He has been called one of the most influential psychologists of the twentieth century.
“Our problem, from the point of view of psychology and from the point of view of genetic epistemology, is to explain how the transition is made from a lower level of knowledge to a level that is judged to be higher.”– Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland in 1896 and studied and wrote extensively until he died in 1980. He combined an early interest in biology and later philosophy (epistemology) and psychology into a life-long study and investigation of how children learn. Piaget is primarily known for his theory of four developmental stages that are genetically determined and proceed in sequence. Although Piaget was very well known in Europe in the pre-war years, it was not until the 1950’s that his theories became accepted in the United States, overcame the strong position of the Behaviourists and began to influence pedagogy and learning theory. His theory led to profound changes in the teaching and learning taking place in North American classrooms starting in the 1960’s.
Piaget began his academic career at the early age of 11 (albino sparrows and the classification of molluscs) and went on to study at the University of Neuchâtel (zoology), then in Zurich and Paris (psychology) until he returned to teach at the University of Geneva. He married Valentine Châtenay in 1923 and had three children whose intellectual development he studied as they matured.
Read more about Piaget’s life here.
Career Path and Highlights:
Stage 1: the Sociological Model of Development – 1920’s
He concluded that children transform from egocentric to socio-centric as they mature.
Stage 2: the Biological Model of Intellectual Development – 1930’s
He concluded, especially after observing his own children that there is a process of assimilation of new things into existing knowledge and accommodation where different things then change the way of thinking to incorporate the new (ie assimilation fails and so the new thing is accommodated).
Link to explanation here.
Stage 3: the Elaboration of the Logical Model of Intellectual Development – 1940’s to 60’s
He famously concluded that there are four developmental stages related to age that are sequential and cannot be skipped. A child must construct and then reconstruct knowledge through each stage in a step by step process.
These videos show examples of the Development Stages:
1. Sensorimotor Stage video is here.
2. Preoperational Stage video is here.
3. Concrete Operational video is here.
4. Formal Operational vieo is here.
Which stage is this?
Stage 4: the Study of Figurative Thought – 70’s on
He studied figurative processes and concluded that perception and memory are not logical and cannot be reversed.
Overview prezi here.
If you’d like to read more about genetic epistomology, here are two links.
Teaching Applications
USING WHAT WE KNOW: APPLYING PIAGET’S DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY IN PRIMARY CLASSROOMS
Please watch this video.
This film (featuring Dr. David Elkind) promotes “creating an attractive and supportive learning environment” and focuses on Four Principles based on Piaget’s theories.
Four Principles from the video:
- Fluency precedes accuracy
- Children process information differently at each stage of development
- Horizontal elaboration precedes vertical integration
- Documentation is the best method of assessing progress (ie portfolios)
Here are some links to Piaget teaching applications. Consider exploring them before answering the discussion questions.
Video of Piaget in action in a math class.
Online lecture on classroom use.
Webpage on Piaget and ICT use.
Link to teaching applications.
Discussion questions:
- Think of an example in your own teaching (or perhaps parenting or other dealings with children) of one of the stages of development as outlined by Piaget. What could you do to ensure that a learning activity would be appropriate for that stage?
- What do you think about the suggestion that some adults never achieve the formal operational stage? How would this apply to teaching adults?
- Some educators believe that Piaget is “out of favour”. Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Explain.
- The film was made in 1991. Do you think these 4 principles still apply nearly 20 years later?
Further reading:
Implications for Teaching: http://calteach.ucsc.edu/aboutus/documents/Webb-Piaget.pdf
Critiques and use with adults: http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Piaget%27s_Stages
References:
Campbell, R. (1997). Jean Piaget’s Genetic Epistemology: Appreciation and Critique. This is a revised version of two lectures presented at the Institute of Objectivist Studies Summer Seminar, Charlottesville, VA, July 7 and 8, 1997. Available online at:
http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~campber/piaget.html
Piaget, J. (1968). Genetic Epistemology: A series of lectures delivered by Piaget at Columbia University, Published by Columbia University Press, translated by Eleanor Duckworth. Available online at:
http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/piaget.htm
http://www.indiana.edu/~p540alex/P540Fall02/unit5.html
http://www.piaget.org/aboutPiaget.html
http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/assimacc.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue8y-JVhjS0&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLj0IZFLKvg&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA04ew6Oi9M&feature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjJdcXA1KH8&feature=related
http://prezi.com/h5pzszxcl_zd/developmental-approaches-to-learning-piaget/
http://www.devpsy.org/teaching/theory/piaget_ge.html
http://tip.psychology.org/piaget.html
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4532349936869736440#
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xexpk1_piaget-davidson-films-adicao-e-subt_tech
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzRYA9cFMaQ
http://ace.schoolnet.org.za/cd/ukzncore1a/activities/core1_activity8.htm