The focus of study this week in EDAT 6115 was the cognitive, literacy, and language development in children. Learning about the theories of various psychologists such as Piaget, Vygotsky, and Bronfenbrenner enables teachers to gain a deeper understanding into the development of children. Understanding how students develop in these areas helps teachers plan effective instruction that is developmentally appropriate.
Analysis
Many factors contribute to the development of children. In our reading, we learned about the views of three well known psychologists. The theories of Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and Urie Bronfenbrenner have greatly contributed to the understanding of child development. In order to be an effective teacher, it is important to "understand how students think and how they view the world" (Slavin, 2015). This understanding will lead to more effective instruction and greater student progress.
Piaget had the viewpoint that children's development depends on their "interaction with the environment" (Slavin, 2015). He determined that children progress through four specific stages of development. Children in each stage of development possess "intellectual abilities that allow [them] to understand the world in increasingly complex ways" (Slavin, 2015). The manner of thinking changes and becomes more advanced with each stage of development. According to Slavin, Piaget believed that children will progress through each stage at their own pace and may seem to be in two stages at once (2015). Depending on the stage of development that children are in greatly influences teaching strategies and expectations.
Unlike Piaget, Vygotsky believed that children learn from others, and their learning is shaped by their experiences. Teachers know that experiences certainly increase a child's intellectual capacity in terms of vocabulary, comprehension, and knowledge of the world around them. Vygotsky further believed that children are best able to learn when "working within their zone of proximal development" (Slavin, 2015). The instruction and tasks within this zone are at the level where children can understand and complete them with a bit of assistance. It is important for teachers to know where this zone is for children in order to ensure that learning occurs. Material that is too easy or too hard does not increase learning for students. Another important aspect of Vygotsky's beliefs that greatly impacts student success is scaffolding. Scaffolding occurs when teachers provide more support early on and gradually decrease the amount of support as students become more confident in their abilities. This process increases student responsibility for their learning. Vygotsky further supports the notion of cooperative learning. Students tend to enjoy working together and by sharing their insight with peers, increased learning can occur.
Bronfenbrenner's beliefs center on the influences of the home, family, friends, and community on the development of children (Slavin, 2015). It would be hard to ignore the influence that a child's environment and interactions with others have on his or her development. These factors are seen in behaviors and knowledge that are brought to the classroom by students.
Language and literacy are developed in phases. Young children depend on early exposure to language and literature to develop early skills needed for learning to read. As children enter school, these skills develop quickly. Students quickly move from decoding words and increasing fluency to comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. As these skills are learned, students gain reading strategies that help them make sense of what they are reading.
Reflection
As much as I pride myself on being an effective teacher, there is always much more to learn and consider. After reading the information on cognitive development, I feel that I need to be more cognizant of what I expect of my students based on their ability to think and perform. Considering their Piagetian stages of development should be an important aspect of my lesson planning and task selection. Whether I fully agree with Piaget's theory or not, his ideas are important to consider when determining whether or not students are ready for particular strategies or instructions.
Vygotsky's ideas are some that I have implemented more so in my classroom. Effective teachers scaffold without even thinking about it. I often begin lessons by offering maximum support, then I gradually remove my support until the students are practicing independently. Another of Vygotsky's ideas that is in place in my classroom is that of cooperative learning. I have found that students learn well from each other. Working cooperatively further increases knowledge acquisition because students are able to listen to other views and ideas about the material.
I have witnessed first hand the effects of environment, family, community, and home on the knowledge that students bring to school with them as well as their abilities to learn. In regards to language and literacy development, it is obvious which of my kindergarteners have been read to and communicated with at home. Their vocabulary and language skills are evident as to the environment they have lived in.
The topic that we studied this week has great importance in lesson preparation. Although many teachers put these ideas into practice in their classrooms, it is imperative that we be intentional in our planning. These ideas should be explicitly considered when deciding how to teach a particular lesson. Teacher expectations should be realistic based on a child's level of development. If children are not developmentally prepared for how we teach, then our efforts are going to be in vain.
References
Slavin, R. E. (2015). Educational psychology: Theory and practice, (11th Ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education.
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