Cognitive Theory Cognitive Theory was brought to academia by Psychologist Jean Piaget among others. Piaget’s theory argues that there are stages of cognitive development in humans where there are levels of increased intelligence and capability. These stages are defined by terms, that describe the perception of what children make of their world. These thoughts are known as schemas, which Piaget said are the models by which children perceive their reality. As they reach other stages they engage in what Piaget referred to as, assimilation, in which the previous schemas are expanded upon with new details. Another function is, accommodation, when a previous schema cannot meet a situations requirement then it is modified to accommodate the circumstance. Between assimilation and accommodation there is equilibrium where all the schemas can function with all the information they contain when they are confronted with a new situation. In the event, they cannot do so, then they fall under what is known as disequilibrium where the child begins to accommodate to meet the requirements of the new circumstance. Piaget argued that the equilibrium is what drives the learning in the stages by cycling through the assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium. The stages Piaget spoke of were four, the first was known as Sensorimotor stage that spans a person’s infancy. The second is the Pre-operational stage consisting of toddlers and early childhood. The third stage is the Concrete Operational