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The Psychological Influences on EducationSusan SuitsIvy Tech Community CollegeEducational PsychologyJune 18, 2014AbstractIn this article, we will first discuss the psychological influences of Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. Specifically we will discuss what the separate stages are and how they affect a child in a classroom. Finally, we will discuss the strengths of all psychologists and how their influence can positively affect a modern classroom. Erikson, Piaget and Vygotsky may sound like three Viking ships that discovered the New World but this is not so. Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky were all psychologists who specialized in human development, psychologically and socially, specifically with children. In this article, we will first discuss the theories which culminated from their research and finally how to apply them in a current classroom. The first psychologist to be discussed is Erik Erikson. Erikson’s specialty was psychosocial development. Psychosocial development pertains to how one’s development socially is positively or negatively affected by their ability to develop psychologically. For the purposes of this article, we will confine our research to the school aged children although Dr. Erikson’s work continues throughout the lifespan. The three stages we will focus on are Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority and Identity vs. Role Confusion. Around the age of 4 to 5 years old, about the time a child is in preschool or kindergarten, they enter into a stage Erikson calls Initiative vs. Guilt. In a secure environment the child is free to explore. With the ability to explore, the child takes initiative. Initiative, in this case, is defined as children “given the freedom to explore and experiment and if parents and teachers take time to answer questions” (Snowman, et al., p. 29, 2012). On the other hand, if the same child is restricted from exploration and is made to feel unimportant, then they will more likely feel guilty when thinking for themselves. The next development stage laid out by Erikson is Industry vs. Inferiority. This stage appears typically between the ages of 6 and 11. When praised for doing things well, completing a project or allowed to finish tasks, the child develops a sense of industry. If, however, the same child is unsuccessful and if they treated as a bother by others, they tend to become inferior. Best case scenario, they believe they might be good at one thing. Worst case scenario, they believe they will never be good at anything, ever. Erikson’s final stage concerning school-aged children is that of Identity vs. role confusion. Just when one would believe the children should be able to be in their own and make decisions for themselves, it is in this stage that stability is vitally important. Stable reactions of their peers help them find their place in the world. Without this vitally important stability, they may experience role confusion. The adolescents who experience role confusion have no concept of how to behave appropriately around their peers in order to receive a positive reaction in a social setting. A second leading psychologist in the field of Education is Jean Piaget. Piaget concentrated more on the cognitive development of children. In 1952, Piaget defined schemas as “'a cohesive, repeatable action sequence possessing component actions that are tightly interconnected and governed by a core meaning” (2012). For example, using schemata, Piaget believed we could picture a cat in our minds even though we may have never seen a cat. The child is aware of the concept of what is furry. This particular child also know that an animal has for legs and uses all of them for mobility. The child is finally also aware of the size of most teddy bears and could all of this knowledge or “schema” to help them figure out the dimensions of a “cat”. Although Piaget focused solely on children and not on life span, his studies are only emphasized from birth through age 11. As we are further focused on school-aged children we will be starting with the Preoperational stage that begins around age 2 and goes through age 7. In this stage children often are the star of their own show, or egocentric as it were. They only see things from their perspective and how it pertains to them until around the age of 6 or 7. At this age these children become less aware of only their point of view and can picture or imagine a scene from another’s. The second stage we will discuss is the Concrete Operational Stage which happens typically between the ages of 7 and 11. In this stage children become aware that a liquid in a short, squatty glass is the same amount as the same amount of liquid in a tall, skinny glass. Whereas, previously, they would have said the glasses held different amounts based on the shape of the cup. However, if these children cannot see, feel or touch these items, they have trouble accessing their value, thus the emphasis on “Concrete” operations. The final stage Piaget discusses is the Formal Operational Stage. It is in this stage Piaget says children have become more intellectually advanced and therefore are able to do things like calculations, consider more abstract solutions as well as consider the outcomes of their behavior and possibly avert a bad situation based on the probable outcome. This is the most mentally advanced of all stages Piaget studies. Of course, there is always one in the bunch who goes against the grain of their colleagues. In this case, we are talking about Lev Vygotsky. As with many geniuses, Vygotsky