34104 the Piaget Primer: Thinking, Learning, Teaching

Jean Piaget's theories on child development were widely known and respected prior to the advent of testing, testing, testing which became prevalent after 2000. Now most schools focus on establishing academically based goals that rarely take into account the developing needs of children. This primer for teachers and attuned parents will help restore their sense of how children "construct" knowledge. Central to the work of Piaget is the belief that children develop through predictable stages of thinking that are incremental. What a relief to both parents and teachers to know what those stages are - and how to use that information to help children thrive in the environment we establish for them. In this primer, the various developmental stages of consructing thinking are presented in outline form with many activities shared to further develop and understand how chidren make sense of the learning opportunites to which they are exposed. With a background in education as a pre-school and elementary school teacher and principal for over 30 years, I know first hand how effective Piaget based learning can be. This Primer of his basic teaching and learning tenets is a great addition to any childhood education library.

I really liked this book (as you can tell from the 5 stars). I read it while I was studying Piagetian/constructivist pedagogy at the University of California, Berkeley. Piaget is not always easy to grasp at first reading, especially when thinking in practical terms, such as "how does this theory apply to the real world and to classroom?" Labinowicz's book takes just such a practical approach. It shows real conversations with real kids learning real lessons in math and science. It's heavily illustrated, so one gets the flavor of observing. Meanwhile, the Piagetian theory is introduced as a way of explaining the rather anomolous behavior one finds if one really is a teacher trying to teach kids lessons that, to an adult, seem simple and clear, yet kids have such a hard time "getting.