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Jean Piaget:
Changing Education and Psychology by Exploring
Children’s Cognitive Development
Sacia Gilbertson
Junior Division
Historical Paper
Paper Length: 2292 words
The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who
are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.
Jean Piaget, 1952 1
In 1923, Jean Piaget published his first book on child psychology: The Language
and Thoughts of the Child. During his lifetime, he published over fifty books and was
credited with numerous theories. The most famous of these theories is widely 2
considered to be his four stages of cognitive development, which, along with his other
theories, all came together to change education as the world knew it. At the time of his
death in 1980, educators understood children’s brains better than ever before. When
Jean Piaget explored the mental development of children, he opened educators’ eyes to
their students’ abilities and limits, promoted reform in schools internationally, and
inspired innumerable psychologists to research children rather than just adults, which led
to more effective education methods and student success, changing education and
psychology altogether.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, children were often seen as
miniature adults, expected to function the same way their elders did. When faced with
children’s failure to do so, adults assumed the children to be stupid and incapable. This
notion was prevalent even in education. Adults were the focus of all psychological study, 3
1 Jervis, Kathe, and Arthur Tobier. Education for Democracy: Proceedings from the Cambridge School Conference on Progressive Education, October,1987. Weston, MA: Cambridge School, 1988. Print. 2 Boeree, C. George. "Piaget." Personality Theories. N.p., 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2016. <http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html>. 3 "Pioneers in Our Field: Jean Piaget Champion of Children's Ideas."Scholastic. Scholastic, Inc., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2016. <http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/pioneersourfieldjeanpiagetchampionchildrensideas>.
2
simply because people did not fathom that children were any different. According to
author Irving King in 1903, “Psychology… is intimately related to the work of the
teacher… but in main, the psychology (studied by educators) is constructed from adult
life. The assumption has been made that whatever is true of the adult mind is true also of
the childmind.” Suppositions were made about children and how their intellectual 4
capabilities related to that of adults, and no one had ever really thought to challenge
them. People thought that children’s brains functioned the same way as adults’, so the
fact that teaching methods were devised to meet adults’ needs rather than children’s did
not seem inadequate at the time. Later, Piaget’s observations made it clear that those
approaches were inaccurate.
Psychology itself was a new concept when Piaget began his work. Although
psychological thought is believed to have dated back to ancient Greek times, with
philosophers such as Aristotle and Socrates, it was not until the late nineteenth century
that psychology was recognized as a branch of science rather than a branch of
philosophy. In 1879, the first experimental psychology lab was established in Germany, 5
which helped reinforce the distinction between the two branches. 6
4 King, Irving. "Child Psychology, Its Validity and Aims." The Psychology of the Child. Chicago, Illinois: U of Chicago, 1903. 115. Google Scholar. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KMUZAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=irving+king+the+psychology+of+the+child&ots=_OeomY_yfP&sig=vTcGQrgm_AQ0xdOuaxFLjTWeQ#v=onepage&q=irving%20king%20the%20psychology%20of%20the%20child&f=false>. 5 "History of Psychology." History of Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.mindfocus.net/nc00300.html>. 6 "History of Psychology." History of Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015. <http://www.mindfocus.net/nc00300.html>.
3
Child psychology was even newer. In the early twentieth century, psychoanalyst
Melanie Klein developed various behavioral therapy methods specifically for children. 7
This showed the clear distinction between the child’s mind and the adult’s, which helped
to bring awareness to the differences between the two life phases. Sigmund Freud, also
a psychoanalyst, was even more helpful to child psychology. He theorized about 8
children just as Piaget did. The biggest difference between the two was that while Freud
concentrated on why children thought about what they did, Piaget was engrossed in
exploring how children thought. 9
Born in 1896, Piaget entered life when ideas about children's capabilities or lack
thereof were widespread. At the age of ten he began publishing papers of varying
subject matter, and his profound knowledge concerning mollusks earned him an
internship at the Museum of Natural History in Neuchatel, Switzerland. During his teen 10
years, he found a book on philosophy in his father’s home library. As he read it, he made
a realization that sparked his interest in psychology, saying that he “became convinced
very quickly that most of the problems in philosophy were problems of knowledge, and
that most problems of knowledge were problems of biology.” With some help, he 11
learned more about philosophy and its connection to human thought (the study of which
is called “epistemology”). From that moment on, Piaget dedicated his life to the exploring
7 PSYCHOTHERAPY Melanie Klein. Prod. Mad Adam. The School of Life, 2015. YouTube. Google Inc., 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU3iSW6WTo8>. 8 Thornton, Stephen F. "Sigmund Freud." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/freud/>. 9 Pound, Linda. How Children Learn: From Montessori to Vygotsky Educational Theories and Approaches Made Easy. Vol. 1. Leamington Spa: Step Forward Pub., 2005. 39. Print. 10 Boeree, C. George. "Piaget." Personality Theories. N.p., 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2016. <http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html>. 11Hall, Elizabeth. A Conversation with Jean Piaget and Bärbel Inhelder. Psychology Today, New York, v. 3, N. 12, P. 2532. May, 1970
4
psychology and epistemology, specializing in children during different phases of their
youth.
