Helping a Child Learn Based on Theories - Research Paper Example

Helping a Child Learn Based on Theories Learning is an important of every individuals life especially when they are young children. There are a lot of theorists who have studied how a child learns and each one has based their information on theories they have developed. For this paper, we will look at five well known theories, including behavioural, cognitive, developmental, and humanistic and personality. BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES Behavioural theories bring to mind the work of B.F. Skinner. Skinner believed that it is possible to condition any learning that is required through the use of specific rewards and punishments. He stated that it is not something that has to be repeated many times, but instead, if the behaviour that you want is clearly communicated, an individual will react to a familiar stimulus ("B.F. Skinner", 2008, p.1). Skinner called his theory "operant conditioning." He used a system of positive and negative enforcers to help strengthen or eliminate behaviours. The use of behavioural modification means that an individual may "change the consequences of behaviour in order to guide it to what is required. Skinner saw that although there would be a large task that was to be completed, it would be a better idea to break these larger steps down into small ones. This way a child could concentrate on one step at a time and be rewarded for the accomplishment of each task ("The 1950s, n.d.). In the view of the behaviourists, the way to motivate a child to learn is to reinforce the behaviour you want and ignore the behaviour you do not want. As an example, you have a child who does not want to clean their room. A chart can be set up and each time a child cleans their room, they receive a positive sticker (maybe a smiling face) on the chart. When they do not, they receive a negative sticker (maybe a frowning face). In order to go to McDonalds or get a special treat, they must have an accumulation of positive stickers. This can motivate a child to clean their room. Eventually, this will be made into a habit of course and you can gradually discontinue the stickers (according to his theory). COGNITIVE THEORIES The cognitive theorists were focused on finding out how people learned through understanding material in their environment. One of the foremost theorists in this area was Jean Piaget. He believed that children do not necessarily learn in a smooth way but in a series of stages of cognitive development. His stages include: 1. Sensori-motor -- ages birth to two years -- the child understands that there is a difference between them and objects around them. He also understands that objects exist outside of himself. 2. Pre-operational --ages 2-7 -- he begins to use language and to represent objects by images and words. Still thinks of himself and cannot yet see viewpoints of others. 3. Concrete operational --ages 7-11 -- can think logically about objects and events and can classify objects. 4. Formal operational -- ages 11 and up -- can think in abstract concepts and can test out their own hypotheses. (Atherton, 2005b). Although many children follow this approach, many may find that they start the stages earlier than Piaget said. Other theorists like Vygotsky found that there were other ways that children used cognition. In motivating a child to learn according to Piaget it would be important to understand the stage of a child. As an example, we could not expect a child of two to understand how to put complex shapes together but we could expect that of a child of 7 years old. We would have to make sure that teaching fell within these parameters. DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES Erik Erikson also saw that children learned in stages but he saw this as more developmental. His theories comprised eight stages that he felt people moved through while they were learning. Each stage was more dependent on the world around them then it was on their behaviour or cognition. Some of his stages include: 1. Trust vs. Mistrust Basic strength -- birth to 18 months --when a child receives positive reinforcement from his primary caregiver he learns to trust that the world around him is a safe space. If not, he learns that the outside environment is unsafe. 2. Autonomy vs. Shame --18 months to 3 years -- a child begins to learn skills on their own like walking, eating and talking and they begin to develop self-esteem. If a child has a healthy relationship with parents as he is learning these skills he will develop a sense of autonomy and will have a positive self-esteem. If parents shame him in any situation, he may develop shame and doubt in his own abilities. 3. Initiative vs. Guilt -- 3 to 5 years -- At this stage children begin to mimic their parents and begin to institute their own play. How the family treats the child will determine whether the child continues to initiate things in his world or whether he develops more guilt. 4. Industry vs. Inferiority -- 6-12 years --this is a time when a child begins to learn more skills as they enter school. They are usually very social but if they have unresolved feelings of inadequacy and inferiority among their peers and they can develop lower self-esteem. (Harder, 2002). In order to motivate a child to learn with the developmental theories it would be very important to take into consideration the stage at which an individual child was in to give them a task. As an example, if a child was in the Autonomy vs. Shame stage, parents would need to make sure that they were very positive with their children. In potty training it would be very important to reinforce the child with a smile or a "good job!" when they went to the bathroom on their own. This would help them have a positive experience with their toileting. HUMANISTIC THEORIES Although there are a lot of theorists in the humanistic area, Abraham Maslow has been central to this information because he looked at theories of motivation. He believed that people had to have a motivation to learn that was either intrinsic (doing something for its own sake) or extrinsic (doing it for some other reasons). (Atherton, 2005a, "Motivation"). The basics of Maslows theory saw that an individual was only motivated if certain needs were met. These needs he set into a pyramid as follows: His theory suggests that an individual cannot be motivated by a higher need on the pyramid until the lower need is met. As an example, if the needs for food and shelter are not met during the physiological needs then the individual will not be motivated for shelter. Also, if they have not met the need for love and belongingness, they will not be able to seek the need for self-esteem (Allerton, 2005a, "Levels of Motivation"). It stands to reason then if you want to teach a child to learn in the classroom, it starts with taking care of the needs of food and shelter. In this situation then, a child who comes to school with food and shelter needs being met will be ready to learn because he will fit into the classroom and feel like he belongs. Although this works in theory, it does not always work in practice. Many children are motivated from within to get their studies because they have some personal goal in mind. Other children will be motivated through the extrinsic world around them because they believe that they are making their parents proud. It is important to find out which aspect motivates the child to learn, and use that aspect to teach. As an example, a child who is learning words may be motivated by praise from his teacher or parents (extrinsic) or he may be motivated to learn his words because he wants to see how many words he can learn (intrinsic). Maslow would see that as a human, we all have basic wanting needs and we will find a way to achieve them as we get our needs met. References Atherton, J. S. (2005a) Learning and Teaching: Motivation [On-line] UK. Retrieved August 11, 2008 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/ motivation.htm#Level%20s%20of%20Motivation. Atherton, J.S. (2005b) Learning and Teaching: Cognitive theories of learning [On-line] UK. Retrieved August 11, 2008 from http://www.learningandteaching.info/ learning/cognitive.htm. B.F. Skinners Behavioural Theory. (2008). Kids Development. Retrieved August 11, 2008 from http://www.kidsdevelopment.co.uk/BFSkinnersBehavioural Theory.html. Harder, A. (2002). The developmental stages of Erik Erikson. Learning Place Online Retrieved August 11, 2008 from http://www.learningplaceonline.com/ stages/organize/Erikson.htm. The 1950s: Programmed Instruction and Task Analysis: B.F. Skinner. (n.d.).A hypertext history of instructional design. Retrieved August 12, 2008 from http://www.coe.uh.edu/courses/cuin6373/idhistory/skinner.html. Read More