Constructivist Developmental Theory Research

Constructivist Development TheoryJune 2007The constructivist school of thought has been very influential in the field of cognitive maturement and has had a particular break on deepening understanding of child tuition . The constructivist civilise scheme attempts to explain how experience is constructed in the minds of individuals throughout their adulthood from childhood into adulthood and has its foundation during the era when the behaviouristic berth on maturement and development was being advanced . The behaviouristic school of thought proposed that children learn as a incumbrance of conditioning behavior and modeling from external stimulus . Constructivists , on the other hand , posit that breeding is best when children ar able to construct their sustain knowledge based on the unique and rich experiences the y atomic number 18 opened to . Learning is and then an active process for learners (Bencze , 2005 ) who are able to construct their own meaning of globe through processes of interrogatory and experimentation . The behaviorists had presented learners in a very passive bureau simply functioning as vessels in which t separatelyers deposit facts and responding single as stimulated by some external top executive (Newell , Shaw Simon , 1958 The approach mould forward by the constructivists on that pointfore came in opposition to the behaviorist school of thoughtWithin the constructivist school of thought there have been several(prenominal) theorists that have put forward specific aspects of the system in an effort to describe how development takes place . The ii near prominent theorists that have been noted in the constructivist multitude are Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky . Vygotsky s friendly attainment theory emphasizes the social character of learning and stresses the i mportance of the social environment in facil! itating development . Vygotsky proposed that it is based on social fundamental interaction that individuals are able to interact with and create new knowledge (Riddle Dabbagh , 1999 .

Vygotsky is said to be responsible for instructional methods such as cooperative learning cooperative projects , scaffolding and discovery learning (Slavin , 2000Vygotsky s ferocity on the importance of social interaction of children with their peers , adults and others in their environment accounts for the development of cooperative learning practices . Cooperative learning emphasizes group-related activities that serve interaction among memb ers . Vygotsky also put forward the ideas of a Zone of proximal Development which simply suggests that learning is optimal once the experiences are within the child s zone of proximal development . The emphasis is on the role that adults and other peers jakes have on facilitating learning experiences by providing the needed join of assistance . From this the plan of scaffolding learning was developed sustain refers to the role that a teacher or peers play in helping to facilitate learning (Slavin , 2000 ,. 261 . More grandly Vygotsky s theory emphasizes self-regulated learning where a child takes responsibility for their own cognitive developmentPiaget has also contributed important ideas to the development of constructivist theory . Piaget s theory proposes that each child is actively involved in constructing his own reality . Piaget maintains that children are natural with a naturally inquisitive character , desiring to discover and interact with their environment . Reflexes form...If you want to get a full essay, beau monde ! it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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