After graduating college, Piaget worked for Alfred Binet, a French psychologist
responsible for creating one of the first measures of intelligence in a test format. He 12
was tasked with standardizing Binet’s tests for the children of Paris. He admitted, though,
that he did not actually do the work he was supposed to do, saying “I preferred to study
the errors on the test. I became interested in the reasoning behind the children’s wrong
answers.” Essentially, Piaget tried to figure out what children struggled with in the 13
questions they got incorrect. In his exploration, he noticed that children of similar ages
tended to make similar mistakes; this led him to conclude that children went through
different stages of development during their childhoods. The result of this conclusion and
multiple of the other studies which he carried out was his famous theory regarding
cognitive development. This theory, in short, says that throughout ages 011, children go
through four developmental stages: sensorimotor (ages 02), preoperational (27),
concrete operational (711), and formal operations (11+). 14
Piaget’s developmental stages described outline how people’s abilities change
throughout their youngest years. Children in the sensorimotor stage, infants to young
toddlers, work on coordination of their senses and motor skills. Preoperationalaged
children, toddlers to schoolaged, start to develop the ability to think symbolically and are
12 "Alfred Binet." Human Intelligence. N.p., 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2016. <http://www.intelltheory.com/binet.shtml>. 13 Hall, Elizabeth. A Conversation with Jean Piaget and Bärbel Inhelder. Psychology Today, New York, v. 3, N. 12, P. 2532. May, 1970 14 Dean, Jeremy. "Jean Piaget's FourStage Theory: How Children Acquire Knowledge PsyBlog." PsyBlog RSS. N.p., 22 July 2008. Web. 06 Jan. 2016. <http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/07/jeanpiagetsfourstagetheoryhow.php>.
5
able to use proper grammar in order to express full concepts. Children between the ages
of seven and eleven are considered concrete operational and can understand concepts
regarding concrete situations. The final stage, formal operations, applies to children ages
eleven and older. They are capable of more complex and abstract thought, and strategy
is more possible. Piaget points out multiple times that while most children do get 15
through all of the developmental stages, the age ranges are simply a generalization and
that some children may move through them more or less quickly than others. 16
Jean Piaget also focused heavily on exploring how children’s interaction with
physical objects impact the child’s learning. He mentioned continuously throughout his
works that humans’ actions are nothing without the objects they perform them on. He
said in an interview, “Some think I am an empiricist because I talk about objects. But they
forget that objects in themselves mean nothing until we do something with them. My
position is that human knowledge comes from what we do to objects. Others think I am
an innatist because I give importance to our actions. But they forget that our actions are
carried out on objects. There is always an interaction between ourselves and objects. So,
I am neither an empiricist nor an innatist. I am a constructivist. Knowledge is not
readymade. Each of us is continually creating our own knowledge. We are continually
organizing what we know, structuring and restructuring our knowledge.” He not only 17
believed that objects are key in obtaining information, but he also believed that
15 "Jean Piaget." Simply Psychology. N.p., 17 Sept. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2015. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html>. 16 Sandwell, J. "Piaget's Stage Theory of Development." Piaget's Stage Theory of Development. N.p., 17 Nov. 1995. Web. 31 Jan. 2016. <http://penta.ufrgs.br/edu/telelab/3/piaget's.htm>. 17 Piaget on Piaget. Dir. Jean William Fritz Piaget. Perf. Jean Piaget. Yale University Media Design Studio, 1977. YouTube. Google, 1 May 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XwjIruMI94>.
6
knowledge constantly grows. There is really no stopping point in a person’s capability
because it is always possible to keep learning through new encounters.
