I choose the scenario about the baby and the educator. This is how I interpreted it: The educator believed that the baby was falling behind in relation to his developmental stage, maybe based on Piaget’s four stages of development. This prompted the educator to place the baby in a situation where he was to ‘learn to become independent’. The baby seemed to feel scared and overwhelmed by the situation he was placed in and made that evident to the educator by crying excessively, to the point that the educator had to justify why she had left him there “he needs to learn to be independent” (Mac Naughton, 2003, pp.51).
Educator’s perspective
The educator believed that the baby was unable to be left alone and that he needed to learn how to become independent. Based on the constructivist’s theory, it is thought that a child’s learning is based on doing and trial and error to build on their existing knowledge to create new knowledge. “we learn through our own actions of taking in information, working with that information and turning it into new understandings or linking it to what we already know” (Mac Naughton, 2003, ). The educator in this scenario obviously believed that this baby was only going to learn to be independent if left alone for a period of time. Although the constructivist theory is based on a child learning from his or her own active participation and actions, they also believe that learning relies on social interactions to create concrete knowledge “learning is only meaningful if we own it” (Mac Naughton, 2003, pp.41).
The educator in this scenario took on more of a Piagetian view of constructivism (individual constructivists), who believed that “adults (educators) play a non-directive role in a child’s learning” (Ma...
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...ght she was making an enjoyable, sound environment for the baby to be happy, content and be able to learn to become independent. By taking to the power role, not thinking about how the baby felt in the situation and by assuming the baby would just ‘learn’ to become independent by being alone has shown that their relationship will be limited on the baby’s behalf as he would feel neglected and distanced from the educator which could result in mistrust towards her.
Works Cited
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind and society: The development of higher mental processes.
Dictionary, A. H. (2000). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language. Answers.com.
Piaget, Jean (1968). Six Psychological Studies. Anita Tenzer (Trans.), New York: Vintage Books.
Mac Naughton, G. (2003). Shaping early childhood: Learners, curriculum and contexts. McGraw-Hill International.
Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, was brought into this world on August 9, 1896, in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. He was the eldest child of Arthur Piaget and Rebecca Jackson. His father was a medieval literature professor and Piaget began to grasp some of his traits at an early age. At only 11 years old, Piaget wrote a short paper on an albino sparrow and that along with other publications gave him a reputation. (Encyclopedia Britannica 2013) After high school, Piaget went to the University of Neuchâtel to study zoology and philosophy where he also received a Ph.D. in 1918. Sometime later Piaget became acquainted with psychology and began to study under Carl Jung and Eugen Bleuler. Later he started his study at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1919. Four
How human children’s intelligence develops as they go through their adolescent stages in their early life has been a wonder to many researches and theorists. Jean Piaget is a stage theorists which means that he believes that there are a series of four main qualitatively different periods (or stages) that children go through in a certain and stable order and that any information or experiences that they gain in one stage is going to stay with them and prepare them for their next one. Piaget believes that children are active participants in their own development from stage to stage and that they construct their own mental structures through their interactions with their environments that begin just
Several theories show that children learn best when they are in some way active in their learning. A key theorist is Jean Piaget. He was born in 1896. He developed ‘constructivist’ theories which look at the way in which children seem to be able to make sense of their world as a result of their experiences and how they are active learners. Piaget’s theories have been influential, although they have been challenged over the
The first stage, which occurs during the first year of life, is labeled as trust versus mistrust. Trust is developed when the caregiver is nurturing which gives the child a feel of comfort. When a child receives positive care giving, the child will then trust his or her caregiver, providing beneficial development. However, when a child does not receive positive care giving then mistrust develops. When a child reaches the ages of one to three years old, the stage the child experiences is autonomy versus shame and doubt. When a child or infant gains trust in his or her caregiver, they realize that their behavior is their own (cccc73). At this stage, infants are discovering and learning new concepts and tasks daily. Since learning and independence is important at this age, restraint by the parents can hinder development and cause the child to feel a sense of shame or doubt. As a child enters her or his preschool years, Erikson’s third stage becomes present which is initiative versus guilt. During this stage, children are developing socially and “need to engage in active, purposeful behavior that involves initiative” (Santrock 74). With a greater social world comes greater responsibility especially behavior ...
Jean Piaget’s (1896-1980) theory of constructivism states that children are only able to learn up to a certain level of development and once a biological mile stone mark has been reached then they will be able to take in new information and knowledge adding to their already acquired knowledge. If a level of knowledge that is beyond a child’s current level of understanding they will be unable to understand what is being presented to them, and it’s the biology of the brain that determines when a child will be able to continue to the next higher level of information. Piaget placed these markers or “takes off” points at the ages of 18 months, 7 years, and 12 years of age. This theory is view much like building a house with each phase of construction needed to be completed before the next phase can begin hence the term constructivism. In other words society can only give a certain level of knowledge to a child and anything higher woul...
Piaget’s developmental stages are ways of normal intellectual development. There are four different stages. The stages start at infant age and work all the way up to adulthood. The stages include things like judgment, thought, and knowledge of infants, children, teens, and adults. These four stages were names after Jean Piaget a developmental biologist and psychologist. Piaget recorded intellectual abilities and developments of infants, children, and teens. The four different stages of Piaget’s developmental stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Sensorimotor is from birth up to twenty- four months of age. Preoperational which is toddlerhood includes from eighteen months old all the way to early childhood, seven years of age. Concrete operational is from the age of seven to twelve. Lastly formal operation is adolescence all the way through adulthood.
