2. Jean Piaget
1896-1980
Biologist who studied the
development of children’s
understanding through observation.
3. The Development Theory
The key people associated with this theory are
children.
To truly understand the entire theory, it needs to
be tested on someone that you could watch
grow up, such as your child
The whole reason behind this theory is to show
that as a child grows up, the view of the world
changes drastically.
Also depending on the age of the child, it shows
who they depend on.
4. Key Points of the Theory
There are different stages of this theory, depending on the age of
the child.
1st stage- Sensori-motor (Birth-2 years)
Achieves object permanence.
Differentiates self from objects
Pre-operational (2-7 years)
Learns to use language and represent objects by images
Concrete operational- (7-11 years)
Thinks logically about objects and events
Formal Operational
Can think logically about abstract propositions and test hypotheses
systematically
5. Piaget in the Classroom
The teacher cannot simply tell the students what to do. There is less
emphasis on directly teaching specific skills and more emphasis on
learning in a meaningful context. Technology can provide essential
tools which will help to accomplish the goals of a constructivist
classroom. With technology support; teachers can provide a learning
environment that helps expand the abstract and experiential
background of the reader.
Students in a Piagetian classroom construct knowledge by interacting
in meaningful ways with the world around them. Whole activities, as
opposed to isolated skill exercises, authentic activities which are
inherently interesting and meaningful to the student, and real activities
that result in something other than a grade on a test or a "Great, you
did well" from the computer lesson software, are emphasized in
Piagetian classrooms. Asking students to explain new material in their
own words can assist them in assimilating it by forcing them to re-
express the new ideas in their existing vocabulary. Students could use
technology by building a power point to propose a new business plan
and calculate their budget to help with math skills.
6. Thoughts on Piaget’s Theory
Piaget’s theory is great for the classroom. I would
love to use his theory in my classroom because
it’s not just teaching the subject it’s interacting
and building knowledge through experience. It
makes it easier to learn a subject if you are using
it in the real world. For instance, students are
more likely to learn something if they are
engaged in meaningful activities such as
operating a class "store" or "bank" or writing and
editing a class newspaper. This would be a great
way to teach them to use division or
punctuation.
7. Lev Vygotsky
(1896 - 1934)
Russian Psychologist who came
up with the social development
theory.
Vygotsky’s theory favored the
cultural line of development.
8. Social Development Theory
Vygotsky focused on how people used tools such as
speech and writing ,that developed from a culture
because he believed that higher thinking skills could only
be achieved by the successful internalization of these
tools
He studied the connections between people and their
social experiences.
Vygotsky’s theory places more emphasis on:
1) Culture and the way it shapes cognitive development.
2) Social factors and their contribution to cognitive
development.
3) Role of language and how it contributes to development.
9. Key Points of the Theory
His theory revolves around the theme that
social interaction plays a fundamental role in
the development of cognition.
Basically, social learning tends to precede
development according to Vygotsky.
Another important part of the theory says
that that the potential for cognitive
development depends upon the "zone of
proximal development.“
What is the zone of proximal development?
a level of development that is attained when
children engage in social behavior. And
children full development depends highly
upon full social interaction.
10. Vygotsky in the Classroom
The teachers should work to discover the level of each child’s
cognitive/social development, then work to build or construct the
child’s learning experiences from that point. Vygotsky referred to this
process as scaffolding. The scaffold is the altering of the
schemata, which is the organized way of creating/providing a
cognitive mental framework for understanding and remembering
information. When teachers and other students provide information
along with different perspectives for one another, those sources can
turn into a scaffold, serving as a temporary source of knowledge. The
teachers can then help students assimilate this knowledge and build
their own, thus removing the need of a scaffold.
Vygotsky believed that through the Social development
theory, students should work collaboratively to share their individual
perspectives with one another. An example of this would be students
working together using handheld computers to solve math problems.
The students can be taught by anchor instruction in the classroom.
They use the anchored instruction as a model for technology based
learning and is the form of instruction where the student already has
learned concepts and information. An anchored instruction motivates
students to build new ideas and anchor them to what they already
have learned.
11. Thoughts on Vygotsky’s
Theory
I would use the theory of social development in my
classroom because it helps students interact with
other students and their teacher. Social interaction
plays a key role in the development of the
cognition. I would also use the zone of proximal
development in the classroom because it further
raises the potential for cognition development. This
level is of development is attained when students
engage in social behavior. It would help the
students with their full potential of development, so
it would be beneficial to use this theory throughout
the classroom. I would have the students engage in
collaborative groups so they could work together to
achieve things will working together as a team.
12. Dewey In The Classroom
In the classroom for Dewey’s style of teaching, the teacher does not
just lecture and shootout information needed to be
memorized, teachers created activities that combined concrete and
practical relevance to the lives of their students. Also the teachers
sometimes were just there for resources. This was because Dewey
thought learning should be student directed. The use of technology
could give the resources needed for students. Also technology could
help connect with students and relate to them with how technology is
used in todays world. Teachers can set up experiments and situations
for the students to use to learn by doing.
With this theory the students are the main part of learning. Students
learn by doing and interacting with things that are relevant to their
lives. This makes things much easier to learn knowing it is actually used
around you and not pointless facts from a lecture. Technology can be
used to with certain subjects making it relevant to the student.
Software other technology can be used for experiments and hands on
learning. Also the internet can be used to search information needed
for the curriculum. Students work cooperatively to help each other
learn in their society. Dewey believed students should be able to
construct, create, and actively inquire. By doing this it prepared the
students to be successful in society. Also students learn to educate
themselves to the fullest not just mentally.
13. Thoughts on Dewey’s Theory
I think Dewey’s theory for learning is a great idea to
use in a classroom. Learning becomes much more
interesting when it pertains to your actual life. Not
only is it more interesting but also is easier to learn
when it has to do with the student. Also Dewey’s
idea of learning being student directed is a good
idea because students are capable of driving
themselves, but with a teacher always there to help
them when needed. He looked at education to
prepare students well for society, by letting them
learn by doing he thought this accomplished that
goal. Also I think it is a great idea to educate a child
as a whole, not just from facts and information.
Facts are forgotten, but when you actively learn
something by doing yourself and doing socially it is
a lot easier to retain what you’re doing.