Piaget encountered praise from psychologists internationally for this concept. “His
stress on the interaction of biological functions and the structure of the environment,
elaborated in more than 60 years of research, was, in the opinion of many psychologists
and education specialists, as liberating and revolutionizing as Sigmund Freud’s earlier
insights into the stage development of human emotional life. Many hailed him as one of
the century’s most creative scientific thinkers.” Piaget’s exploration of the human brain 18
impacted psychology in a way that only few people have ever been able to. His
significance to the science earned him much respect, and he undoubtedly earned every
bit of it.
By exchanging these theories with the worlds of psychology and epistemology,
Piaget opened professionals in these fields’ eyes to children’s minds. Although the extent
of his influence is difficult to track, Piaget’s discoveries notably shaped the work of
psychologists including Bärbel Inhelder, whom Piaget himself had worked with on
occasion, and Lawrence Kohlberg, a specialist in children’s ethical motives and 19
development. Both of these psychologists also contributed heavily to psychology on 20
their own, and Piaget’s influence was crucial to their discoveries. Piaget affected
countless others in childrelated sciences and will continue to do so for years to come.
18 "Professor Jean Piaget." The Times [London] 18 Sept. 1980: 16. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 8 Jan. 2016. <http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/wr7x1>. 19 "Bärbel Inhelder." Psychology. Net Industries, 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/335/BRbelInhelder.html>. 20 Beauchamp, Anne. "Kohlberg, Lawrence 19271987." Education.com. Education.com, Inc., 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2016. <http://www.education.com/reference/article/kohlberglawrence19271987/>.
7
While he gained lots of positive recognition for his work, Piaget also encountered
criticism, especially for his developmental stages theories. Dr. Tesia Marshik, a professor
at University of Wisconsin La Crosse who specializes in developmental and educational
psychology, says that one common criticism was that “a lot of people questioned how
useful the stages were. They tell us in general how people go through these stages, but
they don’t tell us what any one student is capable of because it’s just looking at
averages.” Piaget’s stage theory is helpful if you want to explore how a typical child 21
develops, but it does not account for every individual.
Piaget exchanged his ideas with the world by writing books. In the years after
each of his books were published, the theories they proposed were introduced into the
education world. As a result of the conclusions drawn within these works, educators
began contemplating changes in their teaching methods. People who interacted with
children the most now knew more about how children's brains worked, which in turn led
to education reform. “More importantly, really revolutionary changes in the whole field 22
of education and human relations seems to be a direct consequence of a deeper
understanding of Piaget’s theory. Who dares to guess how our primary education would
change if teachers really took seriously Piaget’s proposition that knowledge is an
operation that constructs its objects?” That quote was from a book written in 1969, and 23
since then, teachers have taken Piaget’s propositions seriously. His theories explored an
21 Marshik, Tesia. "How Piaget Influenced Education." Telephone interview. 10 Mar. 2016. 22 Chhin, Christina. "Program Announcement: Mathematics and Science Education CFDA 84.305A." Program Announcement: Mathematics and Science Education CFDA 84.305A. Institution of Education Sciences, 2016. Web. 30 Jan. 2016. <https://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncer_rfas/mathsci.asp>. 23 Furth, Hans G. "On Asking the Right Question." Piaget and Knowledge; Theoretical Foundations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall, 1969. 311. Print.
8
area of the human brain that had never before been studied, and the results were pivotal
in education for children and even teenagers.
All disciplines and age groups have benefitted from a more kinestheticbased
education, especially math and science. Math departments have reformed their
curriculums starting in primary schools and going all the way to postsecondary levels. Ed
Dubinsky, a math professor at Kent State University said, “Mathematical training should
be prepared, starting at nursery school, by a series of exercises related to logic and
numbers, lengths and surfaces, etc. and this type of concrete activity must be developed
and enriched constantly in a very systematic way during the entire elementary education
into physical and elementary mechanical experiments. On these terms, strictly
mathematical education is grounded in its natural surroundings of equivalency to objects,
and will give full scope to the education which would have remained purely verbal or
graphic.” He asserts that his school could benefit from a more Piagetian approach to 24
mathematics. Because math can have such abstract elements, it can be very difficult for
students to grasp. By exchanging traditional teaching methods with more visual and
handson styles, Dubinsky thinks that students will be better able to comprehend new
information. This is a concept that was recognized constantly by Jean Piaget.
