Chapter 2

One of the most cited theories of human development is that of Swiss biologist Jean

Piaget. After reading about Piaget’s basic assumptions (p. 27-32) look with particular attention at the stage of child development you would like to teach. The other most cited theory of human development belongs to Russian developmentalist Lev Vygotsky. Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development leads us to expect greater diversity among our same-aged students than Piaget. Given these two influential theorists’ ideas on cognitive development, how might you accommodate students who are not yet working at the level of their peers?

I will be working with very young children, most likely Kindergarten of first grade. These students would be somewhere in the Preoperational stage of cognitive development according to Piaget. However, as stated in the chapter, children do not always move through these cognitive stages exactly how Piaget imagined. There are several cultural, as well as individual, factors that contribute to the cognitive development of children. While I agree with the gist of each stage and how children's knowledge develops in this sort of sequential order (you need to learn one thing before learning the next), I do not fully agree with the time frame in which that happens. To help children who are not on the same level as their peers, I might employ both theories of learning and pair lower-level learners with average or higher-level learners. Both theorists suggest that learners construct knowledge and understanding, and Vygotsky says that people work together to construct meaning from events. With this in mind, those lower-level students who are working with a child of average or a higher-level may begin to develop their thinking in the way their counterpart peer is thinking. That is possible, however, if the higher-level student is able to effectively communicate their own thinking to their partner. Along with this, one effective practice for all students to learn is the ability to explain their reasoning. Those lower-level students may be struggling with explaining their reasoning for a particular answer, but those who function at a higher level may be able to "model" effectively how to explain their thinking. 

Theories in educational psychology promote the idea that language plays a critical role in cognitive development. Examine Table 2.2 (p. 51), paying particular attention to the age range that you are interested in teaching. Consider how you might incorporate or adapt the strategies presented for use with your own students.

I agree with all the strategies listed for K-2. I think one of the most important strategies to use when developing linguistic skills in very young children is the strategy of asking children to construct narratives. Not only do children tell a story (ex: What did you do last weekend? Tell me about what you did when you went home yesterday), while working on their linguistic skills, they are also working on sequential order skills (first, next, last). I have always felt that this was an important strategy to use when talking to children, because they are learning to construct stories without even realizing it. To them it is just a conversation with another person. Another important strategy I think I would use in my classroom is giving corrective feedback when it appears that students are using words incorrectly. I would correct students in a very subtle way, and make sure that they know and understand how their word was incorrectly used. Of course, I would give the students the correct word(s) to use and explain why.