applied theories

APPLIED THEORIESON CHILD

DEVELOPMENT CENTERS

REVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENTA

L THEORIES

Theories Related To

The Learner’s Development

Erikson8 Psycho-social

Stages of Development

Freud3 Components of

Personality5 Psychosexual

Stages of development

Piaget4 Stages of Cognitive

Development

Kohlberg3 Stages and 6 Substances of

Moral Development

Vygotsky• On Language

• Zone of Proximal Development

BrofenbrennerBio-Ecological

System

FREUD PSYCHO-SEXUAL THEORY

Freud proposed that there were 5 stages of development. Freud believed that few people successfully completed all 5 of the stages. Instead, he felt that most people tied up their libido at one of the stages, which prevented them from using that energy at a later stage.

Stage Erogenous Zone Fixation

Oral (birth to 18 months)

Mouth Drinking , eating, smoking or nail biting

Anal (18-32 months) Anus Anal retentive and anal expulsive

Phallic (3 – 6 years) Genitals Oedipus Complex and Electra Complex

Latency (6- puberty)

Genital (puberty +) Genitals

“The principle goal of education is to create men who

are capable of doing new things ,not simply to repeating

what other generations have done – men who are creative,

inventive and discovers”.

PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Jean PiagetCognitive Development

Theory

Children "construct" their understanding of the world through their active involvement and interactions.

Studied his 3 children to focus not on what they knew but how they knew it.

Described children's understanding as their "schemas” and how they use: assimilation accommodation.

Schema:The term “schema” to refer to the

cognitive structures by which individuals intellectually adapt to and organize their environment.

Assimilation:This is the process of fitting a new

experience into an existing or previously created cognitive structure or schema.

Accommodation:This is the process of creating a new

schema.

EquilibrationAchieving proper balance between

assimilation and accommodationDisequilibrium

this means there is a discrepancy between what is perceived and what is understood. We then exert effort through assimilation and accommodation to establish equilibrium once more.

PIAGET’S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT STAGES

Sensori-motor Ages birth - 2: the infant uses his senses and motor abilities to understand the world

Pre-operation Ages 2-7: the child uses metal representations of objects and is able to use symbolic thought and language

Concrete operations Ages 7-11; the child uses logical operations or principles when solving problems

Formal operations Ages 12 up; the use of logical operations in a systematic fashion and with the ability to use abstractions

“THE PRINCIPLE GOAL OF EDUCATION IS TO CREATE MEN WHO ARE CAPABLE OF DOING NEW THINGS, NOT SIMPLY OF REPEATING WHAT OTHER GENERATIONS HAVE DONE- MEN WHO ARE CREATIVE, INVENTIVE AND DISCOVERERS.”

- JEAN PIAGET

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget (1896-1980), Swiss psychologist, best known for his pioneering work on the development of intelligence in children. His studies have had a major impact on the fields of psychology and education.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Stage 1. Sensory-motor Stage

Stage 3. Concrete- Operational

Stage

Stage 2. Pre-Operational

Stage

Stage 4.Formal Operational

Stage

Back

Stage 1. Sensory-motor StageThe first stage corresponds from birth to

infancy or at the age of 2 years old.

Object permanence. This is the ability of the child to know that an object still exists even when out of sight.

Sub-stage 1.Simple Reflexes

From Birth to 6 weeks.

Three primary reflexes described by Piaget:

sucking of objects in the mouth, following the moving and interesting objects with the eyes and closing of the hand when an object makes contact with the palm (palmar grasp).

Sub-stage 2. First reflexes and primary circular reactions phaseThis covers from 6 weeks – 4 months

Primary reaction because the action is focused on the infant’s body. Circular reaction because it is a repetition of an action that initially occurred by chance.

Ex. Infants might repeat the motion of passing their hand before their face.

Sub-stage 3. Secondary circular reactions phase

This comprises from 4-8 months

There are three new abilities occur at this stage:

Infants will intentionally grasp the air in the direction of desired object.