Professions in sciences other than psychology and education were also enthralled
by the theories and concepts in Piaget’s books. Odvard Egril Dyrli, a University of
Pennsylvania professor, wrote, “As a doctoral student, I had been captivated by Piaget’s
theories that children pass through four major intellectual development stages, which
24 Dubinsky, Ed. Applying a Piagetian Perspective to PostSecondary Mathematics Education. N.p., 18 Nov. 2000. Web. 19 Jan. 2016. <http://www.math.kent.edu/~edd/EducMatArt.pdf>.
9
influenced federally funded “labcentered” curriculum programs of the era particularly in
science and math.” The impact of Piaget’s theories in various sciences has clearly 25
been tremendous. Also, Dyrli is correct in saying that the government has funded
discovery based education; there have been various federal funds for mathematical and
sciencerelated education reforms. When teachers are trained, they are now required to 26
learn about Piaget’s theories. Today, students encounter kinesthetic demonstrations in 27
all classes, although primarily math and sciences.
Students, when exposed to handson education, have proven to learn more
effectively, just like Piaget had expected. In 1971, a study conducted on eight to
tenyearold students found that those who were taught mathematics using concrete
materials performed significantly better than those strictly taught verbally. The students 28
retain information more effectively, and as a result become more erudite adults. In fact,
Northern Arizona University directly credits handson learning in elementary through
secondary education as a contributing factor towards success in STEM based fields. 29
Research has indicated that students benefit academically from Piagetian
education approaches. Additionally, students are encountering a more enjoyable learning
25 Dyrli, Odvard Egril. "Teaching/learning Legacy of Piaget: Active Learning Is Essential to Education Success." District Administration May 2013: 10. Research in Context. Web. 18 Jan. 2016. <http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A329899184&v=2.1&u=hol40923&it=r&p=MSIC&sw=w&asid=5b016f34586a5c21069d301e40158510>. 26 Chhin, Christina. "Program Announcement: Mathematics and Science Education CFDA 84.305A." Program Announcement: Mathematics and Science Education CFDA 84.305A. Institution of Education Sciences, 2016. Web. 30 Jan. 2016. <https://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncer_rfas/mathsci.asp>. 27 Pound, Linda. How Children Learn: From Montessori to Vygotsky Educational Theories and Approaches Made Easy. Vol. 1. Leamington Spa: Step Forward Pub., 2005. 39. Print. 28 Curry, R. D. Arithmetic Achievement as a Factor of Concrete, Semi Concrete, and Abstract Teaching Methods. Rep. N.p.: n.p., 1971. George Peabody College for Teachers. Web. 2 Apr. 2016. 29 Benford, Russell, and Julie GessNewsome. Factors Affecting Student Academic Success in Gateway Courses at Northern Arizona University. Northern Arizona University. Arizona Board of Regents, 24 May 2006. Web. 2 Apr. 2016. <http://www2.nau.edu/~facdevp/TR/Factors.pdf>.
10
experience as a result of these approaches. The National Foundation for Educational
Research says that “there is general agreement that practicals and experiments make
science more enjoyable and more fun. Particular value is to be gained when students are
actively involved in these activities rather than watching demonstrations by the teacher.“
Teaching approaches that involve experiments are much more interesting to students, 30
as opposed to approaches involving rote memorization or passive learning.
Jean Piaget’s goal had always been for schools to teach students to think for
themselves and form their own ideas based upon how they see things. Now, in this 31
world that is constantly evolving in technology, medicine, mathematics, and other fields,
it appears as though they have done just that. Piaget has left a lasting legacy in the fields
of psychology and education. In his exploration of children’s mental development, Jean
Piaget advocated for much needed change in schools internationally by making teachers
aware of what students were capable of, as well as inspiring psychologists to broaden
their studies to include children. As a result, educational success is much more
attainable than it ever was before and students are encountering more engaging classes.
By exploring children’s brains and intellectual ability, Piaget was able to devise his
revolutionary theories about youth cognitive development. When he exchanged his
ideas with others in his fields, the world was changed.
30 Exploring Young People's Views on Science Education. Rep. National Foundation for Educational Research, Sept. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2016. <http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/stellent/groups/corporatesite/@msh_peda/documents/web_document/wtvm052732.pdf>. 31 Jervis, Kathe, and Arthur Tobier. Education for Democracy: Proceedings from the Cambridge School Conference on Progressive Education, October,1987. Weston, MA: Cambridge School, 1988. Print.
11
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Benford, Russell, and Julie GessNewsome. Factors Affecting Student Academic
Success in Gateway Courses at Northern Arizona University. Northern Arizona
University. Arizona Board of Regents, 24 May 2006. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
<http://www2.nau.edu/~facdevp/TR/Factors.pdf>.
