Acting on the world
Building things
In shortBlocks and kits follow the same rules every time, so a falling tower is about the tower, not the child.
The idea
Blocks, Lego, cardboard, wood and model kits obey the same physics every time. That makes them a predictable world in which the person can test ideas: if the tower falls, it is the tower, not them. Building also teaches planning, sequence and fixing mistakes, and it is easy to share without much talk.
How to start
- Start by building alongside, without instructing.
- Let things fall down, and ask ‘what shall we change?’
- Move gradually from free building to instructions, and from instructions back to their own designs.
What to look for
What to look for: no provider needed. Clubs (robotics, carpentry, Lego) work best with small groups and adults who let children try before helping.
The common mistake
Fixing the model for them, which takes away the evidence that their own action works.
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Start here
Short, plain pieces by the researchers and good writers.
The science behind itHow strong the evidence is, the model, videos and references.
How strong the evidence is
A way of thinking A lens for interpreting what a child does, not a rule from trials.
Kirsh and Maglio (1994) distinguished epistemic actions (which change what we know, such as rotating a piece to see whether it fits) from pragmatic ones (which change the world towards a goal). Building invites both and gives precise, immediate, contingent feedback, which supports confidence in action (see ‘When acting seems not to work’). Verdine et al. (2014) found that spatial assembly at age 3 related to early maths skills. For formulation: observe planning depth, the response when things collapse and whether the person seeks or avoids help.
References
- Kirsh, D., & Maglio, P. (1994). On distinguishing epistemic from pragmatic action. Cognitive Science, 18(4), 513–549.
- Verdine, B. N., Golinkoff, R. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Newcombe, N. S., Filipowicz, A. T., & Chang, A. (2014). Deconstructing building blocks: Preschoolers’ spatial assembly performance relates to early mathematical skills. Child Development, 85(3), 1062–1076.
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