Piaget's Constructivist Theory

**Jean Piaget**, a Swiss psychologist, proposed that children actively **construct** their understanding of the world through interaction with it. His theory identifies four stages: 1. **Sensorimotor** (0–2 years) — learning through senses and movement 2. **Preoperational** (2–7 years) — symbolic thinking, imagination, language 3. **Concrete Operational** (7–11 years) — logical thinking about concrete events 4. **Formal Operational** (11+ years) — abstract reasoning and hypothesis For Piaget, the child is a **little scientist** — constantly testing, revising, and building mental models of the world.