Using What We Know: Applying Piaget's Developmental Theory In Primary Classrooms

David Elkind, Ph.D. narrates this excellent program which examines three primary classrooms in terms of how they apply the developmental theories of Jean Piaget. After a brief overview explaining that teaching is both an art and a science (dependent on personality and an understanding of child development and curriculum structure), the film introduces the three teachers, and as Elkind narrates, we visit these successful classrooms and watch the innovative teaching methods employed in each. Students produce a play about Humphrey, a beached Orca whale trapped in the San Francisco Bay; operate clubs which introduce them to the precepts of social structure; and make their own books--writing the text, drawing the cover, and submitting the finished book for "publishing" in the classroom. The concepts which link these activities--the importance of the physical environment, classroom organization, and the use of Piaget's principles are explained by Elkind, and fleshed out with concrete examples drawn from the work of the three teachers profiled in the film. Although aimed mainly at teachers, this film would also be beneficial to parents of primary schoolchildren. Highly recommended. (Available from: Davidson Films, 231 E Street, Davis, CA 95616.)