Piaget and his theory of learning

Jean Piaget is one of those names written in gold letters in psychology. His theory of children’s cognitive learning makes him known today as the father of modern pedagogy.

He pointed out that the Logic and its principles are established before language. This occurs thanks to the sensory and motor activity of the child that interacts with the environment that surrounds him, especially with the sociocultural environment.

In this article we will delve into his theory of learning and we will know What are the schemes? Besides, we will identify the main contributions he made to the field of education and the pedagogy.

A constructivist approach

Before delving into Piaget’s learning theory, it is essential to know that his theoretical approach is constructivist. Likewise, it is necessary to understand the concept of schema, since this is a central part of this author’s perspective.

The constructivist approach maintains that Knowledge is a construction based on schemes and the relationship with the environment. Therefore, it is not a representation or faithful copy of reality.

For proponents of constructivism, learning is not just about receiving and storing external information objectively. Rather, it is a process permeated by mental contents, subjective experiences and schemes that promote the configuration of knowledge.

From this point of view, although facilitators (teachers, parents, social groups) have an important role, they are not the key piece of knowledge. That place is occupied by the learner, who is the one who constructs the meanings.

The concept of “scheme”

To refer to the pre-existing cognitive organization of the subject, Piaget created the notion of schema, which refers to the way in which some ideas are ordered and related to others.

For this author, A schema is the mental structure from which reality will be interpreted. Therefore, it is a fundamental piece in the construction of knowledge.

For example, One of the first schemes that the child constructs is that of a “permanent object”, this helps you remember objects that are not in front of your field of vision. Later, the child develops the “types of objects” scheme, which allows him to group things according to their qualities and characteristics.

It should be noted that the idea of ​​”scheme” in Piaget is very similar to the notion of “concept”, however, the scheme refers to mental structures and operations, instead of perceptual classifications.

Piaget’s learning theory: we learn to adapt

In addition to organizing information and modifying schemas, learning is also based on adaptation. Therefore, its construction only makes sense in changing environments that require the subject to adapt to its transformations. Simply put, learning is adapting.

To develop this notion, Piaget points out that learning is carried out mainly through assimilation and accommodation. The balancing process also intervenes in it, which has a relevant function. Let’s look at each one.

1. Assimilation

Refers to the way in which an individual incorporates new information based on his or her preexisting mental schemaalthough it does not necessarily mean that the individual integrates it with the information he already has.

In other words, the person interprets the world through the “filter” of his or her schemas, which remain intact. For example, assimilation causes a person with low self-esteem to interpret compliments about his or her abilities as a sign of pity, to make him or her feel better.

2. Accommodation

Instead, through accommodation, The person modifies his or her mental schema based on new information. Typically, this process occurs when a new stimulus compromises its internal coherence too much.

The final result of the interrelation between the processes of accommodation and assimilation is balancewhich occurs when the discrepancies or contradictions that arise between the new information that we have assimilated, the one we already had and the one we have accommodated have been reconciled.

Thus, thanks to the processes of assimilation and accommodation we can change our learning, thoughts, ideas or core beliefs that are consolidated throughout our development.

3. The balancing process

Cognitive evolution has a close link with the evolution of the relationship between assimilation and accommodation. Piaget describes the equilibration process as the result of three levels of increasing complexity.

At a first level, a balance is configured between the schemes and environmental stimuli. Then, between the same schemes. Finally, the balance is transformed into a hierarchical integration of different schemes.

When the balance of any of these three levels is altered, a cognitive conflict is generated, and at this moment the previous cognitive balance is broken.

Characteristics of Piaget’s learning theory

Next, we will present a series of learning characteristics derived from this theory:

Intelligence and learning are inseparable: This Piagetian theory conceives learning and intelligence as an inseparable unit. Both are linked to the ability to adapt to the environment and respond to its demands.Stimuli and subject are united: Stimuli, responses, associations, reinforcements and motivations are connected to the subject. Learning involves the dynamic interaction of all these components with the learner.Learning as a schema modifier: Learning involves modifying and reorganizing the individual’s mental schemas through interaction with their environment and experiences.Scheme coordination: Piaget emphasizes adaptive activity and schema coordination as fundamental factors of learning.Prominence of the subject: With this new theory of learning, Piaget places the subject in a central and active place when learning. When he learns, his mind integrates, reorganizes and modifies information and schemas.

This sum of qualities of Piaget’s learning theory represents a paradigm shift. We move from a notion focused on the accumulation of data and the passive reception of information, to one where the person constructs what they learn based on their schemas and their interaction with the environment.

Association between Piaget’s learning theory and human development

From Piaget’s learning theory, the development is understood as the construction of cognitive structures that allow maintaining balance with the environment. These cognitive structures are based on the mechanisms of equilibrium, assimilation and accommodation.

According to Piaget, psychic development, which begins at birth and ends in adulthood, can be compared to organic growth, which consists of a progressive march towards balance. Hence there are different cognitive stages of development.

During development, changes occur at the level of cognitive structures, that is, in the subject’s mind. For example, a child who goes through the sensorimotor stage is only able to interact with his or her environment through touch or physical action.

However, when you move to the preoperational stage you will be able to interact with the world through your imagination and symbolic play. Each phase has its own milestones that mark a before and after in human development.

Socialization through language

Between the first twelve months of life and five years our intelligence transforms. It goes from being sensorimotor to being a form of thought. This occurs thanks to the influence of both language and socialization processes.

Language allows us explain our behaviors, facilitates the memory of past events, and bases the evocation of objects that are absent at the moment, but with which some type of interaction has been had in the past.

Likewise, it helps us predict and anticipate behaviors that have not yet been carried out. What’s more, thanks to it we can verbalize future actions without having to execute them. This is the starting point of thinking as a cognitive process.

Language itself connects, in effect, the concepts and ideas that are part of the world and that allow individual thinking to be consolidated through collective thinking. The child immerses himself in this last way of thinking when he learns to master the word.

In this way, the same thing happens with thought as with behavior considered globally. Instead of adapting to new realities, the subject must begin to incorporate data into his or her ego and its activity. This Egocentric assimilation characterizes both the beginnings of the child’s thinking and his socialization.

Behavior as a driver of evolution

Behavior is not only the product of evolution, but it is a determining factor of the changes that occur in it. In other words, it is the result of mechanisms independent of the action of organisms.

Piaget disagrees with neo-Darwinian ideas that understand evolution as the product of genetic variability, survival and reproduction based on the adaptive advantages they can generate. From this position, evolutionary processes are independent of behavior.

On the other hand, for Piaget, behavior is the expression of a global dynamic of the organism that interacts with its environment. In this sense, it would also be a factor of evolutionary change and learning.

He also understands that All behavior involves an intervention of internal factors. Furthermore, he points out that all animal behavior, including that of humans, involves accommodation to the conditions of the environment and cognitive assimilation, understood as integration into a previous behavioral structure.

Contributions of Piaget’s learning theory to current education

Piaget’s contributions to education are considered extremely important. One of them is: The objective of early childhood education is to help the child achieve his or her cognitive development.. To do this, it is essential that the family has stimulated the child and taught him/her some rules that will help him/her adapt to school.

Another contribution is that for a topic to be learned by students, it is not enough for it to have been seen in class. Learning also requires a space to apply knowledge, to experiment with it and make demonstrations that allow students to…