Mr. Frilot's Kindergarten

This paper evaluates how David Pelzer develops in his memoir, A Child Called “It”. Pelzer is evaluated using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development and Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model demonstrates how Pelzer’s environment impacted his development greatly. Pelzer is greatly influenced through others by how they treat him. Throughout this memoir, Pelzer is in the concrete operations stage of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. The reader is also able to see Pelzer’s development from preconventional morality to conventional morality using Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning.

Jean Piaget sought to understand and explain to others how the brain changes from birth until the mid-teens. There are so many huge developments during those years and Piaget got them down to four stages. The four stages in Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development are the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage. These stages cover things such as reflexes to adolescent egocentrism. (Santrock)

At around the age of 2 ½ to 3 however, consciousness emerges and all that has been stored up in the Mneme, together with new information, begins to come into the conscious mind, transforming into memory and reason. The child has is now entering the second phase of the Absorbent Mind, known as the ‘Social Embryonic’ stage (Montessori, 2007a). Montessori (1963) describes the child as unbalanced and having certain deviations (lack of control or discipline resulting in possible aggression or passivity). Importantly, with respect to discipline and obedience, it is when the horme and egocentricity begin to wane and the child becomes more aware of others and their needs. It is at this stage that the child enters the Nursery.

There are many theorists that influence the way practitioners teach children in nursery settings as they all have different theories about how children learn best and develop. On of the theorists is Sigmund Freud. Freud suggested that personalities are made up of three parts. These three parts are the id, the ego, and the superego. All of these will develop when the child grows and will be controlled by what happens in the child’s life and the experiences that they have. Sigmund Freud focused on the id which is the instinctive part of our personality and the superego which is the conscience, this develops later in the childhood of the child.

In the article, Rae Ann Hirsh, analyses children that are identified for school failure and explores contemporary neuroscience and learning theory to identify curricular strategies for helping these children and making them successful in their academic future. The neuroscience has remarkable effects in the classrooms of young children and learning theory. The learning is a change in the brain when the child is learning and there is social contact with other people. This would lead to emotional signals that lead to symbols, language, abstract thinking, and social skills. If the emotional context of culture is not changing, then the symbolic thinking will not reach a cognitive milestone in child development. Emotions are the primary contemporary function of the neurons. These are associated with learning and are the foundation to begin the learning process in young children. Along with the chemical structure, emotions play additional roles in the brain growth in the first two years.

As the story begins one needs to understand how the cognitive development begins as a baby and the discrete stages of cognitive development, or “the emergence of the ability to think and understand”(Schater, et al, Page 319).

Piaget believe that children are active thinkers. He recognized that the mind develops through a series of irreversible stages. He also acknowledged that a child’s maturing brain builds schemas that are constantly assimilating and accommodating to the world around them. Piaget’s theory of cognitive development is split into four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. The sensorimotor stage occurs from birth to nearly two years of age. At this stage, infants learn about the world around them by sensing it and interacting within it. It is also in this stage that the idea of object permanence develops, that is, the awareness that things continue to exist even when they are not being observed. In my personal life, I am certain that in this stage of development I would have enjoyed peek-a-boo, because if I didn’t see it, to my developing mind, it wasn’t there at all. The second stage, preoperational, lasts from two years of age to seven years of

For many years of human history, the developmental period of a child was truly misunderstood. The mind of a developing child was thought simply to be a miniature model of the fully developed engine of thinking. It is often hard to remember the earliest stages of the human development process. However, revered researchers like Jean Piaget, John Kohlberg, and Erik Erikson have made extensive efforts in observing the different stages of human development. In punctuating these stages, the consensus has demarcated the expanse of human growth into four major stages: Infancy (birth-2 years), Preschool (3-6 years), Middle Childhood (7-12 years), and Adolescence (12-18). The specific contributions made by the Psychologists above mentioned

This was my third field assignment. I elected to sit in the third grade, gifted class of Mrs. Alexis Martin at Hynes Elementary School. I chose to observe a public school for this assignment since my first two schools were parochial schools. Although these were all different grades and age levels, I thought I would have a richer experience by diversifying my subjects. I have not been disappointed in my decision.

Subject exhibits advanced vocabulary for her age range. She can recognize colors, count to 20, in addition to writing her first and last name. Subject is in stage two of Piaget’s model, preoperational thought, evidence includes the child’s outburst when the parent did not cut her sandwich the way she wanted it, therefore she refused to eat it (Chapter 5, pages

A Mind at a Time, was written by Dr. Levine, this book addresses his experiences of working with children who encounter a different way of thinking and learning. Many times these children have been bestowed labels that inflict hurt and pain that simply equates to a misunderstanding of how we as adults see them. Dr. Levine has uncovered several valid points about how adults misread hints and clues of a child. Comparing how they should operate as opposed to how he/she actually functions, in cases like these we do the child a disservice. Raisin Brain, is the 7th chapter in the book titled, A Mind at a Time. This chapter speaks to the many brains that exist in children, thus noting that each mind is different and in order for it to be groomed

Piaget also offers examples of egocentrism in children from observations outside of a laboratory. In his work, he gives the example of a young child who wrapped a toy truck as a present for his mother on her birthday. The boy “gave it to his mother with an expression that clearly showed he expected her to love it,” (Crain, 2015). Since the child expected his mother to enjoy the gift, he was not giving it to her out of selfishness. Instead, he gave it to her because he legitimately believed she would enjoy the toy because he enjoyed the toy. He could not comprehend the idea that his mother has different likes, feelings, or opinions than his own. Through examples such as this, Piaget strongly demonstrates how egocentric thinking in children occurs all the time in daily life.

There are many different theories when it comes to how children learn best, but when bits and pieces are taken from each a strong theory can be crafted for each individual child. These theories come from information processing, Jean Piaget, Lev Vgotsky, and Maria Montessori. Information processing looks at children’s scripts and how long-term memory works to help children learn, Piaget uses the concepts of object permanence and egocentrism to explain the ways children view different things, Vygotsky focuses on the zone of proximal development and scaffolding to give children the best environment to lean, and lastly, Montessori uses a trained adult and self-directed play to enhance learning in young children. These concepts combined are great ways to help a child develop cognitively and it is important to understand each one.

The purpose of this case study is to investigate and provide an overview of the physical, cognitive, social, and moral stages of development. Special emphasis will be placed on the progressive changes that can occur as an organism develops throughout his/her life spam, where the development of a child participant between the ages of 6-12 will be observed. It will also be based upon the attitudes , feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of an individual and the ways in which they operate in society. This will also be shown by an interview with a specific child, in this case, Hector, where he will be asked different questions which will help explain a childs developing mind. This case study will focus on some of the outstanding theorists involved

Several years ago, an insightful and profound man, Jean Piaget, established a theory of cognitive growth during childhood. This theory was viewed as a major model for understanding the intricate steps of mental development from the thinking to understanding for a child. This theory also gave rise to the mentality that cognitive processes during childhood are not minuscule versions of adults but rather an irrational yet unique process with its own rules. Even though Piaget’s theory seems quite reasonable and logical, under the light of recent speculation his theory has been widely challenged. However, Piaget’s theory holds great impact in today’s psychology.