Piaget and Learning Tuesday, July 7th

Jean Piaget ( ) Remarkable mind that comes along very rarely in human history Before he was 10 years old, wrote a book about birds Used his keen knowledge of biology and observation to study the developing minds of his own children

Piaget’s Basic Ideas: 1. Children are active and motivated learners. 2. Interaction with one’s environment is essential for cognitive development. 3. Children construct knowledge from their experiences. Knowledge is cognitively organized in schemes.

Piaget’s Basic Ideas (cont’d) 4. Children learn through two complementary processes of assimilation and accommodation. 5. The process of equilibration promotes progression toward increasingly complex thought. 6. Cognitive development is stage like in nature.

How does learning occur? Schemes: Action sequences to understand the world (i.e., McDonalds) Assimilation—reshaping or modifying the input to fit into the scheme (e.g., serving apples at McDonalds) Accomodation—doesn’t fit so you need to modify your scheme constantly seeking equilibrium; organizing schemes through assimilation and accomodation COME UP WITH YOUR OWN EXAMPLE

How are learners motivated? Constantly seeking equilibrium Naturally curious about the environment Actively processing events in the environment

Equilibrium A lifetime process of adapting and organizing events in environment in order to restore balance. It is the coordinating power that makes the developmental system work. Is established on many levels:

Learning by Equilibration moment to moment interactions with environment ass ---acc---final satisfactory resolution final step in moving out of one stage & establishing oneself securely in next stage process of achieving better adaptation & organization overall all stages

Each stage of development has it’s own schemes Object permanence (8-12 months)

Concrete operations stage (7- 11 yrs) Volume permanence

Piaget’s Stages of Development sensorimotor stage (birth  2) preoperational stage (2  7) concrete operational stage (7  12) formal operational stage (12  adult) Notes: -ages represent averages, not absolutes -children can be in transition from one stage to the next, exhibiting characteristics of both -as a result of maturation and experience, children proceed through the stages

Piaget: Insights for Education Learners construct knowledge through active interaction with the environment “Intelligence is not what you know, but what you do when you don’t know.” What is the usefulness of this theory for teachers? GROUP LIST AND PRINT

Lessons for Teachers Teachers should help students confront discrepant ideas to challenge their minds Provide for experimentation, discovery, hands-on events Give students opportunities to explore and manipulate