This PDF was written by two Northern Arizona University professors about what
they felt adequately prepared students for STEM based fields in college. They
said that handson education was one of the biggest contributors towards
success, which is exactly what Piaget advocated for. This is helpful to my project
because it shows that Piaget’s theories were correct and that students do benefit
from exploration based education.
Chhin, Christina. "Program Announcement: Mathematics and Science Education CFDA
84.305A." Program Announcement: Mathematics and Science Education CFDA
84.305A. Institution of Education Sciences, 2016. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.
<https://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncer_rfas/mathsci.asp>.
This web page is about a government funded program regarding math and
sciences in schools. Much of the current views on math and science teaching
comes from what Piaget once suggested, so it helps me see how influential Piaget
is, even still, forty years later.
12
Dubinsky, Ed. Applying a Piagetian Perspective to PostSecondary Mathematics
Education. N.p., 18 Nov. 2000. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.math.kent.edu/~edd/EducMatArt.pdf>.
This paper, written by a math professor at Georgia State University, talked about
how the theories of Jean Piaget remain applicable throughout even college level
math. As it was written in 2000, it shows how Piaget's work is still used by very
high level people even decades after his death, which certainly helps me to show
the longterm importance of my topic, as well as providing an extensive list of the
sources the author used, which I can use to further my own research.
Einstein, Albert. Albert Einstein on Jean Piaget. N.d. Quote.
This Albert Einstein quote about Jean Piaget's work discussed how Einstein felt
about Piaget's theories. He quite obviously loved what Piaget had come up with,
saying that he was a "genius." Coming from THE genius himself, it helped me see
how wellreceived his theories were.
Hall, Elizabeth. A Conversation with Jean Piaget and Bärbel Inhelder. Psychology Today,
New York, v. 3, N. 12, P. 2532. May, 1970.
This interview with Jean Piaget discussed Piaget's start as a psychologist, and his
views on the work he had done at the time. He spent a lot of time further
explaining what he meant in his books, which gave me lots of insight into his mind
and theories. I obtained a lot of great quotes from this interview and it will be very
helpful in my project.
13
Jervis, Kathe, and Arthur Tobier. Education for Democracy: Proceedings from the
Cambridge School Conference on Progressive Education, October,1987. Weston,
MA: Cambridge School, 1988. Print.
This book is about a conference at Cambridge college about education. This
book includes quotes by Jean Piaget that basically summarize his goals in
researching child psychology. These quotes helped me see how passionate
Piaget was about his work.
King, Irving. "Child Psychology, Its Validity and Aims." The Psychology of the Child.
Chicago, Illinois: U of Chicago, 1903. 115. Google Scholar. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
<https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KMUZAAAAYAAJ&oi=fnd&pg=P
R1&dq=irving+king+the+psychology+of+the+child&ots=_OeomY_yfP&sig=vTcGQ
rgm_AQ0xdOuaxFLjTWeQ#v=onepage&q=irving%20king%20the%20psycholog
y%20of%20the%20child&f=false>.
This book, published in 1903, discussed the author's feelings towards primary
education and how people looked at child psychology as compared to adult
psychology. It was incredibly helpful in that it gave me an abundance of insight
into the education and view of children's abilities during the time it was written.
The book is great to use for comparison to more recent psychological views,
which helps me to see just how drastically psychology has changed in the last
century or so.
Marshik, Tesia. "How Piaget Influenced Education." Telephone interview. 10 Mar. 2016.
14
This interview was extremely helpful to my project. Dr. Marshik is an expert on
Piaget's work and impact on education and psychology, and getting to speak with
her gave me the chance to ask specific questions that I could not find answers to
in books or online. I learned a great deal about Piaget, which helped me make my
project more informational.
Piaget, Jean. The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York: International
Universities, 1952. University of Pittsburgh. University of Pittsburgh. Web. 20 Jan.
2016. <http://www.pitt.edu/~strauss/origins_r.pdf>.
This book written by Piaget himself talks about intelligence in children and how it
changes throughout different developmental stages and ages. I obtained lots of
great quotes and information from this book that will most definitely help my
project.
Piaget, Jean. To Understand Is To Invent: The Future of Education. New York, New
York: Viking, 1972. UNESDOC. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
<http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0000/000061/006133eo.pdf>.
This book, written by Jean Piaget himself, talks a lot about the educational
implications of his theories, particularly in mathematics. It helped me to see more
clearly his view on the education at the time that he was alive and how his
publications could change that, at least in his opinion.