only had a short time to share his ideas. Unfortunately, Mr. Vygotsky passed away after a battle with tuberculosis at the age of 37. But before his untimely passing, he left us with a goldmine of ideas on how to teach children. Vygotsky believed that learning for a child was more of a continuous activity than stages. Vygotsky decided that children should play to learn, not learn to play. It is his opinion that a child’s environment plays an active role in a child’s ability to learn and succeed. Not only does the teacher have an influence on the child, but also the care providers, siblings and other significant people in their lives. According to website Vygotsky believed children were “active partners in these interactions, constructing knowledge, skills, and attitudes and not just mirroring the world around them.” (2014). This opinion is based on what he called the Cultural-Historical Theory. Another theory Vygotsky espoused was the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). In this theory, Vygotsky projects that the interests of children can only get them so far. It is up to their education facilitator, typically their school teacher, to take that emerging concept or idea and bring it to fruition by being sensitive to what the child needs, educationally speaking, and supporting this learning through giving the child the hands-on tools to facilitate active learning. There are several ways one could facilitate education based on the ideas of these psychologists. Beginning with Erikson’s principles one could be supportive in a preschool setting by setting up play stations around the learning environment and then giving the child somewhat structured areas but lots of room to explore the station in which they find themselves. Another way to encourage Initiative is to answer their questions as they ask them with appropriate tone and a kind manner. The old phrase “it’s not what you say but how you say it” applies here. You want these children to feel like they can accomplish anything, and this only happens when one gets involved in their play, on their level and answering questions kindly and truthfully. We can apply the second level of Erikson’s learning in our elementary classroom by having children work alone or in small groups on a project. This allows the child to have a sense of accomplishment without the aid of the adult who manages their education. At this stage, the child needs to learn to believe in themselves and that they can, in fact, accomplish great things with the appropriate support from their educators will go a long way to making them feel Industrious and capable of anything. Just when we think we have the mindset in a positive direction, it is at this point we should focus on the feelings of the adolescent. We want these middle and high school scholars to be able to Identify themselves as intelligent being and not to be confused in their role as a student. One way to do this is to verbally encourage them daily on their accomplishments in your classroom, no matter how tiny the improvement. Secondly, one must set clear cut expectations and goals so as not to confuse what is expected of them. As for Piaget, one can encourage less egocentric behavior in an educational setting by overseeing group play. While in this group, the responsible adult allows freedom of exploration within the group while encouraging appropriate behavior and expectations, thereby teaching the children to think of others outside of themselves. The next level of development for children based on the principles of Piaget would be to use these in a math setting. One can create a chart that starts at one whole part and divides up to 1/12 of a whole. The children then can manipulate the pieces to discover just how many twelfths it would take to create a half or up to a whole part. The final principle which one could apply to a classroom base on Piaget’s studies is that of encouraging “mental math” in one’s classroom. This might be referred to as scaffolding. Scaffolding happens when one learns how to master a concept, such as addition, and then scaffolds that knowledge to master multiplication. A student should be able to add in their head to help them better master the concept of multiplying. The holistic approach to learning as presented by Vygotsky just might be the most effective way to run a classroom. Most education is more caught that taught. Children learn all sorts of things through play that they would not otherwise ascertain through lecture. An educator can lecture all day about the importance of being kind, but without opportunities to express said kindness, the child never really masters the concept. This principle can be applied to most subjects from behavior to science, math and language. With hands-on learning you get all kinds of learners involved. The auditory learners get to hear the instructions. The visual learners get to see the process and the kinesthetic learners are up and moving, learning how to do the skill they are trying to master. All three of these psychologists have some good points to their teaching, but the one that stands out the most is that of Vygotsky and his ideas of continuous learning. ReferencesLeong, PhD, D. J., & Bodrova, PhD, E. (2014). Pioneers in our field: Lev Vygotsky - playing to learn. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from website: , S. (2012). Jean Piaget. Retrieved July 2, 2014, from Simply Psychology website: , J., McCown, R., & Biehler, R. (2012). Psychology applied to teaching (13th ed.). Belmont, CA/ USA: WADSWORTH Cengage Learning. ................
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