Teaching for Thinking: Why Piagetian Programs Accelerate Student Learning

Hattie’s Visible Learning Effect Size Series – #5 Piagetian Programs – Effect Size 1.28

To note: John Hattie’s Visible Learning research brings together over 1,500 meta-analyses, covering more than 90,000 studies and millions of students. Its aim is to identify what works best in education by measuring impact using ‘effect size’. In this context, an effect size of 0.4 is considered average progress over a year. Anything above 0.6 is seen as highly impactful. This blog is part of a 20-post series exploring the top-ranked influences in Hattie’s Visible Learning research, with a focus on practical strategies teachers can use to make a meaningful difference.

With an effect size of 1.28, Piagetian Programs are one of the most powerful and often overlooked influences on student achievement. These approaches are rooted in the theories of Jean Piaget, who emphasised that students go through predictable stages of cognitive development and that teaching should be matched to these stages.

This influence is not about using Piaget’s terminology in lessons. Instead, it focuses on aligning instruction to students’ developmental readiness, building thinking rather than just remembering.

What Are Piagetian Programs?

Piagetian Programs refer to teaching approaches based on cognitive development theory, particularly Piaget’s idea that students move through developmental stages such as the concrete operational stage (typically from around 7 to 11 years) and the formal operational stage (typically from 12 years onward).

At their core, these programmes involve:

• Encouraging exploration, reasoning, and logic

• Challenging students through cognitive conflict

• Providing hands-on, discovery-based learning

• Emphasising how students think rather than simply what they know

These programmes help build deep understanding, strengthen reasoning, and enable students to learn through doing and reflecting.

Why Are Piagetian Approaches So Effective?

• They match the task to the learner’s stage of thinking

• They promote independence and resilience

• They make abstract ideas accessible through concrete experience

• They develop metacognition and problem-solving

While Piaget’s stage theory is no longer seen as fixed or linear, the core idea of teaching at a developmentally appropriate level remains foundational. Piaget’s work laid the groundwork for later theories of constructivism, metacognition, and inquiry-based learning.

Practical Strategies for Bringing Piagetian Thinking Into Your Classroom

1. Use Concrete Resources Before Abstract Concepts - Let students explore mathematical patterns with manipulatives or test science ideas through physical models before introducing symbols or abstract diagrams. Some schools have reasoning stations where students investigate concepts using hands-on tools before formal instruction.

2. Build Cognitive Conflict Intentionally - Pose questions or scenarios that challenge current thinking. For example, “What if the moon disappeared?” or “Can a triangle have four sides?” These questions spark curiosity and help students restructure their understanding.

3. Encourage Student-Led Inquiry - Instead of presenting facts first, allow students to investigate, collect evidence, and draw conclusions. One teacher I spoke to uses “mystery boxes” at the start of science and history units. Students open each box to discover artefacts or clues, prompting questions and investigations before any formal content is shared.

4. Use Open-Ended Questions and Reasoning Prompts - Ask questions like “What do you think?” and “Why do you think that?” Encourage reasoning through visible thinking routines and sentence starters that support thoughtful discussion.

5. Emphasise Reflection on Thinking - Use metacognitive questions after tasks such as: “What changed in your thinking today?” and “What helped you make sense of this?” This helps students become more aware of how they learn.

Quick Wins for This Week

• Swap one recall question for a reasoning question in your next lesson

• Try a “think-aloud” while modelling your own problem-solving

• Offer two different solutions to a problem and ask students to choose one and justify their thinking

Challenges and Considerations

Piagetian approaches take more time than direct instruction, but the long-term benefits are worth it. These approaches require flexibility and trust in the process. Students may not get the answer quickly, but the thinking they build along the way is more secure and transferable.

It can be tempting to give answers too soon, especially when time is tight. But when students are supported in constructing their own understanding, we see greater retention and confidence.

Reflections

We often say we want students to become independent thinkers. Piagetian approaches show us how we can support that aim, by tuning into how students develop and carefully designing learning that stretches their thinking just enough to grow.

As you reflect, consider:

• Do your lessons balance challenge with developmental readiness?

• Are there moments when students are exploring and reasoning before being told the answer?

• Could you build in more structured opportunities for students to reflect on their own thinking?

Try This

Pick a topic you teach each year and try starting with an open investigation or puzzle. Let students grapple with it, then introduce the formal content once they are curious and invested.

Further Reading and Resources

• Jean Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development – Simply Psychology

https://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html

• Jean Piaget: Cognitive Development in the Classroom – Funderstanding

https://funderstanding.com/teachers/jean-piaget-cognitive-development-in-the-classroom/

Research Connections

• Case, R. (1992) – The Mind’s Staircase: Exploring the conceptual underpinnings of Piagetian theory in modern cognitive development research

• DeVries, R. & Kohlberg, L. (1987) – Constructivist Early Education: Overview and Comparison With Other Programs

For Leaders Using This in CPD

If you’re using this blog post in professional development, consider the following prompts for team discussion:

• Where in our curriculum do students have space to reason and explore before formal explanation?

• Are we giving students time to construct understanding, or are we moving too quickly to answers?

• Which departments already use developmentally appropriate strategies, and how might we share that practice more widely?

Visible Learning Blog Series

This series explores the top influences on student achievement from John Hattie’s Visible Learning research, with practical strategies for applying each one.

1. Collective Teacher Efficacy (1.57) – Belief that together we can succeed

2. Self-Reported Grades (1.33) – Students predict their own success

3. Teacher Estimates of Achievement (1.29) – Judging student potential accurately

4. Response to Intervention (1.29) – Targeted support for learning gaps

5. Piagetian Programs (1.28) – Teaching for thinking, not just content (You are here)

6. Conceptual Change Programs

7. Prior Ability

8. Strategy to Integrate with Prior Knowledge

9. Self-Efficacy

10. Teacher Credibility

11. Micro-Teaching

12. Classroom Discussion

13. Interventions for Learning Disabled Students

14. Teacher-Student Relationships

15. Spaced vs Massed Practice

16. Meta-Cognitive Strategies

17. Acceleration

18. Classroom Management

19. Vocabulary Programs

20. Repeated Reading Programs

In the next post, we’ll explore Conceptual Change Programs and how tackling misconceptions head-on leads to stronger, longer-lasting learning.