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More handpicked essays just for you.
Strengths and weaknesses of Piaget's language acquisition theory
Importance of constructivism in the teaching learning process
Discuss the educational implications of constructivist theory and critique its use in the classroom
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The purpose of this essay is to form a deep understanding of three mathematical concepts, numeracy, number sense and place value. As a teacher understanding the definition of these concepts is vital to deliver an authentic math experience. Both numeracy and number sense are linked directly to place value, with place value giving deeper meaning to both. Thus a teacher of mathematics must seek out computational activities that build from student’s pre-base-ten cognitive development allowing them opportunities to bring their prior learning into the classroom to further investigate mathematical problems. Social context is also important to any teacher, but plays a multimodal role within the math classroom. Both gender and socio-economic divides …show more content…
For example our monetary system is a working example of place value. Ten one dollar coins can be grouped and exchanged for a ten dollar note, ten, ten dollar notes make up one hundred dollars and can be grouped in a number of ways to depict this (10 groups of one, 5 groups of two or 2 groups of five all give us the same answer). Numeracy links to place value here by allowing us to make analytical decisions about how much we can purchase with our money and engages our decision making when getting change back from a purchase to ensure the correct about of money was given or …show more content…
Social context includes how students interact with their peers and teacher within classroom. This is particularly important for girls in a math classroom. Girls historically have been treated with a level of inequality when they struggle with picking up mathematical concepts (Streitmatter, 1997). Social context also includes student’s socioeconomic position, home life in general and their guardian’s attitudes towards mathematics. Home life has a profound effect upon what students bring into the classroom and how they develop mathematical concepts. Student’s home life may not hold mathematical knowledge highly or their guardian’s may not have the knowledge to support them in their math educational endeavors (Department of Education and the Arts Tasmania, 1992). Social context can also refer to the teacher’s pedagogy philosophies. These philosophies may have the greatest individual impact upon developing student’s place value understanding. This is because the classroom is where they will undertake their mathematics education on a daily basis. Two leading theories are constructivism championed by Jean Piaget, who argued that students do not enter a classroom without any prior learning but can create their own learning experiences. Juxtaposed to Piaget is Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory which has multiple aspects one which speaks specifically about the social
Piaget’s early work, in which he discusses cognitive development and stages for assimilation and accommodation, highlighted the significance of interaction between children, as it allowed them to see other views rather than just their own (Mercer, 1996). Followers of Piaget, such as Doise and Mugny (1984) have used the concept of socio-cognitive conflict, to take into account how children with two different views can shift each other’s thinking:
Mathematics has become a very large part of society today. From the moment children learn the basic principles of math to the day those children become working members of society, everyone has used mathematics at one point in their life. The crucial time for learning mathematics is during the childhood years when the concepts and principles of mathematics can be processed more easily. However, this time in life is also when the point in a person’s life where information has to be broken down to the very basics, as children don’t have an advanced capacity to understand as adults do. Mathematics, an essential subject, must be taught in such a way that children can understand and remember.
This paper will explore the ideas of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Exploring their philosophies and how they impact us today. The two scholarly articles show similarities and differences of their works and explore what they each mean.
Mahn, H. (1999, Nov/Dec). Vygotsky's Methodological Contribution To Sociocultural Theory. Remedial and Special Education, Vol. 20(6), 341-350.
The third stage is the Concrete Operational stage (7-11 years); this is when children are starting to solve problems mentally and develop concepts and are beginning to get better at understanding and following rules. Piaget’s fourth and final stage is the Formal Operational Stage (11 years and over); this stage is where the child is able to think not only as in the terms of the concrete, but also think in the abstract and is now able to think hypothetically. Piaget’s theory is one where children learn in a different manner to that of adults as they do not have the life experiences and interactions that adults have and use to interpret information. Children learn about their world by watching, listening and doing. Piaget’s constructivist theory has had a major impact on current theories and practices of education. Piaget has helped to create a view where the focus is on the idea of developmentally appropriate education. This denotes to an education with environments, materials and curriculum that are coherent with a student’s cognitive and physical abilities along with their social and emotional
Piaget's theory under emphasizes the role of language and social interaction in cognitive development. Vygotskys theory focuses on the process of cognitive development rather than the outcome, and this is harder to test. Vygotskys ideas on cognitive development have had considerable influence. Although Vygotsky produced very little direct empirical evidence, other researchers have provided support for his ideas and their application.
In regards to child development, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are both highly regarded and well known for their theories. Some educators view themselves as Piagetian while others view themselves as Vygotskians. They see Piaget and Vygotsky as being vastly different. Then there are others who see similarities between the two and hold both Piaget and Vygotsky as correct in their theories. The purpose of this paper is to examine the similarities and differences between Piaget and Vygotsky and determine what can be gained by better understanding these theories.
