Constructing and using conceptual competence

Abstract

Jean Piaget, the great pioneer of this field in the twentieth century, described children as active learners who, through interactions with their environments, construct a complex understanding of the world, from the sensorimotor stage in infancy to the logical and formal operations stage in adolescence. However, Piaget underestimated the cognitive capabilities of infants, preschoolers, and elementary schoolchildren and overestimated the capabilities of adolescents and adults, which are often biased by illogical intuitions and overlearned strategies. We highlight several discoveries in the field from Piaget to the new theoretical ideas and empirical research reported over the last three decades. The crucial question is to understand why, despite rich precocious knowledge about physical and mathematical principles observed in infants and young children (from object principle to pure reasoning on abstract principles), older children, adolescents, and adults often have poor reasoning ability. We state that inhibition of less sophisticated solutions (or heuristics) by the prefrontal cortex is a critical component of children's conceptual insights associated with more advanced Piagetian stages. We conclude the article with the issue of cultural variations and suggestions for educational policy.