Jean Piaget developed a theory of cognitive development in children based on his observations of his own children. He proposed that children progress through four stages of cognitive development as a result of biological maturation and interactions with the environment. At the core of Piaget's theory are the concepts of schemas, assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration. Schemas are a child's mental representations or categories of knowledge that help them understand the world. Through assimilation, children incorporate new experiences into existing schemas, while accommodation is the process of changing schemas based on new information. Equilibration refers to the balance children aim to achieve between assimilation and accommodation as their understanding becomes more advanced and progresses to the next stage of development.
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