Secondary circular reactions or repetition of an action involving an external object.

(Ex. Switching the flashlight on and off repeatedly.) and;

The differentiation between means and ends.

Sub-stage 4. Coordination of reactions stage secondary circular

This includes 8-12 months

This stage is associated primarily with the development of logic and the coordination between means and ends.

Piaget calls this as “first proper intelligence.”

Also this stage marks the beginning of goal orientation, the deliberate planning of steps to meet an objective/goal.

Sub-stage 5. Tertiary circular reactions, novelty and curiosityThis covers 12-18 months

This stage is associated primarily with the discovery of new means to meet goals.

Piaget describes the child at this point in time as the “young scientist” because they

are discoverers of new methods of meeting challenges.

Sub-stage 5. Tertiary circular reactions, novelty and curiosity

Ex. When a baby seems to enjoy dropping the spoon over and over again in many different ways, a proof of the creation of novel of variations in events.

Baby then discovers a pattern that “objects fall down – not up.”

Sub-stage 6. Internalization of Schemes (invention of new means

through mental coordination)This covers 18-24 months

Infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form mental representations.

This stage is associated primarily with the true creativity. This marks the passage into the pre-operational stage.

Stage 2. Pre-Operational StageThe preoperational stage covers from about two

to seven years old or the preschool years.

This stage is highlighted by the following: *Symbolic Function *Irreversibility *Egocentrism *Animism *Centration *Transductive

Reasoning

Stage 3. Concrete-Operational Stage

This covers the ages approximately between 8-11 years old or the elementary school years.

The concrete operational stage is marked by the following:

*Decentering *Conservation *Reversibility *Seriation

Stage 4. Formal Operational Stage

This stage covers ages between 12 and 15 years old where thinking becomes more logical.

This stage is characterized by the following: *Hypothetical Reasoning *Deductive Reasoning *Analogical Reasoning

ERIKSON'S STAGES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

Stage Crisis Maladaptation Malignancy Virtue

Infancy Trust vs. Mistrust

Sensory Distortion

Withdrawal Hope

Early Adulthhood Autonomy vs. Shame &

Doubt

Impulsivity Compulsion Will Power

Pre-school Initiative vs. Guilt

ruthlessness Inhibition Purpose

School Age Industry vs. Inferiority

Narrow Virtuosity

Inertia Competence

Adolescence Identity vs. Role

Confusion

Fanaticism Repudiation Fidelity

Young Adulthood Intimacy vs. Isolation

Promiscuity Exclusivity Love

Middle Adulthood Generativity vs. Stagnation

Over extention Rejectivity Care

Maturity Ego Integrity vs. Despair

Presumption Disdain Wisdom

Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development

Assessed moral reasoning by posing hypothetical moral dilemmas and examining the reasoning behind people’s answers

Proposed three distinct levels of moral reasoning: preconventional, conventional, and postconventional

Each level is based on the degree to which a person conforms to conventional standards of society

Each level has two stages that represent different degrees of sophistication in moral reasoning

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

Socio-Cultural Theory

Lev Vygotsky

Definition Sociocultural Theory results from

the dynamic interaction between a person and the surrounding social and cultural forces.

3 CLAIMS OF VYGOTSKY a) Fundamentally shaped by cultural tools b) Functioning emerges out of social

processes c) Developmental methods (Zone

of Proximal Development)

STRATEGIES TO UTILIZE THE BENEFITS OF ZPD

a.)Scaffolding –requires demonstration, while controlling the environment so that one can take things step by step.

b) Reciprocal Teaching – open dialog between student and teacher which goes beyond simple question and answer session.

Vygotsky theorized that

human development is not

something that is fixed and

eternal. It will change as

a result of historical

development.

CULTURAL INFLUENCESa) Imitative learningb) Instructed learningc) Collaborative learning

PRINCIPLES

a) Cognitive development is limited to a certain range at any given age.b) Full cognitive development requires social interaction.

