12 Facts About Edith Ackermann

Edith K Ackermann was a Swiss-born American psychologist who explored the interactions between developmental psychology, play, learning and design.

When she was a small child, Ackermann moved with her family to the hills outside of Cannes.

Edith Ackermann attended the University of Geneva for an undergraduate degree, a master's degree and a Ph.

Edith Ackermann's career focused on developmental psychology, play and the influence of technology on childhood learning.

Edith Ackermann worked for the MIT Media Lab with constructionism expert Seymour Papert.

Edith Ackermann was a visiting scientist at the MIT School of Architecture, was Honorary Professor of Psychology the University of Aix-Marseille I, and was a visiting professor at the University of Siena in Italy.

Edith Ackermann conducted early research that attempted to reconcile Piagetian principles with situated learning.

Reanalyzing Piaget's work with the water-level task in terms of how children move from concrete thinking to abstraction, Edith Ackermann wrote that Piaget's theory deals with how children become detached from concrete objects, where other theorists focused on the children's attachment to concrete items.

In other work with Marina Bers, Edith Ackermann studied hospitalized pediatric heart patients and found that they benefited from an interactive storytelling environment.

Edith Ackermann mentored numerous students by reading and sharing reflections on their works with them.

Late in life, Edith Ackermann became a close companion of Swiss philosopher Ernst von Glasersfeld; the pair met many years earlier while working with Piaget.

In late 2016, Edith Ackermann received a lifetime achievement award at the FabLearn Conference at the Stanford Graduate School of Education.