A few of D-E’s oldest students (seniors) collaborated with some of our youngest (Preschool 4) during a Developmental Psychology unit for which AP Psychology students learned about Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. “Part of that theory is that children at the age of 4 are in the preoperational stage of cognitive development—meaning they have thoughts but can’t really manipulate them,” explained Dr. Daniel Carragher, US Human Development Chair and Teacher. “We’re going to test their ‘conservation of matter’ by pouring one of two equal short glasses of water into a tall glass of water and see if the 4-year-olds think the amount of water changes. Likewise, we will take equal balls of Play-Doh and roll one out into a ‘snake’ to see if they think the amount of Play-Doh changes.”
As part of the experiment on the idea of permanence, Philippine Pompidou ’25 asked her group of preschoolers what happens to the moon during the day and shared that one student astutely remarked that the moon “controls storms.” Philippine said she recalled doing a similar exercise when she was little and noted that it was great to see Lower School students start questioning things. “Understanding the why and how [of information you receive] is important,” she said. Kudos to cross-divisional learning and our students for their curiosity about mind matters!