5 MAIN POINTS

a) Use of Zone of Proximal Developmentb) Interaction with other people is

important for cognitive growthc) Culture can make daily living more

efficient and effective.d) Advanced mental methods start through

social activities.e) Increase of the independent use of

language and thought during a child’s first few years of life.

The belief that development can't be explained by a single concept, but rather by a complex system.

DEVELOPMENTAL SYSTEMS THEORY

Outline of 20th Century Theories

Psychoanalytical TheoriesPsychosexual: Sigmund FreudPsychosocial: Erik Erikson

Cognitive TheoriesCognitive Development: Jean PiagetSocio-cultural: Lev Vygotsky

Systems TheoriesEcological Systems: Urie

Bronfenbrenner

LEARNING/THINKING STYLES

AND MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES

LEARNING/THINKING STYLEs-refer to the preferred way an individual processes information.- they describe a person’s typical mode of thinking, remembering or problem solving.

SENSORY PREFERENCES Individuals tend to gravitate toward one or two types of sensory input and maintain a dominance in one of the following types : -Visual Learners- Auditory Learners- Tactile/ Kinesthetic Learners

VISUAL LEARNERS- tend to learn better when a variety of visual aids are used.

Visual- iconic -refers to those who are more interested in visual imagery such as film, graphic displays, pictures.

Visual- symbolic - refers to those who feel comfortable with abstract symbolism such as mathematical formula or the written word.

AUDITORY LEARNERS- receive information best by listening.

Listeners-they remember things said to them and make the information their own.

Talkers - they are the one who prefer to talk and discuss. ( auditory- verbal processors)

Tactile/ kinesthetic

learners

- they tend to prefer

learning by doing/

experiencing things.

CHARACTERISTICS OF TACTILE LEARNERS:

- Is good at sports.- Can’t sit still for long.- Is not great at spelling.- Does not have great handwriting.- Like science lab.- Studies with loud music on.- Like adventure books, movies.- Likes role playing.- Takes breaks when studying.- Builds models.- Is involved in martial arts, dance- Is fidgety during lectures.

GLOBAL–ANALYTIC CONTINUUM

Analytic- they tend toward the linear, step- by- step processes of learning. (tree seers)

Global- they lean towards non- linear thought and tend to see the whole pattern rather than particle elements. (forest seers)

LEFT- BRAIN/RIGHT- BRAIN CONTINUUM Left- Brained Person- is portrayed as the linear. (analytic)

Right- Brained Person- is viewed as non- linear. (global)

Successive processor (left brain) - details leading to a conceptual understanding.

SIMULTANEOUS PROCESSOR (RIGHT BRAIN) - general concept going on to specifics.

LEFT BRAIN( ANALYTIC) RIGHT BRAIN(GLOBAL)

Successive Hemispheric Style

1. VERBAL 2. RESPONDS TO WORD

MEANING 3. SEQUENTIAL 4. PROSESSES INFORMATION LINEARLY 5. RESPONDS TO LOGIC 6. PLANS AHEAD 7. RECALLS PEOPLE’S NAME 8. SPEAKS WITH FEW

GESTURES 9. PUNCTUAL 10. PREFERS FORMAL STUDY DESIGN 11. PREFERS BRIGHT LIGHTS

WHILE STUDYING.

Simultaneous Hemispheric Style

1. VISUAL 2. RESPONDS TO TONE OF

VOICE 3. RANDOM 4. PROCESSES INFORMATION IN VARIED ORDER 5. RESPONDS TO EMOTION 6. IMPULSIVE 7. RECALLS PEOPLE FACES 8. GESTURES WHEN SPEAKING 9. LESS PUNCTUAL 10. PREFERS SOUND/ MUSIC BACKGROUND WHILE

STUDYING 11. PREFERS FREQUENT

MOBILITY WHILE STUDYING

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES- is an educational theory, first developed by Howard Gardner, that describes an array of different kinds of intelligences exhibited by human beings.

