Ecologically-grounded observations offer unique insights into the embodied and embedded nature of infant learning

Scientists and laypeople alike have long been inspired by infants’ acquisition of skills—from walking to talking to interacting with objects. Indeed, complementary aims of developmental science are to characterize infants’ changing skills and identify the experiences that propel learning. Our observations of infants’ unconstrained behavior in the ecologically-valid home environment have led to new insights on learning that integrate theory at the intersection of Piaget’s writings on embodied action and Vygotsky’s writings on the socially embedded nature of learning. These insights formed the basis of my plenary talk at the Jean Piaget Society conference, at which I underscored the need to: (1) surmount soundbites that early learning is rapid and effortless by characterizing the immense amount of practice that infants generate across domains such as playing, walking, and talking; (2) reinforce Piaget’s observation that cognition is grounded in sensorimotor action; (3) challenge assumptions that controlling the environment is the only way to identify learning mechanisms; and (4) elucidate the shared and unique developmental contexts that frame infants’ learning across cultural communities. Objective documentation of the natural behaviors, cultural niches, and learning opportunities of infants around the world is fundamental to science.