Teaching is the profession in which all other professions rely. All other career professionals spring forth from within the teaching profession. Just as learning, teaching is a continuous process. It takes place everyday in some form. With this in mind, everyone needs to know and understand how Piaget, Kohlberg, and Erikson’s theories of development could make many tasks and responsibilities much simpler.
Parents should be knowledgeable of the theories of development, considering they are their child (ren)’s first teachers. They should understand if their child is developing at a pace researchers say is appropriate for his/her age. Science tells us children learn and develop at different paces. Everyone understands that no two people share the very same cognitive capabilities. However, society has embraced these developmental theories. These are the basis for which schools have been organized and curriculums have been developed. It is believed that five year olds should attend kindergarten classes, six year olds should be placed in a first grade classroom and etc. This is based on the developmental theories. Typically, most students in a classroom setting are capable of completing similar tasks. This proves the development theories to be true for most children. Educators may find these theories useful when establishing classroom rules and expectations, creating classroom norms, and teaching subject matters (Hawkes, 2008).
Educators have made the same observation about children of yesterday as compared to those of today. They have observed a significant difference in the generation of children. Children of today face more challenges in every aspect of their development. Technology is challenging their cognitive development skills. Peer pressure challenges their moral and ethical development. Family issues and peers challenge their social and emotional development.
Although parents are children first teachers, educators must face the challenge of educating a class or several classes of students who are all developing at different rates. It is important that educators understand how to utilize the researched stages of development in their classroom. It will allow them to teach the whole child and make reasonable progress in educating each student.
Kohlberg’s theory of moral development can prove to be useful in developing classroom rules and expectations for students. Piaget’s stages of cognitive development should be used to assist teachers in developing meaningful classroom instructions, as well as intervention strategies for those who have not reached the appropriate stage of development. Erikson’s stages of social –emotional development will provide teachers with the knowledge needed to help students develop appropriate social and problem-solving skills need to work together and create their own way of solving problems without the assistance of an adult.
Teachers must teach students not to be disruptive and egotistical. Students should be taught to make an effort to understand others in order to create a working environment. It is difficult task teaching children what is morally, humanly wrong, or hurtful or unacceptably irritating. Teachers must sometime incorporate stories or readings into the class’s lesson to teach on the different subjects of acceptance and respect for self and others. This approach keeps the teacher from singling out students. Other approaches could be taken in order to teach students to look at situations through the eyes of the one who is being mistreated or disrespected. In “Kindness” a teacher have the students to imagine they were another student and do a journal writing about how things would be different for them in that particular child’s situation. Another way a teacher teaches moral and ethic is by pairing two students of different race, academic attitude, social background, and athletic interests. The students complete a form listing the physical attributes of the other student and study the other intently to note anything special and what it may reveal about the person. The assignment is for the student to right a character description so detailed that the student may be picked from a crowd of students. These are two ways O’Malley explains how teachers may help students develop morally and ethically. He suggests a service project to teach empathy and confidence. He also suggests stories and films such as “Winnie the Pooh” and “Arthur” to teach young children kindness. It teaches them to want to see the needs of others met (O’Malley, 1998).
According to Kohlberg himself, young children judge whether an incident is right or wrong based on if the is punishment following the action. They do not determine it according to the rule or adult command. As children reach a level of cognitive development, they are able to distinguish from punishment and begin to develop a neutral respect for authority. Kohlberg believes Piaget’s view is that young children have such respect for authority and rules until they themselves believe they are incapable of judging for themselves. Teachers rule out this idea by allowing students to take part in creating classroom rules and establishing consequences for breaking the rules (Kohlberg, 2008).
Mark Hawkes stated in his work how Piaget was critical of the emphasis on verbal transmission of knowledge. This is seen in many lecture classroom instruction. Piaget identifies this as a teacher centered classroom, one that facilitates a minimal amount of learning. He believed classrooms should be changed from receptive instruction to active instruction. Piaget approved student interaction as a mean of encouraging a positive learning environment. This is done through the process of experimentation. Experimentation provokes curiosity in students and gives birth to new ideas. According to Piaget it provides learners with an environment to manipulate their learning at their own pace. It promotes higher-order and extended thinking in students (Hawkes, 2008).
Parton and Hancock also support Piaget’s view. They believe children learn through play and interaction with their surrounding. It allows them to create a mental representation of the world. They encourage very young children use of concrete, hands-on experiences and not abstract concepts to support natural learning, developing, and thinking. Many computer interactions do not support the direct contact familiar to younger children. Therefore, teachers must provide real life experience for them. It will allow them to make the necessary connection (Parton & Hancock, 2008).
Schneider-Munoz provides several guidelines to follow when helping youth learn to regulate healthy emotions and behaviors. They should be provided a set climate in which it is okay to take risks. In such situations, the youth learn how to ask for help from peers. Schneider-Munoz believes this is the key development in creating healthy regulation of emotions and behaviors. Young children should be given the opportunity to see how anger and frustration accompanies the joys of getting service done well. There should be more opportunities for youth-led, adult supported activities. Assignments that center on balancing the skill strengths and weaknesses of the youth should be encouraged. The youth should also be given opportunities to plan and debrief sequentially, plan the work and do the work in developmental cycles with one skill building on the next. Schneider-Munoz suggests these strategies for developing healthy emotions and behaviors in young children (Schneider-Munoz, 2009).
Teachers have the opportunity to provide all students will appropriate experiences that will allow them to develop healthy cognitive, emotional, behavior, moral and social skills needed to succeed. Piaget, Erikson, and Kohlberg’s development theories are great resources to use in everyday teaching of young children. It will allow educators to teach the whole child and not just the brain.
References
Hawkes, M. (2008). Facilitating Educational Restructuring: Apply Lessons Learned from the Past. Education , 96-101. http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=6&hid=120&sid=aada9b5c-c561-4001-b288-6e6c3d20d0e8%40sessionmgr110
Kohlberg, L. (2008). The Development of Children’s Orientations toward a Moral Order. Human Development , 8-20.
O’Malley, W. J. (1998). Kindness. America , 10-16.
Parton, B. S., & Hancock, R. (2008). A Tool for Early Childhood Learners. TechTrends , 22-25.http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=42&hid=27&sid=aada9b5c-c561-4001-b288-6e6c3d20d0e8%40sessionmgr110
Schneider-Munoz, A. J. (2009). Developing Control from Within through Service Learning. reclaiming children and youth , 41-44. http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=43&hid=114&sid=aada9b5c-c561-4001-b288-6e6c3d20d0e8%40sessionmgr110
Learning Theories 