Howard Gardner - he believes that different intelligences may be independent abilities and all of us possess the intelligences but in varying degrees of strength and skill. - the theory was first laid out in Gardner’s 1983 book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences and has been further refined in subsequent years.

INTELLIGENCES - an ability or set of abilities that allows a person to solve a problem or fashion a product that is valued in one or more cultures.

9 DISTINCT FORMS OF

INTELLIGENCE

1.VISUAL/ SPATIAL INTELLIGENCE(PICTURE SMART) - learning visually and organizing ideas

spatially.

2.VERBAL/ LINGUISTIC (WORD SMART)- learning through the spoken and written word.

3. MATHEMATICAL/ LOGICAL ( NUMBER SMART/ LOGIC SMART)- learning through reasoning and problem solving.

4. BODILY/ KINESTHETIc ( BODY SMART)- learning through interaction with one’s environment.5. MUSICAL (MUSIC SMART)- learning through patterns, rhythms and music.6. INTRAPERSONAl (SELF SMART)- learning through feelings, values and attitudes. 7. INTERPERSONAL (PEOPLE SMART)- learning through interaction with others.8. NATURALIST (NATURE SMART)- learning through classification,categories and hierarchies.9. EXISTENTIAL (SPIRIT SMART)- learning by seeing the “big picture”

BEHAVIORISM:PAVLOV,

THORNDIKE, WATSON, SKINNER

Behaviorist Perspective

Pavlov,Thorndike,Watson,Skinner

Behaviorism:

BEHAVIORISMfocuses on the study of observable and measurable behavior. It emphasizes that behavior is mostly learned through conditioning and reinforcement ( rewards and punishment )It does not give much attention to the mind , and the possibility of thought processes occurring in the mind.Contributions in the development of the behaviorist theory largely came from Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner.

Ivan Pavlov

•a Russian psychologist is well known for his work in classical conditioning or stimulus substitution.

•Most renowned experiment involved meat, a dog and a bell. Measuring the dog’s salivation in order to study digestion.

Classical Conditioning

•Stimulus Generalization- once the dog has learned to salivate at the sound of the bell, it will salivate at other similar sound.

•Extinction- if you stop pairing the bell with the food, salivation will eventually cease in response to the bell.

•Spontaneous Recovery- extinguished responses can be recovered after an elapsed time, but will soon extinguish again if the dog is not presented with food.

•Discrimination- the dog could learn to discriminate between similar bells and discern which bell would result in the presentation of food and which would not.

•Higher-order conditioning- once the dog has been conditioned to associate the bell with the food, another unconditioned stimulus, such as a light may be flashed at the same time that the bell is rung. Eventually the dog will salivate at the flash of the light without the sound of the bell.

Edward Thorndike

•He explained that learning is the result of associations forming between stimuli and responses. Such association or habits become strengthened or weakened by nature and frequency of the S-R pairings. •The main principle of connectionism was that learning could be adequately explained without considering any unobservable internal states.

Theory of Connectionism- stated that learning has taken place

when a strong connection or bond between stimulus and response is formed.

THREE PRIMARY LAW

1.Law of Effect- S-R is strengthened when the consequence is positive and weakened when the consequence is negative.

2.Law of Exercise- when S-R bond is practice the stronger it will become.

3.Law of Readiness- the more readiness the learner has to respond to the stimulus, the stronger will be the bond between them.

Principles derived from theory of connectionism:1.Learning requires both practice

and rewards (law of effect/exercise).

2.A series of S-R connection can be chained together if they belong to the same action sequence (law of readiness).

3.Transfer of learning occurs because previously encountered situations.

4.Intelligence is a function of the number of connections learned.

John Watson

• work with Pavlov's ideas•Considered that humans are born with a few reflexes and the emotional reactions of love and rage.•Experiment on Albert and a white rat•His work did clearly show the role of conditioning in the development of emotional responses to certain stimuli.

