Why do we learn theories? Theories help us to understand how children learn.
• When we understand children’s development and how they learn we can then choose appropriate teaching techniques to facilitate their learning.
• Therefore, three influential theories are selected to help you to become more effective as parents and create optimal learning environments for your children.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a prominent Swiss philosopher and psychologist, was one of the first researchers to take children 's play seriously.
Piaget believed that the function of all living organisms is to adapt to the environment. He suggests that play contributed to children’s understanding of the environment and is related …show more content…
In the theory, children are at the centre of the system and there are five levels of the environment that influence children’s development which are the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem and the chronosystem.
The microsystem
The microsystem includes children’s closest relationships and interactions, such as family, peers, neighbours and school. The microsystem is the setting in which we have direct social interactions. The small, immediate environment that children live in will have an effect on how the child grows. Children will be able to grow better if the relationships and living environment are more encouraging and nurturing. Moreover, children’s reaction to the closest people in the microsystem will affect how they treat them in return.
The …show more content…
Patty Smith Hill (1868-1946) defined “child initiated free play” as children make their own choices, selections, and decisions, and thus absolute freedom is given to the play of the child’s images and volition in expressing them in free play (Weber, 1984, p.96). In other words, child-initiated free play activities is unstructured, voluntary, wholly decided upon by children, based on their own motivation and remains under their control.
In free play, children are the originators, they can develop their imaginations through exploring and experiencing the world around them. They decide how to play, how long to sustain the play, what the play is about and who to play with. Therefore, as child initiated free play activities comes from children’s natural curiosity, love of discovery and enthusiasm, they should be pleasant and
• When we understand children’s development and how they learn we can then choose appropriate teaching techniques to facilitate their learning.
• Therefore, three influential theories are selected to help you to become more effective as parents and create optimal learning environments for your children.
Jean Piaget (1896-1980), a prominent Swiss philosopher and psychologist, was one of the first researchers to take children 's play seriously.
Piaget believed that the function of all living organisms is to adapt to the environment. He suggests that play contributed to children’s understanding of the environment and is related …show more content…
In the theory, children are at the centre of the system and there are five levels of the environment that influence children’s development which are the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, the macrosystem and the chronosystem.
The microsystem
The microsystem includes children’s closest relationships and interactions, such as family, peers, neighbours and school. The microsystem is the setting in which we have direct social interactions. The small, immediate environment that children live in will have an effect on how the child grows. Children will be able to grow better if the relationships and living environment are more encouraging and nurturing. Moreover, children’s reaction to the closest people in the microsystem will affect how they treat them in return.
The …show more content…
Patty Smith Hill (1868-1946) defined “child initiated free play” as children make their own choices, selections, and decisions, and thus absolute freedom is given to the play of the child’s images and volition in expressing them in free play (Weber, 1984, p.96). In other words, child-initiated free play activities is unstructured, voluntary, wholly decided upon by children, based on their own motivation and remains under their control.
In free play, children are the originators, they can develop their imaginations through exploring and experiencing the world around them. They decide how to play, how long to sustain the play, what the play is about and who to play with. Therefore, as child initiated free play activities comes from children’s natural curiosity, love of discovery and enthusiasm, they should be pleasant and