Rheta Goolsby DeVries (1 September 1936, Arkansas – 28 May 2012, Little Rock, Arkansas)[1][2] was a professor at University of Northern Iowa's Regent's Center For Early Developmental Education,[3] where she also served as director. She co-wrote many books along with Constance Kamii, concerning early childhood education curriculum that both influenced the field of early childhood mathematical instruction and accelerated the proliferation of constructivist-based teaching in the classroom.
Rheta Goolsby DeVries | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 1, 1936 |
| Died | May 28, 2012 |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | University of Northern Iowa |
Constructivist approaches
editLike Kamii, DeVries studied under Jean Piaget and they shared the same interest in children's sociomoral development, construction of numbers and arithmetic, and understanding of reading and writing.[4] Drawing from Piaget's theory, particularly, his ideas on moral, social, effective, and cognitive development, they began developing several approaches to constructivism.[4] Piaget recognized their works constituting three books, which outlined a program that allows the young learner free choice of activity in a wide range of games and experiments.[5]
DeVries also collaborated with other scholars such as Carolyn Hildebrandt and Betty Zan on works that focus on the application of Piagetian theory and the constructivist approaches to classrooms.[6]
Selected bibliography
edit- Programs of early education: The constructivist view ISBN 978-0-582-28301-5 (1987)
- Constructivist Early Education, Overview and Comparison With Our Program: Overview and Comparison With Other Programs ISBN 978-0935989335 (1989)
- Moral Classrooms, Moral Children: Creating a Constructivist Atmosphere in Early Education (Early Childhood Education Series) ISBN 978-0-8077-3341-7 (1994)
References
edit- ^ Rheta DeVries at Find A Grave (with obituary)
- ^ Obituary at the University of Northern Iowa.
- ^ "Oregon profs gain influence in Washington". The Robesonian. 20 July 2004. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
- ^ a b Branscombe, Nancy Amanda; Burcham, Jan Gunnels; Castle, Kathryn; Surbeck, Elaine (2014). Early Childhood Curriculum: A Constructivist Perspective, Second Edition. New York: Routledge. p. 292. ISBN 978-0-415-89526-2.
- ^ Kohler, Richard (2014). Jean Piaget. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-4725-1888-0.
- ^ Nucci, Larry; Narvaez, Darcia (2014). Handbook of Moral and Character Education. New York: Routledge. p. 4. ISBN 9780415532334.