How Children Think and Learn, David Wood

This book explores critically and in detail conflicting views about how children think and learn.  It outlines Piagets's theory of cognitive development and explores the views of some of his major critics.  Did Piaget underestimate children's intellectual abilities?  Did he misconstrue the relationships between language and thinking>  Does his theory misguide the teacher?  Professor Wood compares Piaget's approach with those offered by Bruner, Vygotsky and other leading researchers, considering points of disagreement and establishing areas of common ground.