So, even if I was predisposed to being good at playing tennis (nature), unless I was interested in and supported to play tennis (nurture), then I would not have the opportunity to develop my tennis ability.
It can be concluded, therefore, that in the classroom, students will learn by an interaction of both their innate abilities or genes (nature) and their environment (nurture). In my teaching, having an awareness of the relative influences of nature and nurture will allow me to develop learning opportunities that are both inclusive of and supportive of individual differences.
Piaget proposed that we learn through a process called equilibration, which includes developing schemes through processes of adaptation, assimilation, accommodation, equilibrium and disequilibrium. How can knowing about this process assist you in your teaching?.
Piaget's theory of learning is a constructivist approach based in the biological concept of adaptation, that is, systems are constantly adapting their responses to match the current environment (Berk, 2013). Piaget proposed that through direct interaction with the environment, children actively build and refine schemes, that is, organised ways of making sense of their experience (Berk, 2013). This adaptation, or learning, happens through the process of equilibration, that is, the back-and-forth movement between equilibrium (little cognitive change) and disequilibrium (rapid cognitive change) (Berk, 2013, p. 227).
During adaptation, information from new experience is used to add to or modify existing schemes or create new ones through "two complementary activities: assimilation and accommodation (Berk, 2013, p. 227). For example, when my two year old daughter had an existing scheme for a cow but not yet one for a goat she still called out "cow " when shown a picture of a goat, thus assimilating goats into her cow scheme. Then , when she realized that a goat had differing features to a cow and was called a 'goat' she was forced into a state of disequilibrium as she attempted to fit the goat into her cow scheme.
