Chapter Four

1. Chapter Four Theories of Development and Learning

2. Erik Erikson June 15 1902 –May 12 1994 Psychosocial Theory of Human Development

3. Erikson came to see the importance of culture and social experience in shaping development. • He proposed an eight-stage theory of personal and social development in which at each stage in life an individual confronts a major challenge or “crisis”. • Only 4 out of 8 stages relate to early childhood.

4. The eight-Stage Theory • Stage 1: Trust vs. Mistrust (birth to 8 mos.) -acquiring sense of security and some control over environment. Ex. A baby who feels secure around his/her caregiver. • Stage 2: Autonomy vs. Doubt (8 mos. to 3 yrs.) -awareness of growing competence and separateness as a human being. Ex. A child who tries to make his/her own decision.

5. The eight-Stage Theory • Stage 3: Initiative vs. Guilt (3 to 6 yrs.) -exercising a growing sense of power & ability to act on own without undue risk-taking.Ex. A child pretending to bake or helping her mother bake a cake. • Stage 4: Industry vs. Inferiority(6 to 12 yrs.) -finding satisfaction in school achievement and mastery of new skills. Ex. Student who collects and distributes materials for the teacher.

6. The eight-Stage Theory • Stage 5: Identity vs. Inferiority (12 to 18 yrs.) -finding sense of self and building relationships with peers. • Stage 6: Intimacy vs. Role Confusion (young adult) -building close relationships & connections with sexual partners and friends. • Stage 7: Generativity vs. Self Absorption (middle adulthood) -gaining satisfaction from life’s work, nurturing and caring for others. • Stage 8: Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood) -reflecting life contentment, facing death without hopelessness.

7. Abraham Maslow April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970 Self- Actualization Theory

8. Self-actualization theory • Maslow’s theory is useful as a framework for understanding how people are motivated. • The self-actualization theory identifies a hierarchy of needs.

10. Jean PiagetCognitive Theory Minds develop as a result of interactions between experience and biology.

11. Constructivist Theory • Believed that children actively try to make sense of experiences by building or constructing their own knowledge. • Contradicted the idea that children are empty vessels. Adaption • Altering concepts in response to experience • Believes children have an inborn ability to organize and make sense of their experiences, called a schema. • This happens through assimilation and accommodation • Seek equilibrium (for their world to make sense) • Believed children need both hands-on physical experience and social interaction to achieve this

12. Children are active and motivated learners. • Children are naturally curious about their world and actively seek out information that can help them interpret and understand it. They experiment with the objects they encounter, manipulating them and observing the effects of their actions. • Children organize what they learn from their experiences. • By observing that food and toys always fall down when released, children begin to construct a basic understanding of gravity. • Children adapt to their environment through the processes of assimilation and accommodation. • An infant may assimilate (mentally or physically) a ball into her putting-things-in-the-mouth scheme, and a 7-year-old may quickly identify a new slithery object in the backyard as a snake. An infant may have to open her mouth wider than usual to accommodate a large plastic ball or teddy bear’s paw. The 7-year-old may find a long, slithery thing with snakelike body that cannot possibly be a snake because it has four legs. He will develop a new scheme-salamander-for this creature. • Interaction with the physical environment is critical for cognitive development. • By exploring, manipulating their world, and conducting little “experiments” with various objects and substances-children learn the nature of their physical world and continue to revise their existing schemes.

13. Interaction with other people is equally critical. • Piaget suggested that children learn a great deal from interacting with other people. Preschoolers have difficulty seeing the world from anyone’s perspective but their own. By engaging in conversation, exchanging ideas, and arguing with others, they realize over time that different people see things differently and that their own view of the world may not be accurate or logical. • The process of equilibration promotes increasingly complex forms of thought. • Piaget proposed that children are in a state of equilibrium at times. They can address new situations using their existing schemes and operations. Most times they encounter circumstances where their existing schemes are inadequate. This is disequilibrium, a sort of mental “discomfort.” • Children think in qualitatively different ways at different age levels. • As a result of brain maturation, environmental experiences, and children’s natural desire to make sense of and adapt to their world, cognitive abilities continue to undergo distinct, qualitative changes over the course of childhood.

