The Stages of Learning

In EDPY today we were introduced to Jean Piagot's stages of development.
1. Sensorimotor: This is easily explainable, as it is a child from birth to two years. A child at this stage feels through it's senses what is going on to it's environment. There isn't a true thought process but rather, the ideas of being hot, cold or hungry. I remember as my sister grew up struggling to determine what was wrong when she cried simply because she couldn't tell me.
2. Preoperational: This is the age where children develop symbolic thinking where they place value on symbols. This stage takes place at about age two to seven. My sister is now in this stage and it really made me think when we began to talk about 'animism' a common form of intuitive thinking. When she sees something happen, she tries to make sense of it through the knowledge base she already has. For instance when the leaves begin to change color in the fall, she assumes that the trees are sick. Another example would be how a child at this age has no or little distinguished difference between herself and others. She assumes everyone is the same, and knows what she is feeling (egocentrism).
3. Concrete Operational: This is upper elementary, ages seven to eleven where they are finally develop reasoning. This age is pretty self explanatory as it's the age where children are not babies anymore and begin to learn the concepts of conservation and seriation where things have purpose and order.
4. Formal Operation: This category includes children from eleven to fifteen as well as those through adulthood. This is the final stage were the icing is put on the cake so to speak. You develop your abstract learning and deductive reasoning. You begin to think about the consequences and long term effects of any choice you make.
It is important to remember that these stages are subjective because children develop and mature at different rates. As we discussed in class it is also deceptive because a child may exhibit aspects of more than one stage at a given time.
This concept however really got me thinking about how those around me act in regards to what stage they're in. It gives you real insight into certain aspects of people's actions.