Van Fossan 1

Kathleen Van Fossan

Professor Tiffany Ofeimu
Introduction to Early Childhood Education
November 7, 2015
Jean Piaget and the Growing Child
Many post-modern theorists influenced modern early childhood education, but the
theorist that made the greatest influence is the Swiss scientist Jean Piaget. Jean Piaget, the man
accredited with creating the constructivist learning theory and the four stages of childhood
development, transformed modern early childhood education through newfound theory. The
purpose of this paper is to convince the reader that the constructivist learning theory is one of the
best approaches to early childhood education and development because it positively promotes
education through physical and mental engagement. Thus this theorist was chosen because he is
the father of the constructivist theory, and inspires teachers like me to perpetuate
developmentally appropriate curriculum in our classrooms. After reading this paper, the reader
will not only obtain a better understanding of Piagets constructivist theory, but join me in
pursuing activities and materials that promote active learning in the classroom.
First, I will explore Piagets historical background, focusing on his scientific
accomplishments. Then I will discuss how Piagets teacher and mentor, Eduard Claparede,
inspired Piaget to research child epistemology. Even at an early age, many could see Piagets
genius brewing to the surface. Born in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1896, Jean Piaget was the
oldest child of Arthur Piaget, a professor of medieval literature at the University of Neuchatel,
and Rebecca Jackson (Gonzalez and Jorge, 87). Jean Piaget wrote scientific essays on mollusks
and albino sparrows at the tender age of 11 (Gonzalez and Jorge, 87). The Natural History

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Museum of Geneva even offered Piaget a conservation position just after he graduated from high
school (Gonzalez and Jorge, 87). He then picked up a PhD in natural sciences at the University
of Neuchatel at the age of 22 (Voyat 645). He would then work as a professor of psychology,
sociology, and philosophy of sciences at his alma mater between 1925 and 1929 (Voyat 646).
After this, he would spend the next ten years working in Geneva as the Extraordinary Professor
of History of Scientific Thought at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Geneva (Voyat
646). Afterwards, he would direct the International Bureau of Education (BIE) from 1929 to
1968, and then created and directed the International Center for Genetic Epistemology in the
1950s (Voyat 646). By examining Piagets background, one can not only see Piagets genius, but
his passion for psychology and the social sciences.
However, when Piaget began studying the sciences, he showed more interest in the
natural and environmental sciences. But while Piaget worked as the chief of the laboratory at the
Institute Jean Jacques Rousseau in Geneva between 1921 and 1925, the young scientist found a
role model in the Institutes director: a renowned epistemologist named Eduard Claparede (Voyat
645). Claparede would become a major influence not only in Piagets life, but in his studies in
psychology and sociology. Piaget spent many dark nights researching Clapardes philosophies on
childrens mental processes and learning processes. One of the major concepts Claparede
discusses in his writing is a psychological term called groping. Claparede defines groping as
essentially related to the trials and errors that we observe in our mental patterns (Piaget 109).
Claparede compares learning to a bland man wandering through a hallway. Like children, the
blind man uses his senses and experiences to obtain knowledge about his surroundings.
Claparede and his philosophy on child thought processes fascinated Piaget, and he found himself
pursuing child epistemology.

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Now I will discuss Piagets primary focus in his constructivist learning theory: how
children learn through physical and mental engagement, and the different developmental stages
children go through. While Piaget was inspired by Claparedes analogy and ideologies, he
believed that there was a more definite and scientific explanation for a childs mental processes
and growth development. In his essay, The Stages of the Intellectual Development of the
Child, Piaget criticizes Claparedes definition of child intellect as groping, claiming that We
find this trial-and-error behavior in all levels of intelligencethis definition is too vague (109).
But after researching Claparedes ideas, Piaget found himself on the task of redefining how
children learn and think. Piaget went so far as to say that he was hauntedby the idea of
discovering a sort of embryology of intelligence (Jean Piaget: 1896-1980, 199). According to
George S. Morrison in the book Early Childhood Education Today, (Piagets) theory is basically
a logicomathematical theory; that is, cognitive development is perceived as consisting primarily
of logical and mathematical abilities, such as numeration, seriation, clarification, and temporal
relationships (129). As such, he formed his theory through careful and detailed observations of
infants, toddlers, and children. He observed the play of children from infancy to school age and
described the most prevalent types of play at each of those age levels, (Bergen 102). Piaget even
observed and analyzed how his own children played and grew, finding that their incorrect
answers to his questions fascinated Piaget the most, (Jean Piaget: 1896-1980, 199). These
close examinations assisted Piaget in solidifying his theory on child development.
Piaget continued to take apart Claparedes thoughts on growth by creating a new theory
with a new set of terms that describe the cycle children go through when obtaining new
knowledge: the constructivist learning theory. Through these observations, Piaget found that all
children learn best through active learning. Morrison defines active learning as the constructivist

