Young children’s thinking is perceptual and concrete, they are eager to please their teachers (Woolfolk, 2001). The ability to understand the nature of the learner and how they learn is paramount to developing strategies that promote and effective and productive learning environment. Effective teaching practices motivate students to become life-long learners.
Learners develop in an orderly process and at their own pace (each individual being unique), and this development occurs gradually (Miller, 2002)and this development refers to the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development in human beings. Piagets theory explains that learners pass through four stages as they develop; sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational, these stages describe general patterns of thinking at variable ages and the quality and quantity of experience endured (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Royer (2005) and Sawyer (2006) state cognitive learning theories reflect on the adjustments in the mental structures and processes involved in acquiring, organising and utilising knowledge. This suggests learning focuses on the learners attempt to understand their experiences; this driving element of learning is knowledge (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Prior knowledge “is a scaffold that supports the construction of all future learning” (Alexander, 1996), scaffolding is the assistance a learner receives when in the zone of proximal development and all learners have a ‘zone of proximal development’ for each task they are expected to master. However learners must be in the zone to benefit from assistance’ (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010). Social constructivism is encouraged in the classroom to enhance the development of individual learners. When a l...
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...ectives because they give inconsistent information (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010).
In today's society, careful planning, research, knowledge and understanding of the minds of learners is essential for teachers to better relate to the students, directing their teaching practices in a way that is most effective to the learning of the students. By utilising theories of teaching and learning, teachers will increase their knowledge of developmental levels in the students and understand the way students process and construct knowledge. The need to accept and understand learners with exceptionalities has an impact on the teachers and learners within the classroom. Classrooms are by nature multidimensional, full of simultaneous activities, fast paced and immediate, unpredictable, public and affected by the history of students, and teachers’ actions (Eggen & Kauchak, 2010)
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
However, the teacher’s role in shaping, molding, and nurturing young minds plays a significant role in the classroom. That is, teacher should connect and invest relationship to students in a certain level to encourage learning in the
Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky spent their lives constructing theories to explain human growth and development. Both theorists are, today, considered leading contributors to the field of developmental psychology. The purpose of this paper is to explain how a better understanding of Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories will provide you with a better understanding of how we ourselves learn and grow as students in today. This will be accomplished by summarizing, comparing,
Powell, K. Kalina, C. (2009). Cognitive and Social Constructivism: Developing Tools for an Effective Classroom. Education, 130(2), 241-250. Retrieved from http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au/pqdweb?did=1937522441&Fmt=7&clientId=22212&RQT=309&VName=PQD. (Document ID: 1937522441).
I believe that teaching and learning is both a science and an art, which requires the implementation of already determined rules. I see learning as the result of internal forces within the person student. I know that children differ in the way they learn and grow but I also know that all children can learn. Students’ increased understanding of their own experience is a legitimate form of knowledge. I will present my students with opportunities to develop the ability to meet personal knowledge.
The students in our classrooms, both special education and general education classrooms, require individualized education to reach their full potential. Each child’s potential is different just as each child’s road to reach it is different. Our job as teachers is to be there for the student’s to help them reach their potential through their own unique way.
Constructivism represents a paradigm shift form education based on cognitive theories. This concept assumes that learners construct their own knowledge on the basis of interaction with their environment. (Gagnon & Collay, 200?) The role of the teacher as a constructor of the learning experience to ensure authentic curriculum and assessment which is responsive to the skills, needs and experiences of the learner, within established curriculum framework and with the reference to the achievement of literacy, numeracy, retention and attainment of outcomes. Krause, Bochner and Duchesne (p.157) comment that “as learners interact with their environment, they link information learned through experience to previous knowledge, and so construct new understandings and knowledge.” Constructivism then inturn encourages Teachers and Learning Managers to recognise the value of prior knowledge and experiences that each child brings with them into the classroom, and help them (the students) build on their understandings of the world by providing appropriate learning experience plans.
Jean Piaget’s cognitive development theory is focused on the belief that development precedes learning, specifically upon individual development of one’s knowledge through independent learning and experiences (Lourenco, 2012). Piaget’s theory discusses how an individual’s surroundings affect their development resulting in a series of changes in the understandings of their environment.
