Piaget's Impact on Education

Piaget’s theory and beliefs have affected education greatly throughout the years. For example, Piaget believed that it is not possible to “teach” a child out of one stage and into another. He also said that children advance through stages at different speeds. Therefore, there have been many educational programs built on the belief that children should be taught at the level for which they are developmentally prepared. Many instructional strategies have also been derived from the knowledge obtained through Piaget’s theory. Some of these instructional strategies are providing a supportive environment, utilizing social interaction with peer teaching, and helping children see fallacies and inconsistencies in their thinking. Another part of Piaget’s theory was that a child had schemas, which are mental building blocks. As the child obtains more schemas, they start mental mapping.