Starting with some illustrative examples, I develop a systematic account of a specific type of experimentation--an experimentation which is not, as in the "standard view", driven by specific theories. It is typically practiced in periods in which no theory or--even more fundamentally--no conceptual framework is readily available. I call it exploratory experimentation and I explicate its systematic guidelines. From the historical examples I argue furthermore that exploratory experimentation may have an immense, but hitherto widely neglected, epistemic significance.

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

On May 11th a round table discussion was held on the subject "The Interactions of Science and Art under the Conditions of the Revolution in Science and Technology," organized by the editorial boards of the journals Voprosy filosofii and Voprosy literatury.

Piaget's genetic epistemology has been a chief source of inspiration for recent constructivist teaching movements. But both psychologists and educators find it difficult to explain to teachers the notion of constructivism and its specific relevance to educational practice. In this thesis, I argue that the essence of constructivism is the notion of spontaneous development which is deeply rooted in the history of the Progressive Education Movement and developmental psychology. ;This thesis traces the intellectual lineage from Piaget's childhood to current constructivist (...) teaching movements, focusing on Piaget's intellectual history. It gives a general chronological account of Piaget's youthful activities and ideas in relation to his constructivist epistemology. It also describes various intellectual interactions in which Piaget was engaged. Both the history of Piaget's intellectual endeavor and the sociogenesis of his constructivist epistemology show that the notion of spontaneous development makes the best educational sense. ;The first five chapters are focused on Piaget's intellectual development. A biographic sketch depicts aspects of young Piaget's life. His naturalist, religious, and philosophical interests evolved along with his interest in creating a theory of knowledge. Bergson's creative evolution motivated him to spend years exploring various sources and means for pursuing his theory of knowledge. His research program was launched in the Rousseau Institute--an intellectual and teacher education center amid the New Education Movement. There, the faculty unanimously promoted children's spontaneity and active learning. In Piaget's intellectual debate with Wallon and others, mechanism and continuity stood out as the essential aspects of spontaneous development. ;The last three chapters are centered on the recent history of constructivism after 1970. Two variations of constructivist learning studies explicitly and experimentally addressed the issue of how learning occurs in and among children. Thereafter, constructivist epistemology slowly but steadily penetrates education. A brief review of recent constructivist movements, especially in mathematics/science education and teacher education, indicates the need for an education-based understanding of constructivism. The final chapter casts the constructivist discourse in the historical perspective, and describes a teaching-research approach that treats learning, teaching and research as a whole. The approach recaptures the evolution of constructivist ideas and emphasizes spontaneous development. (shrink)