Piagetian Structures and Psychological Constructivism

Soltis, J.F. & Philips, D.C. (2009). Perspectives on Learning. Piagetian structures and psychological constructivism. Chapter 5, p. 41-51.

This reading discusses Piaget idea of learning through the function of thinking and learning in terms of structure. He did not study chimpanzees but humans, his children. He believed that the growing child was always busy creating cognitive structures. The child passes through different stages and creates a schema for each of the complex activities until finally its mental structure is close to that of an adult. Despite the criticism, Piaget's theory provided a new approach to understanding learners in the classroom.

According to Piaget structures are real and unobservable schemas of collected and organized information. Functions are carried out through different structures like the heart and lungs, so learning is carried out in the same way, through cognitive structures. Piaget's theory is related to learning because he describes three stages that children go through and it is important as educators to know what stage students are at to make expectations that will best fit their capabilities. His theory made educators aware of stages of development, importance of experience, important role of principles and the significance of organization.