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7-11 years old (Concrete Operational Stage)
• We see here that logical rules are in evidence when children
engage in mental activities. Children are able to perceive that
certain physical characteristics of an object can remain the same in
spite of a change in the outward appearance of the object. Piaget's
famous experiment involved pouring water from one container to a
differently shaped container where the water level was either lower
or higher. This is called conservation. Another element related to
conservation is reversibility. This enables the child to think through
a series of steps, both forwards and backwards.
• Kids are able to more easily categorize things into different classifi-
cations including subsets of classes. This is called classification.
This enables children to recognize relationships between items,
allowing for greater focus.
• Similar to the classification ability, children are now able to organ-
ize items in a logical sequence and understand the relationships
between those items. Another famous Piaget experiment showed
that children understood the relationship of three lines; line A was
longer than line B, line B was longer than line C, and that line A
was also longer than line C. This is called seriation.
• During this time, a child's ability to formulate a mental map fosters
the ability of orientation based on differing perspectives.
This is especially true for their physical surroundings. Piaget called
this spatial reasoning.
Author's note: The problem with concrete operational thought is that it may be difficult for a child during this time to replicate a movement or strategy in the course of an activity without immediate reinforcement. Until an athlete is engaged by the pace of the game, the execution of a movement or strategy remains theory, which may be difficult to process and accomplish in the immediacy of the moment.
12+ years old (Formal Operational Stage)
• During this stage, children develop the ability to think logically
about abstract concepts. Piaget called this Hypothetico-Deductive
reasoning. Children create a hypothesis about an idea, then
systematically test variables in order to deduce the validity of the
answer in the real world.
• Further, children during this time develop the ability to understand
propositions (conceptual problems that are not testable) without
requiring a real world scenario. This is called propositional thought.
• We see here that logical rules are in evidence when children
engage in mental activities. Children are able to perceive that
certain physical characteristics of an object can remain the same in
spite of a change in the outward appearance of the object. Piaget's
famous experiment involved pouring water from one container to a
differently shaped container where the water level was either lower
or higher. This is called conservation. Another element related to
conservation is reversibility. This enables the child to think through
a series of steps, both forwards and backwards.
• Kids are able to more easily categorize things into different classifi-
cations including subsets of classes. This is called classification.
This enables children to recognize relationships between items,
allowing for greater focus.
• Similar to the classification ability, children are now able to organ-
ize items in a logical sequence and understand the relationships
between those items. Another famous Piaget experiment showed
that children understood the relationship of three lines; line A was
longer than line B, line B was longer than line C, and that line A
was also longer than line C. This is called seriation.
• During this time, a child's ability to formulate a mental map fosters
the ability of orientation based on differing perspectives.
This is especially true for their physical surroundings. Piaget called
this spatial reasoning.
Author's note: The problem with concrete operational thought is that it may be difficult for a child during this time to replicate a movement or strategy in the course of an activity without immediate reinforcement. Until an athlete is engaged by the pace of the game, the execution of a movement or strategy remains theory, which may be difficult to process and accomplish in the immediacy of the moment.
12+ years old (Formal Operational Stage)
• During this stage, children develop the ability to think logically
about abstract concepts. Piaget called this Hypothetico-Deductive
reasoning. Children create a hypothesis about an idea, then
systematically test variables in order to deduce the validity of the
answer in the real world.
• Further, children during this time develop the ability to understand
propositions (conceptual problems that are not testable) without
requiring a real world scenario. This is called propositional thought.
(Berk, 2008)