Two schemes of intellectual development: A comparison of development as defined by william perry and jean piaget

Explaining that no definitive pedagogy flows from the developmental theory of Jean Piaget, the author explores ways that classroom teachers can nevertheless make powerful use of that theory. For her, the essence of the child's intellectual development lies not in the progressive accomplishment of Piagetian tasks, but in the child's testing out the ideas that she or he finds significant. This process of testing out ideas, she argues, is critical for the child's cognitive growth. Teachers can assist this growth primarily by accepting the child's perpective as the legitimate framework for generating ideas—allowing the child to work out her or his own questions and answers. This approach—and the importance of providing varied settings and materials which suggest ideas to children—is discussed with particular reference to the author's classroom experience and her evaluation of an elementary science program.

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The Equilibration of Cognitive Structures: The Central Problem of Intellectual Development. Jean Piaget , Terrance Brown , Kishore Julian Thampy

American Journal of Education ◽

10.1086/443876 ◽

1986 ◽

Vol 94 (4) ◽

pp. 574-577 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Constance Kamii

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Development ◽

Central Problem ◽

Cognitive Structures ◽

Jean Piaget

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The Intellectual Development of Jean Piaget

Contemporary Psychology ◽

10.1037/016639 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 23 (11) ◽

pp. 818-819

Author(s):

ROBERT S. SIEGLER

Keyword(s):

Intellectual Development ◽

Jean Piaget

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Enhancing Horticulture Students' Reasoning and Thinking Skills: Applying the Perry Theory to Horticulture

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.40.4.1138a ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 1138A-1138

Author(s):

Catherine Lavis

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Complexity ◽

Intellectual Development ◽

Higher Order Thinking ◽

Thinking Skills ◽

Upward Movement ◽

Cognitive Growth ◽

Traditional Lecture ◽

Active Involvement ◽

Knowing That ◽

William Perry

This study explored students' cognitive complexity as defined by William Perry (1970) as influenced by teaching methods promoting active involvement at a higher level of interchange than traditional lecture. Two components of this research are: 1) an understanding of Perry's theory to serve as a guide for curricula development incorporating activities to influence intellectual growth by considering the student's current Perry positions in order to encourage upward movement according to Perry's Scheme; and 2) to investigate the reliability of using the student's Learning Environment Preference Inventory (LEP) (Moore, 1987) as a tool to understand the student's cognitive growth. The qualitative portion of this research examined cognitive complexity using the LEP instrument. LEP would give instructors an approximate idea of how to construct their courses to deliver information encouraging higher-order thinking. It is a mistake to assume students in upper division courses are all operating in upper Perry positions. It is difficult to make significant gains in intellectual development during one semester, but it is particularly challenging if instructors are unaware of where students are initially in respect to cognitive complexity. The utilization of a reliable instrument may also help explain some perplexing incidents that occur in classrooms. Instructors can be comforted knowing that what frequently transpires in a class might be motivated more by where students are in their cognitive development than by what is said or done by the instructor.

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