14. Key Terms • Goal-directed behavior • Intentional behavior aimed at bringing about an anticipated outcome. • Object permanence • realization that objects continue to exist even when they are out of sight. • Symbolic thought • ability to mentally represent and think about external objects and events. • Egocentrism • inability of a child in Piaget’s preoperational stage to view Situations from another person’s perspective. • Conservation • realization that if nothing is added or taken away, amount stays the same regardless of any alterations in shape or arrangement

15. Types of Knowledge • Physical: Understanding how objects move and function in space and time. Also how the physical world works. • Learned through hands-on experiences • Can be observed directly • Logical-Mathematical: Relationship in our minds between objects or concepts. • Not directly observable • Social-Conventional: Culturally agreed-on names and symbols that need to be transmitted directly. • Example: alphabet, number names

16. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

17. Contributions • When children are actively engaged in learning. • Concrete learning material • Children have time to use them on their own. • Environment is designed to promote learning • How we see infants and toddlers level of competence. • Brought on such materials as mobiles above the crib, board books, and noise making toys. • The Clinical Interview • Changed way we view young children and how the learn.

18. Vygotsky and the Sociocultural Theory

19. Lev Vygotsky • (1896-1934) • Born in Russia the same year as Piaget • He was a prolific writer and after his death his theories were further developed by his students. • Work was translated into English in 1962– unknown in the West until long after his death.

20. Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory • Based on his belief that children learn from social interaction within a cultural context. • Emphasized that what children learn is determined by the culture in which they grow up. • For example: An urban child may learn how to negotiate dangerous street crossings, while a rural child May learn how to milk a cow.

21. Theory of How Development Occurs • Vygotsky viewed development as primarily a continuous process driven by learning. • Major goal of preschool is to help children move from such reactive thinking to the ability to think before they act. • Cognitive development involves: • Zone of Proximal Development • Scaffolding • Social Construction of Knowledge • Language and Thought • Self-Regulation • Play

22. Implications for Practice • Teaching in the zone of proximal development requires that children experience a challenging curriculum. A curriculum that moves the children ahead in problem solving. • Teachers are collaborators in the classroom rather than controllers of the classroom. • Teachers also need to support mature sociodramatic play to promote self –regulation • Self regulation is the ability to adapt or control behavior, emotions and thinking.

23. LEARNING THEORISTS Theories that apply to learning in the same way regardless of age of the learners.

24. B.F. Skinner1904-1980 Father of Behaviorism

25. Behavioral Learning • Learning is a change in behavior that is controlled by the consequences, either positive or negative, that follow behavior. • Operant Conditioning – using pleasant or unpleasant consequences to control behavior • Changes as a result of immediate consequences • Reinforcersincrease or strengthen behaviors • Positive consequences increases frequency of behavior • Unpleasant consequences decreases the frequency • Punishment –unpleasant consequence that decreases or stops behavior

26. Shaping Behavior • Shaping = Teaching a new skill or behavior by rewarding each step toward the goal • This can be done through Successive Approximations • Humans are more complex than rats • Behaviorism is a theory of Learning NOT a Developmental theory – applies to individuals regardless of age • Limited to teaching or changing observable behavior

27. Albert Bandura

28. Social Cognitive Theory • Also known as Social Learning Theory • Both a behavioral and cognitive theory • States that people can learn efficiently from observing the consequences of another person’s behavior. • Famous research- Bobo Experiment

29. Observational Learning • Modeling • Vicariously • Four steps to Observational Learning 1. Attention- Children pay attention to role models who are interesting, novel, or seemingly powerful. 2. Retention- Behavior is modeled and students practice behavior. 3. Reproduction- Students reproduce behavior on own. 4. Motivation- Children think they will be rewarded in some fashion. Given attention to or another way.

30. Self-Regulated Learning • Reciprocal determination -a person's capability to motivate themselves and guide their actions anticipatorily. • Self-reflection- enables people to analyze their experiences, think about their own thought processes, and alter their thinking accordingly. One of the most important types of self-reflection is self-efficacy. • Self Efficacy- commonly defined as the belief in one's capabilities to achieve a goal or an outcome. Students with a strong sense of efficacy are more likely to challenge themselves with difficult tasks and be intrinsically motivated.

31. Implications for Practice • Children observe and then model the behaviors they have seen • Be a model for what you want! • They learn by seeing the effects of others’ behaviors • Be firm, fair, and consistent! • Engage children in setting goals, evaluating their own performance, and celebrating their successes • Praise should focus on the process, not the work itself!

32. Implications for Teaching EFFECTIVE TEACHERS draw on diverse theories to intentionally support each child’s development and learning!