Theories of Development Three different theorists were considered in this assignment. Two children were used to explore the theories of development by Piaget, Vygotsky and Kohlberg. One child tested was a fourteen-year-old female named Kari. Kari is currently at the grade 8 level and performs well academically. The other child tested was a six-year-old female named Meghan. Meghan is currently in Kindergarten. Meghan performs at an average level academically. The assigned tasks were completed with the child and myself alone together to avoid distraction. Each child was evaluated on the same evening. I wanted to ensure I would present the tasks in a similar manner for each child. To explore Piaget's theories two different tasks were assigned. The first task was to test for the ability to conserve. I had a clear glass pie plate and a clear tall glass. I used a two-cup measuring cup, which was filled with water while the child watched. I filled it purposely to the two cup line making a point of setting the cup on the counter to be sure the child could observe it well. I then poured it into the pie plate. I again filled the two-cup measure; once more placing it on the counter to be sure it was filled to the same point. I poured it into the tall glass. The question asked of each child was to indicate which container had the most water in it. Kari identified that the containers held the same amount of water without hesitation. Her response indicates that Kari has the ability to conserve. From this test alone one can only conclude that Kari has at least reached Piaget's stage of concrete operations. Meghan observed as I filled the two containers. She hesitated for a moment then indicated the pie plate ... ... middle of paper ... ...t the medicine and found out that he did not have enough money to buy the medicine his wife needed. George had no way to get more money. If his wife doesn't get the medicine she will die. George becomes desperate and very upset and thinks about stealing the medicine. If you were George what would you do? Story Number Two Pretend you are older and are buying your own groceries. You are at the grocery store waiting to pay for your food. The lady in front of you picks up her groceries and leaves. You see her through the store window as she gets into her car and drives away. After you have paid and are picking up your grocery bags you notice a chocolate bar that belonged to the lady in front of you. You remember her picking it up and paying for it with her groceries. It must have fallen out of her grocery bag. What will you do with the chocolate bar?
Piaget (1936) was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Piaget placed great importance on the education of children. According to Piaget, children are born with a basic mental structure on which all learning and knowledge is based. They challenge the behaviourist theory as most of their research was done on animals and is missing knowledge. The implications of this theory are that not only should we be interest in the answer the learner gives but also the method of how they got there. I find that due to the gaps in the learner’s education, they may be missing important parts that they have had to find out for themselves these methods are not always the easiest ways of calculating. I try and make it as stress free as possible so will demonstrate other methods that may be easier for them. Piagets theory accepts that children go through the same development stages but that they may go through at different times, I ensure I make effort to cater for these different paces and ensure tasks are differentiated to accommodate this. I am aware however that this theory relates to children’s development, and I work with adults, I can still apply parts of this
Piaget has played an important part in helping people understand more about children and the process of a child’s cognitive development. Throughout this lab report, there will be questions asked of two young children. The first child’s name is Makayla. She is 9 years old and has just started fourth grade. The first Piagetian task that was given to the children is referred to as the conservation of mass task. During this task, the children rolled two equal amounts of play dough into two separate balls. Afterward, Makayla was asked if these two separate balls had the same amount of play dough. She responded yes, because they came from the same container so they are the same amounts. The children were then asked to roll one ball of play dough into a snake. Afterward, Makayla was asked if the ball and the snake had the same amount of play dough. She replied yes, because its all still from the same size container so they are the same amounts. The second task that was asked of the
There are various theories of development which have an influence on current practices in schools today.
Jean Piaget was one of the most prominent researchers of the 20th century in the field of psychology and human development. He concentrated his attention on the biological influences on the psychological portrait of the person and developmental stages. Piaget pointed out that the development of a person passes through certain stages; each stage can be characterized by specific features. He argued that learning about the world was possible through personal experience. However, his inspiration of developing the idea of cognitive growth and changes of people came while researching child behavior. Moreover, it is important to note that his research was based on the observation of behavior of his own three children (Berlin, Zeanah & Lieberman, 2008).
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.