Burrhus Frederick Skinner

• operant conditioning

•Reinforcement +R-any stimulus

given or added to increase the response.

-R- any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a response when it is withdrawn or removed.

NEO BEHAVIORISM:

TOLMAN & BANDURA

Basic PremiseWe learn behavior through observationVicarious reinforcement: Learn through

observing consequences of behaviors of others

ModellingObserve behavior of others and repeat

the behaviorBobo doll studies (1963)Disinhibition: Weakening of inhibition

through exposure to a model

Albert Bandura:Social / Observational Learning

*Characterist ics of the models: similari ty, age, sex, status, prestige, simple vs. Complex behavior

*Characterist ics of observers: low self-confidence, low self-esteem, reinforcement for imitat ionReward consequences of behavior: direct ly witnessing associated rewards

Factors Influencing Modeling: Impact Tendency to Imitate

The Observational Learning Process: 4 Steps

Attentional ProcessesRetention ProcessesProduction ProcessesIncentive And Motivational Processes

Step 1: Attentional Processes

Developing cognitive processes to pay attention to a model- more developed processes allow for better attention

Must observe the model accurately enough to imitate behavior

Step 2: Retention Processes

To later imitate behavior, must remember aspects of the behavior

Retain information in 2 ways:Imaginal internal representation:

Visual image Ex: Forming a mental picture

Verbal system: Verbal description of behavior Ex: Silently rehearsing steps in behavior

Step 3: Production Processes

Taking imaginal and verbal representations and translating into overt behavior- practice behaviors

Receive feedback on accuracy of behavior- how well have you imitated the modeled behavior?

Important in mastering difficult skillsEx: Driving a car

Step 4: Incentive and Motivational Processes

With incentives, observation more quickly becomes action, pay more attention, retain more information

Incentive to learn influenced by anticipated reinforcements

Aspects of the Self: Self-reinforcement and Self-efficacy

Self-reinforcement: Rewards or punishments given to oneself for reaching, exceeding or falling short of personal expectationsEx: Pride, shame, guilt

Self-efficacy: Belief in ability to cope with lifeMeeting standards: Enhances self-

efficacyFailure to meet standards: Reduces

self-efficacy

Self-Efficacy

High self-efficacyBelieve can deal effectively with life

eventsConfident in abilitiesExpect to overcome obstacles effectively

Low self-efficacyFeel unable to exercise control over lifeLow confidence, believe all efforts are

futile

Sources of Information in Determining Self-efficacy

Performance attainmentMost influentialRole of feedbackMore we achieve, more we believe we can achieve

Leads to feelings of competency and control

Sources of Information in Determining Self-efficacy

Vicarious experience Seeing others perform successfully If they can, I can too

Verbal persuasion Verbal reminders of abilities

Physiological and emotional arousal Related to perceived ability to cope Calm, composed feelings: Higher self-

efficacy Nervous, agitated feelings: Lower self-

efficacy

Developmental Stages of Modeling and Self-efficacy

ChildhoodInfancy: Direct modeling

immediately following observation, develop self-efficacy with control over environment

By age 2: Developed attentional, retention and production processes to model behavior some time after observation, not immediately


AdolescenceInvolves coping with new demands

Success depends on level of self-efficacy established during childhood


Adulthood: 2 Periods Young adulthood:

Adjustments: Career, marriage, parenthood

High self-efficacy to adjust successfully Middle adulthood:

Adjustment: Reevaluate career, family life Need to find opportunities to continue to

enhance self-efficacy


Old age:Decline in mental/physical function, retirement

Requires reappraisal of abilitiesBelief in ability to perform a task is key throughout the lifespan

Application of Social Learning Theory: Behavior Modification

Fears and phobiasGuided participation: Observe and imitate

Covert modeling: ImaginalAnxiety

Fear of medical treatmentTest anxiety

Assessment of Bandura’s Theory: Self-efficacy

Age and gender differencesPhysical appearanceAcademic performanceCareer choice and job performancePhysical healthMental healthCoping with stress

Assessment of Bandura’s Theory: Television and Aggressive BehaviorsRelationship between watching violence

and imitating violence

ASSESSMENT OF BANDURA’S THEORYStrengths:

Focus on observable behavior- research support Practical application to real-world problems Large-scale changes

The most important

single factor influencing learning is what the

learner already knows..

