2016/08/18 by Fei Xu · 2 citations
Social Sciences · #Education and Critical Thinking Development
paper · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190467630.003.0002
openalex publication_date 2016/08/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
A new approach to cognitive development, rational constructivism, has emerged in recent years. This chapter examines some key ideas and theoretical commitments related to this approach, including the following: 1) What are the primitives that human learners start with? 2) What types of learning mechanisms allow human learners to acquire and construct new knowledge and undergo conceptual change? The chapter suggests that a set of proto-conceptual primitives may be present very early in life. It also suggests that three types of mechanisms propel learning and development: language learning, Bayesian inductive learning, and learning by thinking. These mechanisms may be considered both rational and constructive.