Piaget’s is considered a constructivist view because he emphasized that children learn primarily by interpreting their environment and experiences in light of the knowledge and experiences they already have, thus constructing their own schemes and cognitive structures. Adaptation is the process through which children modify their schemes and cognitive structures. In adaptation new experiences are assimilated into existing schemes; if they do not fit adequately, cognitive disequilibrium results. Children can accommodate, or modify, their schemes to provide a better fit with the environment, restoring cognitive equilibrium. Organization is children’s tendency to arrange cognitive structures into larger coherent systems. Reflective abstraction is the ability
to notice patterns and connections among related schemes.