CONSTRUCTIVISM:

KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION/

CONCEPT LEARNING

- is a theory of learning based on the idea that learner’s construct knowledge for

themselves.

Constructivism

TWO VIEWS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM

INDIVIDUAL CONSTRUCTIVISM (COGNITIVE CONSTRUCTIVISM)

- it emphasizes individual, internal construction of knowledge.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM

- it emphasizes that knowledge exists in a social context and is initially shared with others.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CONSTRUCTIVISM

1. Learners construct understanding.2. New learning depends on current understanding.3. Learning is facilitated by social interaction.4. Meaningful learning occurs within authentic learning tasks.

ORGANIZING KNOWLEDGE People store knowledge in many different ways.CONCEPTS- is a way of grouping or categorizing objects or events in our mind.

Concepts As Feature Lists- involves learning specific features that characterize positive instance of the concept.

DEFINING FEATURE- characteristics present in all instances. CORRELATIONAL FEATURE- is one that is present in many positive instances but not essential for concept membership.

Concepts as Prototypes prototype- is an idea or a visual image of a “typical example”.

Concepts as Exemplars exemplars- represent a variety of examples.

SCHEMA- is an organized body of knowledge

about something.

SCRIPT- is a schema that includes a series

of predictable events about a specific activity

.

Montessori Theory

Dr. Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori was a brilliant figure who was Italy's first woman physician.

Montessori reflected a late19th century vision of mental development and theoretical kin-ship with the great European progressive educational philosophers, such as Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Seguin and Itard.

She was convinced that children's natural intelligence involved three aspects from the very start:

rational Empirical - observation spiritual

The method represents an explicit idealism and turn away from violence towards peace and reconstruction.

During this period schools were being based on the factory model of production and geared towards assimilating immigrant children into the American populous through a process of “subtractive schooling” i.e. stripping away there family, community and culture.

Friedrich Froebel applied his ideas to the education of even younger children and began the international movement towards universal kindergarten, which continues today.

The kindergartens neglected to place the child at the pedagogical epicenter and remained in the tradition of teacher-centered education.

Montessori strongly believed that the child's mind absorbs the environment, leaving lasting impressions upon it, forming it, and providing nourishment for it. Montessori warned that

‘the quality of the environment could greatly enhance a child's life or seriously diminish it’.

Children’s House

Sensorial Language

Practical Life

Math Cultural

Using their hierarchy, the “Superordinate level” denotes the broad category, the “basic level” describes a group category and subordinate categories are specific exemplars. In other words, (broad) ANIMALS (basic) DOG (subordinate) German shepherd or poodle.

In the Montessori classroom, the Superordinate Categories are: Practical Life, Sensorial, Math, Language and Cultural.

Children’s House

Letter recognition/

Care of indoors

Math Cultural+ - x / sq- cubes

SensorialThe five sensesAttributes of geometry

Care of the person

Care of outdoors

Practical Life

Handwriting

Word building/ grammar

Language

Mathematics1-10, 1- 9,999

Properties/ frac

Cultural Arts, SciencesCultures, Time

Cultural Arts, SciencesCultures, Time

On the Sensorial shelves, there are lessons for the 5 senses:

•Vision- these lessons are broken down into color recognition, identifying shades of color, magnified vision, using binoculars (distance and depth perception), etc. •Auditory sense materials that teach pitch, scales, loud and soft gradation of •Tactile (sense of touch) lessons that teach rough and smooth, stereognostic memory bags (using “feel” to recognize items)….etc•Taste Tasting solutions foods and drinks.•Smell (olfactory) smelling bottles, environment, herbs, flowers, perfumes, ect

