ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how people learn science. It examines theories about children's learning and their mental development. The chapter summarises some of the longer-standing and useful perspectives and also some recent ideas about learning and to look at teaching in the light of these ideas. The chapter deals with a brief introduction to some theories of learning, to some common ideas that children have in science and to some possible approaches for teachers. According to Piaget, children make meaning for themselves; they learn by actively constructing knowledge. The process of learning helps the individual to navigate through the world of their life experiences. Piaget focused on the current developmental profile (CDP) and Vygotsky on the zone of proximal development (ZPD) and their ideas can be seen to be complementary rather than contradictory. The educational psychologist David Ausubel made a helpful distinction between two extreme types of learning.
