K3D210- How Current Theories of Play Can Inform Practice
K3D210- How current theories of play can inform practice
There are many theories into how children develop and how they learn. These are extremely important as they can be applied to modern strategies used for child behaviours. Presently, learning theories are placed into 3 categories:
Behaviourist approaches – children learn as a result of what they see and what happens to them.
Constructivist approaches – children learn actively rather than passively.
Information processing- children learn cognitively.
There have been many theorists who have opposing views on how and why children behave and how they learn. I will discuss 4 theorists, their theories and how they have influenced and shaped work with children.
JEAN PIAGET was born in Switzerland. He was a zoologist before developing an interest in philosophy, in particular the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge – ‘epistemology’. He studied clinical psychology at a Paris university and pursued his interest in philosophy further. While in Paris, Piaget worked on the standardization of intelligence tests. His role was to record the correct responses of children but during this time he became much more interested in the mistakes that children made. Piaget came to believe that by studying children’s errors it could provide an insight into their cognitive processes.
Piaget conducted many studies over many years and believed the best way to study children was in their natural environments. Piaget even studied his own children to make detailed observations and gradually developed a theory that was to become very influential. His theory of learning is often referred to as a ‘Constructivist approach’. This is due to his belief that children constructed or built up their thoughts according to their experiences of the world around them. Piaget felt that learning was an ongoing process and children would adapt their original ideas if a new piece of information seemed to contradict their
There are many theories into how children develop and how they learn. These are extremely important as they can be applied to modern strategies used for child behaviours. Presently, learning theories are placed into 3 categories:
Behaviourist approaches – children learn as a result of what they see and what happens to them.
Constructivist approaches – children learn actively rather than passively.
Information processing- children learn cognitively.
There have been many theorists who have opposing views on how and why children behave and how they learn. I will discuss 4 theorists, their theories and how they have influenced and shaped work with children.
JEAN PIAGET was born in Switzerland. He was a zoologist before developing an interest in philosophy, in particular the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge – ‘epistemology’. He studied clinical psychology at a Paris university and pursued his interest in philosophy further. While in Paris, Piaget worked on the standardization of intelligence tests. His role was to record the correct responses of children but during this time he became much more interested in the mistakes that children made. Piaget came to believe that by studying children’s errors it could provide an insight into their cognitive processes.
Piaget conducted many studies over many years and believed the best way to study children was in their natural environments. Piaget even studied his own children to make detailed observations and gradually developed a theory that was to become very influential. His theory of learning is often referred to as a ‘Constructivist approach’. This is due to his belief that children constructed or built up their thoughts according to their experiences of the world around them. Piaget felt that learning was an ongoing process and children would adapt their original ideas if a new piece of information seemed to contradict their