Once we have learned to recognize individual attributes, we use our senses to experience LENGTH, WIDTH, HEIGHT, DEPTH, CIRCUMFERENCE, SHAPES, VOLUME…

Under the basic category CULTURAL, you’ll find the subordinate categories of Art and Art history, geography, Geology, Zoology, Botany, Biology, Cultures (humanities) and Time, for example

1.Start with real life

2.Move to 2 dimensional representations

3.Provide interactive activities

4.Attach language with incrementally increasing complexity

With all of those materials available to students, one might think the classroom would cluttered or over-stimulating. But instead, the classrooms are very homelike and quite cozy. There is a place for everything, and everything in its place!

CHARACTERISTICS OF A MONTESSORI CLASSROOM

Free Flow Movement - Areas Relating To Ages And Stages

Materials Which Relate To Gardener’s 8 Core Intelligences

Teacher As Observer And Director

Prepared Environment - Self Discipline - Work Cycle

No Discrimination Between Work And Play

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A Montessori classroom is a specially prepared learning environment designed to meet

the developmental needs of young children and to appeal to their diverse learning styles.

The Montessori environment is also prepared to foster independence, grace and courtesy

and a sense of personal responsibility.

Each classroom is organized into five curriculum areas:

Practical life, sensory education, language skills, math and the cultural subjects, which

encompass the arts and sciences.

Teaching Method:

• No text books

• Children study independently

• Children learn directly from the environment,and from other children

• Teacher is trained to teach one child at a time, with a few small groups and almost no lessons given to the whole class.

•She is trained in the basic lessons of arithmetic, language, the arts and sciences, and in guiding a child's research and exploration, capitalizing on interests and excitement about a subject.

The Colour Wheel

•Large groups occur only in the beginning of a new class, or in the beginning of the school year, and are phased out as the children gain independence.

•The child is scientifically observed, observations recorded and studied by the teacher. Children learn from what they are studying individually, but also from the amazing variety of work that is going on around them during the day.

Montessori saw a child’s relationship with the environment as the key to his or her self-understanding.

Education is not acquired by listening to words, but in virtue of experiences in which the child acts on his environment.

(Montessori 1967)

Children need organized learning environments and educational materials that provide enriching meaningful experiences to support their cognitive development.

Gardner, too, emphasizes the importance of the environment on the development of human capabilities. Gardner believes that

the "smarter" the environment and the more powerful the interventions and resources, the more competent individuals will become and the less important will be their particular genetic inheritance.

He asserts that even individuals who seem gifted in a specific intelligence will accomplish little if they are not exposed to resources and materials that support that intelligence.

Children are intrinsically motivated to learn and they need the opportunities to explore this. Children should not be forced to do or learn something; the will and perseverance should come from them.

Intelligence

Linguistic

Logical/Mathematical

Spatial/Visual

Bodily/Kinesthetic

Musical

Naturalist

Intrapersonal

Interpersonal

Characteristics

Play with words, enjoys stories, interest in sounds of language (phonics)

Exploration of patterns, counting, reasoning, problem solving

Visualization of concepts

Strong motor skills and coordination. Learning through movement

Ability to produce and appreciate pitch, rhythm. Understanding of musical expressiveness

Classification of living things – plants, animals, features of the natural world

Understanding of one’s self, ability to discriminate and act on one’s feelings

Ability to understand others and work well together. Availability of leadership roles

Montessori Representation

LANGUAGE AREA: Sandpaper letters, moveable alphabet, insets for design, stories, writing

SENSORIAL/MATHS AREA: Knobless cylinders, solid cylinders,

PRACTICAL LIFE: Order in the environment. Specific place for each material

ALLL AREAS OF CLASSROOM & OUTDOORS CURRICULUM:

MUSIC AREA: Montessori bells, songs, rhymes, music specialists

GEOGRAPHY & BIOLOGY AREA: Geography and social studies curriculum, care of indoor and outdoor environment

Respect of personal spaces, ability to choose to work alone

Each lesson leads to another in a spiral of learning, with the curriculum building carefully over time.