Piaget on Piaget. Dir. Jean William Fritz Piaget. Perf. Jean Piaget. Yale University Media
Design Studio, 1977. YouTube. Google, 1 May 2013. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XwjIruMI94>.
15
This is a film created by Piaget on his thoughts regarding his works. It helped me
better understand what he meant in his theories, and I obtained some really good
quotes to use in my project.
"Professor Jean Piaget." The Times [London] 18 Sept. 1980: 16. The Times Digital
Archive. Web. 8 Jan. 2016. <http://tinyurl.galegroup.com/tinyurl/wr7x1>.
This was an obituary for Jean Piaget. Since it, as obituaries tend to, highlighted
Piaget's life and his finest moments and accomplishments, it helped me see what
the common people thought of Piaget's work. I obtained some good quotes from
this obituary that I will hopefully be able to use in my project.
Secondary Sources
"Alfred Binet." Human Intelligence. N.p., 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 25 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.intelltheory.com/binet.shtml>.
This web page discussed Alfred Binet, one of the people responsible for creating
a test to measure human intellect (the IQ test). Piaget was employed by Binet,
which helped Piaget to find resources to further his own research as a
psychologist. This helped me understand Binet's work, which then helped me see
how Piaget obtained his start with psychology.
Atherton, J S. " Assimilation and Accommodation." Learning, Teaching. N.p., 2013. Web.
31 Jan. 2016. <http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/assimacc.htm>.
This web page talked about accommodation and assimilation, two of the areas of
psychology that Jean Piaget focused most seriously on. Understanding what
16
Piaget meant when he talked about those two concepts helps me to make more
sense of what Piaget said in his works.
"Average SAT Math Scores in the Period of 19862013." Breaking News Blast. N.p., n.d.
Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.breakingnewsblast.com/category/raceandintelligence/>.
This chart shows the average SAT math scores every year since 1986. There has
been improvement overall, which shows that lab based education reforms have
helped students. I will use it in my project to show how much Piaget has positively
influenced education.
Beauchamp, Anne. "Kohlberg, Lawrence 19271987." Education.com. Education.com,
Inc., 2009. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.education.com/reference/article/kohlberglawrence19271987/>.
This web page talked about Lawrence Kohlberg, a child psychologist who was
influenced by Jean Piaget. Kohlberg was very successful on his own, and much of
his work was dependent upon the work that Piaget did. It helped me to see how
much of an influence Piaget had on psychology.
Boeree, C. George. "Piaget." Personality Theories. N.p., 2006. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
<http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/piaget.html>.
This web page explains the different stages of Piaget's four stages of cognitive
development, as well as Piaget himself and his lifetime accomplishments. It
helped me to understand what his theories really meant and how successful he
17
was throughout his life. I will be using this information in my project to explain and
introduce Piaget's accomplishments more.
"BäRbel Inhelder." Psychology. Net Industries, 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
<http://psychology.jrank.org/pages/335/BRbelInhelder.html>.
This website talked about Barbel Inhelder, a successful child psychologist. Her
work was influenced tremendously by Jean Piaget. This helped me see just how
much Piaget was responsible for in the psychology world.
Curry, R. D. Arithmetic Achievement as a Factor of Concrete, Semi Concrete, and
Abstract Teaching Methods. Rep. N.p.: n.p., 1971. George Peabody College for
Teachers. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
This study was conducted on eight to ten year old students to determine whether
concrete objects used to assist teaching students math had any effect on their
performance. Piaget’s theories suggested that they would, and the study found
that they did cause students to perform better. This is helpful because it shows
just how accurate and helpful Piaget’s work was in education.
Dean, Jeremy. "Jean Piaget's FourStage Theory: How Children Acquire Knowledge
PsyBlog." PsyBlog RSS. N.p., 22 July 2008. Web. 06 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.spring.org.uk/2008/07/jeanpiagetsfourstagetheoryhow.php>.
This online article was a summary of Piaget's theories and the immediate reaction
of the people. It helped me to see the short term impact, and I found many good
quotes that will be helpful in my project.
18
Dubinsky, Ed. Applying a Piagetian Perspective to PostSecondary Mathematics
Education. N.p., 18 Nov. 2000. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.math.kent.edu/~edd/EducMatArt.pdf>.
