PRE-OPERATIONAL stage (ages 2-7)
The Pre-operational stage of Jean Piaget's theory is between the ages of 2-7. He focuses on a child's understanding of conservation and egocentrism. Where children are beginning to recognize and learn shapes and become very imaginative. Their thought process is developing , although they are not considered as logical thoughts in the adult world and they are egocentric. In this stage, a child's understanding of conservation is not fully developed yet, they are only able to see things from their perspective and are only able to focus on one dimension or aspects of a problem. For example, if you have two cups with the same amount of water in them, but one cup is short and wide while he other cup is tall and slimmer, the child will pick the taller slimmer cup when you ask which cup do they think as more water. They are also egocentric, they have the mindset that every object has a mind of it's own and feelings similar to theirs. For example, if a child runs into a couch, they may hit or scream at the couch because it hurt them, or rub the couch and say sorry because they hurt it.
When teaching children in this stage, I found the most effective method for studying was repetition and keeping it simple. Repetition helped the children remember what it is they are learning. Show and tell helped because children this age are imaginative and are visual learners. They tend to remember things by using symbolism. When helping children of this age study:
Keep in mind that children in this stage are greatly influenced by what they are exposed to in their environment. To learn more about repetition and show and tell, visit the cognitive strategies tab on the left.
When teaching children in this stage, I found the most effective method for studying was repetition and keeping it simple. Repetition helped the children remember what it is they are learning. Show and tell helped because children this age are imaginative and are visual learners. They tend to remember things by using symbolism. When helping children of this age study:
- Give real-life examples of the problem
- Make up rhyming songs to help them remember
- Allow them to take charge sometimes and hold items while practicing something
Keep in mind that children in this stage are greatly influenced by what they are exposed to in their environment. To learn more about repetition and show and tell, visit the cognitive strategies tab on the left.