Learning Theorist:

Seymour Papert
Mathematician, Computer Scientist, and Educator

ETEC 562 Group C

Todd Gruhn, Kelly Hancock, Carl Huff, and Tiffany Matlock

Who is Seymour Papert?

Considered one of the fathers of Educational Computing
Research focused on Artificial Intelligence and Learning
Theories (Piagets Constructivism and Constructionism)
Constructionismthe N word as opposed to the V word shares contructivisms view of learning
as building knowledge structuresthrough progressive internalization of actions It then adds the
idea that this happens especially felicitously in a context where the learner is consciously engaged
in constructing a public entity, whether its a sand castle on the beach or a theory of the
universe. (Papert, 1991)

Who is Seymour Papert?

Developed the LOGO educational programming language
with Wally Feurzeig
Professor of Applied Mathematics at MIT and Director of
the MIT Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab until 1981
Served as a Founding Faculty member of MITs Media Lab
Considered a pioneer in Project-Based Learning

Key Elements
Seymour Papert shared his beliefs with Piagets constructivism theory. Papert
believed that students learned by creating and constructing. The
development of knowledge began with self-directed learning and
conversations that encouraged learners to think through things that were
personal to them. The process of creation is only successful and complete
when the product is shared with others. He believed educators needed to
decrease the time of teaching and increase time for projects that were of
personal interest to the learner. The more the learner was creating, doing,
and conversing about their learning the more they retained their knowledge
and progressed in the learning process.

Comparison/Contrast of Constructivism and

Constructionism Learning Theories
Comparison
Both Piaget and Papert (experts on Constructivism and Constructionism respectively) define
intelligence as adaptation, or the ability to maintain a balance between stability and change,
closure and openness, continuity and diversity. Both see psychological theories as attempts to
model how people handle such difficult balances. At a deeper level, the difference is that Piaget's
interest was mainly in the construction of internal stability whereas Papert is more interested in the
dynamics of change (Ackerman, 2002).
Contrast
Constructivism relates how children become progressively detached from the world of concrete
objects and local contingencies, gradually becoming able to mentally manipulate symbolic objects
within a realm of hypothetical worlds. Piaget studied children's increasing ability to extract rules
from empirical regularities and to build cognitive invariants. He emphasized the importance of such
cognitive invariants as means of interpreting and organizing the world. Piaget's interest was in the
assimilation pole. His theory emphasizes all those things needed to maintain the internal structure
and organization of the cognitive system.

Comparison/Contrast of Constructivism and

Constructionism Learning Theories

Constructionism reminds us that intelligence should be defined and studied in-situ; that being
intelligent means being situated, connected, and sensitive to variations in the environment. In
contrast to constructivism, constructionism draws attention to the fact that diving into situations
rather than looking at them from a distance, that connectedness rather than separation, are
powerful means of gaining understanding. Becoming one with the phenomenon under study is, in
his view, a key to learning. Its main function is to put empathy at the service of intelligence.
Ackermann, E. (2002). Piagets Constructivism, Paperts Constructionism: Whats the difference?
Retrieved from http://learning.media.mit.edu/content/publications/EA.Piaget%20_%20Papert.pdf

Lesson Plans
Math Lesson:
One way to learn math is by using the site turtleacademy.com.
Objective:
The students will explore angles, x&y axis, arc, circles and be able to determine which angles, x&y
axis, arcs, and circles are needed to create a particular design.
Standards:
(5.7) Geometry and spatial reasoning. The student generates geometric definitions using critical
attributes. The student is expected to identify essential attributes including parallel, perpendicular,
and congruent parts of two- and three-dimensional geometric figures.
(5.9) Geometry and spatial reasoning. The student recognizes the connection between ordered pairs
of numbers and locations of points on a plane.

Math Lesson Cont.

Time: This program is self-paced. Students will continue to learn from the tutorials and then work
on their designs over a four 45 min. periods.Vocabulary Focus:
angle, 90 degree, x axis, y axis, arc, circle
Materials: turtleacademy.com
Assessment: Student created design, questioning and responses
As the students work through the lessons provided by Turtle Academy they are learning these
concepts, and then they will be embedding these concepts into their knowledge base when creating
designs unique to the student.

Additional Resources
About Seymour Papert
http://dailypapert.com/?page_id=34
Logic, Programming, and Robots for Non-Technical Students
https://www.cs.tcd.ie/disciplines/information_systems/crite/crite_web/lpr/teaching/construction
ism.html
LOGO Programming Language
http://www.microworlds.com/
Papert and Project-Based Learning
http://www.edutopia.org/seymour-papert-project-based-learning

References
Ackermann, E. (2001) Piaget's constructivism, Papert's constructionism: What's the difference? In
Future of Learning Group publication. Retrieved from:
http://learning.media.mit.edu/content/publications/EA.Piaget%20_%20Papert.pdf
Blickstein, P. (2013) Seymour Paperts legacy: Thinking about learning and learning about
thinking. In Stanford Transformative Technology Lab publication. Retrieved from:
https://tltl.stanford.edu/content/seymour-papert-s-legacy-thinking-about-learning-andlearning-about-thinking
Papert, S. & Harel, I. (2001) Situating Constructionism. In Constructionism (1). Retrieved from:
http://www.papert.org/articles/SituatingConstructionism.html