This paper, written by a math professor at Georgia State University, talked about
how the theories of Jean Piaget remain applicable throughout even college level
math. As it was written in 2000, it shows how Piaget's work is still used by very
high level people even decades after his death, which certainly helps me to show
the longterm importance of my topic, as well as providing an extensive list of the
sources the author used, which I can use to further my own research.
Dyrli, Odvard Egril. "Teaching/learning Legacy of Piaget: Active Learning Is Essential to
Education Success." District Administration May 2013: 10. Research in Context.
Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A329899184&v=2.1&u=hol40923&it=r
&p=MSIC&sw=w&asid=5b016f34586a5c21069d301e40158510>.
This magazine article talks about the author’s admiration for Piaget and his
theories and how they influenced education. It helped me see how highly
esteemed Piaget really is in the education world, and I obtained some good
quotes and references to other articles and papers that I will be able to use in my
project.
Exploring Young People's Views on Science Education. Rep. National Foundation for
Educational Research, Sept. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
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<http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/stellent/groups/corporatesite/@msh_peda/documents/
web_document/wtvm052732.pdf>.
This report is on how students feel about labs in science classes. It shows how
much more students enjoy learning when they explore things themselves. This is
helpful for my project because it demonstrates students’ willingness to learn when
schools apply Piagetian concepts to their curriculum.
Flavell, John H. "Other Studies." The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget.
Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand, 1963. 366. Print.
This book gives an indepth explanation of Piaget's theories, and features a
foreword written by Jean Piaget himself. It really helped me understand all of the
implications and deeper meanings that were in the admittedly hard to understand
theories of Piaget's.
Furth, Hans G. "On Asking the Right Question." Piaget and Knowledge; Theoretical
Foundations. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall, 1969. 311. Print.
This book was a very indepth review of Piaget's theories and their implications,
both in psychology in general and education. The pages I used talked a lot about
what good would happen if people in leadership roles in educations were to put
into consideration the theories of Jean Piaget. This was written many years ago,
before his theories may have been really put to use, so it helped me to see how
obscure primary education really was before people paid attention to the theories.
Gordon, Kimberly A. "Early Childhood Education Constructivists." Early Childhood
Education: Becoming a Professional. N.p.: Sage Publications, 2014. 41. Google
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Books. Google, Incorporated. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
<https://books.google.com/books?id=fcEgAQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=e
arly+childhood+education&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjIxaqIjcjKAhUnmYMKHXo
oB4wQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=early%20childhood%20education&f=false>.
This recently published book is aimed towards educators, specifically educators
specializing in young children. The section of the book that I used talked about
Jean Piaget and his theories, and how they relate to primary education. This helps
me see how Piaget has influenced things, even all the way to nowadays.
Harré, Rom. "The Developmentalists: Jean Piaget." Key Thinkers in Psychology.
London: SAGE, 2006. 3444. Print.
This book gave an overview of many of the most influential psychologists of all
time, which included Piaget. It helped me in that it gave me a compressed but to
the point summary of all that Piaget accomplished, as well as the effects of and
public reactions to his work.
"History of Psychology." History of Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.mindfocus.net/nc00300.html>.
This online article gave a brief summary of psychology through the decades. It
helped me find a lot of historical context, and it also talked a bit about Piaget and
his impact as well.
Hopkins, J. Roy. "The Enduring Influence of Jean Piaget." Association for Psychological
Science RSS. N.p., Dec. 2011. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.
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<http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2011/dece
mber11/jeanpiaget.html>.
This website is about the influence that Jean Piaget had on psychology. It helped
me to see more concretely how much Piaget helped his science through statistics
and quotations.
Hynes, Mary Ellen, Michael Hynes, Marcella L. Kysilka, and Douglas Brumbaugh.
"Mathematics Laboratories: What Does Research Say?" Association of
Supervision and Curriculum Development (1973): n. pag. ASCD. ASCD, 1973.
Web. 2 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_197312_hynes.pdf>.
This article talks about how explorationbased education affects student
performance. I learned just how much Piaget’s concepts benefit students and how
much better students respond to those teaching styles. It helped me see how
Piaget has positively influenced education longterm and how his theories are still
used today.
Jax, Christine. "How Piaget's Theory Influenced Child Development Research." Everyday
Life. Demand Media, 2016. Web. 26 Jan. 2016.
<http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/piagetstheoryinfluencedchilddevelopmentr
esearch15902.html>.
This web page was about Piaget's influence on psychology and education. It
talked a lot about how other people reacted to his work, whether by reforming their
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areas of expertise or by lending criticism. It helped me see how Piaget's theories
influenced all areas of social sciences, which helps me a lot in my project.
