If the theories of Piaget (stages of cognitive development) and Bruner (anything can be taught to anyone as long as it is taught in their language) are combined and applied to an elementary school the resulting conclusion is very quickly hands-on learning. Or, more simply, elementary-aged children understand their world through tangible experiences, so teach them through tangible experiences.

A child's early memory code is formed by concrete experiences (combinations of the 5 senses), but these experiences become the building blocks for their later abstract cognitive thought patterns. This theory of education is widely applied from the standpoint of teach (hands on lessons, manipulative, etc.), but is a low if not nonexistent priority in constructing the environments in our schools. The experiential aspects of our schools should not only provide for a purely more pleasing environment, but should also allow for strong behavioral imprinting experiences that would result in memory niches -- the foundation for later abstract cognitive thought patterns.

This diagram shows the progression of memory coding through these stages and how the resulting thoughts would be accessed.