king, memory, learning, language, and perception. Piaget formulated four primary stages of development for cognitive processes and skills:
PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Sensorimotor Stage Birth to two years
Preoperational Stage Two years to seven years
Concrete Operational Stage Seven years to eleven years
Formal Operational Stage Eleven years and beyond
Each stage of development is assigned a range of expected normal development. In this manner, deviations and individual differences can be recognized. During the formal operational or formal operations stage of development, adolescents develop their full cognitive abilities. An adolescent like Justin does not need concrete objects to be able to rationalize, as he did during the concrete operational stage of cognitive development. I was able to observe Justin be able to hypothesize, use deductive reasoning, and consider different options from a variety of perspectives. For example, when other children were discussing the concept of God as defined by Christian ideology, Justin brought up his knowledge of Zen from the books he had been reading on it. He asked some of the other children why they were sure the Western concept of religion and spirituality was valid, instead of exploring other concepts like those espoused by Eastern philosophies. Yet, showing he can view different possibilities from different perspectives, Justin also said to the group “I understand your faith is strong but I just think there are some interesting concepts include in Zen philosophy that are quite similar to those of Christianity”. According to Piaget, “When information does not fit, the person must ree
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