Theorists

Question 1

Urie Bronfennerbrenner: Ecological systems theory

Answer 1

• Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory focuses on quality and context of child’s environment.
• Environment and interrelationships among systems shape child’s development.
• An individual’s ecological system must be considered to understand process of development.
• Every social or environmental event indirectly shapes or mould a human being.

Question 2

Microsystems

Answer 2

• People who child has direct contact with, such as parents, siblings, friends, extended family, childcare and school.
• Child’s smallest, most immediate environment.
• Quality of relationships with immediate environment directly affect child.
• Child’s behavior is learned in microsystem.

Question 3

Mesosystem

Answer 3

• Interaction and relationships between different parts of a person’s microsystem.
• Links can be weak or strong and effect child in either a positive or negative way.
• E.g. If a child’s caregivers take an active role in a child’s school, such as going to parent-teacher conferences and watching child’s soccer games, this will help ensure child’s overall growth.
• If parents disagree how to best raise child, they give conflicting lessons which will hinder child’s growth in different channels.

Question 4

Exosystem

Answer 4

• Institutions of society that indirectly affect a child’s development.
• Societal, political, legal, mass media, friends of family, neighbours, parents’ workplace.
• Influences structures in microsystem.
• E.g. If a child’s parent gets laid off from work, that may have negative effects on child if parents are unable to pay rent or to buy groceries; however, if parent receives a promotion at work, this may have a positive effect because parents can ensure physical needs are met.

Question 5

Macrosystem

Answer 5

• Largest and most distant collection of people and places that have significant influences on them.
• Values, beliefs, customs, society, attitudes, and laws of culture in which a child grows up.
• Influences societal values, legislation, and financial resources provided by a society to help families function.
• Influence’s interactions of all other layers.
• E.g. Children in war-torn areas will experience different kind of development than children in peaceful environments.
• E.g. An underlying belief about religion will determine what is taught in schools.

Question 6

Chronosystem

Answer 6

• Role of time in which significant events occur in an individual’s life.
• Represents temporal changes and experiences in a child’s environment. Could arise internally, such as physiological changes that occur with growth; or externally such as timing of significant life events.
• E.g Separation and remarriage of parents when child is a teenager. Child being diagnosed with leukemia at age 4.

Question 7

Diagram of ecological system theory

Answer 7

Question 8

Critiques on ecological systems theory

Answer 8

Strengths - multiple influences on a childs development.

Weaknesses - does not provide detailed mechanisms for development.

Question 9

Implications of Bronfenfrenners theory for caregivers

Answer 9

• Primary relationships must be intended to last lifetime.
• Teachers work to support primary child- adult relationship.
• Schools create nurturing environment for families.
• More research to examine interactions between different levels of relationships in a child’s development.

Question 10

Jean Piaget: Theory of Cognative development

Answer 10

• Human development occurs in stages.
• Each stage demonstrates a progression to more advanced level of functioning.
• After a period of consolidation individual progresses to next stage.

Question 11

Schemas

Answer 11

Building blocks of knowledge.

Question 12

Assimilation

Answer 12

Existing schema/knowledge to cope with a new situation.

Question 13

Accomodation

Answer 13

Existing schema/knowledge are changed to deal/adjust to new situations.

Question 14

Equilibrium

Answer 14

Existing schema can deal with most information.

Question 15

Piaget Stage 1

Answer 15

Sensorimotor stage (0-2)

• Significant growth occurs in first two years of infant’s life.
• Understand world through object, movement and senses.
• Build set of concepts about reality through physical interaction with environment.
• Use language to catalogue objects in their environment and make demands of caregivers.
• Object permanence: physical objects remain in existence even when out of sight.

Question 16

Piaget Stage 1 Substages

Answer 16

Reflexes (0-1 month)

Understands environment through inborn reflexes (sucking and looking).

Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months)

Learn coordination and sensations.

Repeat pleasurable actions.

E.g. Baby unintentionally suck thumb, then later intentionally repeat action.

Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months)

Child more focused on external environment.

Intentionally repeat an action to trigger response in environment.

E.g. Crying, or dropping a toy.

Coordination of Reactions (8-12 months)

Clearly show intentional actions.

Children explores environment around them. Imitate observed behaviour of others.

E.g. clapping when a caregiver claps.

Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months)

Experimentation of objects in environment.

E.g. Rattle makes a sound when shaken.

Symbolic thought (18-24 months)

Develop symbols to represent events/objects.

