Seymour Papert was a ground-breaking mathematician, learning theorist, and educational technology visionary widely known for his development of the constructionism educational theory and contribution to the development of Logo, a computer programming language designed as a tool for learning. He spent most of his career conducting research and teaching at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in roles that included co-director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Professor of Mathematics, Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Education, LEGO Professor of Learning Research and Research Group Leader at the MIT Media Lab.
Papert was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1928. He completed a BA in Philosophy in 1949 and a doctorate in mathematics in 1952 at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. At Witwatersrand, Papert was a leading anti-apartheid activist. Having consequently run afoul of the authorities, and having been awarded a postgraduate scholarship by Cambridge University, Papert went into self-exile in the UK in 1954. He completed his second doctorate in Mathematics at Cambridge University in 1959.
Towards the end of his doctoral work at Cambridge, Papert moved to Paris where he was based at the Henri Poincare Institute, the mathematics research arm of the Sorbonne. While at the Sorbone, he attended lectures by Jean Piaget, the Swiss philosopher who was one of the pioneers of the constructivism theory of learning - a theory drawn upon by the educational reform movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Papert befriended Piaget and on completion of his doctorate, accepted an invitation to join him as a researcher at the International Centre of Genetic Epistemology based at the University of Geneva.
Papert worked with Piaget and his team between 1959 and 1963, generating new insights into how children learn to think mathematically and became "passionately interested in children's thinking" (5, p.33). Papert was deeply influenced by Piaget's work and core aspects of constructivism would be foundational to the development of his own theory of learning and teaching referred to as constructionism. In particular, Papert adopted the core constructivist belief that knowledge is not something passively received through direct communication, but instead is actively constructed in the mind of the individual. This constructivist learning process involves a person reflecting upon and integrating a new piece of information or experience of the world into their existing knowledge schema by either assimilating it, when it matches and reinforces the existing schema, or reconstructing the schema to accommodate it, when it does not.
Papert's work with Piaget on the mind's construction of knowledge also took him into the nascent field of Artificial Intelligence which sought to explore the production of mechanical computational models of the mind. In 1963 Papert joined the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory which was at the forefront of the field, including the experimentation with the generating computer programs that sought to mimic a particular aspects of human mental activity (say playing chess). Papert came to realise that computers, through computer programming in particular, provided a space for the construction of knowledge.
Papert was born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1928. He completed a BA in Philosophy in 1949 and a doctorate in mathematics in 1952 at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. At Witwatersrand, Papert was a leading anti-apartheid activist. Having consequently run afoul of the authorities, and having been awarded a postgraduate scholarship by Cambridge University, Papert went into self-exile in the UK in 1954. He completed his second doctorate in Mathematics at Cambridge University in 1959.
Towards the end of his doctoral work at Cambridge, Papert moved to Paris where he was based at the Henri Poincare Institute, the mathematics research arm of the Sorbonne. While at the Sorbone, he attended lectures by Jean Piaget, the Swiss philosopher who was one of the pioneers of the constructivism theory of learning - a theory drawn upon by the educational reform movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Papert befriended Piaget and on completion of his doctorate, accepted an invitation to join him as a researcher at the International Centre of Genetic Epistemology based at the University of Geneva.
Papert worked with Piaget and his team between 1959 and 1963, generating new insights into how children learn to think mathematically and became "passionately interested in children's thinking" (5, p.33). Papert was deeply influenced by Piaget's work and core aspects of constructivism would be foundational to the development of his own theory of learning and teaching referred to as constructionism. In particular, Papert adopted the core constructivist belief that knowledge is not something passively received through direct communication, but instead is actively constructed in the mind of the individual. This constructivist learning process involves a person reflecting upon and integrating a new piece of information or experience of the world into their existing knowledge schema by either assimilating it, when it matches and reinforces the existing schema, or reconstructing the schema to accommodate it, when it does not.
Papert's work with Piaget on the mind's construction of knowledge also took him into the nascent field of Artificial Intelligence which sought to explore the production of mechanical computational models of the mind. In 1963 Papert joined the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory which was at the forefront of the field, including the experimentation with the generating computer programs that sought to mimic a particular aspects of human mental activity (say playing chess). Papert came to realise that computers, through computer programming in particular, provided a space for the construction of knowledge.
More Information
-
Keywords
-
Authors
-
Article types
