Education

Mindstorms: 8 key ideas

by Seymour Papert

The core ideas of Mindstorms, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   Children can learn by programming

   Papert, a mathematician who worked with the psychologist Jean Piaget, argues that computers can help children learn deeply by letting them build and explore.

   He imagines children programming computers rather than being programmed by them.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   Logo gave children a language

   Papert describes Logo, a programming language he helped develop for children.

   With simple commands, children could create drawings and ideas. In his view, a language of their own let children control a computer instead of being controlled by it.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   A turtle teaches geometry

   Papert describes the Logo turtle, a small robot or screen object that children direct.

   Moving it helps them understand geometry through their own bodies. In his account, the turtle turns abstract rules into something a child can feel and test.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   Mathematics can be a place

   Papert imagines Mathland, an environment where children learn mathematics naturally, the way they learn a language by living in a country.

   In his view, a child living among mathematical ideas would find them as natural as everyday words.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   Piaget shaped his thinking

   Papert draws on Piaget's view that children build knowledge actively.

   Computers, he argues, can support this. In his view, children do not simply receive ideas, and the machine becomes a tool for testing their own guesses.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   Building helps understanding

   Papert argues that children learn best when making something meaningful.

   Creating is a way of thinking. In his view, a child who builds a project cares about getting it right, and learns the ideas behind it along the way.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   Mistakes can be debugged

   Papert argues that programming teaches children to see mistakes as bugs to fix, not failures.

   In his account, finding and fixing errors becomes a normal part of making something, which changes how children feel about being wrong.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   Powerful ideas matter

   Papert argues that education should focus on powerful ideas that help children think in new ways.

   In his view, a few deep ideas open doors to many others, so they give children lasting tools for learning.