Nursery World - Schemas - A missing link?

‘Action schemas’ are reflected in young children’s emerging language, explains Dr Cath Arnold, using observations of three children in conversation

Download the PDF of this article

We know from a great deal of research that, as humans, we are intrinsically motivated to learn through repeating patterns of action – for example, by repeatedly dropping objects from a height, children come to expect the object to usually fall to the ground. Piaget and Athey called these repeated actions ‘schemas’.

Commonly observed schemas are: trajectories/lines (up/down, side to side and oblique), transporting (carrying stuff around), rotating, connecting, enveloping, enclosing, ordering, one-to-one correspondence, containing (oneself or objects) and going through a boundary.

Athey thought of these actions as partial concepts that combine with each other to become more complex ideas. For example, ‘ordering’ objects in ‘lines’ and applying a ‘one-to-one correspondence’ can become ‘counting’, a complex concept when understood fully. Piaget and Athey claimed that our actions become our thoughts.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included