Initial research and links (2006-06-07)

Jean Piaget 1896-1980 Piaget suggests that our ability to think and the way we know stuff changes in very dramatic ways as we move from babyhood through to adulthood. The implication is that our education should be tailored to suit what our specific state of development requires. For example it is pointless to teach abstract concepts to a person who is only able to understand the world in a direct physical (concrete) way. Each stage of development enables the person to understand reality better, and movement from one stage to the next is percipitated by conflict between reality and the limitations of knowing at that stage. Full knowledge of reality is only possible at maturity with the development of the ability to think abstractly. Piaget's four stages of cognitive development are: 'sensorimotor' - infancy 0 to 2- feelings, movements 'pre operational' - todlerhood 2 to 7 - motor skills development 'concrete operational' - childhood 7 to 11 - logical thought about concrete world 'formal operational' - adolescence to adult 11 and up - abstract thought By emphasising the person developing their thought frameworks the theory is associated with 'constructivism' ie knowledge does not appear magically inside people's heads, but is constructed by process of experimentation and observation. So the role of the learner is emphasised and the role of the teacher is reduced. Piaget is criticised for being too individualist - for not considering the social context of learning. Vygotsky and others address this - see below. Piagets initial predictions about age ranges for each stage have been shown to vary widely for different populations and for different tasks, although there has been general agreement about the order of movement through the stages. The ultimate goal for Piagetians is to enhance the development and learning of the student by setting them developmentally appropriate tasks throughout their education so that they would better be able to move to creative and non-conformist maturity as an abstract thinker. Sources: Overview - Wikipedia Criticism at Flinders Uni

Lev Vygotsky 1896 - 1934 Vygotsky believes that cognition is hugely dependant on social interaction. In other words we cannot learn without people around us. Conversly the people and culture around us can set the boundaries of what we can learn. "Every function in the child's cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals." (Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society p57). On ones own the options to learn are limited. In a situation where there are other people who are learning and other people who have knowledge then the scope for learning is increased greatly. This is Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) Significant adults that are part of the ZPD provide helpful supports ('scaffolds') for the learner. These take the form of compelling tasks, resources, templates and guides, and help with cognitive and social skills. As the learner becomes confident the 'scaffolding' is gradually removed and the learner is said to have closed the gap betweent their previous ability and their potential ability. Vygotsky also strongly emphasised the need for play as a vital part of cognitive development. Play is a means of putting social rules into practice - it provides a way for the imagination to move the player to the next level of development, allowing them to effectively set up their own ZPD. The implication for schools? Encourage play, provide a range of teachers / adults to increase the opportunites of students entering and concluding ZPDs by recieving sufficient scaffolding. Encourage teachers to include more tasks where students interact with each other and the teacher(s) to maximise the exposure to the social development of cognition. The ever refreshing Wikipedia http://tip.psychology.org/vygotsky.html

Howard Gardner 1943 - Howard is justly famous for putting into words what most of us now accept as obvious - that traditional measures of intelligence or IQ reflect only a small part of a persons potential ability. The theory of multiple intelligences (MI) is that there are at least seven fairly distinct groupings of skills and tallents that can be called intelligences. The two most well known are related to the traditional 'g' or IQ - These are mathmatical/logical and linguistic/verbal intelligences. People with strengths in these areas tend to get high IQ scores, but this is a poor standard for human excellence. Stereotypically a genius is known for solving difficult logical problems, but is often unable to maintain a social network, has no ability to create artworks, is awkward and cannot hold a tune. To recognise that there is more to life than logic and words Gardner adds these other intelligences: Visual-spatial (artistic, understanding form and space), Body-Kinesthetic (dance/movement), Musical-Rhythmic (sound,beat,rhythm, tone), Interpersonal (relationships/emotion) and Intrapersonal (self reflection,spirituality), and recently, Naturalist (nature/organic systems aware). According to Gardner it is possible to have strengths in more than one area. The implication for education is that in any given student body there will be representatives of all the different types, each of which should have the opportunity to develop their speciality(s). Recognising and fostering the broader range of tallents should lead to greater numbers of students who feel there is a place for them and are encouraged to reach their full potential. In the world outside education many of these intelligences are highly prized. Good communicators are sought after for CEOs and leaders, great sports people and athletes are the pride of nations, musicians and artists are represented in the shrines of national culture and emotional well being is the holy grail of the masses. By balancing the curriculum with more tasks and activities for all the intelligences the drought experienced by many students could be broken. The problem is that this would mean changing the way students performance is measured and it would mean a lot more work for teachers when developing lessons. The upside should be happier, more fulfilled and energised students, which would make the crowd control aspect of teaching much less onerous. To me this is a reminder of the ideal of a 'well rounded' person - the 'Renaisance man' (or woman). The education of such a person would include access to dance, music, drama, self awareness, literature, logic, mathematics, building, and art. Here is an informal distribution of the inteligences based on data collected online by Mitest: Sources: Howard's personal web site is here Howard's FAQ Funderstanding company

Jerome Bruner 1915 - Knowledge and memory is constructed because it is significant or meaningful, not for its own sake Human development requires interaction of hands on experience ('enactive skills'), visual recognition and the means to compare things ('iconic skills') and the ability to think abstractly ('symbolic skills') . These 'modes' are similar to Piagets stages, but they are all available throughout development in varying degrees. Early childhood is dominated by the 'enactive' - learning how to move, middle childhood by the 'iconic' - and adolescence by the 'symbolic'. Development involves 'mastering' the dominant mode so that students are more able to switch between modes. Bruner believes that the best learning is when people discover things for themselves. The role of the teacher is to enable students to discover by engaging them in dialogue and directing them only when necessary. Learning tasks set by teachers should include activities from each of the three modes. So a good task should have an element of making or doing (enactive), it should involve describing or viewing related things (iconic), and it could have some discussion and analysis (symbolic). The amount and ratio of the three modes should be appropriate for the age of the students and their related 'dominant Sources: Student Assignment