Educators produce a wide variety of experiences, perceptions, prospects, learning and abilities to their education (DEEWR, 2009, p. 9). In my career and through my studies, my philosophy and pedagogy have been closely linked with the constructivist theory from Piaget. Being able to focus on a child’s interests and creating learning activities that are implemented as fun is a big part of my motivation as an educator and teacher. The educational environment needs to sustain every single child along with inspiring significant work that can result in more advanced thinking (Evanshen and Faulk, 2011, p. 225). Following Piaget’s ideas while implementing the EYLF has made for a simple straight forward way of supplying quality learning experiences for children from birth to 12 years old and it has helped me widen the scope of each experience to allow for multiple levels of developmental stages. Using a constructivist approach to learning allows for the breaking down of the experience as a whole into smaller parts which brings the focus around to the process of learning (Evanshen and Faulk, 2011, p. 667). Overall I believe Piaget’s Theory to be one of the most important influences in modern teaching, allowing scaffolding of learning in a place that that
However the theories may differ, they do have common ground in the fact that both theories require: the child having the ability to learn, as well as needing physical-social human interaction with an adult and finally they all require
For this written assignment, I am assuming the role of a mother of a grade seven boy, who is experiencing difficulty in school. The school follows the principles of a behaviourist model and I am outraged. I believe that the model used is the cause of my son’s – and others’ – difficulty in the school. I have had enough with my son’s difficulty and I feel it is my right as a parent to stand up to when I feel that my child is being taught incorrectly. I am organizing a meeting for the fellow parents, where I will have a presentation on the shortcomings of the behaviourist model. I will also introduce the constructivist model and its positives in using this model in school systems.
The classroom is no longer a place where the teacher pours knowledge into passive students who wait like empty vessels to be filled (Open Educational Resources of UCD Teaching and Learning). Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction rather than passively receiving information (Gray. 2016). Lewis and Williams (1994) as cited by Schwartz
describe how you would tailor a coaching session to suit the needs of a child who is 6 years
The second stage of Erikson’s theory is autonomy versus shame and doubt, which pertains to children aged one to three. In addition to infants gaining the trust of their caregivers, they also want to be independent. The urge to be independent is followed by the urge to make their own choices (Guinee, 1998, p. 2). Therefore, if parents guide the child, and allow them to learn on their own autonomy develops. If the parents of a child are overprotective and scolds the child for every minor wrongdoing, the child will develop shame and may begin to doubt their
The first stage, which happens between birth and 18 months, is trust vs. mistrust. During this stage, an infant is confused about the world being a safe place and wonders if his or her needs will be met. As a result, the infant looks to the primary caretaker for consistent care and hope that his or her needs can be met. Erikson explains that those that receive constant care during this stage will develop a sense of trust. The basic virtue in this stage is hope. The second stage of this theory is autonomy vs. shame and doubt, which happens between 18 months and 3 years. During this stage, there is an increase in mobility and independence. Erikson explains that it is critical to allow the child to explore their limits and allow failure. The basic virtue in this stage is will. Initiative vs. Guilt that happens between 3 and 5 years is the stage that follows. During this stage, children take more initiative to engage with peers. Erikson explains that during this stage if children are given the opportunity to take initiative, they will develop a sense of security in their ability to lead. The basic virtue in this stage is purpose. Industry vs. Inferiority, which happens between 5 and 12 years, emphasizes school and friendships. Erikson believes that during this stage, children will seek approval from others by displaying skills that are valued by others. Additionally, he believes that if
Constructivism is a defined, when referring to the learner, as a "receptive act that involves construction of new meaning by learners within the context of their current knowledge, previous experience, and social environment" (Bloom; Perlmutter & Burrell, 1999). Also, real life experiences and previous knowledge are the stepping stones to a constructivism, learning atmosphere. (Spigner-Littles & Anderson, 1999). Constructivism involves the learner being responsible for learning the material and, not necessarily, the teacher (Ely; Foley; Freeman & Scheel, 1995). When learning occurs, the goals, values, and beliefs of the individuals need to be linked to the new data. Also, in constructivism, the person, who is taking in the knowledge, can somehow filter, amend, and reformat the information that he or she feels is important to the schema (Spigner-Littles & Anderson, 1999). A constructivist learner uses the creative approach to apply their own meaning to a topic using the social and cognitive circumstances around themselves (Bloom; Perlmutter & Burrell, 1999). A short and sweet summary of constructivism is "how one attains, develops, and uses cognitive processes" (Airasian & Walsh, 1997).
We must first look at the need for a constructivist approach in a classroom, to do this we think back to our days in primary school and indeed secondary school where textbooks we like bibles. We were told to take out our books, look at the board, and now complete the exercise on page z. This approach in a class is repetitive, the teacher holds authoritarian power and learning is by no means interactive. “In a traditional classroom, an invisible and imposing, at times, impenetrable, barrier between student and teacher exists through power and practice. In a constructivist classroom, by contrast, the teacher and the student share responsibility and decision making and demonstrate mutual respect.” (Wineburg, 2001) This approach focuses on basic skills and strict adherence to the curriculum. Children are being forced to learn through repetit...