Brittany Drake FHS 2600 Theory Comparison Throughout history many theorists have developed their own interpretation

of how children learn. Though their theories may have derived from diverse influences, ultimately every idea contributed to the knowledge we have of child development today. Erickson Erik Erickson and his wife, Joan Erickson, worked together to publish a book entitled Childhood and Society, in which he proposes eight stages of personal and social development. These eight stages are critical life events that the child must overcome. If the child overcomes these major challenges in his or her life successfully then personal and social development occur normally, however, if the child does not positively resolve this crisis then developmental problems are sure to follow. Approximate Age Infants Birth to 1 year Stage Trust vs. mistrust Lessons Learned
Gaining feelings of security and positive attachment, learning to trust other people to meet needs as well as exert some control over environment. Becoming aware of increasing competence, strong will to practice new skills without restriction, and growing sense of self as individual. Becoming more purposeful in initiating play with other children and toys, increasing power and ability to act without taking too many risks. Becoming confident in school work, mastering challenging tasks, and acting responsibly. Finding sense of self and building relationships with peers. Building close relationships with sexual partners, friends, and colleagues, beginning career. Gaining satisfaction from lifes work and contributing to larger society, nurturing next generations and caring for others. Reflecting on life with contentment, engaging in rewarding activities, coping with loss and end of life challenges.

Toddlers 1 to 3 years

Autonomy vs. doubt

Preschoolers 3 to 5 years

Initiative vs. guilt

Elementary School-age 6 to 12 years Adolescence 10 to 20 years Young adulthood Middle adulthood

Industry vs. inferiority

Identity vs. role confusion Intimacy vs. isolation Generativity vs. Selfabsorption Integrity vs. despair

Late adulthood

Maslow Abraham Maslows Self-Actualization theory is beneficial to the understanding of how people are motivated. He created a hierarchy of human needs that explains how each human first needs their physical needs met before they can move on to a new level of thinking. After the basic needs are taken care of then humans can set their focus on higher goals of love, self-esteem, and eventually self-actualization; which are the things that make life meaningful. Those who do not have their needs met, such as a child who comes to school hungry, cannot think of much else besides trying to find food or water. Once that child is fed then he or she can then start to pay attention and learn.

Self-actualization Self-esteem and respect for others Sense of belonging and love

psychological safety and security

Physical needs

Piaget Jean Piaget had a large impact on early childhood education and was developed many different ideas to interpret the learning styles of young children. Piaget was the creator of the Constructivist Learning Theory and believed that children were, in a way, little scientists who developed their own ideas about how the world works. He felt that children are not born as empty vessels just waiting to be filled with knowledge, but they have their own theories about what they see happening around them.

Piaget believed that children uses scheme or schema to organize the objects that they see into categories in order to make sense of them. He said that children use Adaptation, assimilation, or accommodation in order to change these schemes, add to them, or create a completely new one. Piaget also felt that there were three types of knowledge: physical, logico-mathematical, and social-conventional knowledge. Each type of knowledge is learned differently and because they are learned differently they must be taught differently. Finally Piaget developed four stages of cognitive development. He believed that children move through each stage in the same order even though it may happen at different ages for each child. However, these stages are sometimes criticized because of new understanding of child development that has been discovered in more recent years. Stage Sensorimotor Approximate Age Birth to 2 years Characteristics
Learns through senses and physical movement, gradually moving from reflexes to conscious activity. Develops ability to learn through symbolslanguage and mental representations of thoughts; thinking is controlled more by perceptions than logic. Able to think and solve problems more logically, through concrete experience; abstract thinking is limited. Can think and solve problems abstractly, using symbolic thought and systematic experimentation.

Preoperational

2 to 7 years

Concrete Operational

7 to 11 years

Formal Operational

11 years to adulthood

Vygotsky Lev Vygotsky created the sociocultural theory, in which he explains that children learn from their environment and culture. He believed that the content of what children learn is determined by the culture in which they grow up. To give an example; children from a large city might learn not to talk to strangers or to stay in a certain safe area determined by their parents, however, children in the rural country may be more likely to learn how to care for farm animals or do other chores. Vygotsky also theorized how development occurs in children. An infant primarily learns through their senses and manipulating objects. A 2 to 5 year old develops through their own perceptions and reactions, and children in the primary grades are able to start learning on demand when teachers direct them in what task they will be doing or what subject they will be learning. He developed the term Zone of Proximal Development in which he explains that there is a distance between what a child can do on their own and what they can do with the help of adults.

Skinner B.F. Skinner believed that learning is a change in behavior that is caused by either positive or negative consequences that follow a behavior. For example: When a baby smiles for the first time it is not doing so to be social. However, when it receives praise for the action it connects the smile with the reaction of praise and soon uses the action of smiling socially. Skinner also developed Operant conditioning which is the understanding that behavior can change as a result of its immediate consequence. Consequences can increase a good behavior by being positivelike a reward, or negativelike an unpleasant feeling. Punishment, like pulling the red card in school, is used to decrease a negative behavior.

The Reggio Emilia Approach The Reggio Emilia Approach is a strategy of teaching that draws on understandings from different theorists. It is used in schools to help children learn in the best possible way for them as well as in the best possible environment. Teachers actively try to teach the children through creating curriculum and a classroom environment in which learning is both invited and sustained. Schools with this program were started in Italy and have become the inspiration for child centered programs here in America. To conclude, I feel that I have been able to learn more through each theorist combined than I could ever learn from just one. Each one of their works combine and overlap to increase the understanding of child development through many different viewpoints. At some times Vygotsky sociocultural theory may apply more than Skinners Operant conditioning as to what information about the child I want to understand, but in the end every theory can be used to interpret the development of an individual child. Through these theories I can understand how a child thinks, why they do what they do, why they know what they already know, and how I can help them to learn more.