Piaget There Are Almost as Many Different

Piaget

There are almost as many different varieties of issues that can impede a child learner from succeeding in a math class as there are particular remedies to ameliorate such a problem. One of the chief reasons that certain children find mathematics difficult is because they are overwhelmed by it. They find the concept of a never ending series of numbers (as well as similarly interminable operations which one can put them through and which are taught daily and tested weekly) beyond challenging to the point where it incites anxiety and fear.

Additionally, difficulties can arise from learning differences such as dyscalculia, or situations in which students may not be familiar with the language that the class is taught in (such as English Language Learners). These two factors can exacerbate the initial feeling of anxiety that math can produce in child learners. Moreover, it is important to realize that in math there is only one right answer (for most problems or questions). Thus, whereas learners in other more qualitative subjects (history and language arts come to mind) can reason or talk their way through an answer in which they may be able to obtain partial credit, the rigidity of the mathematical process, in which students must memorize a lengthy list of procedures and perform each calculation correctly to gain the right answer, can certainly seem intimidating.

Many of the theories of learning propagated and pioneered by Jean Piaget, however, can help to serve as correctives to several of the aforementioned reasons for difficulty in a math class. One of the most salient of these is the constructivist approach to learning, in which children gradually build their skillset or knowledge base through cognitive psychological approaches. Thus, students learn more from individual constructs than they do from the external environment, although there is a correlation between the two.

Piaget, however, is primarily known for his research in the area of cognitive development. As such, he considered the two primary components of it to be assimilation and accommodation. In his work, "Assimilation is the process of using or transforming the environment so that it can be placed in preexisting cognitive structures. Accommodation is the process of changing cognitive structures in order to accept something from the environment" (Huitt and Hummel, 2003). Therefore, it is interesting to note that child learners can learn to excel at math by using various aspects of their environment. These include the usage of external resource or alternative methods of learning such as field trips, which emphasize the process of observation and, in some cases, participation. Participation, however, is more commonly utilized via manipulative (Huitt and Hummel, 2003) which can provide (literally) tangible examples of concepts. Additionally, participation is encouraged via discovery learning, in which students learn by asking questions and applying the answers to their work. Group work may also be effective, particularly pairing children with greater facilities for math with those with lesser ones.