development and education – but there have also been some challenges and criticism of his theories. Here are the 4 of the most important things to keep in mind:

1. The small sample size

Piaget developed his learning theory by observing small numbers of children – including his own children and the children of his colleagues in Geneva, Switzerland. This small sample size means there is more likelihood of bias, especially as all the children were from the same socio-economic background, and so the theories don’t necessarily apply to all children

2. The European context

The research was also carried out in Western Europe and then expanded to apply to all children all over the world. Piaget’s theories didn’t take into account potential social and cultural practices from different geographical contexts that could have an impact on children’s cognitive development and how they see the world at different stages of their life.

3. The fixed developmental stages

Later researchers have also suggested that the different developmental stages outlined by Piaget are not as clear cut as his learning theory suggests. For example, some skills may develop earlier or later – according to recent research, egocentrism appears to shift around 4 to 5 years old, rather than 7 to 11 years like Piaget thought.

Studies have shown that Piaget underestimated the abilities of the children in his initial research because his tests were sometimes difficult to understand – and when the tasks were changed, the children performed better. 

4. The Piaget vs Vygotsky debate

Piaget’s learning theory is often compared with the work of Lev Vygotsky who is also an important figure in the field of cognitive development. Vygotsky agreed with Piaget’s learning theory in some ways – especially when it comes to the role of curiosity and play in learning. But where Vyotsky differed was in his understanding of the role of society and culture in children’s cognitive development.

Piaget proposed that cognitive development comes from within whereas Vygotsky believed that external factors like culture play a more important part in children’s development. The role of external people – like parents, caregivers, and peers – also have a significant role in how and when children develop certain skills and abilities.

Piaget’s learning theory today

While Piaget’s learning theory has been built on and challenged by later researchers, it is still a useful theory for understanding children’s development and how educators can assist learners – especially when it comes to designing online learning experiences and activities.