Mindstorms: Children, Computers, And Powerful Ideas

Out of the crucible of computational concepts and metaphors, of predicted widespread computer power and of actual experiments with children, the idea of Piagetian learning has emerged as an important organizing principle. Translated into practical terms this idea sets a research agenda concerned with creating conditions for children to explore “nat

The difference between what he “could” and “could not” learn did not depend on the content of the knowledge but on his relationship to it.

In this book I discuss ways in which the computer presence could contribute to mental processes not only instrumentally but in more essential, conceptual ways, influencing how people think even when they are far removed from physical contact with a computer (just as the gears shaped my understanding of algebra although they were not physically pres

The analogy of the dance class without music or dance floor is a serious one. Our education culture gives mathematics learners scarce resources for making sense of what they are learning. As a result our children are forced to follow the very worst model for learning mathematics. This is the model of rote learning, where material is treated as mean

Similarly, when one enters a new domain of knowledge, one initially encounters a crowd of new ideas. Good learners are able to pick out those that are powerful and congenial. Others who are less skillful need help from teachers and friends. But we must not forget that while good teachers play the role of mutual friends who can provide introductions

What is true historically is also true for the individual: An important part of becoming a good learner is learning how to push out the frontier of what we can express with words. From this point of view the question about the bicycle is not whether or not one can “tell” someone “in full” how to ride but rather what can be done to improve our abili

This book is about how computers can be carriers of powerful ideas and of the seeds of cultural change, how they can help people form new relationships with knowledge that cuts across the traditional lines separating humanities from sciences and knowledge of the self from both of these. It is about using computers to challenge current beliefs about

I HAVE DEFINED MATHETICS AS BEING TO LEARNING AS HEURISTICS IS TO problem solving: Principles of mathetics are ideas that illuminate and facilitate the process of learning. In this chapter we focus on two important mathetic principles that are part of most people’s commonsense knowledge about what to do when confronted with a new gadget, a new danc

Slowly I began to formulate what I still consider the fundamental fact about learning: Anything is easy if you can assimilate it to your collection of models. If you can’t, anything can be painfully difficult.