A student uses counters to show 3 + 4 = 7 but fails to answer when presented with 3 + 4 = ?. What can be concluded?

The conclusion drawn from the scenario indicates that the student is capable of demonstrating an understanding of addition through a manipulative (the counters) but struggles to translate that conceptual understanding into a verbal or written response to a more abstract form of the same problem. This suggests that the student is still in the preoperational stage of cognitive development as characterized by Piaget.

Children in the preoperational stage often engage in symbolic play and can manipulate objects to show their understanding but may have difficulty with tasks that require them to use abstract reasoning or verbalize their thought processes. In this case, while the student understands the concept through concrete means, the inability to answer the equation directly reflects a characteristic of this developmental stage, where verbal skills and logical reasoning are still developing. As such, this aligns well with Piaget's theory of cognitive development and illustrates the student’s current abilities in relation to their developmental milestones.