Jean Piaget is considered the first person to study and identify how children learn. His studies in the early 1900s led to three well-known books, and an entirely new way to look at education and how teachers can best encourage learning.

Born in Neuchâgtel, Switzerland on August 9, 1896, Piaget was initially interested in zoology. He studied this and philosophy at the University of Neuchâtel, earning his doctorate in 1918. His research focused on epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, and his studies included work with psychologists Carl Jung and Eugen Bleuler. In 1919 he began two years at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he created reading tests for children. By the end of his allotted time he had published his findings, which outlined the childrens' reasoning processes during learning.

Piaget combined these findings with those acquired in a subsequent study of 100 elementary-aged Swiss children to develop a...