Mindstorms has two central themes: that children can learn to use computers in a masterful way and that learning to use computers can change the way they learn everything else. Even outside the classroom, Papert had a vision that the computer could be used just as casually and as personally for a diversity of purposes throughout a person’s entire life. Seymour Papert makes the point that in classrooms saturated with technology there is actually more socialization and that the technology often contributes to greater interaction among students and among students and instructors.
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About the Author
Seymour Papert is Lego Professor of Mathematics and Education at MIT, where he is also co-founder of the artificial intelligence and media laboratories.
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53 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the best book I have ever read on how to assist people to learn for themselves. Papert began his work by collaborating with Jean Piaget, and then applied those perspectives in a self-programming language designed to help children learn math and physics.
Papert explains Piaget's work and provides case studies of how the programming language, LOGO, can help. He provides a wonderful contrasting explanation of the weaknesses of how math and physics are usually taught in schools.
I learned quite a few things from this that I did not know before. People are very good at developing theories about why things work the way they do. I knew that these theories are almost always wrong. What I did not realize is that if you give the person a way to test their theory, the person will keep devising new theories until they hit on one that works. What is usually missing in education is the means to allow that testing to occur.
An especially imaginative part of this book were the discussions of how to create theory testing solutions that are much simpler and easier to apply than any school problem you ever saw in these subjects. Papert works from a very fundamental and deep understanding of math and physics to reach the heart of the most useful thought processes for applying these subjects. It is thrilling to read about what you have known for many years, and to suddenly see it in a totally different and improved perspective.
Another benefit I got from this book were plenty of ideas for how to help my teenage daughter with her math. She is very verbal, and Papert points out that math seldom teaches a vocabulary for talking about math. As a result, she memorizes a lot and gets dissociated from the subject. I got a lot of ideas for how to encourage her to personalize the concepts and problems by moving her own body. From that I realized that I often solve the same kinds of problems by recalling physical situations I have been in. But I have failed to help her make that connection because I was unaware of it on a conscious level.
If you want to improve as a learner, help others learn better and faster, or simply want to understand more about different ways to think, this is a great book. I hope that all teachers get a chance to read and apply it.
Enjoy learning more!
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It would be hard to find a better book than this. While Prof. Papert discusses the language Logo, which he invented, the book is about much more than a computer language. It is about how children (and adults as well) learn and about revolutionary ideas about teaching and the power of thinking. He discusses many real-life children he worked with, some with learning problems. He opens your mind to the proper use of computers in the education system. For example, if you wanted your child to really learn French, you couldn't do better than allow him to live in France for a while; similarly, if you want your child to learn math, why not let him live in 'Mathland' - an environment created in a computer where math can be explored in a fun way and yet must be learned in order to explore and prosper. Papert explains this and many more powerful ideas. This is a must read book for anyone interested in the learning process.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Karen Carney
Format:Paperback
If you ever wondered why you didn't "get it" in a hated school subject, even though you seem to "get it" in other parts of your life, read this book. Pappert discusses learning, teaching and the liberating role that technology--if done right--can play in the classroom and out of it.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good source of ideas about learning
A lot of this book involves stories about the Logo / Turtle programming system. Logo and Turtle might not be used much any more, but the ideas that that developed around them... Read more
Published 5 days ago by Trevis Rothwell
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best books I've read
Papert is a genius. His insights and ideas are still valid nowadays although the book was written 30+ years ago. Do not look for recipes but for a wise experience.
Published 9 days ago by E. Gutesman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Developing new ways of thinking about learning...
"I want you to go away from this book with a new sense of a child's value as a thinker, even as an 'epistemologist' with a notion of the power of powerful ideas... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ilya Grigorik
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read!
Papert was a pioneer in the field of instructional technology. Papert highlights two main constructs - one that children can learn to use technology in meaningful ways; and two,... Read more
Published 22 months ago by mboecking
5.0 out of 5 stars
Continuing Truth
This truth about how to learn still stands, while so many notions have drifted away and died. As someone who adores children and has mentored many, I've observed again and again... Read more
Published on January 26, 2008 by Lehua of Pacifica
5.0 out of 5 stars
a great book about a revolution in education
Mindstorms is not just about the programming language called Logo. It is about Turtle Graphics and it's application to education. Read more
Published on September 5, 2006 by Patrick Regan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Children direct collaborative learning with computers.
This is a book that anyone interested in present-day education of children everywhere should find time to read. Read more
Published on July 27, 2006 by Dr. Kasumu O. Salawu
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic
This book provides an introduction to Papert's thinking concerning the learning and teaching of math. Read more
Published on April 20, 2005 by Erika Mitchell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good for teaching human learning, but weak for application
As other reviewers have pointed out, papert does a nice job of going through how humans learn and setting up the case that the current education system does not fit our learning... Read more
Published on August 13, 1999 by David O'Leary
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