Understand world through mental operations rather than purely through actions.

Question 17

Piaget Stage 2

Answer 17

Stage 2 - Preoperational stage (2-7)

Can grasp some logical concepts.

Verbal representation of objects.

Use gestures, signs, sounds, words to convey meaning.

Attention to one aspect of object, while ignoring others.

Conservation - Quantity of an object does not change because shape or size of the vessel changes.

Animism - Give human qualities to inanimate objects.

Egocentric - Lack ability to understand individuals have different perspectives of world (don’t see world same way they do.

Question 18

Piaget Stage 3

Answer 18

Stage 3 – Concrete operational stage (7-12)

Child shows evidence of organised and logical thought. Concrete in their logic.

Thinking becomes less egocentric and less transcendent.

Thinking logically about concrete events and grasping concrete ideas.

Child works internally in their head, rather than using objects or symbols.

Develop conservation.

Develop classification - classify objects in groups even though they are not identical.

Question 19

Piaget Stage 4

Answer 19

Stage 4 – Formal operational stage (12+)

Think about abstract concepts and develop ability to logically test hypotheses.

Children directly apply their logic to objects.

Abstract thinking – grasp concepts without physical objects.

Logical thinking - strategies to solve problems, develop hypotheses and systematically test solutions.

Deductive reasoning - draw conclusions to open a wider base of knowledge.

Question 20

Piaget Strengths and Weaknesses

Answer 20

Question 21

Piaget Implications for caregivers

Answer 21

• Provide open-ended toys to promote problem solving.
• Encourage cooperation and negotiation to provide dramatic play opportunities.
• Provide materials for construction to facilitate representation.
• Encourage expression of ideas through art.
• Play simple games with rules that children follow.
• Play sense games.

Question 22

Piaget Implications for education

Answer 22

• Expose child to outside world. Offer opportunities for trial and error (puzzles).
• Broadening experiences and applying them to new, hypothetical, situations.
• Different ways to explore and experiment with environment.
• Provide visual aids, props, to illustrate different ideas/concepts.
• Use real-life examples to paint complex ideas (word problems in math).
• Chances to classify or group information.
• Offering problems that necessitate analytical or logical thinking (brain teasers/riddles).

Question 23

Vygotsky theory

Answer 23

Sociocultural development theory

Cognitive development is continual.

Children’s sociocultural environment vital for cognitive development.

Cultural beliefs + attitudes impact instruction and learning.

Different culture provides ‘tools of intellectual adaptation.’ Tools allow use of basic mental abilities adaptive to culture.

Question 24

Scaffolding

Answer 24

Role of teachers and others in supporting learner’s development and providing support structures to reach next stage.

Teachers provide scaffolds so learner can accomplish certain tasks they could not accomplish themselves.

Question 25

MKO

Answer 25

People with greater knowledge and skills than learner.

Individual usually adult, parent or teacher.

Kids also learn from interactions with peers (children often pay attention to what their friends/classmates).

Question 26

ZPD

Answer 26

Distance between where learner is developmentally on own + where could be with help of MKO.

Difference between what a child can do independently and what child needs help from MKO.

Area of learning MKO assists student in developing, so higher level of learning can be reached.

Current understanding: Present/existing knowledge.

Out of Reach: Unrealistic content + goals decrease self-confidence and prevent growth.

Target Zone: What they can do themselves without an MKO.

Question 27

Language

Answer 27

• Social concepts developed through social interactions.
• Means for communicating with outside world.
• Fundamental in cognitive development.
• Most important tool humans can utilise.
• Main way adults transmit information to children.
• Powerful tool of intellectual adaptation.

Social speech (2+): External communication used to talk to others.

Private speech (3+): Speech directed to oneself. Serves intellectual function.

Silent inner speech (7+): Language in absence of overt and audible articulation.

Question 28

Play

Answer 28

Promotes cognitive, social, and emotional development in children.

Allows children to stretch conceptual abilities and knowledge of world.

Question 29

Vygotsky implications for education

Answer 29

• Teacher should identify students ZPD.
• Tests/quizzes from previous year to determine student’s current skill level.
• Scaffolding to stretch limits of each child’s capabilities.
• Create/organise groups in classroom based on skill level.
• Providing children opportunity for play + interaction with peers.
• Opportunity for imaginary play, role-play, re-enactments of real events.

Question 30

Vygotsky Strengths and Weaknesses

Answer 30