Final answer:
Jean Piaget's concept of children as "little scientists" suggests that children actively explore and experiment with their environment to build and modify their mental models, known as schemata, through the processes of assimilation and accommodation. This approach to learning highlights the hands-on, curious, and exploratory nature of children's cognitive development.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jean Piaget, a notable psychologist, believed that children are "little scientists". This metaphor signifies that, much like scientists, children actively explore their environment and form hypotheses that they test through their experiences. According to Piaget, children develop schemata, which are mental models that help them categorize and interpret information. As children encounter new situations, they adjust these schemata via two key processes: assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation is the process of integrating new information into existing schemata when it is similar to what they already know. In contrast, accommodation involves altering existing schemata in response to new, discrepant information. This interaction with the environment is a continuous cycle that contributes to cognitive development.
Further illustrating his theory, Piaget proposed that children do not simply absorb information; they construct knowledge through their actions on the world. For example, when children play with a toy and discover its various functions, they are actively learning and testing their understanding of the toy's properties. This experimental approach to learning and understanding underpins Piaget's view of children as little scientists who are constantly constructing and reconstructing their understanding of the world.