Education is a very important aspect of our lives. It is our education that makes us who we are and determines what we become. Therefore, education is not something to be taken lightly. As a teacher, my goal will be to provide the best possible education for my students. Every student is unique. I must see students for who they are individually and respect their ideas and opinions. Each student has a different learning style. I must take this into consideration because I want to provide a constructive learning opportunity for every student. I believe that every student has the potential to learn.
Education is an ever-changing part of society. A classroom teacher is faced with new challenges and obstacles that have never been dealt with before. Students come to the classroom with different life stories. Every student has strengths and weaknesses that surface in the classroom environment. Teachers must understand and focus on utilizing each student's strengths and work to improve weaknesses. Students learn in a variety of ways. The classroom must be a safe zone that appreciates student's viewpoints and allows room for mistakes. When topics in the classroom are related to "real-life" experiences, the information is more likely to be retained. Students learn from one another. The ideas and perspectives that each student brings to the classroom can bring insight into what is being learned. Students have to be allowed to explore new ideas, try them to see if they work, and sometimes fail. When students are encouraged to explore, they begin the process of becoming lifelong learners.
My teaching career has been spent learning how to provide appropriate support, guidance, patience, & understanding, as well as to enhance academic growth & success, for all students. My purpose as a teacher is to enrich and inspire the lives of young students with moderate/intensive needs by providing access to information instead of functioning as the primary source of information for students to flourish. My teaching methods will be to create an environment ripe with opportunities for discovery and exploration which will allow all students to learn at their own pace, generate questions and construct knowledge, while providing hands-on practice of skills in authentic situations as well as to make learning intriguing and meaningful to all students. Carefully planned and constructed learning environment will also allow the teacher more time to meet the individual needs of each student. Another important factor to a well-prepared learning environment is to facilitate learning, and providing students with balance and consistency (2004). Young students require a balance between various classroom dimensions, including activities guided by the teacher and independent work, quiet work and active work, gross motor and fine motor activities, and open and closed aspects to the curriculum and classroom materials (2004). Consistency is also a required condition for learner success. Schedules (daily and weekly), the enforcement of classroom rules, and student expectations should not be in flux but remain consistent. Without a sense of consistency in the classroom, school life would lack the necessary feeling of safety and reliability young children need to focus, to take risks, and to t...
One hundred years ago, Jean Piaget (1896-1980) was a young man developing new insights about learning. He was one of a handful of constructivist-minded writers and educational theorists of the time. Learning theories open educators up to new ideas. They are necessary to expand our knowledge of how learning works. Piaget’s work is a well-tested and educators around the world should be aware of Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive development in particular because it will improve the quality of their teaching. Once a teacher knows this theory, they can plan lessons appropriate to their students’ cognitive ability and build upon students’ earlier knowledge in a constructivist way.
We live in a society that is rapidly changing and where we are becoming lifelong learners. A lifelong learner is someone with aspiration and ambition to improving knowledge and skills with a personal, social, work related and civic outlook. Constructivism is the theory of how a person constructs knowledge when new information presented and it combines with existing knowledge that one gains through experiences. In a review of the constructivism theory through a student’s view, teaching and learning are the implications through hand-on, experiential, collaboration, project-based or task based projects. Learning is a continuous active process of gaining knowledge through experiences and interactions within the world. Learning occurs when an individual encounters thoughtful challenges, naturally occurring or in a problem-solving activity. Most importantly, it is worth noting to state that learning is a social
The least recognized, most important people in this world are the educators. They must work hard toward inventing a method to help each individual student “be all they can be!” Teachers must try to stimulate students to create a hunger for learning and to expand their success in life. Teachers should be obligated to the need for the student’s individuality. To be able to teach targeting to the students’ needs will make a difference not only in the student but also in the future of our society. Today’s students are tomorrow’s future.
Learning initially begins with one's attitude toward themselves, others, and the world we live in. It is our attitudes that play a major role in shaping our experiences, which in turn affects the way in which we learn. We must first be able to interpret the world using information we already know, in order to understand something entirely new. As a teacher, I could only hope that I can provide children with a positive educational experience, one that will broaden the scope in which they view themselves, others, and the world on a larger scale. Children already acquire a desire to learn, however, it is up to us to sti...