Cognitive Development

Stage of Cognitive Development

Sensorimotor

Pre-operational

Concrete Operations

Formal Operations

Ages

Birth - 2 y/o

2 - 7 y/o

1st grade - Adolescence

12+ years

Characteristics

Meaning

Comprehend the world through objects.

Gain object permanence (an object exists, even if it is not in sight).

Egocentric Thought

Assume others see, hear, and feel exactly as they do.

Symbolic Thought

Ability to make one thing stand for something else (language).

Do not use logic to combine or separate ideas.

Logical Thought

Start to picture mentally how things work and do not need to always see or physically manipulate objects to understand them.

Use inductive reasoning to draw conclusions based on specific observations.

Several new mental abilities are developed, including conservation (the understanding that things can stay the same in quality even if their appearance changes).

Abstract Thought

Manipulate ideas in the mind without reliance on concrete manipulation.

Deductive reasoning used to form hypotheses about the world and test them in a systematic manner to reach a conclusion.

Classroom Implications

Need many hands-on activities since students are not able to conceptualize processes or ideas.

Direct instruction should always be paired with experiments to reinforce the concept.

Hands-on activities are still beneficial when introducing a new idea but are not needed as much for students to understand material.​​​​

Mathematical calculations

Creative thinking

Abstract reasoning