The main similarities between the two theories are development perspective, a dialectical approach, non-reductionist view, a non-dualistic thesis, an emphasis on action, a primacy of processes over external contents or outcomes, and a focus on qualitative changes over the quantitative changes. The first similarity between the two theories is the dialectical approach (Lourenco, 2012). The next paragraph will discuss two of the main similarities of Piaget and Vygotsky’s theories including the development perspective and a dialectical
To investigate the notion of numeracy, I approach seven people to give their view of numeracy and how it relates to mathematics. The following is a discussion of two responses I receive from this short survey. I shall briefly discuss their views of numeracy and how it relates to mathematics in the light of the Australian Curriculum as well as the 21st Century Numeracy Model (Goos 2007). Note: see appendix 1 for their responses.
Ward (2005) explores writing and reading as the major literary mediums for learning mathematics, in order for students to be well equipped for things they may see in the real world. The most recent trends in education have teachers and curriculum writers stressed about finding new ways to tie in current events and real-world situations to the subjects being taught in the classroom. Wohlhuter & Quintero (2003) discuss how simply “listening” to mathematics in the classroom has no effect on success in student academics. It’s important to implement mathematical literacy at a very young age. A case study in the article by authors Wohlhuter & Quintero explores a program where mathematics and literacy were implemented together for children all the way through eight years of age. Preservice teachers entered a one week program where lessons were taught to them as if they were teaching the age group it was directed towards. When asked for a definition of mathematics, preservice teachers gave answers such as: something related to numbers, calculations, and estimations. However, no one emphasized how math is in fact extremely dependable on problem-solving, explanations, and logic. All these things have literacy already incorporated into them. According to Wohlhuter and Quintero (2003), the major takeaways from this program, when tested, were that “sorting blocks, dividing a candy bar equally, drawing pictures, or reading cereal boxes, young children are experienced mathematicians, readers, and writers when they enter kindergarten.” These skills are in fact what they need to succeed in the real-world. These strategies have shown to lead to higher success rates for students even after they graduate
The organismic view of human nature is based on a living system rather than a machine (Miller, 2011). It sees humans as an active and organized whole that is constantly changing. The organismic view in Piaget’s theory can be seen through his stages of development. As children progress through each stage they gain new knowledge, hence the constant change. The contextualist view is based on how any one behavior has meaning and can only be explained through a social-historical context (Miller, 2011). The contextualist view in Vygotsky’s theory is seen through the emphasis of culture on the development of children. Although Piaget and Vygotsky had different worldviews they both used a wholistic approach and believed that children were active beings. Piaget emphasized the whole as a sum of its parts (Miller, 2011). He believed that an individual could only be understood by looking at them as a whole, rather than their parts alone. Vygotsky not only emphasized the whole rather than its parts, but also believed that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Miller, 2011). He believed that human nature could only be understood through a cultural context in order to have meaning. Once the
According to Lourenco (2012), Piaget embraced an autonomous constructivist approach to development and knowledge in contrast to Vygotsky’s heteronomous sociocultural theoretical perspective. Lourenco stated, “the Piagetian subject is, ultimately, the main constructor of, or responsible for, all or her actions, operations, and social interactions (see Piaget, 1970a, p.15). Contrary to this, the Vygotskian subject’s activity is always referred to an action or operation which initially represents an external, not internal, activity or operation (see Vygotsky, 1978, p. 56)” (p. 284).
Sherley, B., Clark, M. & Higgins, J. (2008) School readiness: what do teachers expect of children in mathematics on school entry?, in Goos, M., Brown, R. & Makar, K. (eds.) Mathematics education research: navigating: proceedings of the 31st annual conference of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australia, Brisbane, Qld: MERGA INC., pp.461-465.
The early acquisition of mathematical concepts in children is essential for their overall cognitive development. It is imperative that educators focus on theoretical views to guide and plan the development of mathematical concepts in the early years. Early math concepts involve learning skills such as matching, ordering, sorting, classifying, sequencing and patterning. The early environment offers the foundation for children to develop an interest in numbers and their concepts. Children develop and construct their own meaning of numbers through active learning rather than teacher directed instruction.
As a secondary subject, society often views mathematics a critical subject for students to learn in order to be successful. Often times, mathematics serves as a gatekeeper for higher learning and certain specific careers. Since the times of Plato, “mathematics was virtually the first thing everyone has to learn…common to all arts, science, and forms of thought” (Stinson, 2004). Plato argued that all students should learn arithmetic; the advanced mathematics was reserved for those that would serve as the “philosopher guardians” of the city (Stinson, 2004). By the 1900s in the United States, mathematics found itself as a cornerstone of curriculum for students. National reports throughout the 20th Century solidified the importance of mathematics in the success of our nation and its students (Stinson, 2004). As a mathematics teacher, my role to educate all students in mathematics is an important one. My personal philosophy of mathematics education – including the optimal learning environment and best practices teaching strategies – motivates my teaching strategies in my personal classroom.