Seymour Papert Back Forward Main Page
		Dr. Seymour Papert is a mathemetician and one of the early pioneers of Artificial Intelligence. Additionally, he is internationally recognized as the seminal thinker about ways in which computers can change learning. Born and educated in South Africa where he participated actively in the anti-apartheid movement, Dr. Papert pursued mathematical research at Cambridge University from 1954-1958. He then worked with Jean Piaget at the University of Geneva from 1958-1963. It was this collaboration that led him to consider using mathematics in the service of understanding how children can learn and think.
Theory		People laughed at Seymour Papert in the sixties when he talked about children using computers as instruments for learning and for enhancing creativity. The idea of an inexpensive personal computer was then science fiction. But Papert was conducting serious research in his capacity as a professor at MIT. This research led to many firsts. It was in his laboratory that children first had the chance to use the computer to write and to make graphics. The Logo programming language was created there, as were the first children's toys with built-in computation. One way to change the game is to implement innovative teaching strategies. Papert gives examples of why it is necessary to change the current style to increase learning in the schools. Currently, important learning happens away from the confines of school. Babies learn to walk, children learn intricate video games, all without the formal teaching of school. Is there a way that we could teach the required curriculum differently so the speed of acquisition could match the speed with which people learn outside the classroom? (Papert, 1993) Educators who are searching for the most effective instructional methods need to look at the representation of learning as a dimension of life. We need to investigate how people learn all around us, even in fiction. He demonstrated how quickly the girl in Dirty Dancing learned how to dance and why the instructional techniques were so effective. Currently, educators are not utilizing these effective techniques in the classroom. Schoolers have a view that knowledge is to be put away somewhere for future use. In real life, knowledge is acquired to be used immediately, such as learning how to change the oil in a car or learning how to cook a specific dish. Instead of teaching facts and other traditional curriculums, students need to be taught how to think. Papert (1993) writes about the obstacles that school presents to changing instruction and promoting thinking and learning. There seems to be a frame of mind that perpetuates the idea of how school is supposed to be. He classifies educators as Schoolers or Yearners. Schoolers continue the path that school has been on, while Yearners strive to change education. Schoolers block educational reform because of their educational beliefs. Papert defined a new word, Mathetics, to name the art of learning. Papert also developed guidelines for the art of learning. These principles are valuable to all educators. Give yourself time is the first principle in the art of learning. However, school is always pressing forward, never taking the important time to complete the task thoroughly. This is one reason for the lack of learning in school. A second principle in the art of learning is discussion. A conversation about the learning adds new dimensions to the problem and promotes learning. Discussion is a simple strategy to implement in the classroom. A third principle is to look for connections. Papert (1993) asserts that if students are not intrigued by the topic, then they will have no desire to learn. Yet, there are topics that turn on students, Papert calls these hot mental regions. The hot regions can heat up the cold mental regions (the concepts that are not motivating to the learner) by connecting the relevance between the two. Papert gave a personal example when he explained that he had no desire to learn about flowers. Yet his love for etymologies encouraged his study of the etymologies of flowers, which led him to study all aspects of flowers. Another theory that Papert (1993) describes builds on the psychology learning theory of constructivism. He believes in constructionism where the building of knowledge is the goal. The building of knowledge is not obtained through increased teacher direction. Rather, there is a decrease in the amount of teaching and an increase of student projects. The projects that he emphasized was with his Lego Logo program. The students were involved in programming the computer and designing projects based on their interests. The students were involved in concrete critical thinking skills that most teachers would be interested in having in their classrooms. Papert (1993) believes that another reason that learning is impeded in school is its emphasis on abstract reasoning. School spends little time on concrete tasks because the ultimate goal is the abstract. Rather, educators should wallow in the concreteness. Concrete thinking is not just for the young. When most adults use mathematics, they rely on the concrete form. For example for dividing recipes, most people divide the recipe with their measuring cups. They do not tend to invert the second term and multiply to find out how much flour to use. With that in mind, why are educators spending countless hours teaching the abstract division of fractions when a majority of adults use the concrete method? Also, most scientists in their laboratories work with concrete situations. Yet, in the classroom, many concepts taught are abstractly. Another problem with school is that most assignments must be precise. There is no room for vagueness. Papert (1993) asserts that vagueness does not lessen the standards. It allows for the most efficient use of limited knowledge and is more universal. The turtle in Logo's first version was precise. Forward 150 steps was an exact command that would be followed. Papert gives an example of the power of being vague. Interactive programming using a cybernetic turtle can bring students to a higher level of thought. If students program vague instructions that vary depending on the circumstances, they ultimately develop a program that is more adaptable for other requirements. Papert's example was the cybernetic turtle walking around the perimeter of a shape. If students measured the shape, then they could precisely program the turtle to move forward 150 steps, left 150 steps, etc. and the turtle would walk the perimeter of the shape. But using vague programming, the student can program a turtle that could walk around the perimeter of any shape.
Implications for Instruction		Today Papert is considered the world's foremost expert on how technology can provide new ways to learn. He has carried out educational projects on every continent, some of them in remote villages in developing countries. He is a participant in developing the most influential cutting-edge opportunities for children to participate in the digital world. He serves on the advisory boards for MaMaMedia Inc. (whose founder, Idit Harel, was once a doctoral student of his at MIT) and of the LEGO Mindstorms product line (which was named after Papert's seminal book Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas).
Links and References		Seymour's latest book is The Connected Family: bridging the digital generation gap (1996). This site provides continuously updated advice, including recommended Web sites. View the page linking Professor Papert's testimony on education before the United States Congress Re-Thinking School. Go to the Media Laboratory home page. Seymour is cofounder with Marvin Minsky of the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT. Seymour invented constructionism (not constructivism).  Read more about constructionism. More on constructionism. Still more. Papert, Seymour (1993). The Children's Machine: Rethinking school in the age of the computerNew York, NY. Basic Books.

Martin Briner, 1999

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