Describe How Children Learn, with Reference to Major Theories

There have been a many number of theories on development and many of them will influence the way professionals work with children and young people. Psychologists have different views and theories about how children learn, some feel that a child’s ability is innate and others that it depends on the opportunities that are given. This is the ‘nature versus nature’ debate.

In order to apply theories and models of child development to support children’s development we must get to know each individual child by building a good relationship with the children through play, communication and answering to their personal needs. Observation and assessment is also key so that we know what each child is capable of and what they are working towards/could be encouraged towards. Good communication with parents is also beneficial as it helps the carer to see what the child is doing at home and to identify if there are things they do or don’t do at nursery that is different from home. It also helps to work out ways of encouraging development at home and at nursery.

Skinner also found that there are unexpected positive reinforces such as when a child behaves badly just to get the attention of their carer. Once they get the attention even if they are scolded

According to Kail and Cavanaugh the theory established by Skinner known as operant conditioning is a “learning paradigm in which the consequences of a behavior determine whether a behavior is repeated in the future” (p. 13). This theory to an extent, parallels the previous theory of operant conditioning but is also important in trying to understand why one makes the decisions they do as well as how often they partake in certain behaviors. Through his theory Skinner displayed that there are two types of consequences, reinforcement and punishment, in which one increases the chances of repeated behavior and the other vice versa. Reinforcement is the component that increases the likeliness of repeated behavior and includes two divisions, negative and positive. Negative reinforcement is that in which a person’s

There have been many theorists who have opposing views on how and why children behave and how they learn. I will discuss 4 theorists, their theories and how they have influenced and shaped work with children.

An explanation of the impact of current research into development and learning of babies and young children.

Skinner created the theory of Operant Conditioning as he believed that all behaviour can be controlled by rewards or reinforcement. This is very different from Pavlovs theory of Classical Conditioning as Skinner is trying to control voluntary behaviour. This is done by giving the subject a positive or negative reaction to an action with the theory that a negative response will discourage the subject to repeat the action. A good example of this is house training a dog, as the dogs natural reaction is to relieve itself, however it must be taught to wait until it is outside. The more the dog waits until he is outside, the more praise he receives therefore it is less likely to wish to instigate a negative reaction by relieving himself inside the house.

Children are all different and may learn and develop at different rates. Some children may not develop as fast as others and these children need to

Theories of development are very important as these theories and frameworks can heavily influence current practice and help us to understand the complexities of children’s behaviours their reactions and can also help us figure out different and new ways of learning. Starting with the constructivist approach (piaget). Piaget worked

This area is linked in many different ways, building children’s social skills up because they are interacting with other children, learning to take turns and share with peers. They are building relationships and starting to become independent from their main carers.

Skinner believed that behaviour is shaped and maintained by a reinforcing stimulus and that schedules of reinforcement are important factors in the learning process. There are many situations in the classroom where a behaviourist approach is likely to work well. For example, when I teach, I have started to pick out students who are making the right choices throughout the lesson. I call attention to the student who is doing the right thing and use verbal praise, which is quite an effective way to let other students realise what the expected learning behaviour is. The Year 6 students in the class are aware of the school’s reward system; ten credits lead to one merit, which is recorded in their merit book. They are also aware that bad behaviour in the class or on the playground will be followed by negative consequences. To warn against unwanted behaviour, I have seen teachers use negative reinforcers such as verbal warnings, timeouts and losing privileges.

According to an article on kids matters the writer stated that Babies and young children learn and develop through their early experiences and relationships.

Children do not learn just one way, rather there are a multitude of ways that children learn. However, for this paper I will be looking a few ways that children learn. According to Time 4 Learning website (2016), there are currently seven “learning styles”. Theses learning styles are visual, aural, verbal, physical, logical, social, solitary. Visual learners are students that learns best through videos, pictures, and images. Aural learners are students that lean best through music, sounds, and lyrics. Verbal learners are students that learn best through words, so they benefit from speeches, and writing. Physical learners are students that learn through doing things, motions, the use of their whole body. Logical learners are students that learn best through reasoning and logic. Social learners are students that

Children are very interesting creatures, and continue to amaze adult’s everyday by their development. It continually inspires adults to keep their houses safer and to watch the children to see progress in their mental and physical development. In fact, younger kids have amazing brains and learn very quickly as their bodies continue to development. While it may be a surprise by how smart a child is, it is also a surprise to some adults the things these children do not actually understand. Even though a subject may be explained to a child numerous times, there is no guarantee that the child will accurately retain the information, if at all. Every child at one point or another through their life will misinterpret something their parents say or

According to Boeree, C, George (2006), B. F. Skinner’s “entire system is based on ‘operant conditioning’”. Behaviourism is determined by the environment and is “concerning with the effect of external events such as reward or punishment for behaviour” (Duschesne,