Developmental Theory and Teaching Methods: A Pilot Study of a Teacher Education Program

Abstract

An in-depth understanding of developmental theory and research, in the tradition of Piaget, is used as core knowledge for helping preservice and in-service elementary teachers restructure their conceptions of teaching and learning. The 2-year Developmental Teacher Education (DTE) program is summarized, and linkages between developmental conceptions of learning and educational practices that Piagetian theory was not originally developed to encompass are proposed. The article focuses on establishing correspondences between specific developmental principles and methods for teaching mathematics and literacy. We also describe a pilot study comparing how 3 DTE program graduates and 3 traditional teachers used these methods in their classrooms. A secondary purpose of the study was to test the Developmental Teacher Observation Instrument, which we had developed. Combined with other research, the results support the view that a more or less complete pedagogy based on principles of human development is within reach, a pedagogy that extends beyond the preschool and kindergarten years and includes teaching methods that promote conceptual development in various subjects.