Theorists and their views

Summary: Chapter 2 tells us about many different theorists and their studies of psychosocial and cognitive development in people. Each one had different views and each over the years has been critisized by other individuals.

1. Erikson-Psychosocial Development: A). our personality development occurs from succussfull resolution of psychosocial crises B) and the personality of an individual forms as the ego progresses through a series of interrelated stages (8 stages of psychosocial development) C). He felt that crises occur when people feel compelled to adjust to the normal guidelines and expectations that society has for them but not altogether certain that they are prepared to carry out these demands completely. D). he did not believe in competition for a limited number of awards (grading on a curve) he felt that grades should be based on realistic and attainable standards that are decided on ahead of time and told to the students
2. Piaget- Cognitive Development: A) Humans inherit 2 basic tendencies: organization (the tendency to systematize and combine processes into coherent general systems) and adaptation (the tendency to adjust to the environment) B). children develop schemes or organized patterns of behavior or thought C). People organize schemes in order to achieve the best possible adaptation to their environment, equilibration D). Piaget felt that there were 4 stages to cognitive development E). He felt that peer interactions do more to spur cognitive development than do interactions with adults because children are more likely to discuss, analyze and debate their views with other children F). Some did feel that cultural differences may vary the rate at which children develop each of the 4 stages
3. Vygotsky- Cognitive Development: A) How we think is a function of both social and cultural forces B). Parents and schools shape children's thought processes to reflect that which the culture values. C), Psychological tools are the most important thing that is passed down through a culture because they are the cognitive devices and procedures used to communicate and explore the world around us. (Ex. speech, writing, diagrams, numbers, chemical formulas, rules, musical notations, and memory techniques) D). Children gain more from those that are more intellectually advanced E). Teachers should teach children how to use the psychological tools that they have been given F). Zone of proximal development (the difference of what a child can do on his own and what they can do with some assistance): a student with a wider zone is more likely to experience greater cognitive development when instruction is given just about the lower limit of their ZPD than will students with narrower zones because the former are in a better position to gain from the instruction G). Scaffolding (helping students answer difficult questions or solve problems by giving them hints or asking leading questions) helps students to acquire knowledge and skills they would not have learned on their own because as they learn the information the learning aids are slowly faded and then removed. (Ex. prompts, suggestions, checklists, modeling, rewards, feedback, cognitive structuring [labels, rules, categories], and questioning) H). Mark Tappan proposed a 4 component model that teachers can use to optimize the effects of scaffolding and students move through their ZPD: 1). model desired academic behavior 2). create a dialogue with the students (exchange of questions, explanations, and feedback between teacher and student) 3). practice 4). confirmation (focusing on what they can do with some assistance which creates a trusting and mutually supportive relationship between teacher and student)
4. Using technology to promotes cognitive development- due to distance, time, and cost we are kept from wider-ranging interactions and technology can greatly reduce these limitations and expand our range of experiences
5. Piaget on Moral Development: A). age changes in interpretation of rules (as a child grows older their ideas of rules begin to mature)
6. Kohlberg's Description of Moral Development: A). Moral reasoning proceeds through 6 fixed stages and moral development can be accelerated through instruction
7. Gilligan's View of identity and moral development: A). Erikson's and Kohlberg's views describe more of what occurs with adolescent males than with adolescent females B) females care more about caring and understanding and less about seperation and independence C). females use a caring orientation to a slightly higher degree than the justice orientation

Comparisons:

I feel that by using parts of each of their ideas an individual could profit more than if they tried to just choose one theory. So is so many important parts from each of them. As I think back, some of my best teachers had characteristics of each of these. Like a teacher that use peer tutoring but those students also learn for their teacher who is more intellectually advanced than they are.

Discussion board:

I really enjoyed the post about the Maria Montessori because I had heard of those schools but did not know where they originated from. That post gave me information to further research on. I also just enjoy reading everyone's views of why they chose what they did. I had a hard time making a choice for the theorist that I felt matched me more and it was good to see that I was not the only one. When reading the posts we all have the same goals in mind but we have different ideas of how to reach those goals which makes us unique individuals.

Blog importance:

Throughout this chapter I found a lot of good ideas and unique information that I want to remember for later use. Instead of writing down everything that I liked I decided to just record a brief idea and the page number so that I can go back to it in the future.

1. Applying Erikson's Theory of Psychosocial Development p.33-34 A). play down comparisons and encourage cooperation and self-competition B). American school system has been described as a place where individual differences are either ignored or discouraged and negative feedback outweighs positive feedback C). promoting students to work toward short-term goals especially in the classroom
2. Science instruction programs called CASE p.42
3. Children who are in the process of developing the schemes for the next stage can be helped to gain those schemes faster through good-quality instruction. (teachers can teach the principles of conservation by using simple explanations and concrete materials and allowing children to manipulate the materials) p.42
4. An increase in formal operational thinking among 13 to 15 year olds may be due to teaching practices (creating tables to display information and using tree diagrams to clarify grammatical structure) p.43
5. Applying Piaget's theory of Cognitive Development p.44-46: A). focus on what a child can do at each stage instead of what they can not B). because of differing rates of intellectual growth, gear instruction materials and activities to each student's developmental level C). new concepts new to provoke interest and curiosity and be moderately challenging in order to maximize assimilation and accomodation D). Lesson plans should include opportunities for activity, manipulation, exploration, discussion, and application of information (Ex. small group science projects) E). Begin lessons with concrete objects or ideas and gradually shift explanations to a more abstract or general level F). Arrange situations to permit social interaction so that children can learn from one another
6. Technology applied to Piaget p.52-53: A). Geometer's Sketchpad B). Conservation of Area and Its Measurement (C.AR.M.E) C). Probability Explorer D). microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL)
7. Technology Applied to Vygotsky p.53-54: A).Reading Partner and Writing Partner software tools B). Telementor Program

Question of the Week: Looking at Erikson, Piaget, Kohler, Vygotsky, and Gilligan, which theorist associates most with the grade level you will be teaching and how? Please tell what level you will be teach along with what subject. Also, let me know how you believe the theory could be applied to the use of technology at your grade level.

When I first did my post for the discussion board I felt that you wanted a specific one and after your response I decided that I would rather for this blog take a more overall view. I do not want to choose just one theorist because I feel that I want to use information from each of them. I will be teaching Speech Language Pathology which covers preschool through grade 12. I also want to get my training for Special Services Coordinator which also covers the same age level. Because of this wide variety of age levels, I also feel that is another reason to use a more collaborative approach. I like Vygotsky's idea of that the more intellectually advanced help students, zone of proximal development and scaffolding and theoretical learning. I also like Piaget's idea of students learning through peer interaction, the 4 stages of development and what they each involve, and the idea of organization and adaptation. Erikson's views of motivating children instead of making them feel quilty or unsuccessful. His view of personality development through the resolution of crises is also important to me. I feel that by using parts of each that I can become a much better teacher and role model for my children. Technology can be used for any of these theorists. Piaget uses technology for displaying knowledge, fixing misconceptions and errors in thinking, and a source for same-age peers to debate issues such as Geometer's Sketchpad, Probability Explorer and chat rooms designed for same age peers that are watched by adults. Vygotsky uses technology as a tool to link learners to more knowledgeable peers and experts, and an expert peer or collaborative partner to support skills and strategies. (Ex. using a computer as a tutor for reading, writing, or mathematical tasks; using technology to research information)