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idea that children construct knowledge through physical and mental activity and that they are
actively involved in problem-setting and problem-solving activities, (129). In other words,
Piaget and other constructivists believe that children must be actively involved in new
experiences in order to obtain new knowledge. Morrison gives the example of a baby suckling on
new blocks (130). By putting the blocks in her mouth, the baby uses the senses in her mouth to
discover how the wooden blocks feel and taste. She also exercises the muscles in her mouth and
fingers. All of these experiences work together to promote the babys fine motor skills and
cognitive skills.
This entire process can be described as adaptation. Adaptation is defined as The process
of building schemes through interaction with the environment, (Morrison 130). Schemes, in
turn, refer to organized units of knowledge that children develop through the adaption process,
(Morrison 130). For example, by feeling the wooden block with her mouth, the baby can tell the
block is hard and can discover the texture of wood. By experiencing the world around them
through sucking, grasping, feeling, and manipulation, children create an assortment of schemes
in their mind (Piaget 110). Schemes act like the books in a childs brain (or library). They can
organize these schemes by placing them onto the same shelves or categories in their library.
Children build upon their knowledge of the world around them by using previous
schemes to help them understand new schemes. For example, when one of my students ate an
apple and watched me make the sign for apple, he assimilated the knowledge of what made it an
apple (a round fruit with a stem) and copied my sign for apple. This process is called
assimilation, which Morrison defines as, fitting new information into existing schemes, (130).
He now knows from this experience what makes an apple. However, when he saw a pumpkin
(which is a round fruit with a stem) he called it an apple. My student didnt have a separate shelf

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in his library for pumpkins, so when he saw the pumpkin, the best shelf he could find for this
schema was the shelf labelled apple. As a teacher, I need to help my student accommodate this
new information by helping him build a new, separate shelf for pumpkins. Morrison defines
accommodation as the process by which children change their way of thinking, behaving, or
believing to come into accord with reality, (130). As one can see, children can obtain a vast
amount of information through the interchangeability of assimilation and accommodation.
Through the delicate process of assimilating and accommodating new information, children
create a balance between the schemes in their library. This balance between assimilation and
accommodation is defined as equilibrium (Morrison 130). Piaget defines equilibrium best when
he wrote, equilibrium principally (acts) as a compensation for an external disturbance (110).
Through all this intersectionality between schemes through assimilation and accommodation, the
children will create a database of schemes that will be with them for a lifetime.
Now that Piaget understood how children think, he expands his theory to include at what
point children learn and grow by creating his famous stages of intellectual development. While
there are four stages of development in Piagets theories, early childhood specialists focus
primarily on the first three stages- the sensorimotor stage, the preoperational stage, and the
concrete operations stage (Piaget 110-115). Piaget described a childs first two years of life that a
child goes through as the sensorimotor stage (Piaget 110). According to Piaget, Before language
develops, there is behavior that we can call intellect, (110). Piaget gives the example of a baby
pulling on a blanket to get a toy resting on it to illustrate how a baby shows his/her intellect
(Piaget 110). Piaget further describes the sensorimotor stage as a time when the infants
schemata can be generalized in actions and are applicable to new situations, (Piaget 111).
Actions include, sucking, grasping, and gross body activities to build schemes, (Morrison

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131). Because active learning is vital during this time period, classrooms where infants and
toddlers can move and explore are essential for their growth. Despite the lack of language,
children in the sensorimotor stage use their bodies to explore their environment and obtain
schemata.
After the sensorimotor stage comes the preoperational stage. This stage starts when the
child is about two years old and continues till they are approximately seven years old (Morrison
132). Morrison characterizes the preoperational stage not only as the stage where language skills
accelerate, but as the point when young children are capable of mental representations, (132).
For example, at this stage a child can see a picture of an apple and understand that it symbolizes
an apple in the real world (Morrison 132). According to Piaget, thanks to language, and to the
symbolic functions, it becomes possible to invoke objects which are not present perceptually,
(113). They also, believe that everyone thinks as they think and act as they do for the same
reason, (Morrison 133). This attitude, defined as egocentrism, highlights how children at this
stage cannot easily display empathy for others (Morrison 133). Preoperational children also
struggle with conservation (Morrison 133). If you pour water from a tall, clear glass into a flatter
glass, the child in the preoperational stage wonders why the water disappeared. Characterized by
accelerated language skills and an understanding of symbols, preoperational children still
struggle with empathy and conservation.
From about age seven to about age twelve children go through the concrete operations
stage. According to Morrison, this stage of cognitive development is when the, childrens
thought is logical and can organize concrete experiences (134). Several processes characterize
the concrete operations stage, including one-to-one correspondence (counting and matching
objects), classification of objects, events, and time (can classify events that occur before or after

