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Morgan WarrenChild Development TheoristsPd. ?1/19/16There are many theorists that have studied child development. ?The six that will be discussed in this paper are Erik Erikson, Abraham Maslow, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, B.F Skinner, and Reggio Emilia. ?EriksonErik Erikson was a theorist who studied how culture and and social experiences helped shape a child’s development. ?He came up with an eight stage theory, and he believed that at each stage children experience a major challenge or “crisis” and that they need to find a positive solution to the problem and that if they do this they will be more successful and if they are not able to overcome the crisis than they may have problems later in life. ?The eight stages are:Trust vs. Mistrust, Autonomy vs. Doubt, Initiative vs. Guilt, Industry vs. Inferiority, Identity vs. Role Confusion, ?Intimacy vs. Isolation, Generativity vs. Self Absorption, Integrity vs. Despair. ?MaslowAbraham Maslow was a humanist and he studied healthy personality development and came up with the self-actualization theory. ?His theory says that behavior and learning are motivated by a hierarchy of needs. ?The hierarchy of needs that he talks about in his theory are: physical needs, psychological safety and security, sense of belonging and love, self-esteem and respect for others, and finally self-actualization. ?The first two needs are categorized in the basic needs section and the last three are categorized as the growth needs. ?Maslow’s theory tells us that as each of these needs are met the more people are motivated. ?His theory like Erikson’s theory applies to mainly to social development and learning. ?PiagetJean Piaget is another famous theorist and his theory is all about cognitive development. ?He stated that children do not think like adults. ?He believed in constructivism which is all about kids who are trying to make sense of the world by exploring and building their knowledge. ?Piaget came up with four stages that kids enter as they are exploring the world around them. ?From birth to age two kids are in the sensorimotor stage, this is when kids are learning through senses and physical movement. ?The next stage is from ages two to seven and it is known as the preoperational stage, this is when kids are able to learn through symbols. ?The third stage is from ages seven to eleven. ?It is known as the concrete operational stage, this is when kids are able to think and solve problems more logically. ?The final stage is from eleven years old to adulthood. ?This stage is about being able to solve problems in many different ways. ?This theory helps teachers understand that kids need to explore and learn using hands on activities.VygotskyLev Vygotsky focused his studies on the social interactions and how that helps children develop. ?He came up with the sociocultural theory. ?His theory is based on the belief that kids learn from social experiences within a cultural context. ?He says that what kids learn what is determined by the culture that they grow up in. ?Vygotsky is also known for the Zone of Proximity (ZPD). ?The ZPD is the zone of learning between too easy and too hard. ?In this zone there is the perfect level of difficulty that challenges the kids but that they are still capable of doing. ?Vygotsky says that dramatic play is the leading activity in child development for kids ages 2 to 5 and that it creates a ZPD, it also promotes self-regulation which is where kids regulate their behavior. ?Vygotsky’s theory helps me when I am planning activities to make sure that I find a ZPD for the kids in the activities that I choose and it also helps me understand better how important play is for young children. ?SkinnerB.F. Skinner was a theorist who believed in behaviorism which is a theory that learning is a change in behavior that is controlled by consequences either positive or negative. ?He came up with his own theory of operant conditioning. ?Operant conditioning is using pleasant or unpleasant consequences to control behavior. ?One of the most important principles of operant conditioning is that the behavior changes as a result of the consequences. ?Positive consequences strengthen the occurrence of specific behaviors, but unpleasant consequences decrease how often the behavior occurs. ?This theory is important because it focuses on the behavior of children and how to work on it and change it. ?Reggio Emilia Reggio Emilia is a school in Italy. ?Their approach comes from several theories that are integrated together, but it also goes beyond them. ?It is based on core values and principles: the image of the child, children’s relationships and interactions, the role of parents, the role of space, teachers and children, curriculum, languages of children, learning through projects, documentation. ?By understanding this theory I can focus on each of these steps or all of them to be a better teacher. ?By understanding the importance of the image of the child and how important the parents are in a child’s education and so on. ?The theories that I agree the most with are Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory. ?By studying these theories and better understanding them I am able to help kids explore, take care of their needs so that they can learn and I can encourage them to make believe. ? ................
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