A Schema is a structured cluster of concepts

A Schema is a structured cluster of concepts
The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget took the intellectual functioning of adults as the central phenomenon to be explained and wanted to know how an adult acquired the ability to think logically and to draw valid conclusions about the world from evidence. Piaget's theory rests on the fundamental notion that the child develops through stages until he arrives at a stage of thinking that resembles that of an adult. The four stages given by Piaget are (1) the sensorimotor stage from birth to 2 years, (2) the preoperational stage from 2 to 7 years, (3) the concrete-operational stage

Piaget's Theory of Cognition:  Individuals progress through definite stages in cognitive development (e.g., sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational).  (#4, pg. 43)  In addition, Piaget believed that a child makes a transition to a new stage when his or her current mental structures no longer explain events in their world.  (#4, pg. 71)

Piaget's Theory of Constructivism:  We construct knowledge through our actions on and in our environments.  (#4, pg. 47)

Vygotsky's Theory of Social Interaction and Learning:  Society is an important and essential factor in shaping knowledge.  (#4, pg. 49)

Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development:  It is the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers.  (#4, pg. 51

Piaget's Structure of the Whole:  There is a general structure of mind (a.k.a. structure d' ensemble) that influences one's thinking in a variety of contexts.  (4, pg. 79)

Piaget's Theory of Development:  Piaget believed that a child makes a transition to a new stage when his or her current mental structures no longer explain events in their world.  A state of disequilibrium results and children are motivated to restore equilibrium in their thinking.  That is, they construct a new way to conceptualize events, and thus they adjust their way of thinking to new circumstances.   (4, pg. 71)

Equilibration – the central concept of Piaget's theory

The four development stages are described in Piaget's theory as: .... cognitive operations, depending on how logical the structure of the task is. .... on both the surroundings and behavior after changing a little of the surrounding. .When Piaget's infant finds an object that doesn't fit into an existing schema, he or she will accommodate a schema to fit the new object