Jean Piaget
A contemporary of both Montessori and Dewey, Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (18961980) proposed a theory of cognitive development that initiated a constructivist view of curriculum. Piaget’s experiments with young children (some of them conducted at a modified Montessori school in Geneva, Switzerland) revealed them, during their play, to be active participants in the development of mental concepts through trial and error, repeated interactions with materials, and adaptation to the environment. His work confirmed early learning as distinct from other developmental periods, implying, therefore, that materials and activities for young children should reflect the idiosyncratic way in which they think and process stimuli (Branscombe et al., 2003; Chaille, 2008).
Piaget proposed that cognitive development occurs in four distinct stages, three of which occur either wholly or partially during early childhood (Piaget, 1977). In the sensorimotor stage, infants and toddlers process experience and begin to coordinate movement through sensory exploration (Branscombe, Castle, Dorsey, Surbeck, & Taylor, 2003). Preoperational thinking of preschoolers emerges spontaneously, as they are internally motivated to make sense of their environment by testing ideas and theories in play and exploration with materials (Chaille, 2008).
More From the Field
Critical Thinking Question
- Identify an experience you have had with a young child that provided you with insight about how they think and learn differently than older children or adults.
At about age 7, children figure out that they can solve problems logically by using objects to perform “operations” (like addition and subtraction). They also begin to understand that operations are reversible (e.g., 2 + 3 = 5 is the same as 5 2 = 3) (Branscombe et al., 2003). Formal operations, or the ability to think logically and perform operations entirely in the abstract without the support of objects, begins to emerge at about age 11.
Piaget’s ideas and experiments have been challenged and reinterpreted in ways that continue to expand our understanding of a constructivist view of curriculum (Branscombe et al., 2003; Cannela, Swadener, & Chi, 2008). Most early childhood teachers recognize that children are “concrete thinkers” who require large blocks of time to explore materials and processes. However, “Constructivism is not a method, a curriculum model, or a series of appropriate practices. . . . Rather, constructivism is the theory that underlies the choices and decisions you make about how you set up the classroom, choose the curriculum, and respond to the children’s work and ideas” (Chaille, 2008, p. 5).
Lev Vygotsky
While Piaget’s work continues to have an immeasurable influence on early childhood researchers, teachers, and theorists, Lev Vygotsky (18961934) expanded constructivist theory in ways that also make particular sense to early childhood educators. Vygotsky proposed that cognitive growth was not just the result of individual interactions with materials, as described by Piaget, but a socially constructed process requiring interaction with others (Bodrova & Leong, 2008). He described the zone of proximal development (ZPD) as a window of time when childrenwith thoughtful and intentional teacher coaching known as scaffoldingare most likely to be able to advance what they can do independently (Vygotsky, 1962). The ZPD is not unlike what Montessori described as a “sensitive period.”
Vygotsky’s work is most evident in early childhood curriculum today in the prominence of sociodramatic play and emphasis on language; these are considered mental tools that enable the child to convert experiences into internalized understandings, a key process in cognitive development (Bodrova & Leong, 2008). For example, when a group of children decide to set up a pizza parlor, they determine who will be the cook, servers, and customers. They might use paper to make hats and aprons and roll out modeling dough for pizza shells, pepperoni, and other toppings. They develop self-regulation as they apply mental and physical self-control and social rules to act out the scenario, all the time using language to negotiate, communicate, and offer ideas to keep the play going. As children begin to use objects symbolically, plan and take on roles in play, and use language to share experiences, higher-order thinking (executive functioning) develops.
Uri Bronfenbrenner
Uri Bronfenbrenner (19172005) proposed thinking about the growth of relationships as a multilayered, interactive ecological system of five expanding spheres of influence (Figure 1.2):
- The microsystem, which includes the environment with which children have the most direct and concrete experience, such as their family, neighborhood, schools and churches.
- The mesosystem, which consists of relationships among the elements of the microsystem, such as parent-teacher conferences or a school-sponsored back-to-school picnic.
- The exosystem, which influences children indirectly through policies and decisions of which children are largely unaware, such as the implementation of learning standards.
- The macrosystem, or the larger societal environment, which affects our daily lives. For example, living in a high-crime neighborhood would influence the resident children in a variety of ways.
Bronfenbrenner’s theory is important, as early childhood educators develop curriculum to be responsive to diversity and culture. The microsystems experienced by the young children in your group or class may be quite different in terms of language, ethnicity, foods, and family traditions. Including materials that reflect this diversitysuch as African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Caucasian baby dolls and play food from different culturesprovides a connection between the school or care and home environments.