ABSTRACT
The ideas of Piaget are contrasted with those of Biggs in this chapter. These two thinkers have had a major impact on the psychology of cognitive development. Whilst the main focus of their work has been with children their relevance to adult learning is also important. The author draws on previous work to point out that not all adults reach the cognitive stage Piaget expected of them. If adult learning is to have an impact on teaching practice then the implications of this need to be thought through. Biggs argues for a distinction between formal 1 learning (characteristic of undergraduates) and formal 2 learning (characteristic of postgraduates). The Piagetian tradition puts the emphasis on development between stages; the Biggsian tradition puts the emphasis on development within a particular mode. It is argued that in Sutherland’s version of the Piagetian tradition the personal circumstances of the adult need to be taken into account by their teachers.
