The authors explore how children's play can support the development of the foundations of mathematics learning and how adults can support children's representation of--and thus the "mathematization" of--their play. The authors review research about the amount and nature of mathematics found in the free play of children. They briefly…

The presuppositions that favor firsthand experience over secondhand information, as pertaining to learning and education, are questioned. It is noted that, when education and firsthand experience are described as if equivalent, a presumption is made that a commonsense theory of knowledge and mind is valid. Research on the social psychology of…

Recent research has established closer links between language, cognition, and social life than Piaget or Vygotsky imagined. Connections have been established between object permanence development and acquisition of disappearance words and the quantity and quality of child-adult joint attentional social interactions and children's early word…

Findings from relevant research applying Piaget's theory to mental retardation, psychosis, and autism are reviewed. Many autistic individuals show an arrest in operative functions at the sensorimotor functions. The early arrest interferes with subsequent development of higher-level conceptual, symbolic, and social skills. (Author)

Perceptual-motor activities are being recognized as possible contributors to the general readiness of children for learning through the development of perceptual-motor abilities. The contribution of perceptual-motor activities to specific perceptual readiness skills is being reexamined. Readiness programs are generally designed to help children to…