Sensorial Education - Multi Sensory Materials

Montessori’s approach was far in advance of the general psychological understanding of her time. Montessori developed materials and a prepared environment for the intellectual training through sensory motor modalities for children aged three to six years of age.

Look At The Child

Dr. Montessori discovered the child’s true nature by accident while observing young children in their free, self directed activity. Building on Seguin’s work and materials, Dr. Montessori found that young children came to acquire surprising new outward qualities of spontaneous self-discipline, love of order, and a perfect harmony with others.

I Do And I Understand

According to Montessori the understanding of the sensory motor nature of the young child’s intelligence stemmed from acute observations of children. Up until then the idea of intelligence was based on verbal development and the manipulation of visual images and ideas.

LOOK AT THE CHILD

Both Montessori and Piaget’s discoveries and insights into the mind of the child were achieved, not by what Piaget described as ‘adultmorphic’ thinking (seeing the child as a miniature adult), but by unbiased, astute, direct observations of the child.

Piaget and Montessori emphasized the necessity of active interaction between learner and the environment. Piaget and Montessori also emphasised the child’s relationship with peers as the principal means to overcoming egocentrism in learning.

The Quality of the Environment Can Help or Hinder a Child’s Development

The Montessori method encourages accommodation to external reality rather than assimilation to the personalized motives and fantasies of the child (spontaneous play).

Montessori and Piaget observed that certain conditions were necessary for optimal cognitive growth. Among these conditions is the creation of learning situations that involve particular kinds and qualities of

autonomy.

Autonomous Environments Work

The child in the Montessori classroom is allowed to learn autonomously, which they receive from the teacher. It is a very special relationship based on the teacher’s trust in the child to reveal their true nature.

In conclusion, one could argue that Montessori is beginning this

century as she did at the start of the nineteenth century. Her ideas

and pedagogy are being revisited, validated and included in the

challenge to the contemporary construction and conceptualization

of childhood. Montessori’s principles could be seen as pre-empting

concepts and thinking that are considered ‘cutting edge’ today;

principles that place a child’s wellbeing as central to her or his

experience.

“The greatest sign of success for a

teacher...is to be able to say, "The

children are now working as if I

did not exist."”

Dr. Maria Montessori

These principles are based on the factors that affect

transfer of learning.

Conditions/ factors affecting transfer of

learningPrinciple of transfer Implication

Similarity between two learning situations

The more similar the two situations are, the greater the chances that learning from one situation will be transferred to other situation

Involve students in learning situations and tasks that are similar as possible to the situations where they would apply the task

Degree of meaningfulness/ relevance of learning

Meaningful learning leads to greater transfer than rote learning

Remember to provide opportunities for learners to link new material to what they learned in the past

Length of instructional time

The longer the time spent in instruction, the greater the probability of transfer

To ensure transfer, teach a few topics in depth rather than many topics tackled in a shallow manner

Conditions/ factors affecting transfer of learning

Principle of transfer Implication

Variety of learning experiences

Exposure to many examples and opportunities for practice to encourage transfer

Illustrate new concepts and principles with a variety of examples. Plan activities that allow your learners to practice their newly learned skills

Context for learner’s experiences

Transfer of learning is most likely to happen when learners discover that what they learned is applicable to various contexts

Relate topic in one subject in one subject to topics in other subjects or disciplines. Relate it also to real life situation

Focus on principles rather than task

Principles transfer easier that facts.

Zero in on principles related to each topic together with strategies based on those principle s.

Emphasis on metacognition

Student reflection improves transfer of learning

Encourage students to take responsibility for their own learning and to reflect on what they learned.