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lunch), classification involving multiple properties (grouping objects by shape, size, and color),
and class inclusive operations (can classify orange, apples, and bananas as fruit) (Morrison 134).
In his article Development and Learning, Piaget, calls these concrete operations because they
operate on objects, and not yet on verbally expressed hypotheses (7). In other words, these
children cannot think on an abstract level yet, but through the use of object, children in the
concrete operations stage begin to think more complexly than children in the other two stages.
Finally, I will discuss how Piagets theory not only influenced early childhood education,
but how he positively influences me to implement more sensory and large motor activities in my
classroom. As one can see, Piagets constructivist learning theory of child development is
concise, scientific, and detailed. Piaget research his subject so well that his theories still impact
present day ideas on early childhood education. Constructivist beliefs on active learning through
direct experience greatly influenced both the HighScope curriculum and the Reggio Emilia
curriculum (Morrison 135). In fact, the HighScope curriculum is primarily based on Piagets
theories and ideas on child development (Morrison 153). The major ingredient in Piagets theory,
active learning, is now the core of HighScopes Wheel of Learning, and teachers constantly draw
on childrens interests and previous experiences to build new schemata in their childrens minds
(Morrison 160-161). In fact, all the key developmental indicators that the developers of the
HighScope curriculum created stem from Piagets idea of active learning and his theory on how
children think and grow. Without Piagets idea of active learning, the premise of HighScope
curriculum wouldnt exist, let alone the HighScope curriculum altogether.
In addition, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
supports Piagets belief in developmental growth (Key Messages of the Position Statement).
According to the NAEYC, developmentally appropriate practice requires both meeting children

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where they areand enabling them to reach goals that are both challenging and achievable,
(Key Messages of the Position Statement). In other words, as teachers, the NAEYC says our
job is to help children continue to grow. Author and teacher Ellen Duckworth supports the
NAEYCs words when she writes, What we must do in education is to realize the limits of
childrens understanding at certain ages, and plan our teaching so it falls within these limits,
(172). The NAEYC would take into account Piagets stages of development in that it promotes
teachers helping their students reach the next stage in developmental growth.
This is where Piagets theory inspires my theory the most. I am preparing my students to
move out of the sensorimotor stage to the preoperational stage. In order to provide my students
with the assistance they need, I make sure to include many activities that perpetuates active
learning, such as nature walks and color/shape hunts in the classroom. I also make sure to use
sensory materials like play-dough, cushions, pool noodles, and water to perpetuate active
learning. In order to further promote constructivist techniques in my classroom, I try to associate
new information with my childrens past experiences in order to help them maintain equilibrium
in their learning process. For example, when we talk about the color red, we point out red things
in our classroom. I also make sure to constantly follow my childrens interests and use those
interests to seek out teachable moments. For Halloween, we made a pumpkin volcano with a
hallow pumpkin, baking soda, vinegar, and food dye. My students loved it, and wanted to drop
plastic and rubber bugs into the vinegar. So we ended up doing a drop-or-sink experiment with
different objects that we found around our classroom. However, Piaget also challenges me to
seek new way to prepare my children to enter the preoperational stage. By helping my toddlers
develop their language skills through one-on-one conversations and positive interactions, I will
be able to create a challenging yet supportive environment that scaffolds my childrens growth.

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In conclusion, Jean Piaget completely changed the way we understand early childhood
development and epistemology. Branching away from a popular scientist of his time period, Jean
Piaget completely changed what child epistemology looks like. By defining active learning and
describing the four stages of childhood cognitive development, Jean Piaget scientifically and
precisely marked the natural growth of a child from infancy to school age through his
constructivist theory. This theory not only helped create modern curriculums like Reggio Emilia
and HighScope, but encourage teachersincluding myselfto utilize activities that perpetuate
active learning in our classrooms. The reader should see how much Piaget has influenced early
child education and consider using constructivist techniques in their own classrooms.

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Works Cited
Bergen, D. Psychological Approaches to the Study of Play. American Journal of Play. 8.1
(2015): 101-128. Print.
Duckworth, Ellen. Piaget Rediscovered. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. 2.1 (1964):
172-175. Print.
Gonzalez, Maria Elena Jorge, and Ricardo Arencibia Jorge. The psychological and pedagogical
thought of Jean Piaget. Journal of Psychology. 20.1 (2003): 87. Print.
Jean Piaget: 1896-1980. Society for Science & the Public. 118.13 (1980): 199. Print.
Key Messages of the Position Statement. National Association for the Education of Young
Children. 2009. http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/KeyMessages.pdf
Piaget, Jean. Development and Learning. Piaget Rediscovered. Ed. R.E. Ripple and V.N.
Rockcastle. Ithica: Cornell University, 1964. 7-20. Print.
Morrison, George S. Early Childhood Education Today. 12th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.,
2012. Print.
Piaget, Jean. The Stages of the Intellectual Development of the Child. Topics in Child
Psychology. Ed. Sheldon S. Brown. New York: MSS Educational Publishing Company,
1970. 109-116. Print.
Prof. Jean Piaget: A Moving Picture World. The Science News-Letter. 30.805 (1936): 167, 174.
Print.
Voyat, Gilbert. Jean Piaget: 1896-1980. University of Illinois Press. 94.4 (1981): 645-648.
Print.