... is gradually reducing, but its operations on the environment are limited. They are unable to think in terms of logical concepts such as conversation and they are unable to decentre. The Concrete Operational stage, from approximately 7 - 11 years; the child is able to undertake adult-style cognitive operations, but these are mainly limited to targets that exist in material form in the world. The final stage that Piaget refers to is the Formal Operational stage, this starts at approximately 11 years. The child is now fully decentred and can undertake abstract reasoning and perform logical operations. The theoretical model, which Piaget applied to his theories, was the concept of Schema. Schemas are evolving structures which change from one stage of cognitive development to the next, for example the very first schema is in which an infant develops the 'body-schema' when it is able to differentiate between itself and the outside ...

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