Piaget, Learning, Growth and Development

Class discussion today generated several different trains of thought. I wanted to share a couple of ideas related to learning, growth and development.

As we were talking about the process of learning today in class, I kept thinking about Jean Piaget's concepts of cognitive development as very applicable to our discussion. While his work focused on the development of young children, I think they have relevance for adults as well. Two constructs - assimilation and accommodation - are of importance as we think about the process of learning.

As we encounter new information that in some way challenges our existing understanding, disequilibrium results. Piaget felt that there were two ways to adapt to this new information (or learn). The first, and easiest way, is to assimilate the new ideas to existing schema (basic frameworks of understanding). We take the new idea and link it to previous ideas. However, there are times when the new ideas are so different from all of our existing schema, that we cannot simply assimilate these ideas to previous ways of thinking. At this point, Piaget thought that accommodation is needed; we create a new schema to handle this new idea that doesn't fit with our previous ideas. Accommodation is when we really learn - have an ah - ha moment.

I was also thinking about the difference between growth and development. A clear example of the distinction is the growth and development of a newborn. Growth is the idea that the baby gets bigger - they gain in height and weight. Development, on the other hand, is qualitative changes in the baby's interaction with the world, such as when they learn to recognize their mother or begin to say their first words.