While participating in a Piaget-type interview on number, five-year-old Ryan seems puzzled about whether the red checkers and black checkers are the same. He pairs them up, rearranges them, and lines them again. This behavior is typical of a student who is:
A)a non-conserver.
B)a conserver of number.
C)a transitional thinker.
D)an irrational counter.

Question

While participating in a Piaget-type interview on number, five-year-old Ryan seems puzzled about whether the red checkers and black checkers are the same. He pairs them up, rearranges them, and lines them again. This behavior is typical of a student who is:
A)a non-conserver.
B)a  conserver of number.
C)a transitional thinker.
D)an irrational counter.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Ryan's behavior indicates that he is in a transitional stage where he is beginning to understand conservation of number, but still has some confusion about it. He is able to pair up the checkers and see that there are the same number of each color, but then becomes unsure when they are rearranged. This is typical of a child in the transitional stage between being a non-conserver and a conserver.

While Participating in a Piaget-Type Interview on Number, Five-Year-Old Ryan