Piaget’s theory is that children move through four stages (birth to adulthood). The stages are:

Sensorimotor stage (birth to two years) construct their understanding of the world be co-ordinating their sensory experience with motor abilities. Sensorimotor stage has different areas like object permanence and goal – directed behaviour.

Pre-Operational Stage (two years to seven years) they become more and more able react events and accommodate them. This is a further complex way of thinking. Other areas to Pre-Operation stage are symbolic thinking, egocentrism, animism, transformation and reversibility.

Concrete Operational Stage (seven years to 12 years) children knowing what they know and they experiences. The areas are conservation (mass, numbers, volume & area), classification and also mental imagery.

Formal Operational Stage (12 years and over) more complex, mature, clever thinking and also thoughts become more obvious. Formal Operation involves abstract thinking, logical thinking, understanding time and distance and being an individual.

(Grivas & Carter, 2000, page 230 to 238)

• Conservation of Mass, get play-doh half it into two equal balls, roll one into a “sausage”

Conservation of volume like equal amount of water is poured into two very different glasses one tall and thin, the other short and wide. A five year-old would think the tall, thin glass has lest still in the Pre-operation stage, while the Concrete Operational stage would know that the volume is even.

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