"Jean Piaget." New World Encyclopedia. MediaWiki, 16 Feb. 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jean_Piaget>.
This web page talks about Jean Piaget's influence on different areas of science. It
helped me see just how much Piaget changed the world, even outside of
psychology and epistemology.
"Jean Piaget." Simply Psychology. N.p., 17 Sept. 2009. Web. 23 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html>.
This website gave an indepth summary of Jean Piaget's most famous theories
and their effects on psychology, including how the public reacted and what
differentiated his work from what was previously thought about children's minds. It
really helped me to pin down a topic for my NHD project and find a strong
background so I knew what to look for in the future.
Klein, David. "A Brief History of American K12 Mathematics Education in the 20th
Century." A Brief History of American K12 Mathematics Education in the 20th
Century. Information Age Publishing, 2003. Web. 06 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.csun.edu/~vcmth00m/AHistory.html>.
This online article was written by a school, and it talked about the changes it was
making to its curriculum. It cited Piaget as a reason for some of those changes,
which was huge for me in establishing a long term impact of Piaget's theories.
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Lepton, Kevin. "Jean Piaget and His Contributions to Early Childhood Cognitive
Development." Sciography. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.sciography.com/jeanpiaget.htm>.
This web page gave a brief overview of Piaget's accomplishments and
contributions to psychology. It helped me find a better understanding of how much
Piaget was able to impact what people knew about children’s brains, which will
help me know a lot more general information about my topic to help me in my
project.
Piaget's Developmental Theory: An Overview. Perf. David Elkind. Davidson Films Inc.,
1989. Online Video.
This video, as the title may suggest, gave a summary of Piaget's works,
specifically his cognitive development theory. It helped me to better understand
exactly what Piaget did, which helps explain to me why his theories were so
influential in education.
"Pioneers in Our Field: Jean Piaget Champion of Children's Ideas." Scholastic.
Scholastic, Inc., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/pioneersourfieldjeanpiagetchampi
onchildrensideas>.
This online article talked about how Piaget's studies influenced education and how
teachers taught young children. It was very helpful to me in that it was very
specific about how education itself was affected, because Scholastic is an
education company.
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Posner, George J., Kenneth A. Strike, Peter W. Hewson, and William Gertzog. Ithaca,
New York: Cornell University, 21 Sept. 1981. PDF.
This PDF of a college essay talks about the significance of various psychologists
and each of their effects on education. It was incredibly helpful in establishing the
long term impact of my topic, Jean Piaget, and I was also able to find a few good
quotes.
Pound, Linda. How Children Learn: From Montessori to Vygotsky Educational Theories
and Approaches Made Easy. Vol. 1. Leamington Spa: Step Forward Pub., 2005.
39. Print.
This book was about various influences in child psychology and epistemology. I
learned about exactly why Piaget was influential to his field, which helps me to
see the longterm impact of Piaget's studies.
PSYCHOTHERAPY Melanie Klein. Prod. Mad Adam. The School of Life, 2015.
YouTube. Google Inc., 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU3iSW6WTo8>.
This video was about Melanie Klein, a renowned psychoanalyst. She is famous for
creating many behavioral therapy methods that were effective for children, and in
doing that she helped people start to see the differences between adults and
children. This all helps me to see the history of child psychology, before Piaget
had anything to do with it.
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Sandwell, J. "Piaget's Stage Theory of Development." Piaget's Stage Theory of
Development. N.p., 17 Nov. 1995. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
<http://penta.ufrgs.br/edu/telelab/3/piaget's.htm>.
This web page talked about what is perhaps Piaget's most famous work, his
theory of stage development for children's brains. I learned about how Piaget
thought children's brains developed, which helps my project because I understand
Piaget's thoughts better.
Thornton, Stephen F. "Sigmund Freud." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.iep.utm.edu/freud/>.
This web page talked about Sigmund Freud, a famous twentieth century child
psychoanalyst. He is often recognized as the most influential child
psychologist/psychoanalyst from the twentieth century. By reading this, I learned
more about the history of psychology and what people thought about children's
brains.
Whitman, Alden. "Jean Piaget Dies in Geneva at 84." New York Times. New York Times
Company, 17 Sept. 1980. Web. 17 Jan. 2016.
<http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0809.html>.
This was an obituary for Jean Piaget on the New York Times' website. It was a
great overview of Piaget's biggest successes and influence on psychology, and it
helped me to see exactly what Piaget did in his time.
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