gofer articles

Given the name, one could be forgiven for assuming that products marketed as so-called educational toys would be based on some theory of cognitive development or other.
In relation to such matters, the name of Jean Piaget is one of those which spring most immediately to the mind of an informed observer.
A Swiss developmental psychologist, he made his mark by emphasizing the value of education on children.
His work has many implications for fields as diverse as philosophy, evolutionary biology, and even artificial intelligence in computers.
So how might someone who subscribed to these theories view the educational toys available on today’s market?

Piaget proposed four stages of childhood development.
They are really the sensorimotor stage, lasting from birth to about toddlerhood.
Then comes the peroperational stage that gets to about seven years of age.
The third is the concrete operational stage that lasts until about eleven, and finally there is the formal operational stage leading to adulthood.
As can be imagined, good educational toys must take appropriate account of the details of each stage.

Do they?
The first stage of development, the sensorimotor, involves hand-eye coordination, favoring toys that can be grabbed and pulled.
This would manage to make just about any object in the world a “toy!”
And actually, the vast majority offerings labeled as “educational” are only most valuable for this first stage, such as dolls and building blocks.
Next up, the preoperational stage, involves toys – and now, games and puzzles also – that allow for a particular amount of role playing as well – conceptual matters, put simply.
In the concrete operational stage, those so keen may be amused by such things as robot kits and stuff like that.
Of course, only a child in the formal operational stage should be given a full-fledged programmable robot – unless you have a prodigy on your hands!