During a child's second and seventh year, he or she is considered to be in the preoperational stage. Piaget stated that during this stage, the child has not yet mastered the ability of mental operations. The child in the preoperational stage still does not have the ability to think through actions (Woolfolk, A., 2004). Children in this stage are considered to be egocentric, meaning they assume others share their points of view (Woolfolk, A. 2004). Because of egocentricism, children in this stage engage in collective monologues, in which each child is talking, but not interacting with the other children (Woolfolk, A. 2004). Another important aspect of the preoperational stage is the acquisition of the skill of conservation. Children understand that the amount of something remains the same even if its appearance changes (Woolfolk, A., 2004). A child in the preoperational stage would not be able to perform the famous Piagetian conservation problem of liquid and volume, because he or she has not yet developed reversible thinking – "thinking backward, from the end to the beginning" (Woolfolk, A., 33).
Concrete operations (ages 7-11) – As a child accumulates experience with the physical world, he/she begins to conceptualize to explain those experiences. Abstract thought is also emerging.
In this essay I intend to discuss two psychological theories of development; The psychodynamic approach and the behavioural approach. In order to do this, I will outline each theory and explain how it accounts for psychological development, health and behaviour of the individual. In addition to this, I will explain how an understanding of these theories relates to care and would help a care professional to support an individual in a care setting.
The first video that I watched was a typical child on Piaget’s conservation tasks. The boy in the video seems to be 4 years old. There was a quarter test that I observed. When the lady placed the two rows of quarters in front of the boy, she asked him if they were the same amount or different. The boy said that both rows had the same amount of quarters. Next, when the lady then spreads out one row of quarters and leaves the other row as it is, the boy says that the spread out row has more quarters, he says because the quarters are stretched out. The boy is asked to count both rows of quarters; he then says that they are the same amount.
There are five ways in which Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Vygotsky’s theory of the Zone of Proximal Development. The very first way that teachers can use these theories to teach constructively is by providing scaffolded instruction within the ZPD for their students (292). In other words, a teacher must be able to assist children in achieving a goal that may be slightly too difficult for them to reach alone. An example of this would be if a teacher had decided that her class should do an experiment on how well plants grow based on the amount of water they receive, she could challenge her students to make a hypothesis about what they think will happen. This teacher could allow her students to individually plant their seeds and then guiding her students to predict or hypothesize what they believe will happen if one plant gets more water than another. This example directly correlates with Vygotsky’s idea of ZPD because
According to Piaget in the “preoperational stage, which goes through 2 to 7 years of age a child should have the ability to use symbols to represent objects in the world and thinking remains egocentric and centered” (Slavin ,2015) For example, I lined up two sets of quarters on a table in front of Ahmad. Each set of quarters had four in a row, I asked Ahmad which set of quarters had the most he told me that they all had the same amount. For the second part I lined the quarters up differently, but they still had the same amount the second row of quarters I spaced them out. I then proceeded to ask Ahmad the same question which row of quarters had the most he replied the second row. I asked Ahmad why did he think the second row had the most, he replied because it is larger. This method would be conforming to Piaget’s principle of conservation, “one manifestation of a general trend from a perceptual-intuitive to an orientation, which characterizes the development of conceptual thinking” (operational Zimiles
Blake, B., & Pope, T. (2008). Developmental Psychology: Incorporating Piaget's and Vygotsky's Theories in Classrooms. Journal of Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives in Education, 1(1), 59-67. Retrieved November 4, 2017, from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6c7b/9a7b4988df15c68a14434a5f162bef984723.pdf.
Developmental theories are broken up into two perspectives; Life-course, and Latent Trait. These perspectives may answer questions on why juveniles have grown to lead a destructive life-style and why others grow out of their delinquency. Latent trait explains that some tendencies we are may be born with and how important it is to be there for our children. Our parenting skills do have a profound effect on how our children may lack self control or have an impulsive behavior.
Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky are arguably two of the most noted and influential developmental psychologists. Their contributions to the field of developmental psychology, while different, also have several similarities. Throughout the following paper, I will discuss some of the similarities and, according to Orlando Laurenco, definitive differences of Piaget and Vygotsky.
Many researchers have written about child development, but none are quite as well known as Jean Piaget and Lawrence Kohlberg. Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory and Lawrence Kohlberg’s moral development theory have been essential for researchers to gain a better understanding of child development. While these theories are unique in explaining different types of child development, they have many similarities and differences as well.